According to the IBO, Middle Years Program “students have opportunities to function as artists, as well as learners of the arts.” A recent unit of study by our Grade 6 music students brings this concept to life.
MYP Music teacher, Gerardo Flores Pacheco, created a unit in which the primary goals were for students to develop collaborative, creative, and instrumental skills. He introduced students to a universally-recognized type of song, the lullaby. These soothing pieces of music are typically sung by adults to children around the world and have been in existence since the beginning of recorded human history.
The students were then challenged to re-arrange an East African lullaby called, “Lala, Mtoto Lala” in a unique manner, with the expectation that every student participated by playing an instrument and recording their performance. The class discussed ideas, came to decisions as to who would play what instrument, practiced, made revisions, and then individually recorded their parts, eventually creating a multi-track recording.
Listen to the Gr 6 arrangement of “Lala, Mtoto Lala” here.
Reflection is an important element of learning. Enjoy our students’ reflections below:
“The recording was a cool touch to music class, by playing instruments into a song. It was fun because it was a hands-on activity, where the entire class did separate parts, and with all the instruments put together into a melodic song it sounded cool.” Ciaran V.
“This experience was really good because it was a learning opportunity to play music with the class.” Rhett L.
“It was fun to make this because I could do pretty much anything on here so I had a lot of freedom.” Olivia S.
“My experience on recording instruments was really good because it was a lot of fun to use the instruments.” Harry S.
“Our class created a song with many parts. It took a while to find my part but in the end it turned out great. After I had practiced my parts I got the hang of it and it was really fun! ” Kayla N.
When asked to reflect on the students’ progress, their teacher shared, “I am very proud of each of my students for their hard work in music class. They applied lessons learned in theory and harmony, and their creative and collaborative skills are constantly growing. I am looking forward to listening to their next creative project, which is to compose an original lullaby.”
Students in Grades 6-10 take one semester of music and one semester of art each year, as part of the MYP curriculum.
Each spring, Riverstone celebrates the arts during our Spring Arts Festival.
Watch the 2021 Virtual MYP Spring Arts Festival here.
Watch the 2021 Virtual PYP Spring Arts Festival here.
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