Incorporating Chldren’s Literature in the Elementary Music Classroom

BY MICHELLE BRINKMAN

Incorporating Children’s Literature in the Elementary Music Classroom

One of my favorite things to do is weave my love of books and reading into my music lessons. There are so many possibilities for what you can do with children’s literature in the elementary music classroom! This article will touch on six ways to use children’s literature in your lessons and give some examples of how to integrate children’s books into your music class.

Vocal Exploration

Books that have pictures to sing are fabulous for vocal exploration with younger students. Some examples of these kinds of books include Slow Snail by Mary Murphy, in which students can sing the silvery trails that the snail leaves as she travels. In The Straight Line Wonder by Mem Fox students can also sing the different pathways or could also explore how to move in straight, curvy, and zigzag directions. How to Speak Moo! by Deborah Fajerman invites children to explore different musical elements, such as fast and slow or loud and soft while “speaking moo” throughout the story. Everyone is Yawning is an adorable book with flaps to allow the reader to open and close the animals’ mouths like they are yawning. Young children enjoy practicing their yawns along with the animals.

Movement Exploration

Using picture books is a great way to encourage movement exploration with students. This is the Way by Charles Fuge is a lovely book that features a very active little boy and his adorable animal friends. Younger students will enjoy discussing the different ways the animals in the story move and then exploring moving like those animals. Here is a suggested playlist of music to accompany the story:

Playlist:

1. Elephant: “Pharaoh’s Waltz” from Music for Creative

Dance, Volume 2 by Eric Chappelle 2. Dinosaur: “Fossils” from Carnival of the Animals by

Camille Saint-Saens 3. Mouse: “Minute Waltz” by Frederic Chopin 4. Ladybug: “Dancing Digits” from Music for Creative

Dance, Volume 1 by Eric Chappelle 5. Anteater: “Golliwog’s Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner

Suite by Claude Debussy 6. Frog: “Caribbean Leaps” Music for Creative Dance,

Volume 2 by Eric Chappelle 7. Orangutan: “Skippity Jig” Music for Creative Dance,

Volume 4 by Eric Chappelle 8. Owl: “Pastorale” Music for Creative Dance, Volume 2 by

Eric Chappelle 9. Bumblebee: “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai

Rimsky-Korsakov 10. Dream: “Lullaby” by Johannes Brahms

Instrument Exploration/ Soundscapes

William’s Winter Nap by Linda Ashman is a delightful story about a little boy who is having trouble getting to sleep because various woodland creatures keep knocking on his cabin’s door looking for a place to get out of the cold. This is also a wonderful story to use for an introductory lesson in improvisation at the barred (Orff) instruments. Here is one idea for how to use the story: • Teacher reads the story and invites students to say/pat (alternating hands while patting) the phrase “Yes, we’ll scooch a bit. There’s room for more, I’m sure we’ll fit!” each time it occurs in the story. • Once students can say and pat the phrase, move to the barred instruments. • At barred instruments, set up in F pentatonic (remove E’s and B). • Ask students to play the repeated phrase from the book on D (students are going to play in la-based F pentatonic, so D is our tonal center). • Students practice playing the repeated phrase again on any two notes of their choosing, but they must begin and end on D. • Continue this process of adding a note until students are able to improvise with all the notes of the pentatonic scale (beginning and ending on D). • Discuss with students that melodies sound best when they have notes that repeat or move by step or skip. • Choose unpitched percussion instruments to play on sound effect words, such as “tap,” “knock,” “boom,” “ping”, and “crunch.” • Divide class into groups—one group at barred instruments improvising on the repeated phrase, one group playing unpitched percussion on the sound effect words, and one group acting out the characters in the story. • Teacher reads the story again with each group performing their part.

Another winter-themed story for instrument exploration is Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson. In fact, there is an entire series of Bear books that would all make great additions to the music classroom. In this particular story, all of Bear’s friends end up having a party in his cave while he is trying to hibernate for the winter. One idea for using this book is for students to practice low E on the soprano recorder. There

are also many “sound effect” words in the book begging for unpitched percussion instruments to be added to create a soundscape. A possible outline for a lesson using this story is as follows: • Students play the following recorder melody:

• Teacher reads Bear Snores On. Students play recorder melody each time “and the bear snores on” happens in the story. • Identify “sound effect” words throughout the story (e.g., howl, growl, spark, pop). Students choose unpitched percussion instruments to go with the words. • Read story again, playing the recorder melody and adding the unpitched percussion—all instruments play on

“but his friends snore on.” At the end of the book, allow students to act out the different animal characters in the story (using puppets, masks, hats, etc.).

Introduction to a Lesson

Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candance Fleming tells the story of three naughty rabbits and their antics as they outsmart Mr. McGreely to overcome all of the obstacles he has put in their way to keep them from his vegetable garden. This cute story is a great introduction to learning a piece at the barred instruments with the following process: • Read story, adding the melody from Gunild Keetman’s

Erstes Spiel am Xylophon #12 at various points using text based on the story (text by Michelle Brinkman). We are hungry bunnies going munch!, munch!, munch! Pat______________________snap clap pat We are hungry bunnies going munch!, munch!, munch! Pat_____________________ snap clap pat Peas and corn! Lettuce, carrots too! Tap head or shoulders___________ We are hungry bunnies going munch!, munch!, munch! Pat_____________________ snap clap pat

• Once students can sing melody and perform body percussion, go to barred instruments. • Set up barred instruments in C pentatonic (remove F’s and B). • Teach the Erstes Spiel am Xylophon #12 melody by rote. • After melody is learned, add the accompaniment provided in the book (simplify if needed). • Students create a rhythm composition using Rhythmic

Building Bricks (Consider using this set by David Row on

Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhythm-Centers-and-Composition-

Rhythm-Sort-Food-Edition-3090268) • Students figure out a way to play a melody based on their rhythmic compositions. • Perform a rondo with Erstes Spiel #12 as the A section and student compositions as the contrasting sections.

Songtales

Song Tales are a great way to end a music class with younger students! These stories allow students to simply just listen and calm down before heading back to their classroom. GIA Publications has a wonderful set that corresponds with John Feierabend’s First Steps in Music Series. There are also many picture books that can be found of various folk songs and popular songs that make great song tales. Another possibility for a song

tale is to use a book with no words, just pictures, like Snowman’s Story by Will Hillenbrand. Show students the pictures from the story while playing a piece of instrumental music, such as “The Snow is Dancing” from Children’s Corner Suite by Claude Debussy. After the children have looked and listened to the story, invite them to share what they imagined. Using scarves, ribbons, or foam snowflakes, students could create movements like snowflakes falling as an extension activity. The possibilities are endless!

Composer and Musician Biographies

There are many excellent composer and musician biographies written for elementary students. One way to integrate these books into the music classroom is to feature a “Musician of the Week” for the students. This only takes the last 5-8 minutes of class and includes reading one of the biographies and showing a short performance of their music. This is a fantastic way to expose students to many different musicians from various genres throughout the year. Students also enjoy being able to peruse these biographies at their leisure, and having a book display that is changed seasonally is an excellent way for them to do this. REFERENCES

Ashman, L. (2017). William’s Winter Nap. Disney-Hyperion. Fajerman, D. (2014). How to Speak Moo! Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. Fleming, C., & Karas, G. B. (2002). Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!Pocket Books. Fox, M., & Rosenthal, M. (1997). The Straight Line Wonder. Mondo. Fuge, C. (2009). This is the Way. Gullane Children’s. Hillenbrand, W. (2014). Snowman’s Story. Two Lions. Keetman, G. (1969). Erstes spiel am xylophon. B. Schott’s Söhne. Murphy, M. (2013). Slow Snail. Candlewick Press. Wilson, K., & Chapman, J. (2005). Bear Snores On. Scholastic/Weston Woods Studios, Inc.

Michelle Brinkman holds a B.S. with honors in Music Education and a M.M. in Music History/ Musicology from Ball State University, and she completed her Orff-Schulwerk certification at Anderson University. She is the K-5 music specialist at Nora Elementary School (MSD of Washington Township) in Indianapolis, Indiana. She has presented at numerous conferences and workshops and is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Teacher Creativity Fellowship from the Lilly Endowment. Michelle is Past President of the Indiana Orff-Schulwerk Association.

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