Grade 4 Lesson 4
Teaching Procedures
Teach “Bill Grogan’s Goat”
This song provides an introduction to part-singing through the use of echo harmony. Teach the song by leading and having the class echo. Divide the class into two groups. Have one group be the leaders and the other group sing the echoes. Make sure the leaders hold the last note of the phrase while the other half echoes.
Teach “Old Joe Clark”
This is an easy two part arrangement of an old mountain song for choral singing. Joe Clark was a real person born in 1839. He was a rough mountaineer of that time and he was murdered in 1885. There are many verses written for this song. For this version, just a few verses were chosen. Teach the song by rote.
Learn the dance with “Old Joe Clark”
Form a double circle, with pairs joining hands skater style.
Chorus: The pairs step clockwise around the circle.
Verse: The outside circle stands still while the inside circle weaves in and out in a clockwise direction.
Continue with a new partner. If the students are able to, have them create their own dance to the song.
Review dynamics terms
Read about dynamics in the concept slides. Dynamics tell us if the music should be loud or soft.
mezzo piano mp means medium soft fortissimo ff means very loud
piano p means soft forte f means loud
pianissimo pp means very soft mezzo forte mf means medium loud
crescendo means to get gradually louder
decrescendo or diminuendo mean to get gradually softer
Learn the game with “Black Snake”
Use different dynamics to help your classmate find the snake. Buy a rubber snake at a dollar store. Choose one student to hide the snake somewhere in the classroom in plain sight - not under or inside something. A second student is chosen to hunt for the snake. The class guides the “finder” to the snake by singing softly when they are far away from the snake and louder when they are closer. Remind the students to sing with a beautiful tone at all dynamic levels.
Option 2: Teach the Orff arrangement for “Black Snake”
Create a rhythm pattern using the names of snakes. For example: Cobra Moccasin Rattlesnake Viper.
Choose non-pitched instruments and play the pattern on instruments. Use the pattern as an ostinato while the song is sung or as an interlude between repetitions of the song.
