Dia De Los Muertos and Composition

I begin by reading the story of Beto and the Bone Dance. This is an excellent introduction to Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). 

 I ask students to share any personal experiences they have with this celebration. We review the Spanish vocabulary words and pronunciation. 

Then, I share this poem with them: Skeleton bones, dance around. Dia de los Muertos, can you hear the sound? This is a good time to review rhythms. Together, we use rhythm sticks to show the rhythmic patterns in this poem. If there is time, students can complete a coloring/word search.

 

The next week, we are into split into groups of four. Each group has one xylophone and is responsible for improvising one measure if the song. I let students experiment on the instrument and then every member of their group adds the notes chosen.

My apologies to purists, but for this lesson I let students compose using a six note scale. After they have practiced, the groups play their song for the class.

On the second week of this composition lesson, I have students practice writing notes on the staff using the musical cups game. It is a great way to practice writing music. They can write three or four letter songs. (with four cups)

 Their final class for this composition is a chance for students to write their song on the staff.