Rodeo: Choreographed Listening Map Using Movement

• Carly Schieffer
• Posted 9/12/20
• 0 comments

This piece was very loosely based on a creative movement lesson plan I googled back in 2013; the finished product I created is 90% my own (I don’t have a lot of original works, but this is one of them!). The lesson plan is created from what I demonstrated, but the game of “Here, here, there, there” is from Dr. John Feierabend’s  First Steps in Music  curriculum. 

• Song: Rodeo from Hoedown 
• Composer: Aaron Copland 
• Country: United States 
• Year: 1942 
• Suggested Grades: K-2 
• Concept: steady beat (rhythmic) and active listening map

Teaching process: 

1. Give students many opportunities to maintain a steady beat while listening to quality music (quarter note = 120-145). Some ideas are:
   1. Test
   2. Pat body parts 
   3. Tap the floor 
   4. Clap hands with a partner 
   5. Pass a bean bag or bouncy ball back and forth with a partner Stand up and march the steady beat in place–then try moving around the room! 
   6. Bend knees 

2. Play the “Here, here, there, there” game: students pick one body part to tap the steady beat and practice for 4+ measures. Next, students choose a different body part to maintain the steady beat and practice for 4+ measures. Finally, students combine movements: “here, here” is the first body part followed immediately by “there, there” using the second body part. 

3. Set up the story: consider reading “Cowboy Joe” from First Steps in Music to practice vocal exploration. Then students “jump on their saddle” and join in the movement! 

4. Push play. Teacher models the steady beat by bouncing on the saddle. 

5. Class imitates.
   1. Every time the orchestra has a sforzando, clap. The rest of the motif, pat the beat on your lap. 
   2. Lasso cattle and demonstrate loud vs. soft 
   3. In the B section, play the “Here, here, there, there” game 
   4. Fall off the horse, but get back on! 
   5. Maintain steady beat 
   6. Pause while looking at a beautiful sunset 
   7. Continue at the beginning until the end 

Extension:

Rodeo makes an excellent performance piece – demonstrating students’ ability to maintain a steady beat independently! 

Assessment: 

Formal Summative (teacher observation) Class Demonstrates maintaining a steady beat while playing the “Here, here, there, there” game 

Noteworthy Contributor

Carly Schieffer

Carly currently serves as adjunct faculty at Mount Mercy University where she teaches undergraduate music education methods courses to both majors and non-majors and supervises student teachers, serves as the conference chair for the Iowa Music Educators professional development…

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