Lesson 1: Learning “O’ro the Rattlin’ Bog”

Aim: How can we explore fast and slow tempos in “O’ro the Rattlin’ Bog?”

Summary: Students learn to sing and move along to “O’ro the Rattlin’ Bog” while building

vocabulary to describe musical opposites.

Materials: Musical Explorers CD or online audio, markers or crayons

Standards: GA: ESGMK-2.CR.1; ESGMK-2.PR.1; ESGMK-2.PR.2; ESGMK-2.RE.1; ESGMK-2.RE.2; ESGMK-2.RE.3; ESGMK-2.CN.1; ESGMK-2.CN.2
SC: MGK-2.1, MGK-2.2, MGK-2.3, MGK-2.5, MGK-2.6

Vocabulary: adagio, allegro, bodhrán, tempo

 

Sing “O’ro the Rattlin’ Bog”

  • Listen to “O’ro the Rattlin’ Bog,” Track 22.
  • Invite students to share what they hear in the music (e.g., a man is singing, there is a drum, the music is fast and exciting, he sings about trees and animals).
  • Invite students to sing along with “O’ro the Rattlin’ Bog.”

Explore Musical Opposites in “O’ro the Rattlin’ Bog”

  • Listen to a portion of the song once more.
    • Tempo is how fast or slow a song is.
  • Two musical words for different tempos are adagio (uh-DAH-joh), which means slow, and  allegro (uh-LEG-roh), which means fast. Ask students to listen for when the song is adagio or allegro.
  • While they listen, ask students to tap along with the steady beat to feel when the piece is fast or slow.

Sing and Move to “O’ro the Rattlin’ Bog”

  • Students examine pictures of things found in a bog on SG37.
    • “O’ro the Rattlin’ Bog” is an Irish song about a bog, a wet swampy place where lots of plants and animals live, kind of like a marsh. Each time we sing through the song, we add on another thing that is found in the bog.
  • With students, create a simple motion or movement that represents each item in the song. Go through the sequence of items once with just motions. Next, sing the song while performing the motions at the same time.

Creative Extension: Learn About the Bodhrán

  • A bodhrán is an Irish frame drum. Listen again to “O’ro the Rattlin’ Bog,” Track 22, which features the bodhrán. Refer to SG38 for students to learn about the bodhrán.
  • Discuss what students notice about the sound of the bodhrán (e.g., it’s very rhythmic, it helps to keep the beat in the music, it sounds high, it sounds low).
  • Look at the picture of Harry with a bodhrán on SG38.
    • What do you notice about the drum?
  • Students can decorate their own bodhrán with Celtic symbols on SG38.

Musical Word Wall

Add the words adagio, allegro, bodhrán, and tempo to the Musical Word Wall.

 


PDF Downloads

SG37 ↓ Download File

SG38 ↓ Download File

 


Musical Explorers Audio Tracks

 

Go to Lesson 2: Exploring “I’ll Tell Me Ma”