Hayes School of Music

Along with swapping large amounts of work in the Appalachian Mountains, people used to swap songs, games and tales to make the work seem easier and enjoy each other's company. The children and young adults always looked forward to these events, because they know that singing and game playing would accompany the work. The social lives of Appalachian people often centered around these events, now considered to be highly valuable from a historical perspective, since it was here that the folklore of the mountain people was preserved and shared.

National Standard #1: Singing Alone and With Others a Varied Repertoire of Music

National Standard #6: Listening, Analyzing, and Describing Music

Learning Objectives

• Students will create and perform simple melodic or rhythmic accompaniments to given melodies.

• Students will identify and describe various styles of music (game songs, folk songs, work songs).

Cooperative Work and Learning

Nowadays, we often have smaller families than people who lived one hundred years ago. Your students may not have prior experience with shared work and responsibility.

Discuss cooperative work with your students and remind them of the importance of each person in the group.

Don't forget that cooperative learning can be beneficial for individual students as well as the entire class!