Teaching East Asian Music in the Elementary Classroom

Lesson Plans from 2005 Workshop

“Japanese Music: A First or Second Grade Lesson”

Teacher: Jeni Schellenberg

Major Objectives:

Students will sing “Tanabata-Sama”
Students will write wishes on pieces of paper and tie them to bamboo trees, as in the traditional Japanese celebration of Tanabata
Students will be able to visually identify the koto
Students will follow along with traditional koto notation of “Sakura”, noting that each box represents one beat, and then articulate similarities and differences between this form of notation and the Western notation that they are learning.

Unit Length : These activities would take place over the course of 4 or 5 music lessons, as components of a larger general music lesson.

Resources Needed:

Map of Japan
photos of traditional Japanese instruments
postcards with photos of Japanese landmarks, including cherry blossoms
story of Orihime and Kengyuu (available on many web-sites focusing on Tanabata)
chart with Romanized spelling of text of Tanabata-sama, decorated with illustrations to help students to recall the meaning of the text
Japanese paper (one sheet per student)
ribbon
bamboo plants or trees that students can hang wishes
notation for “Tanabata-sama”
traditional koto notation for “Sakura” copied onto an overhead
overhead projector

Day 1

1. Teacher plays the melody of “Tanabata” on the recorder as students enter the classroom.

2. Teacher explains to students that the song is from Japan, and asks what they know about Japan.

3. Students brainstorm things they know about Japan, and then think of questions they have about Japan.

4. Teacher lists these questions on the board.

5. Teacher shows a map of Japan and pictures of traditional Japanese instruments.

6. Teacher shares the story of the legend of Orihime and Kengyuu, and then explains that as with many stories, there is a song that also tells the story, then sings “Tanabata-sama”.

Day 2

• Students recall their questions about Japan from previous lesson, and teacher has researched answers to the questions and written each on the back of a postcard with picture of Japan on the front. Teacher reads answers to student questions and then passes the cards around the class as she plays the melody of “Tanabata” on the recorder.

• Teacher begins teaching the song to the students by teaching first the pronunciation of the text (in rhythm) and by using a chart with romanized spelling of the Japanese text, decorated with illustrations to help students recall the meaning (ex. Stars, gold, silver, bamboo leaves). Then teacher sings each phrase for students to echo.

After the students have practiced this song on several different lessons, and can sing it independently from the teacher, proceed to Day 3 Activities.

Day 3

Students recall the story of the star crossed lovers and jointly re-tell the story, then sing the song.
Teacher explains that Tanabata may be translated as “weaving with the loom (bata) placed on the shelf (tana),” and is a festival celebrating the improvement of technical skill and ability.
Teacher explains the tradition of, on the night of Tanabata, children making wishes relating to the improvement of technical skill and ability, writing them down, and tying them to bamboo trees.
Teacher asks students to think of any traditions from the United States that might be similar (wishing on a star, Christmas letters to Santa Claus, etc.).
Some students share their wishes with the class, and the class provides feedback on whether or not it sounds like it meets the criteria of relating to improvement of technical skill and ability
Each student writes his or her own wish on a piece of paper.
Students tie the wish papers to bamboo plants or other trees at the school.

Day 4

Teacher shows pictures of cherry trees in bloom and then explains that the text of the music they are about to hear is about these beautiful trees.
Teacher pictures of a koto and a shakuhachi , and asks students to think about which of those two instruments might be playing in the recording.
Teacher plays a koto recording of Sakura, and students identify that it sounded like a stringed instrument. Teacher names both instruments, and then pronounces both words for students to copy.
Students then say the name of the instrument the teacher is holding up to ensure that they can accurately identify the koto.
Teacher shows students a copy of the koto notation for Sakura, and explains that each box represents one beat, and asks the students to keep the beat as they listen to the song again and follow along with the notation as the teacher points to it.
Teacher asks students what they noticed about the notation, and ss will articulate that it is read vertically, starting from the right, and explain how that is similar or different to the way Western notation is written.
Teacher asks students to listen again, this time trying to discover the meaning of the symbol of a circle with a dot in the middle.
Students listen again, this time following along as one student points to the beats.
Students answer that the symbol indicates a rest.
If desired, students may learn to sing the song Sakura.

Day 5

As a culminating activity, students may wish to perform the music they have learned for parents or students in another grade level.

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