Overall Concept: Communicating Justice and Equality based on chapter 2 of Music and Social Justice: A Guide for Elementary Educators by Cathy Benedict
Unit: Lullabies
Introduce this topic by writing the word lullaby on the board. Ask students what is a lullaby? There will be answers such as “a song”, but keep writing down the students' answers on the board and make a thinking map by connecting everyone’s answers. Challenge the students by asking them questions like “what is a song?”, “Why do we sing a lullaby?”, “how do we sing a lullaby?”. These questions will help challenge students to think critically and engage in classroom discussions with each other. When you ask a question like “what is a song?”, give students 2 minutes to discuss with a partner. It is important to teach students that they are responsible for making sure everyone has a partner and that time limits are non-negotiable. Setting these time limits will help students stay more focused and help them think more even if it is just one word that comes to mind. When teaching lullabies, I will use “Arrorro mi niño” to help introduce a lullaby sung in a different language and then introduce the lullaby with the English translations to help students understand what is being said. Then I will use “La Lancha” to help bring up the idea of culture and what it means to sing a lullaby in Colombia. Finally, I will use “Pin Pon es un muñeco” to help students learn how there is more than one way to sing a lullaby and connect this idea to how lullabies are a form of communication. Each lullaby helps communicate an action for someone to do, whether it be to go to sleep or to brush your teeth. Students learning lullabies in Spanish will help them learn more about Spanish culture and how we communicate the same way in different languages.
Lesson 1 (Class 1): “Arrorro mi niño”
Texts
“Arrorró mi niño - Mexican Children's Songs - Mexico.” n.d. Mama Lisa's. https://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=3362.
Videos
“ARRORRÓ MI NIÑO (Para dormir) Canciones Infantiles HD.” 2016. YouTube. https://youtu.be/08MGTBoiOdM. * Only first phrase and then repeat
“Spanish Lullaby for Kids -- Arroro Mi Niño -- All Around This World.” 2017. YouTube. https://youtu.be/hp-7lRpeJyQ. * START at 1:45min
When I teach this lesson I will start by singing the song one time through and then get students to repeat me after each line by using gestures to indicate when it is my turn to sing and then it is their turn to sing. If students struggle with some words I will repeat the verse until the majority can repeat it back. Next, I will use the first video to demonstrate how this song is usually sung. This video will help me ask questions such as “Who is this song being sung to?” or ask “Why is this song being sung?”. When I ask these questions I will give 2 minutes for students to talk amongst themselves. This will help introduce the practice that students are responsible for making sure everyone has a partner and I will make them repeat that. This time for students to discuss what they think the song means will help bring up points that I may not think of and allow for more conversation in the class. After about 5 minutes, I will refocus the class to the lullaby by humming the starting pitch until everyone humms the same note back. This time I will use the exercise of rocking a baby while singing the song and I will put up the lyrics on the board on a PowerPoint behind me. The time that we are humming will allow me to get the lyrics put up on the board because this should have been set up before class. This exercise will make the class do this all together and avoid students being shy allowing everyone to participate. This will help students connect the idea of this lullaby being sung to a baby and will allow you to ask questions like “Who is this song being sung to?” again.
Then I will use the second video to help explain the translation in English and what each lyric means. This will help answer these questions and show one example of how lullabies are used. Using the English translations, I can ask students to talk amongst themselves and question why we sang this song while pretending to rock a baby and how we should sing this song. If I sing this song loud will it be as effective? Remember to remind students that they are responsible for making sure everyone has a partner.
Finally, I will use this lullaby as an exercise to sing in canons but I will not introduce the term to avoid confusion for younger students. I will split the class into 2 groups and sing it through twice and switch the parts so each group can experience each part.
Lesson 2 (Class 2): “La Lancha”
Resources
When introducing this lesson, I will start by having the students view the video made by my colleague Rebecca Calderon. I will teach the students this song by using the same method and then ask students to teach this song to themselves. I will give the students 5 minutes to learn to teach this lullaby to themselves which reinforces the practice that every student is responsible for making sure everyone has a partner and that time limits are not negotiable and will help them learn. Calderon mentions that this lullaby is originally a duet in Colombia so this will allow students to present to the class with their partners. Before they present with their partners, give students the chance to all practice presenting to the class at the same time to help ease any nerves students may have about presenting.
Next, use the translations to help ask questions like “Why is this a duet?” or “How should this song be sung?”. This helps make the connection to the first lullaby “Arrorro mi niño” and shows how they are different, but have the same purpose. This does not have to be sung quietly but it is still sung to someone. Let students discuss amongst themselves and write down any points they bring upon the board.
Finally, I will transition by clapping an ostinato pattern until all students can repeat me. The use of this exercise is to help students compose their own rhythmic patterns to this lullaby and sing along to it. Use claves if accessible, but clapping will work too! Students will repeat after you first, but then introduce new patterns that students can use and let them make new patterns at the same time as their classmates. To end this lesson, you can split the class into 2 groups and have them sing the lullaby as a duet with their new rhythmic patterns.
Lesson 3 (Class 3): “Pin Pon es un muñeco”
Videos
“Pin Pon es un Muñeco, Canciones Infantiles.” 2014. YouTube. https://youtu.be/vHc8ZYMGn7c.
During this final lesson on lullabies, I will introduce “Pin Pon es un muñeco” by showing the video listed above. This will help introduce the character Pin Pon who used to be on a Television show in Chile. Then I can explain the translations and ask students “what is Pin Pon doing?”. This will get students to say things like “brushing his hair” or “brushing his teeth. I will follow this by asking students “why is he doing that?”. Let students discuss among themselves and then ask them to think of other actions that Pin Pon can do such as drinking water. Give students 2 minutes to make new scenarios for Pin Pon.
Next, I would introduce this song as a game. Each verse will make students use a new action when singing this song and help them to better understand what they are singing. Use the example from your website that has 7 different phrases. Create new ones with the class.
Conclusion
The point of this unit is to help students learn about how singing lullabies is a form of communication and that it is something that is universal. The reason for asking questions such as “Why is this song being sung” or “Who is this song for?” helps demonstrate how we can use lullabies as a form of communication for younger people. Students may associate lullabies with babies, but when they sing “Pin Pon es un muñeco” as a game, they will change their minds. It is important to note that we cannot assume that everyone has had exposure to lullabies before this which is why the videos help show the culture and meaning behind each lullaby. Also, make sure to research for each lullaby to be able to teach the song properly and avoid any cultural appropriation problems. Overall, this unit helps expose students to the idea of culture and how to communicate in new ways while also learning about inclusion by making sure everyone has a partner when it's time to discuss and that some tasks have time limits which help them focus more on learning the activity. Hopefully, this unit will help students want to share what lullabies they learn at home and try to teach the class so we can learn more about each other and continue working as critical thinkers when introduced to new lullabies and what their purpose is.