John Kanaka!

My third grade classes have been focusing on folk songs. We have added Orff accompaniment, learned the cross-over technique, and performed line dances. They really enjoyed our activity with the song John Kanaka!

First we talked about the history of the sea shanty:

Then, we learned the song and discussed how the steady beat of the song might have helped sailors get their work done more efficiently. As we listened, the students identified the macro and micro beats and we practiced by using a pat-clap-pat-clap pattern.

Next, the students transferred the macro/micro beats to a hand clapping game. First we practiced with paper plates:

Holding the plate flat with their left hands, students pat the plate with their right. Then, they clap their right hands beneath and plate, pat the plate again, and clap their hands above the plate. They continue this pattern throughout the song feeling the macro beat (patting the plate) and the micro beat (clapping hands below and above): plate, below, plate, above, plate, below, plate, above.

After they had a the movements down, we added tambourines and turned it into a circle dance!

We got really fancy and rotated our outer circle on the fermata! Great job, third graders!

Folk Song Unit

Third grade is currently working on a Folk Song unit in music centering around folk songs originating in the United States. They learned that folk means "of the people," that folk music has been passed down from generation to generation, and is usually handed-down orally. We have also discussed how the lyrics or verses of these songs can change over time similar to the "telephone" game. They have also been discussing the similarities and differences between folk songs and folk tales.

Our unit on folk songs is giving the 3rd graders a chance to brush up on their mallet skills. The focus has been learning the cross-over pattern and playing on special words. All students get a chance to learn each instrument part and the folk dance, and then we divide into two groups for our final performance.

Here is a video of the 3rd grade ABC class performing Tideo.