2001 Annual Grant Issue
Janice Kemp: Kast Grant Report
Interdisciplinary Music Curriculum for Grades 4 and 5

OBJECTIVE OR PURPOSE:

To research music, e.g. songs, singing games and dances, and classical music, that will coordinate with the Social Studies curriculae (specifically: American History in the 4^th grade, and the 20^th century in the 5^th grade). From the music selected, abstract and place sequentially (if possible) the musical elements (rhythm, pitch, harmony, form, timbre, texture) for the teaching of general music.

APPROACH:

I began my grant work by researching the pros and cons of teaching an interdisciplinary curriculum. Second, I gathered information and materials from the 4^th and 5^th grade classroom teachers related to the social studies curricula currently taught. Third, I re-acquainted myself with early American (beginning in England with King Henry VIII) and 20^th century History. Fourth, I began the rather arduous task of folk song research. Fifth, I began researching appropriate classical music selections that might relate to the period, general style, or country. Finally, I began the task of selecting only that music which was age appropriate and fit into a chronological and/or sequential music curriculum.

INTRODUCTION:

The Germantown Academy Performing Arts philosophy states in part: "We believe that the Performing Arts are an integral part of the human spirit. Throughout history, in every corner of the world, the Performing Arts have reflected every aspect of our existence. They have provided a means for expressing life's inner-most feelings; they have been a joy, a comfort, a call to battle, an adjunct to religion...." Alan Lomax states in his introduction to Folk Songs of North America (the definitive collection by the foremost authority on American folk music, published in 1960) "The first function of music, especially of folk music, is to produce a feeling of security for the listener by voicing the particular quality of a land and the life of its people. To the traveler, a line from a familiar song may bring back all the emotions of home, for music is a magical summing-up of the patterns of family, of love, of conflict, and of work which give a community its special feel and which shape the personalities of its members. Folk song calls the native back to his roots and prepares him emotionally to dance, worship, work, fight, or make love in ways normal to his place."

Lomax goes on to say, "Each group of settlers in the New World tried to establish a musical community like the one they had left in Europe. They dotted the map with little Swedens, little Lithuanias, little Italys, and so on, while the music of Spain, Portugal, France, Great Britain, and West Africa spread over domains in the Western Hemisphere. Everywhere in the New World we find songs that were popular in the days when the colonists set sail from their homelands. Thus American folk song is, in one aspect, a museum of musical antiques from many lands."

I believe it is through the music 'of the people' that we may be able to most keenly feel the true essence of a people from long ago and from many lands. Every song evokes deep, almost spiritual meaning of a time and place. When teaching music, there are, of course, obvious time limits (fourth and fifth grade students have music twice a week for forty-five minutes). I also have to keep in mind that, in addition to teaching an enriched folk song repertoire that coordinates with the social studies curricula, I am primarily employed to teach MUSIC (singing, playing classroom instruments, movement, language and theory, and an introduction to great works of serious art music - "classical music"). Additionally, music is extremely abstract and therefore slow to absorb. The subject of music is also a combination of many different subjects, e.g. reading, writing, language, literature, math, science, history, and dance. But I believe a historically enriched curriculum is important. Therefore when sacrifices have to be made, my goal is to find a healthy balance between an enriched curriculum and a primary curriculum. For me, that is what it means to teach in an interdisciplinary manner.

FINDINGS:

My research into folk song literature and history was both fascinating and overwhelming. Who would think that not only is music readily available dating back to the time of King Henry VIII, but we already know much of it! The first dilemma I faced was that there was much too much music. In addition, much of it was inappropriate for ten and eleven-year-old children.

Many early folk songs and ballads were a means to carry the "evening news" from village to village. Through song the events of the day were reported. The texts are often gruesome and bawdy. The subject matter of many singing games and play-parties tell of death. The well-known children's singing game "Ring Around the Rosie" is probably the best example. The roots of "Ring Around the Rosie" are in the "Black Death" that swept Europe during the Middle Ages. Throughout history, children have "played," "acted-out," drawn pictures of, and sung songs about terrible events that have happened in their lives; events they cannot comprehend or explain. But, these songs and singing games are apart of our long and rich history. Many of the basic "games" manifest themselves over and over through many centuries; most importantly, they were "made-up" by children. When found in collections published for teaching, many have clearly been "watered down" to make them more socially/politically acceptable, thus losing much of their original intent and historical context. Sometimes a song or game that seems comfortable at one time, may not feel comfortable at another, e.g. since September 11^th, I have had to re-think some of my own choices. Additionally, some of the songs from the American south, as well as those associated with the Civil War still strike a raw nerve with people today. How would people react to me teaching "Dixie" to our children? What about work songs whose texts are about picking cotton? Should I avoid them?

The second dilemma I faced was that the song repertoire, which matched the historical/chronological sequence, did not match the repertoire for the sequential teaching of music, e.g. the reading and writing of rhythm and pitch, etc. I realized that if I were not careful, there would no longer be time to teach my primary subject -- MUSIC! How was I to fit in teaching the children to sing in tune, to play the recorder and Orff instruments, and basic principles of music theory?

I finally determined that in order to continue teaching the subject of music, I would have to separate (for the most part) the repertoire used to compliment the social studies curricula from that used to teach the subject/language of music. Therefore I have not included musical elements gleaned from the repertoire selected to compliment the social studies curricula. Those musical elements will continue to come from separate repertoire.

The art music selected for listening serves somewhat a different function from the folksong and singing game/dance repertoire, in that some works are used to compliment the grade level curriculum; some are used strictly for musical teaching, and others are used to connect to the seasonal concerts given through the Germantown Academy Community Concerts (the Academy Chamber Society and the Academy Chorale), which change each year. For that reason, some listings remain blank under the sections listed below. Note that most of the songs listed below were found in numerous sources, and like most true folksongs, appeared in numerous variants. The sources listed refer to the books I would most likely use.

FOURTH GRADE

Outline of Social Studies Curriculum:

Fall: Colonial America

September - mid October:|
Queen Elizabeth (daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn,
1533 - 1603; reign: 1558 - 1603) and The Spanish Armada (1588)

mid - end of October:|
1. Early settlements: St. Augustine (1565), Roanoke (1585), Jamestown (1607), Plymouth (1620)
2. Salem Witch Trials (1692 - 1693)

November - December:
"Road to Revolution" (1763 - 1776); 1783, America defeated the British

Winter

• January: Government Building (Constitutional Convention, Trip to Highlands, Trip to Philadelphia)
• February: Westward Expansion and The Industrial Revolution
• March: Build-up to the Civil War (election of 1860)

Spring

April: Civil War (1861 - 1865; Emancipation Proclamation, 1863) (Trip to Gettysburg)
May: Immigration (1830, 1892 - 1924; Ellis Island closed in 1954) (Trip to Ellis Island)

FINDINGS:

Music to compliment Colonial America

A. King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I era:

1. "The Roman Soldiers" (an old English children's singing game of confrontation played during the time of King Henry VIII; in one version, there is a verse that mentions the Pope. It is speculated, "the 'bread and wine' and 'the King', may refer to King Henry's troubles with the Pope and the Church." - Singing Games and Play Party Games)
2. "Hullabaloo" (a form of "The Hokey Pokey" or "Loobyloo" played during the time of King Henry VIII; "In King Henry's day it was a 'grotesque country dance' for grown-ups." - Singing Games and Play Party Games)
3. "Lavender Blue" (English Cren's Dance - Step Up to Musicianship, Vol.II)

B. Early Settlements:

1. "Sailing in the Boat" (early American play-party - 150 American Folk Songs; 120 Singing Games and Dances; The Best Singing Games; Folk Songs of North America)
2. "We Gather Together" (Folk Song from The Netherlands, 1625; World of Music, 4; Making Music Your Own, 5)

C. "Road to Revolution":

1. "Chester" ("Hymn of the American Revolution" composed by William Billings (1746 - 1800) - Making Music Your Own, 5)
2. "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier" (Song of the American Revolution, Irish origin - 150 American Folk Songs; Folk Songs of North America)
3. The Riflemen of Bennington" (Song of the American Revolution - The Best Singing Games; Making Music Your Own, 5)

Fall Listening Selections:

1. "Hornpipe" from Water Music (Suite in D/G Major HWV 349/350) by George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759)
2. "Overture: Adagio and Menuet II" from Music for the Royal Fireworks HWV 351 by George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759)
3. "Chester" from New England Triptych by William Schuman (1910 - 1990)
4. Symphony No. 103 "Drum Roll" by Franz Josef Haydn (1732 - 1809)

Music to compliment Government Building

(Note: There really is no music to accompany Government Building per se, but music and dancing did provide the bulk of entertainment of the day, especially in the form of fiddle tunes, line dances, and reels.)

1. "Amasee" (120 Singing Games and Dances; Sail Away)
2. "The Noble Duke of York" (120 Singing Games and Dances; Singing Games and Play Party Games)
3. Virginia Reel (danced to the fiddle tune "Turkey in the Straw")

Music to compliment the Westward Expansion and the Industrial Revolution

(Note: westward expansion includes pioneers, 49'ers, cowboys, railroaders, etc.)

1. "Shenandoah" (Making Music Your Own, 5; From Sea to Shining Sea)
2. "Erie Canal" (Making Music Your Own, 5; From Sea to Shining Sea)
3. "Drill Ye Tarriers" (Making Music Your Own, 5; From Sea to Shining Sea)
4. "Dashing Away with a Smoothing Iron" (120 Singing Games and Dances)

Music to compliment the Build-Up to the Civil War

1. "Go Down, Moses" (From Sea to Shining Sea)
2. "I Got Shoes" (From Sea to Shining Sea)

Winter Listening Selections:

1. One of the symphonies (No.1, 3, or 5 of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
2. Variations on "Simple Gifts" from Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990)
3. Variations on "America" by Charles Ives (1874 - 1954)

Music to compliment the Civil War

1. "Cumberland Gap" (Folksongs, Singing Games, and Play Parties, Vol. III; From Sea to Shining Sea)
2. "Follow the Drinking Gourd" (From Sea to Shining Sea)
3. "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" - South (Good Times Songbook)
4. "Battle Hymn of the Republic" - North (Good Times Songbook)

Music to compliment Immigration Unit

(Note: The 4^th grade classes perform "immigration plays" in their classrooms for their grandparents on "Grandparents' Day. For this unit, I have chosen music from the countries represented in these plays - England, Ireland, Germany - Eastern Europe/Jewish, Asian - China and Japan).

1. "When I first Came to This Land" (Pennsylvania "Dutch" folk song, sung in a popular English translation - Sail Away #119)
2. "To Work Upon the Railway" (a song written about immigrant Irish railroad workers; set to the tune of a popular Irish reel: probably from a Music Hall variety show - Sail Away #133)
3. "Paper of Pins" (English/Scottish Courtship Dialogue Song, also known as "The Lover's Quarrel," "The Way Love Begins" and "The Keys of Heaven" - Folksongs, Singing Games, and Play Parties, Vol. III)
4. "Firefly" (Japanese Folk Song) The English version I know is from Folksongs, Singing Games, and Play Parties, Vol. II. Jill Trinka explains that she became acquainted with the song in 1977 while working as a contributor to the unpublished New Haven Song Collection. The Japanese Folk Song (found in The Magic of Music, Book IV, Boston: Ginn and Co., 1967) called "Deta, Deta" (moon) refers to the legend that there is a rabbit in the moon (instead of the Western man in the moon) who makes mochi (rice cakes) by pounding rice into flour).

Spring Listening Selections:

1. undetermined
2. undetermined

FIFTH GRADE

Because I have made connections with the fifth grade interdisciplinary studies curriculum for a number of years, ("The Land and Culture of China," "Winter Solstice Celebrations," and "Our Endangered Earth") my research was somewhat different than that which I did for the fourth grade curriculum. I am pleased with what I teach in music with regard to these two areas of study, therefore I did not make changes; I only enriched the curriculum. I expanded what I teach in music to include the following: through Interdisciplinary Studies, "20^th Century America and Civil Rights", and through the Language Arts program, "Creative compositions", "Myths", and "Folktales". In addition, for whatever reason, the repertoire that compliments the fifth grade curriculum also fits into the sequential music curriculum.

Fall

1. September - mid October: Interdisciplinary Studies: "20^th Century America and Civil Rights"

a. Music studies include: profiles of great American musicians of the 20^th Century (Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Marion Anderson, Isaac Stern, Cecylia Arzewski, Leontyne Price, and numerous jazz musicians)
b. Music and listening selections include: "Simple Gifts" and Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland,mid October - early November: Language Arts: "Scary Stories"

2. mid October - early November: Language Arts: "Scary Stories"

a. Halloween songs - Major/minor tonality (accompanied by Orff and rhythm instruments)
b. Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens (1862 - 1918)

3. mid November - December: Interdisciplinary Studies & Language Arts: Thanksgiving, "Winter Solstice Celebrations" and The Lower School Winter Program

a. traditional Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa songs

Winter

1. January

2. February - March: Interdisciplinary Studies: "The Land and Culture of China"

a. "Silver Moon Boat"
b. listening selection: Reflection of the Moon on Two Lakes by Chinese composer Hua-yin
c. profile of cellist YoYo Ma

Spring

1. April - June: Interdisciplinary Studies: "Our Endangered Earth"

a. music for "Forest Fest" production

Purely musical curriculum of General Music in the fourth and fifth grades:
(detailed curriculum located in 1994 PAPAS Report)

1. Singing in tune alone and in a group within the range of an octave and a fifth.
2. Singing in rounds and in simple parts.
3. Reading and writing absolute pitch (A, B, C, etc.) and solfege (do, re, mi, etc.) names in limited range songs.
4. Reading and writing basic rhythms in syllables ( I = ta, II = titi, etc) and knowing/understanding their real names ( I = quarter note, II = two eighth notes, etc.)
5. Understanding how rhythm relates to meter in , , , , and .
6. Playing the notes G, A, B, C, and D on the recorder.
7. Playing simple ostinati to accompany songs on the Orff instruments.
8. Playing singing games, play parties, and dancing "in time" rhythmically to age appropriate music.
9. Learning how to listen critically and appreciatively to serious art music (known to most people as "classical music").
10. Recognizing basic musical forms and instrument timbres from listening to serious art music.

Conclusion

Alan Lomax summarizes the impact that folk music has had on our country in his introduction to his book Folk Songs of North America: "The map sings. The chanteys surge along the rocky Atlantic seaboard, across the Great Lakes and round the moon-curve of the Gulf of Mexico. The paddling songs of the French-Canadians ring out along the Saint Lawrence and west past the Rockies. ...from Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New England, the ballads, straight and tall as spruce, march towards the West....slave melodies sweep across the whole South from the Carolinas to Texas .... out of the Smoky and Blue Ridge mountains the old ballads, lonesome love songs, and hoedowns echo through the upland South into the hills of Arkansas and Oklahoma ... in the Ozarks the Northern and Southern song families swap tunes and make a marriage..." On and on it goes. When I read what Lomax has written about the nature of folk music, I am actually aware of how many styles of music have come to us in the United States from every corner of the world. I hear certain songs I have known all of my life. Our heritage, whatever that may be, is carried in our rich folk song history. I hope to pass this heritage on to the children of Germantown Academy.

I conclude with the sound of Walt Whitman's famous poem ringing in my ears.

I HEAR AMERICA SINGING

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear;
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong;
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam;
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work;
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat; the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck;
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter's song; the ploughboy's on hi sway in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown;
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work; or of the girl sewing or washing;
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else.
The day what belongs to the day - at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly;|
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

Bibliography

Appleby, A. & Pickow, P. (1993). The Library of Children’s Song Classics.

Bley, E.S. (1957). The Best Singing Games for Children of All Ages.

Chase, R. (1949). Singing Games and Playparty Games.

Chase, R. (1972). Old Songs & Singing Games.

Choksy, L. (1981). The Kodaly Context: Creating an Environment for Musical Learning.

Choksy, L. & Brummitt, D. ((1987). 120 Singing Games and Dances for Elementary Schools.

Cohn, A. (1993). From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs.

Erdei, P. (1974). 150 American Folk Songs to Sing, Read, and Play.

Hensley, P., Hudspeth, C., Rober, M., Smith, K., Watson, C. (1980). Step Up to Musicianship. (Beginning & Intermediate Level.).

Hitchcock, H.W. (1969). Music in the United States: A Historical Introduction.

Johnston, R. (1984). Folk Songs North America Sings.

Kemp, J. (1990 ). Kodaly Certification Folk Song Collection (Level I ? VI).

Kersey, R.E. (1972). Just Five.

Kersey, R.E. (1975). Just Five Plus Two.

Leisy, J. (1974). The Good Times Songbook: 160 Songs for Informal Singing.

Locke, E. (1981). Sail Away: 155 American Folk Songs to Sing, Read, and Play.

Lomax, A. (1960). Folk Songs of North America.

Nettl, B. (1976). Folk Music in the United States: An Introduction.

Seeger, R.C. ((1948). American Folk Songs for Children.

Silver Burdett "Making Music Your Own" music series (1971).

Silver Burdett & Ginn "World of Music" music series (1991).

Trinka, J. (1987,1988 & 1989). Folk Songs, Singing Games, and Play Parties. (Volume I, II, & III).

Weinandt, E. (1974). The Bicentennial Collection of American Music.