Submitted by Kristin Lukow, Nebraska
Idea posted March 17, 2003
I just got done with a wonderful unit on the Blues with my 5th and 6th graders. Here are the things I did. I researched the Blues at our local public library for weeks before we started. I got loads of CDs, albums, books, and pictures.
Day 1: They walked in hearing "Hound Dog" sung by Elvis. That excited them! I gave a brief history of the blues and then they listened to Eric Clapton sing "Hound Dog." His version is closer to the original. Finally, we listened to "Big Mama" Willie Mae Thorton sing "Hound Dog." We heard how one song started and evolved over the years. So much of Elvis' music and music of early rock and roll was taken straight from the Blues. We performed the "Music Room Blues" (from the Network Section ofMusic K-8, Vol. 12, No. 3). We improvised and laughed as we sang.
Day 2: They walked in hearing "The Thrill Is Gone" by B.B. King. We looked at pictures of him and learned about his life. They know him from a commercial on TV. We played "Blue EGGs Over Easy" (from Music K-8, Vol. 5, No. 4) on our recorders and listened to a few other Blues songs. I told them that we would write our own Blues songs.
Day 3: They walked in hearing "Boom, Boom...," the version you hear on the Ford truck commercial. They thought this was very cool. We played "CAGE Full O' Blues" (from Music K-8, Vol. 6, No. 3) on our recorders and listened to more Blues.
Day 4: More listening... we started our classroom Blues songs. These are the titles they came up with: "The Vegetable Blues," "I Hate My Homework," "The Broken Down Bus Blues," and "I Got Soap In My Eye." You should hear them! They are great! We collaborated together and really had a blast singing these.
Day 5: We reviewed all the Blues pieces and songs and discussed.
Day 6: I gave them a blank piece of paper and told them to write everything they knew about the Blues while we listened to selections I played. It was great. I got to incorporate writing into my classroom and they got to listen to more music. Those who did poorly on their writing in the classroom, got to take their papers home and work on them and hand them in later.