Each week we’ll explore famous folk songs from many eras by singing, using rhythm instruments, and learning some basic music theory. Most weeks there will be a short read-aloud from literature that ties in with the historical setting of the music.
Eras and categories of folk songs:
Ancients:
E.g. Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho
Middle Ages/Renaissance:
E.g. Scarborough Fair
Folk Songs Around the World:
E.g. Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree
American History/Patriotic:
E.g. Yankee Doodle
Westward Expansion Days:
E.g. Oh Susannah (gold rush)
American Civil Rights era:
E.g. If I Had A Hammer
Family and Faith:
E.g. Hush Little Baby, Amazing Grace
Holidays:
E.g. Jingle Bells, Over the River and Through the Wood
Sample literature titles:
Pied Piper of Hamelin (Browning)
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (Longfellow)
Follow the Drinking Gourd (J. Winter)
The Story of Ferdinand (Leaf)
Pecos Bill: A Tall Tale (Kellogg)
Hush! A Thai Lullaby (Ho/Meade)
Martin’s Big Words (Rappaport)
