5th grade lesson #1 (20 min) Objectives: Students will be able to read basic notation that contributes to musical

fluency and literacy. Students will discuss and perform passages of syncopated rhythm. Students will learn about ragtime style. National Standards: 2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music. 9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture. Materials: ipod, 5th grade books, Internet access, smart board, handout, rhythm sticks The 1900s and 1910s ASK: What was happening in the United States in the 1900s and 1910s? 45 states, mass production made it easier to get things (made life easier), radio broadcasts (how we get news), transportation was changing ASK: What was happening in the music scene in 1900s? 1. Contrasting styles a. Tin Pan Alley a collection of music publishers in NYC i. The origins of the name "Tin Pan Alley" are unclear. The most popular account holds that it was originally a derogatory reference in the New York Herald referring to the sound made by many pianos all playing different tunes being exactly like the banging of many tin pans in an alleyway. b. Give My Regards to Broadway by George M. Cohan in 1904 for a musical play Little Johnny Jones; sung by Bill Murry in 1905: http://www.quietyoutube.com/watch?v=nRkqklWdgMY c. This is the type of music that was getting recorded and published. 2. There was another style of music brewing in the clubs of St. Louis and New Orleans a. Play Scott Joplin: The Entertainer - youtube video (listen & view) http://www.quietyoutube.com/watch?v=JSpoVH0c-Dw b. ASK: what makes ragtime ragtime? its ragged, syncopated rhythm c. How do we define syncopation? i. A shift in accented beats. The weak beat becomes accented rather than the strong beat. 3. Ragtime the Musical a. Powerful musical about segregation showing many different musical styles appealing to different groups of people. One of the most memorable songs from that musical is Ragtime b. While opening books to p. 266, play the recording of Ragtime (6:15; 12:7? *Double check on ipod which is the proper recording). Teach the from m. 9 to first ending. Then play the recording and join in singing at m. 9 to the first ending. 4. Visual examples a. Create a series of rhythm excerpts, taken from popular songs of the 1900s. b. Put them on the smart board in a slideshow c. With each rhythm excerpt, tell the students to take a minute to read and study it, then speak it out loud using ta ti-ti, then pat it. d. Determine which patterns are syncopated and which are not. Discuss why. 5. Culmination performance on rhythm sticks a. Separate the class into two groups. (Or would smaller groups work better for this activity? Perhaps groups of 2 or 4?) Pass out handout of the first 12 measures of The Entertainer (minus the intro). Teacher plays each example, give students a chance to practice on their own, then ask them to play it all together. Then give them a few minutes to practice it. Walk around the room to help.

b. For the performance, one group will be the left hand of The Entertainer, the other will be the right hand. Perform a few small groups at a time. Make an informal assessment. c. Collect rhythm sticks. Papers go in folders. Books back on the shelf. CULMINATION: Could provide visual and auditory examples of syncopated and non-syncopated rhythms. Or rather than auditory examples, they could take a minute to read it, pat it together, and then determine if its syncopated or not. 2 groups play rhythms from Maple leaf rag, or another ragtime song, or just some rhythms to create syncopation. (Create some sort of informal assessment). Teacher could provide an example with words and/or students can write their own words under the excerpt. WR- might not get as much done Dont do too much talking. Start with listening. Dwell more on musical aspects rather than social climate. Way to open: Start with a visual & audio. Find another visual example for tin pan alley to compare and contrast the two. Do you hear anything different between the two? Then leader: music from 1900s-present. This week: 1900-1910 List a few short examples of how it relates to social studies and will mean something to THEM. Something a 10-11 year old could relate to. Starting today for many weeks, heres what well be doing. START with music. Then small facts. Ragtime the musical is not from that Boogie woogie? Is that ragtime? [Published in 1941 save for 1940s decade] Start with music, then smartboard slides with short descriptions, is boogie woogie ragtime? If not, is there another vocal song from the ragtime era, last part: decide how to combine #4&5 will that work together? Be sure to bring in first 12 measures of the Entertainer Objectives: be specific: not really basic concepts of rhythm and meter, its actually working on syncopation If theres time, could possibly close with ragtime. Explaining how some composers 15 years ago really liked this style and wanted to write a musical using this type of music. Lets listen and read along. End of lesson.