Lindsey Showalter

10/25/18

MUED 380

Rationale
This experience is designed for students to learn the relationship of major and minor modes as
well as singing songs in cannon. The design aims to use a song of a different language to teach
some aspects of history and culture.

Understanding Statements
The students will be able to detect and discuss the difference in the sound of major and minor
chords/songs. They will sing the song “Shalom Chaverim” in Hebrew and in English and will
perform it in a two-part round.

“I can” statements/standards
I can sing songs of many different styles. VA 5.2

I can sing a song in a minor mode.

I can identify and explore historical and cultural aspects of music by comparing and
contrasting a variety of musical styles. VA 5.7.2

Materials
- Guitar/ukulele/piano
- Cabassa
- Drawing/coloring materials (optional)
- Sheet music (teacher reference)
- Pictures (attached at bottom)

Detailed Process
- Warm up (5 minutes)
- Shake out different parts of the body: hands, arms, feet, etc.
- Vocal sigh a few times to wake up voice
- Echo “shalom, shalom” on do (sha) sol (lom) mi (sha) do (lom) and ascend by half steps
until most students are out of range
- “Be my echo” solfege echo with hand signs (3 minutes)
- do re mi
- do mi sol
- do sol mi do
 - sol la sol do
- mi re do
- mi sol sol do
- etc.
- address issues as needed/repeat when needed
- Major/minor chord recognition (8-10 minutes)
- Use a guitar/ukulele/piano to play major and minor chords (broken or together)
- React to each chord
- Act/dance/draw/tell reaction
- Discussion: Why did you react that way? What about the sound of the chord made you feel
that way?
- Identify which chord was major/minor
- Keep playing chords and have students guess when major or minor
- *Review a song from a previous class that is in a major key* (8-10 minutes)
- Discussion: How does this song make you feel? What makes you feel that way? What do
you notice about the mood of the song? How would you describe this song to someone who
has never heard it before? Do you think this one is in major or minor?
- “Be my echo” rhythm echo (3 minutes)
- Simple meter, keep beat by patting legs
- ta ta ta ta
- ta ta-ti ta ta
- ta-ti ta ta-ti ta
- ta-ti ta-ti ta-ti ta
- ta ta ta ta-ti
- ta ta ta-ti ta
- etc.
- address issues as needed/repeat when needed
- Go around circle/class or ask for volunteers and have each student share their own rhythm
containing ta and ta-ti (5 minutes)
- Class echoes each student’s rhythm
- Shake and freeze (5 minutes)
- Instructor uses a cabassa or shaker to create a rhythm (incorporate the “ta ta ta-ti ta” rhythm
from “Shalom Chaverim”)
- Students dance around classroom
- When instructor stops the rhythm, students freeze where they are
- After a few minutes, begin elimination round
- If a student moves after the “freeze,” he or she is out/has to sit down
- “Shalom Chaverim” (15 minutes)
- Sing through a few times, invite students to sing along as they get familiar
- Discuss with a partner: What words did you hear? Is the song in English?
- Sing again
- Discuss with a partner: What language might the song be in?
- Sing again, clarify lyrics
 - Where there any parts that were repeated? What were they?
- Split class into sections, assign each section a part of the song (1. shalom chaverim
2. shalom, shalom, 3. lehitraot, lehitraot), each section only sing their part
- Put class back together, select small group of students to be in the middle
- Everyone sing song together first, then instruct the inner circle to wait until given the signal
to start.
- After the outer circle gets to the fourth beat of the first full measure, the inner circle begins
- Repeat exercise, switching out those in the center circle
- Song translation (8-10 minutes)
- Show pictures on screen
- Discuss what they could mean/what story they might tell
- Share translation with students
- Sing in English
- Repeat round exercise in English (5 minutes)
- Wrap-up activity
- Discussion: What did we learn today? What were the names of the two feelings of songs we
learned? How can you show the class what you learned?

Assessments:
Multiple opportunities for assessment are built into the discussion portions of this lesson
including asking questions to assess students’ abilities to detect and explain the difference in
major and minor songs, and discuss the difference in songs in other languages. Informal
assessment can be done through the think-pair-share sections of the experience as well.

Adaptation:
- Color: Different solfege/rhythms/lyrics can be assigned colors to represent them
- Shape/Size: Enlarging pictures
- Pacing: The teacher should be mindful of the class’s progress through the experience,
carefully monitering how the class is understanding each topic. There are multiple
opportunities to expand and contract sections of the experience.
- Modality: Kinesthetic- hand signs, keeping beats on legs, Visual- iconic notation of
translations, Auditory- echoing solfege, rhythms, and lyrics

Extension
This experience can be extended by learning the song “Zum Gali Gali” and the accompanying
game. Additionally, more layers of the round can be added into “Shalom Chaverim.”