Culture is the way of living for a people. It is what makes them different from others. Usually it is openly expressed in song and dance. It is also in peoples thoughts, religious beliefs and their moral standard. A country’s culture is expressed through the way its people live and die, by their values, what they eat and how they cook it, how they are entertained, how they dress, how they live, their language, their art, their music, their writing and their emotions.
Music can help shape the culture of a country. By researching the history of music from Kenya, I plan to show its importance to the culture. Music is a form of expression, entertainment as well as communication. Sounds we hear can control the frame of mind we are in as well as the tension in our bodies.
Through collaboration with a team of fellow teachers, I plan to introduce my students to the culture and music of Kenya, while exploring the science of sound. We will learn the importance of music to a culture. We will make instruments and learn how the different shapes and sizes of the same material, creates a variety of sound. After the instruments are made we will learn how to play them.
At the end of this unit, I plan to participate in a collaborative effort to present a culminating activity: an assembly called the “Festival of Sound” to be performed at an PTSO meeting for parents and students in the spring of next school year and during our annual International Festival.
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