Transcript Carnival of the Animas: “Fossils” Lessons PPT

Teacher’s Notes
El Sistema upholds PASSION first/REFINEMENT second. This
PowerPoint has some activities for just doing that. Children must love
music first even though they don’t understand all the details of it! Once
the passion and desire is there, we begin to refine.
This PPT contains the following:
• An expression activity
• A rhythm activity
• A process of refinement through ensemble work
• An encouragement for YOU as the teacher to show the local
community what these awesome kids have learned!
NOTE: It is all a process! Even the product of a performance is part of
the process! Remember that kids LOVE the process! The words may
not all be here for you to say but YOU ARE AN EDUCATOR, BE
CREATIVE! Most importantly, ENJOY YOURSELF and smile!
What is a fossil?
“Fossils”
At midnight in the museum hall,
The fossils gathered for a ball,
There were no drums or saxophones,
But just the clatter of their bones,
Rolling, rattling carefree circus,
Of mammoth polkas and mazurkas,
Pterodactyls and brontosauruses
Sang ghostly prehistoric choruses,
Amid the mastodonic wassail
I caught the eye of one small fossil,
“Cheer up sad world,” he said and winked,
“It’s kind of fun to be extinct.”
-Ogden Nash
What would fossils look
like dancing?
Teacher’s Notes
Refinement is a long process. Don’t make it boring! On the next slides
there are bits of a reduced score of the “Fossils”. Use them how you can.
If your students are agile instrument players, you may go ahead and give it
a shot with them, however, for younger students just beginning, you need
to be a little bit more hands-on.
An idea:
Divide the piece in your own way and create your own version
of the song. For example, if you have 12 kids, divide them in to 4 groups.
Group 1 plays the first run of eighths and a quarter note. Group 2 plays
the second run. Group 3 plays the third run. Group 4 plays the last
segment to finish and the whole class repeats. FUN! It doesn’t have to
exactly like the piece! Consider this the class “Fossils”-inspired work of
art! Go ahead and add a B section in which everyone plays the “Twinkle,
Twinkle” theme and then repeat the A section again!
Group 1?
Group 2?
Group 3?
Group 4?
Teacher’s Notes
After lots of hard work and tons of fun,
the next step is performance! Schedule a
small concert for the students’ parents
and teachers! Part of El Sistema is getting
students to perform often so that
performance is never a high-stress
moment but rather a way of sharing!