Nova Scotia Music Conference

Dr. Ruth MorrisonOct. 25, 2013

A Creative ActCome spend an hour where we will play with fusing children’s literature, music, theatre, improvisation and composition and your imagination to create a performance piece. The intent of this workshop is to inspire you so that you can transpose some of these ideas into your own professional practice. Bring a recorder with you.

Why are we here?• As teachers we concerned with motivation -- how to move

ourselves and our students to be engaged in learning. • Traditionally we have attempted to use external factors such as

reward systems, grades, evaluations, or the opinions that our students fear that others might have of them.

• Yet we see that some students are motivated from within, by interests, curiosity, care or abiding values.

• While these intrinsic motivations are not necessarily externally rewarded or supported, they can sustain passions, creativity, and sustained efforts.

• It is the interplay between the extrinsic forces acting on persons and the intrinsic motives and needs inherent in human nature is addressed in the work of Deci and Ryan (1995) in Self-Determination Theory.

Underlying Philosophy

Essentially, Self-determination theory proposes that children are motivated to learn when their three basic needs are met –

AutonomyCompetence

Belonging

Can that happen when we use integrated arts education in our classrooms?

Mortimer Written by Robert Munsch.Illustrated by Michael Martchenko.

One night Mortimer’s mother took him upstairs to go to bed –

thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, ThumpWhen they got upstairs, Mortimer’s mother opened the door to his room.

She threw him on the bed and said, “MORTIMER BE QUIET”.

Mortimer shook his head, “YES”.

She went back down the stairs.Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thumpAs soon as she got back downstairs, Mortimer started to sing –

“Clang, clang, rattle bing bangGonna make my noise all day.Clang, clang, rattle bing bangGonna make my noise all day”.

Mortimer’s father heard all the noise.He came up the stairs.

thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, Thump

He opened the door and yelled,

“MORTIMER BE QUIET”.

Mortimer shook his head, “YES”.

His father shut the door.He went back down the stairs.Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thumpAs soon as she got back downstairs, Mortimer started to sing –

“Clang, clang, rattle bing bangGonna make my noise all day.Clang, clang, rattle bing bangGonna make my noise all day.”

All of Mortimer’s seventeen brothers and sisters heard the noise and they all came up the stairs.

thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, Thump

They opened the door and yelled,

“MORTIMER BE QUIET”.

Mortimer shook his head, “YES”.

They shut the door.They went back down the stairs.Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thumpAs soon as they got back downstairs, Mortimer started to sing –

“Clang, clang, rattle bing bangGonna make my noise all day.Clang, clang, rattle bing bangGonna make my noise all day”.

They got so upset that they called the police. Two policemen went very slowly up the stairs. thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, Thump

They opened the door and said in very deep policemen like voices,

“MORTIMER BE QUIET”.

Mortimer shook his head, “YES”.

They shut the door.They went very slowly back down the stairs.Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thumpAs soon as they got back downstairs, Mortimer started to sing – “Clang, clang, rattle bing bangGonna make my noise all day.Clang, clang, rattle bing bangGonna make my noise all day”.

Well downstairs no one knew what to do. The mother got into a fight with the policemen.

The father got into a fight with the seventeen brothers and sisters.

Upstairs Mortimer got so tired waiting for someone to come up that he fell asleep.

Lesson Plans Robert Munsch Offical Websitehttp://robertmunsch.com/book/mortimer•Reading by Robert Munsch on youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1q7sJUkLck•Mortimer illustrated and sound effects by childrenhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDjhQYeMbG0•Mortimer as a video presentationhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvzUgW1Yv94

Musical Concepts

Musical Elements Where do they occur in the story?

Dynamics

Pitch

Tempo

Rhythm and Beat

Tone Colour

Musical Elements

Where do they occur in the story?

Dynamics Voices of the characters – Mother (mf); Father (ff); Mortimer (pp)Fight at the end of the book - fGoing up the stairs (crescendo;) Coming down (decrescendo);

Pitch Voices – Police voices (low); Mortimer and Mother (higher voices)Father and policemen (lower voices)Up and down stairs – ascending and descending melodic line

Tempo Walking upstairs (police men – slow); 17 brother and sisters (fast)

Rhythm and Beat

Clang Clang – write the rhythm and beat using a beat box

Tone Colour Opening and closing the doors; Different voices; fight;

Beat and Rhythm

Beat 1 Beat 2 Beat 3 Beat 4

Clang clang rattle bing bangGonna’ make my noise all dayClang clang rattle bing baing

Gonna’ make my noise all day

Beat and Rhythm

Beat 1 Beat 2 Beat 3 Beat 4

Clang clang Rat-tle bing Bang gon-na

Make my noise all day

Clang clang Rat-tle bing Bang gon-na

Make my noise all day

Literacy Activities – Character Sketch and Dialogue•Who are the characters?

•What dialogue might be in the book?What is the backstory? Example of Mother“I am so tired. I had to be up at 5:30 am to take Mortimer to hockey and I am exhausted. I wonder what he is doing anyway. Mortimer, I have told you three times to get ready for bed. Your have just been procrastinating for the past 45 minutes. Come here right now and I will take you upstairs to bed.”

Characters Descriptive Words

Mother Tired, exhausted, impatient,

Father Angry, working on business plan, shaky, helping the other 17 brush their teeth, do their homework, overwhelmed, tie is too tight

Policemen

Mortimer

Siblings

Musical Activities Composition for Clang Clang Using recorder and notes from F pentatonic write a melody for the chorus “Clang Clang” . Create rhythmic and melodic ostinati and an Orff accompaniment if time permits. (F, G, A, C, D)Sound effects Make a list of the sound effects in the story; for example “going up and coming down stairs”; opening and closing the door; Prelude Composition Using ukulele/guitar/piano – write a song that introduces the book. Use at least two chords that you have just learned.Soundscape 1 (fight)Create a soundscape to accompany the fight at the end of the book. Soundscape 2 (sleep) Create a sound scape to finish the book when Mortimer is asleep. How might these two soundscapes differ in mood? What kinds of decisions did you have to make when composing the soundscapes? If time permits, create a non-traditional scores.DramaBecome the character, write the backstory and improvise the dialogue in the retelling of the story.

Sounds

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Soundscape - Non traditional Score

Extending Ideas• Write the dialogue that was

created for the retelling.• Write a story that uses Mortimer

as a model!• Study a number of illustrators by

looking at different read aloud books. Create the illustrations using one of the illustrators as a model.

• Choose another Read Aloud Book. Divide the class into groups and allow them to transform the book into a musical. Perform it for several classes in the school.