Springtime with Antonio Vivaldi

Karen Hay, 2nd grade

Standards:
MU:Cr1.1.2a: Improvise melodic patterns and musical ideas for a specific
purpose.
RL.2.4: Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration,
rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or
song.

Objective:
After examining Antonio Vivaldi's concerto Spring and identifying how
music can represent the sounds of seasons, animals, and weather, students
will work in groups to perform designated parts of Vivaldi's concerto Spring
to the rhythm using movement and stick puppets.
After reading and discussion of the modified sonnet of Antonio Vivaldi's
concerto Spring, students will read aloud the modified sonnet with rhythm
and movement and verbally tell how words with rhythm give meaning to a
story poem, or song.

Materials:
Spring' from 'The Four Seasons-Violin Concerto in E Major, by Antonio
Vivaldi
Source: http://rhapsody.com
Puppets on sticks, birds/flowers, water/streams, thunderstorms
Crayons, popsicle sticks, tape
Copies of the sonnet Spring, by Antonio Vivaldi

Background for teachers: This is a 2 day lesson for 2nd graders. This
lesson is to show how music can represent seasons, animals, and weather using
instruments only and without lyrics.

Steps in the lesson:
DAY 1:


Introduction/Building Background Knowledge:
Discuss with students how music can represent different sounds of different
things, like the seasons, animals, and weather. Ask: How do you think
music can do this? How would rhythm or tempo might change or the sounds
change to represent these thing? Review the definitions for rhythm, tempo,
and tone.


Rhythm: a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound.
Tempo: the speed at which a passage of music is or should be played.
Tone: a musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and
strength.

Body:

1. Ask students what season it is now. What are the four seasons? Write these
on the board, Ask you listen to this music, decide which season you think it is
describing. Ask students to play the steady beat along with you as the Leader,
gently and lightly in their laps, using spider fingers (the tips of their fingers), to
the tempo of the music. Do what I do. Play part of the recording (0:001:15) and
pat both hands to the macro-beat, beginning in your lap and then changing where
both hands will pat to other places on the body such as shoulders; ears; nose; head;
etc. Change body taps to fit the form of the music; change when a new
section or phrase begins.

2. Which season do you think it is? (share responses) Why do you think that?
(share responses)

3. Share that the music is about Spring. What kinds of things do you think of
when you think of spring?

4. Listen to the music again, from 0:000:31, then pause the recording. As you
listen to the next part, tell me what you think the music sounds like. Play
recording beginning at 0:32; share responses. Tell the students that the composer
wanted it to sound like birds singing.

5. Does anyone have an idea of how we could show these things by moving to
the music? (Share responses.) Now lets stand to act it out with our whole
bodies, but still showing the steady beat.

6. Help the class come up with ideas for what to do to show spring is here a
movement everyone will use during the A Section. (Ideas: looking at flowers,
planting flowers, or picking flowers to the beat) Next, help them come up with
something that shows birds singing (silently) for the B Section. Doing the same
for Sections C, D, and E.





Section A: Springtime is upon 0:00-0:31

Section B: The Birds celebrate Spring's return 0:32-1:14

Section C: Murmuring streams are softly caressed by the breezes 1:15-1:46

Section D: Thunderstorms roar, then die away to silence 1:47-2:23

Section E: The birds sing their springtime songs again 2:23-3:26
(Whole Class does this section)

7. Encourage the class to use different levels of motion (high, middle, crouched
low to ground). Observe student movement responses and utilize the Assessment
below as you play the recording again, pausing midway to switch roles. Have
student use the stick puppets created previously to coincide with their motions.

8. Divides the classroom into the 4 sections, Sections A-D are individual, then
Section E is the entire class. Decide on the one motion for each section to be
done. Models motion chosen for the sections. Practice the motion. Models
motion chosen with music. Practice motions with music for each section.

DAY 2

Warm-up the students with practicing the previous days movements with Vivaldi's
Spring to refresh their memory.

1. Give students the modified copy of the sonnet of Spring. Read it to them. Have
the students practice reading it by echoing each line.

Section A: Springtime is upon us.

Section B: The birds celebrate Spring's return with festive song

Section C: Murmuring streams are softly caressed by the breezes.

Section D: Thunderstorms roar, then die away to silence.

Section E: The birds sing their charming Springtime songs again.

2. Discuss and clarify the vocabulary in the modified sonnet .

3. Have students practice their designated parts of motions to the modified sonnet
as the students read it aloud.


Closure:
1. Create a rubric with the class.
2. Have students practice without the music and also with the music.
3. Students perform to the music while it is being recorded.
4. Play back the recording for students to see what they looked like, and if they
feel that their motions coordinated with the music. Ask the students if they would
change anything, and if so, what?

Assessment (linked directly to objectives):
Create a rubric with class. What elements demonstrate rhythm? Use this
rubric for self, peer, and/or teacher assessment.
Students will verbally tell how words with rhythm give meaning to a story
poem, or song.

Adaptations/Extensions (include at least one strategy for
differentiation):
For students that may not be able to participate using the stick puppets, they
can use body percussion to keep to the rhythm simply by tapping or even
blinking their eyes.
These students may also write, speak, or word process how the rhythm and
music is able to represent the seasons, animals, or weather.

Rationale: Why is it important that students learn my lesson?
What will they gain from my content?
It is important for the students to learn about Antonio Vivaldi's concerto #1
Spring, from The Four Seasons through the texture of each concerto is varied to
each resemble the particular season. Vivaldi composed over 500 pieces, but The
Four Seasons was by far the most popular, to include particularly, Spring, concerto
#1. This particular piece shows how music can create the feel and interpretation for
the season Spring, the animals, and different weather without any lyrics and using
rhythm.

Next Steps/ Connections to Other Subjects: What lesson will
come next? How will you build on this learning?
Based on Spring, and the modified translation, the three remaining seasons
could be analyzed and the students could create poems, along with motions.
Read The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle; use creative movement and percussion
instruments for students to enact the story.
Science and the study of the Seasons, weather, photosynthesis.


























The Four Seasons, Spring, concerto #1, by Antonio Vivaldi

Section A: Springtime is upon us.

Section B: The birds celebrate Spring's return with festive song

Section C: Murmuring streams are softly caressed by the breezes.

Section D: Thunderstorms roar, then die away to silence.

Section E: The birds sing their charming Springtime songs again.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------



The Four Seasons, Spring, concerto #1, by Antonio Vivaldi

Section A: Springtime is upon us.

Section B: The birds celebrate Spring's return with festive song

Section C: Murmuring streams are softly caressed by the breezes.

Section D: Thunderstorms roar, then die away to silence.

Section E: The birds sing their charming Springtime songs again.








Teachers Copy:

The Four Seasons, Spring, concerto #1, by Antonio Vivaldi


Section A: Springtime is upon is 0:00-0:31

Section B: The birds celebrate Spring's return with festive song 0:32-1:14

Section C: Murmuring streams are softly caressed by the breezes. 1:15-1:46

Section D: Thunderstorms roar, then die away to silence. 1:47-2:23

Section E: The birds sing their charming Springtime songs again. 2:24-3:26