Subject: Smithsonian Folkways tools for teaching
From:
Desert Dancer
Date: 12 Dec 12 - 12:30 PM
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings on Facebook has recently shared a couple of subject from their collection of lesson plans, which made me take a look at what else they have available.
Teachers at any level may be interested to know about these resources - remembering that the recording library includes both music and spoken word (and other audio). Here is their Tools for Teaching introduction page.
Tools for Teaching
Promoting Cultural Understanding Through Music
Smithsonian Folkways is committed to offering educational materials to complement the music on our site.
Tools for Teaching from Smithsonian Folkways provides ideas and resources for educators to inspire their use of Folkways music from around the world. Information about these sounds and the cultures that create them are a valuable resource to courses in history, geography, language arts, social studies, visual arts-and of course music and dance.
Curricular experience, activities, streaming videos, liner notes, music samples, and other features are available for free.
iTunes U
Find Smithsonian Folkways Tools for Teaching at iTunes U. Download free lesson plans, videos, activities, and other great educational resources - or subscribe to get automatic updates.
There is a very long list of lesson plans on the site. Here are a couple of descriptions, as an example (links are to pdf downloads):
5,000-year-old Echoes of Humanity: Baalbek, Lebannon
FLP10091
Students will compare and contrast two types (folk and art) music found in Lebanon, sing and play a simple song in Arabic, and dance the national dance called the Dabke.
CREATED BY Carolyn J. Fulton
COUNTRY(S) Lebanon
GRADE LEVELS 3-5; 6-8; 9-12
ACADEMIC SUBJECTS Geography; History; Music; Physical Education
NATIONAL STANDARDS 1; 2; 3; 6; 8; 9
An Introduction to Japanese Music: "Sakura Sakura"
FLP10086
This lesson is aimed at bringing students experiences to Japanese music, including attention to listening to music in a minor key, singing Japanese words, discussing Japanese cultural sensibilities, and using the body to respond to music that moves at a slow tempo.
CREATED BY Hiromi Takasu, University of Washington
COUNTRY(S) Japan
GRADE LEVELS K-2
ACADEMIC SUBJECTS Social Studies; History
NATIONAL STANDARDS 1; 6; 8; 9
There are three websites linked under the "Activities" section:
- The Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interviewing Guide
- Corridos sin Fronteras: A New World Ballad Tradition
- The Music in Poetry.
Various resources are given for celebrating these "Cultural Heritage" months:
- Hispanic Heritage Month — September 15 to October 15
- American Indian Heritage Month — November
- African American History Month — February
- Women's History Month — March
- Asian Pacific American Heritage Month — May
- Caribbean American Heritage Month — June
There are also these Folklife Education Kits from the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage:
- Land and Native American Cultures: The Power of Stories
- Our Bahamian Heritage
- Creativity and Resistance: Maroon Cultures in the Americas
Interactive Features
- Jazz Education Website
- Meet the Mariachi!
- Música del Pueblo
There's a page linking to the information on Workshops for teachers. These include the 40-hour, 3-credit "Smithsonian Folkways Certification Course in World Music Pedagogy", held last summer at the University of Washington and two years ago at Universidad Veracruzana (Xalapa, México).
And of course there's a page of "Additional Resources" links to other information on using music in the classroom, through the Smithsonian and outside organizations. The first link is the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
~ Becky in Tucson
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sj
