SAMPLE LESSON

Mariposa | Butterfly

Children’s Game from Argentina   |   Shared by a Second Grader 2019-2020
Source of Information: Mother born in Argentina   |   Language: Spanish

*Mariposa means butterfly

GAME DIRECTIONS

  • Mari: cross arms over chest
  • Po: tap laps
  • Sa: point 2 forefingers upward above the head like the antennas of a butterfly

CONCEPT AND SKILLS

  • Rhythmic concepts:
  • Melodic concepts: do, mi, so, la
  • In tune singing
  • Speech and movement
  • Note-writing/reading
  • Improvisation of melodies and movements
  • Part work
  • Instrumental playing: unpitched percussion and barred instruments

INTEGRATION

  1. Values Integration
    • Appreciation of one’s cultural heritage through sharing songs, rhymes, and games from home and community traditions.
    • Respect for cultural diversity by listening to and valuing songs from different regions or cultures.
    • Cooperation and teamwork in performing, creating, and singing in canon or group ensembles.
    • Creativity and self-expression through movement and melodic improvisation..
    • Discipline and responsibility in group performance, maintaining rhythmic accuracy and ensemble coordination.
    • Joy and gratitude in making music together.
  2. Integration Across Other Subject Areas
    • Language Arts: Oral language, vocabulary, and comprehension
      • Say and understand the words of the song/game. Talk about what they mean.
    • Social Studies: Cultural awareness and identity
      • Learn where the song or game comes from and how people in that place live.
    • Physical Education: Movement and coordination
      • Students create and perform their own movements to go with the song/game.

MATERIALS

  • Recording or live demonstration of the song
  • Unpitched percussion instruments
  • Barred instruments (xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels)
  • Space for movement and group work

OBJECTIVES | Students will be able to:

  • Share a song, spoken rhyme, or game from their home culture.
  • Say the words with the original movements.
  • Create and perform their own movements.
  • Write the rhythms of the game.
  • Play the rhythm patterns on percussion instruments.
  • Improvise melodies to match the rhythms using the tone set do, mi, so, la.
  • Sing their improvised melodies in solfège with hand signs.
  • Sing their improvised melodies with words while playing a melodic ostinato on barred instruments.
  • Sing their improvised melodies in solfège in canon.
  • Sing their improvised melodies with words in canon.
  • Play their improvised melodies and ostinato on barred instruments.
  • Perform their improvised melodies and ostinato in canon.

PROCEDURE | These activities are intended to be implemented across different lesson segments on separate days. Teachers may determine how to divide and pace the activities based on students’ readiness and the available class time.

  • Students watch a recording of the game,
  • Discuss the meaning of the word, Mariposa, focusing on how the words connect with the actions.
  • Students say the words while performing the original movements that accompany the game.
  • Partner or group work: Group students to create and perform their own movements.
  • Encourage group sharing and comparison of different interpretations.
  • Class transcribes the words of the game into rhythmic notation.
  • Students say the rhythm syllables while clapping or patting.
  • Transfer the rhythm to drums or other unpitched percussion instruments.
  • Review the tone set do, mi, so, la using solfège and hand signs.
  • The teacher sings four-beat melodic phrases using the rhythms and the tone set—do, mi, so, la—and students echo.
  • With the rhythm patterns written on the board, students—guided by the teacher—improvise melodies to match the rhythms using the tone set do, mi, so, la.
  • Teach a simple melodic ostinato pattern to accompany the song on barred instruments. Encourage students to improvise the ostinatos for bass, alto, and soprano xylophones or metallophones.
  • Students play the ostinatos on barred instruments while singing their improvised melodies with both words and solfège.
    Students discover how to play their improvised melodies on barred instruments with F = do.
  • Sing in solfège and/or words in canon.
  • Sing and play in canon with the melodic ostinato.
  • Divide the class into smaller groups; each group improvises its own movements and melodies using the tone set do, mi, so, la.
  • Groups perform for one another, sharing their creative interpretations.

Mariposa shared by a Second Grader 2019-2020

Source of Information: Mother born in Argentina
Language: Spanish

© 2023 Dr. Miriam B. Factora. All rights reserved.

Second graders performing their creative work | © 2023 Dr. Miriam B. Factora. All rights reserved.