Practice Lesson #5:

El Gato y el Raton – Part 1

Objectives:

1. Students will learn a song that is from a different culture and embrace the music with an
open-mind.

2. Students will identify that El Gato y el Raton is call and response based on the musical
contour of the piece through listening.

Standards:

Re.2.2 - Describe how specific music concepts are used to support a specific purpose in music.
Pr.3.2 – Demonstrate understanding of expressive qualities (such as musical form) and how
creators use them to convey expressive intent.

Materials:
- Video of Facts About Puerto Rico: https://youtu.be/iOGJpZxNaN4
- Video of Traditional Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6gdh8MVd0g
- Sheet Music for El Gato y el Raton from http://kodaly.hnu.edu/

El Gato y el Ratón
Source:
Monserrate Deliz.
Renadío del Cantar Folklórico
de Puerto Rico
San Juan, P.R.: Instituto de
Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1985
Andante q = 76
2
4
Ahí vie nen el ga to y_el ra tón, a dar le com ba te_al ti bu rón.

If the cat catches the mouse:

Ra tón, que te co jo, que te co gí, de trás de la ma ta de_a jon jo lí.

* If the cat doesn't catch the mouse:

Po bre ci to, mi ga ti to, ya no co me rá.

* Created by Arwen Lawrence with children of Melrose Leadership Academy (dual immersion school), Oakland, CA

Spanish Text English Translation

Ahí vienen el gato y el ratón, Here come the cat and the mouse
a darle combate a un tiburón. to give battle to the shark.

If the cat catches the mouse

Ratón que te cojo que te cogí, Mouse, I will catch you, and I caught you
detrás de la mata de ajonjolí. behind the sesame plant.

If the cat doesn't catch the mouse

Pobrecito, mi gatito, ya no comerá. Poor cat of mine, he shall not eat.

Game Instructions
The cat chases the mouse, entering and exiting the circle. The circle contracts and expands,
favoring the mouse, keeping the cat from catching the mouse.

Alternate game instructions:

Form a circle, holding hands, with the mouse inside the "house" and the cat outside.
At the end of the verse, the hands lift up, the mouse exits one "window," which remains open as the others are
lowered. The cat chases the mouse around the circle; the mouse must enter through the open "window."
Sequence:
WARM UP: The purpose of this warm-up is to get students familiar with call and response.
Overtime I want the students to make smooth transitions between the call and the response.
Throughout the unit they should become more confident with the warm-up and can even change
up the responses after a few classes.

Activity 1: Teacher will present different traditions from Puerto Rican culture to the students and
will teach students about how to embrace different cultures inside the music classroom.
1. Teacher will have students sitting in assigned seats and prepared to learn a new topic.
a. Teacher: How many of you have heard of Puerto Rico?
b. Teacher: Now what do we need to remember when we are learning about
different cultures?
c. Students: That we need to respect different cultures and that every song has a
purpose and means something to someone.
d. Teacher: Great!
2. Teacher will present students with a video of different facts about Puerto Rico.
a. https://youtu.be/iOGJpZxNaN4
b. Teacher: What are some things that you took away from this video?
3. Teacher will have students watch a video of a traditional Puerto Rican Dance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6gdh8MVd0g
a. Teacher: What are some things that you heard in this video?
b. Teacher: Was the music fast or was it slow?
c. Teacher: What kind of instruments did you hear?
4. Teacher will have students dance along to video to show how they interoperate the music.
a. Teacher: How did you feel dancing along to this music? Was it fun? There is lots
of energy used to perform music from Puerto Rico!
b. Teacher: What kind of moves did you feel reflected the music?
Activity 2: Teacher will present the song to the students.
1. Teacher will teach the song to students by rote.
2. Teacher: Repeat after me! We are going to slow down this song to help you pronounce
the words in a different language. (Because they are learning a song that is in a different
language I will have the words up on the board).
a. Teacher: Ahí viene el gato y el ratón
b. Students: Ahí viene el gato y el ratón
c. Teacher: a darle combate al tiburón.
d. Students: a darle combate al tiburón.
 e. Teacher: Ratón, que te cojo, que te cojí
f. Students: Ratón, que te cojo, que te cojí
g. Teacher: detrás de la mata de ajonjolí.
h. Teacher: detrás de la mata de ajonjolí.
3. Students will listen to the song and then sing along with the track to help them remember
the song.
Activity 3: Teacher will break down the song into phrases and have students figure out the form
of the piece by listening to the phrases.
1. Teacher will sing the song and have students raise their hand when they think the teacher
has reached the end of the phrase.
a. Teacher: “Ahi yiene el gato y el raton…”
b. Students should raise their hands at the end of raton.
c. Teacher: Great job! Now the next phrase!
d. Teacher: “… a darle combate al tiburon.”
e. Students should raise their hands at the end of tiburon.
2. Teacher will sing the two phrases together on a dah syllable and have the students listen
to the phrases together.
a. Teacher: Listen closely and tell me what you hear.
b. Students: The notes are the same except the last one!
c. Teacher: Good! So does that mean that the two phrases fit together?
d. Students: Yes!
e. Teacher: And what does that mean again when two phrases are identical to each
other and go together?
f. Students: It’s a call and response!
g. Teacher: Great job! Next class we will go more in depth in the song and even play
a game with it!
Assessment: Teacher will assess students through discussion to ensure that students understand
that the piece is call and response because of the musical lines and how they connect. The
teacher will also assess that students are being respectful of the culture by listening and
observing students as they learn more about the Puerto Rican traditions.

Song Analysis Table:

Tone Set Do (Major Scale)

Range P8 (Do-Do)
Rhythm Set

Form Question and Answer

A Song’s Pedagogical Use Table:

Melody Review: Ti
Rhythm Review: Sixteenth note rhythms
Other Background: Folk Song from Puerto Rico