Unit 1: Folk Music with Kaia

Melody will take us on a journey to Toronto, Canada to meet our first singer, Kaia. Use SG7–9 to meet Kaia and prepare students to learn about folk music.

Genre Overview

American folk music is a genre that spans our country’s geography and draws on traditions that pre-date the nation’s founding. Broadly defined, folk music is the music of regular, everyday people, and is an integral part of daily life. Folk music functions as an accompaniment to specific activities associated with work, social gatherings, and religious celebrations and other rituals. These songs are easy to sing, are passed down through generations, and can often be traced back to origins in Africa, Europe, and indigenous communities. The folk revival of the 1960s brought many old folk songs to the fore as vehicles for social change, when artists such as Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Odetta Holmes, and Pete Seeger contributed to the popularization of the genre.

Learn more!

Readings:

Listening & Viewing:

Additional Teaching Resources:


PDF Downloads

SG7 ↓ Download File

SG8 ↓ Download File

SG9 ↓ Download File

 

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