Welcome to Musical Explorers! Musical Explorers is designed to connect students in grades K–2 to the musical community of the Georgia and South Carolina Lowcountry as they build fundamental music skills through listening, singing, and moving to songs from a wide variety of musical styles. In the coming year, you and your students will meet…
Becoming Musical Explorers →
In this introductory unit, you will find activities and warm-ups you can use throughout the semester. Start by introducing Melody on SG1 and the musical genres we will explore this semester on SG2. Where are we on this map? As we explore this region, what kinds of music do you think we might find? On…
Start each lesson with warm-up activities in order to establish a routine that fosters healthy vocal technique, kinesthetic learning, and active listening. The following warm-ups are designed to work as a sequence but can also be used as stand-alone activities, depending on time, objective, and teacher preference. Finding Your Breath Smooth and Bouncy Breath: Breathing…
Melody will take us on a journey to Darien, Georgia to meet our first artist, Brenton. Use SG8, SG9, and SG10 to meet Brenton and prepare students to learn about ring shout. Genre Overview The ring shout is one of the oldest known West African performance traditions surviving on the North American continent. Performed for…
Aim: Students will be introduced to ring shout by learning “Kneebone Bend.”Summary: Students will explore rhythm, call & response and oral tradition by exploring some of the musical layers in “Kneebone Bend.” Materials: Music Explorers online audioStandards: GA: ESGMK.CR.1, ESGMK.CR.2, ESGMK.CR.3, ESGMK.PR.1, ESGMK.PR.2, ESGMK.PR.3, ESGMK.RE.1, ESGMKSC: MGK-2.1, MGK-2.3, MGK-2.4, MGK-2.5, MGK-2.6Vocabulary: ancestor, baser, call and response, Gullah…
Aim: Students will learn the importance of the songster by listening and understanding the vocal choices made by the songster in “Move Daniel.”Summary: Students will explore the lyrics and the role of the songster in “Move Daniel” by listening, analyzing vocal choices and following the lyrics for shout directions.Materials: Music Explorers online audio, found materialsStandards:…
Melody will take us on a journey from Darien, Georgia to Brooklyn, New York to meet our next singer, Martha. Use SG17, SG18, and SG19 to meet Martha and prepare your students to learn about Southeastern Woodlands Native American Music. Genre Overview Martha Redbone’s Native American roots lie in the Southeastern region of the US,…
Aim: What elements make up Native American social dances?Summary: Students will learn three Southeastern social dances, and will perform the different roles for each dance.Materials: Music Explorers online audio, an empty water bottle or other container, beans or beads, two sticks, tape, paper, paint, markers, beads, feathersStandards: GA: Coming Soon!SC: Coming Soon!Vocabulary: powwows, rattles, social…
Aim: How can you use different musical elements to help tell a story in a song?Summary: Students will learn to sing the original song “40 Wheels”; explore the musical elements in the song; and learn how musical elements can help tell a story in a song.Materials: Music Explorers online audioStandards: GA: Coming Soon!SC: Coming Soon!Vocabulary:…
Student Guide Pages Introduction: PDF Downloads SG1 – Welcome to Our Musical Trip! ↓ Download FileSG2 – Musical Explorers Map ↓ Download FileSG3 – Explore the Sounds of Our City ↓ Download FileSG4 – Discover Music in Everyday Objects ↓ Download FileSG5 – Create a Postcard ↓ Download FileSG6 – Musical Explorers Song ↓ Download FileSG7 – Musical Explorers Song Sheet Music ↓…
Spring 2022 Audio Tracks
ancestor: a relative who lived in the very distant past basers: in the ring shout, the group who sings a response to the songster call and response: a common way to learn music in which one person sings part of the song (call), and another person repeats it (response) Gullah Geechee: direct descendants of Africans…
Georgia Standards of Excellence in General Music – Elementary Creating ESGMK-2.CR.1: Improvise melodies, variations, and accompaniments.ESGMK-2.CR.2: Compose and arrange music within specified guidelines.ESGMK-2.CR.3: Share creative work. Performing ESGMK-2.PR.1: Sing a varied repertoire of music, alone and with others.ESGMK-2.PR.2: Perform a varied repertoire of music on instruments, alone and with others.ESGMK-2.PR.3: Read and notate music. Responding…
Melody now takes us on a journey from Brooklyn, New York to Boston, Massachusetts to meet our next singer, Naledi. Genre Overview Kwela is a lively South African genre of protest and street music developed in the 1940’s and 50’s that evolved from a jazz style of South African called marabi. The word “kwela” means…
Aim: How can the lyrics and steady beat of a song inspire movement?Summary: Students will learn to sing the response in “Pata Pata”; explore the musical elements of kwela; and move to the steady beat.Materials: Music Explorers online audio, plastic strawsStandards: GA: ESGMK-2.PR.1, ESGMK-2.PR.3, ESGMK-2.RE.1, ESGMK-2.RE2, ESGMK-2.RE.3, ESGMK-2.CN.1, ESGMK-2.CN.2SC: GM.P NL-AH.3, GM.R NL-AH.6, GM.R NL-AH.7,…
