De Colores (In Colors)

Grade Level: 4th - 6th

Music Sources:

Use one of the following sources:

Products to Purchase:

De Colores MP3 Download from Amazon.com

De Colores by Gaylord Smith Including a midi, words in Spanish and English, and sheet music.
De Colores @ Juegos y Canciones para los Niños Midi and lyrics.

Activity: Teaching a song

Anticipated Length of Time: 15 minutes

Classroom Topic: Global Awareness - Nature is Everywhere

Musical Objectives: At the end of this activity, the students will feel the strong beat by tapping.

Musical Concept: Repetition in music

Materials:

Lyrics to the song

recording of the music

Big Book of the song or it copied on Butcher Paper

Lesson Sequence:

Anticipatory Set: We are going to learn a song today called "De Colores." "De Colores" tells about the beauty that can be found in the simple things of life; like fields, birds and rainbows.

1. Read and discuss the following text by E-Yeh-Shure:

Beauty

Beauty is seen

In the sunlight,

The trees, the birds,

Corn growing and people working

Or dancing for their harvest.

Beauty is heard

In the night,

Wind sighing, rain falling,

Or a singer chanting

Anything in earnest.

Beauty is in yourself.

Good deeds, happy thoughts

That repeat themselves

In your dreams,

In your work,

And even in your rest.
 

2. Play the recording and have the students follow the words of the music from the big book of De Colores or copied on a large piece of butcher paper.

3. Have the students sing the song with the recording; as best as they can.

4. Have the students listen to the music and tap the strong beat.

5. Have the students sing and tap the strong beat of the song.

Closure: What kind of things did we sing about in this song? Yes, we sang about the meadows; What are meadow?, the woods, the forest, the birds and the rainbows! We also learned to tap a strong beat in the song "De Colores."