Arirang Lesson Plan from Korean Folk Music for Fourth
Grade
Teach fourth graders about Korean culture through:
* Listening to the Korean folk tale The Tiger and the Hare
*
Listening to a recording of Arirang. A folk song from the
* Learning to sing Arirang
* Setting to music parts of The Tiger and the Hare for the verses and the vocable from Arirang for a performance of Korean music.
* Adding drum, gong, and cymbals to the song.
Fourth graders have two half-hour music classes each week. We do not have special needs children except for minor learning disabilities. This lesson could be adapted for special needs children all can try to sing and all can listen to stories. This particular class works very well together in small groups.
This unit will last 4 class periods two weeks. We would culminate the unite with a performance in the music room for the kindergarten, first, second, and third grade classes. The folk story would be read in full and they would be taught the chorus so they could join in singing when it came around.
Children need to learn about other world cultures as part of a well-rounded education. This unit combines social studies with music and dance.
Students will learn the different tone quality and style of
Korean vocal music and instruments. They
will learn that Korean culture is much older that that of the
Using MENC Music Content Standards for grades K 12, this unit uses:
#1 singing with others a varied repertoire of music
#2 performing on a drum set on ostinato accompaniment
#3 improvising melodies and accompaniments
#4 composing and arranging music within specific guidelines
#6 listening to and describing music
#8 understanding relationships between music and the other arts
Assessment: 90% of the class will be able:
* Sing the chorus to Arirang in Korean.
* Say that the Korean culture is much older than the American culture.
*
Locate
* Accompany the class on percussion instruments as we sing the folk story and Arirang chorus.
FIRST CLASS
I.
Introduce
A.
Show where
B.
Show a map of
C.
Very rural except for
1.
25% of
2. It takes 3 hours to get from one side of the city to the other because of all the people who live there.
D. Very poor country.
E. They have great respect for their elders.
F. The culture is much older than ours is. The Kangnung Tanoje festivel (harvest festival) dating back over a thousand years.
II. Listen to Arirang from the CD Four Thousand Years of Korean Folk Music
A. Did the performers sound like us?
B. What kind of instruments did you hear?
C. Listen again to Arirang.
D. Was there a part that kept coming back (a chorus)?
E. Line out the chorus of Arirang.
F. Sing chorus of Arirang (see handout from workshop).
G. Read translation of verse of Arirang.
H. Tell them that the chorus syllables are vocables which have no meaning but are just used to carry the melody.
III. Read the Korean fold tale The Tiger and the Hare.
A. As a class, choose a few lines from each couple paragraphs which could carry the storyline, e.g. people lived in fear of the tiger, and locked themselves into their houses, and the tiger eats our chickens and our dogs and sometimes even our children.
B. Reread the English translation of the verses of Arirang
1. How can we put our lines from The Tiger and the Hare into a similar style phrasing and melody?
END OF FIRST
CLASS
SECOND CLASS
I. Sing chorus of Arirang as follows:
A. Listen to the recording
B. Teacher sings it one line at a time, class repeats.
C. All sing the chorus together.
D. Now listen to the entire song and pay attention to the verses and the style.
II. Finish choosing the lines from The Tiger and the Hare we will use in our song.
A. Write them down on cards.
B. Divide into groups of 4 or 5 students each.
C. Each group is assigned one verse and given the card to work with.
D. They will practice in small groups with hand drums played with mallets.
E. If a group is done very much ahead of the others, they may do two verses or they may choose to practice reading the story.
END OF SECOND
CLASS
THIRD CLASS
I. Divide into small groups and rehearse their verse.
II. Read the story.
III. Sing the chorus to Arirang as an entire class.
IV. Listen to each small group in turn sing their verse.
V. Sing the chorus to Arirang after each group performs.
VI. Perhaps some groups would like to dance to other groups verses.
VII. Make invitations for Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, grades and the principal.
END OF THIRD CLASS
FOURTH CLASS
I. Teacher and class sing the chorus of Arirang for K 3, line by line. They sing it back, line by line.
II. We all sing it together.
III. Read the tale The Tiger and the Hare.
IV. Tell the audience that when they hear the chorus of Arirang they should join us in singing.
V. Sing the chorus of Arirang.
VI. Each group sings its verse.
VII.
After each verse we all sing the
chorus.
END OF FOURTH
CLASS
References
Four Thousand Years of Korean Folk Music. Track 4. Legacy International CD 438.
MENC music content standards for grades K 12
I. K. Junne, ed. Floating Clouds,
Floating Dreams, Favorite Asian Folktales. Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City,
Handout from East Asian Music Workshop.
Songs and Sounds of the Orient. A custom recording by Japan Airlines. 1966.