Literature in the Music Classroom #2,

*This series of posts is authored by Orff Master Teacher, Linda Ahlstedt.  See the foot of each post for her bio and contact information.

Children love stories, they love to be entertained and they like to use their imaginations. Using children’s literature and storytelling in the music classroom is a fantastic way to encourage improvisation, theatric expression, a sense of rhythm and rhyme, while having some good old fashioned fun. Many of the books that are conducive to the music classroom are stories with which the children are familiar, and acting them out brings them newly to life. The incredible twists you can add in music class are just icing on the cake.

For a list of literature for the PreSchool-Grade 2 Classroom, see the post dated May 16, 2011.  

Grades 3-6

Possum Come a Knockin’ by Nancy Van Leer (add instruments for characters and act out)

Fortunately/Unfortunately  by Remy Charlip (great story to teach Do based pentatonic “Fortunately” and La based pentatonic “Unfortunately”)

Crocodile Beat by Gail Jorgensen (rhyming book-act out and layer in unpitched percussion ostinati for various animals)

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema (cumulative book for creating music and improvisation)

Traveling to Tondo by Verna Aardema (use of instruments to imitate animals’ movements)

The Flute Player by Michael Lacapa (use of recorders with a simple improvised

 B A G E melody

Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock by Eric Kimmel (use of instruments for sound effects)

Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott (use instruments to represent characters-add In the Jungle and Funga Alafia-attached in notes)

Jabuti the Tortoise by Gerald McDermott (use recorder music for Jabuti’s Song and instruments to represent characters from the Amazon rainforest)

Papagayo by Gerald McDermott (create a song for Papagayo, the Moon Dog and the Night Creatures-act out this trickster tale of the Amazon)

Sun Flight by Gerald McDermott (use Greek music and dance to act out the story of Daedalus and Icarus)

Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott (use Native American music to tell this Pueblo Indian tale-see attached notes)

The Stonecutter by Eric Carle (DeLelles/Kriske have composed a mini musical for this Japanese folk tale in grade 4 MacMillan)

Daniel O’Rourke by Gerald McDermott  ( an Irish tale)

Coyote by Gerald McDermott (a trickster tale from the American southwest)

See all Fiction Books reviews at Expotv

Zomo the Rabbit by Gerald McDermott (a trickster tale from West Africa)
See below how adults have taken this tale and turned it into a performance piece.  This is well within the Orff concept of performance.  Dance, singing (rapping), stage craft, and non-vocal music are used.  

Here is an upper elementary treatment of the tale in a classic Orff performance.

Musicians of the Sun by Gerald McDermott (an ancient Aztec tale)

Raven by Gerald McDermott (a trickster tale from the Pacific Northwest)

The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry (a tale of the Amazon rainforest)

Brother Eagle, Sister Sky by Chief Seattle, paintings by Susan Jeffers

Cloud Dance, Mountain Dance, Water Dance by Thomas Locker ( three beautifully illustrated nature books for music and movement)

The First Song Ever Sung by Laura Krauss Melmed (compose music for the various songs of brother, sister, man, grandfather etc-add movement)

Thirty Three Multi Cultural Tales to Tell by Pleasant DeSpain (a tapestry of world folklore and storytelling-students add the music and movement)

Demi’s Reflective Fables by Demi (Chinese fables-create music and movement)

Squids Will Be Squids by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith (quirky fables that relate to older children-add music and movement and act out)

Fables by Arnold Lobel (original fables-add music and movement)

Giving Thanks: a Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp (add music and movement)

Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf (use music from the opera Carmen by Bizet to act out)

Joyful Noise Poems for two Voices by Paul Fleischman (add drama, music, movement)

Haiku by Patrician Donegan (Learn to express yourself by writing poetry in the Japanese tradition-add music and movement)

Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back by Joseph Bruchac (A native American Year of Moons in poetry)

Harriet and the Promised Land by Jacob Lawrence (story of Harriet Tubman’s life in rhyme-add instruments)

Max Found Two Sticks by Brian Pinkney (all time favorite to introduce “STOMP” to students by layering in ostinati found in the book)

American Folklore, Legends and Tall Tales for Readers Theatre by Anthony D. Fredericks (add music and movement)

Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola (perform as Readers Theatre-see attached notes)

On Halloween Night by Ferida Wolff and Dolores Kozielski (create a melody and sing the book in dorian or Phrygian mode)

Demi’s Dragons and Fantastic Creatures by Demi (set the short poems to music from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and act out using Laban movement)

Rap A Tap Tap Here’s Bojangles-Think of That! By Leo & Diane Dillon (add some jazz and sing the repeating refrain-add movement-see attached notes)

Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp by Carol Diggory Shields (rhyming book-add music and dance)

Great books that correlate with songs:

Father Grumble by John Feierabend

Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter

There Once Was a Man Named Michael Finnegan by Mary Ann Hoberman

Mama Don’t Allow by Thatcher Hurd

Abiyoyo by Pete Seeger

5 Little Ducks by Raffi

Shake My Sillies Out by Raffi

Down by the Bay by Raffi

Baby Beluga by Raffi

Wheels on the Bus

Linda's Workshop on Literature in Music:

There is a wealth of quality children’s literature that will inspire and motivate children to improvise and create music, movement and drama.

This workshop will include the following literature:

Primary grades                                                       Intermediate Grades

Nursery Rhymes                                                     Hump di dumped nursery rhymes

Little Red Hen                                                          Rap a Tap Tap

The Mitten                                                               Arrow to the Son

Good Night Good Knight                                     Strega Nona (Reader’s Theatre)

Anansi the Spider                                                   The First Song Ever Sung            

The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything

Linda Ahlstedt loves teaching so much that she is still teaching while retired!  It's a joy for her and this pours from her like honey from a comb.  She has been honored by the Rochester Philharmonic and OAKE among other great organizations.  She teaches level courses during the summer months.  For her complete bio, click here.  She may be contacted by clicking here.