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TEKS met:

(4.20) Culture: The student understands the contributions of people of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups to Texas

(B) Identify customs, celebrations, and traditions of various culture groups in Texas

(4.3) Historical / Cultural Heritage: The student demonstrates an understanding of art history and culture as records of human achievement

(A): Identify simple main ideas expressed in art

(4.5) Historical / Cultural Heritage: The student relates music to history, to society, and to culture

(A): Identify aurally-presented excerpts of music representing diverse genres, styles, periods, and cultures

(D): Identify connections between music and the other fine arts

Multiple Intelligence: Howard Gardner

-Verbal / Linguistic: The students will discuss verbally about the sounds in nature. The students will read the rainstick instructions. The students will participate in class discussion and read aloud.

-Spatial: The students create and decorate their rainsticks.

-Bodily / Kinesthetic: The students make instruments with hands on activities and a variety of materials.

-Musical: The student listen and make musical sounds with materials from the environment.

-Intrapersonal: The students work together in groups of four making rainsticks. Together the groups will go over rainstick instructions and participate in class discussion as a group.

-Naturalist: The student understand nature by identifying sounds in nature and imitating sounds of rain with a rainstick. The students explore nature by experimenting with different sounds from instruments made from the environment around them.

Materials: Tape recordings of nature sounds (including rain fall), simple instruments (rattles and bells), an actual rainstick, a pre-made rainstrick with removable ends, copies of Build Your Own Rainstick, Goggles, pencils, cardboard tubes (from paper towels), hole puncher, small hammer, toothpicks or flat head nails (1-inch diameter tube, 7/8-inch nail), glue, masking tape, wire cutters or scissors, "fill" (seeds, pebbles, rice, dried beans, shells, beads), and materials to decorate the rainstick (paint, crayons, construction paper, sparkles, sand, glitter and tissue paper)

Rationale: Students may be aware of rhythm or sound producing instruments such as drums, wooden flutes, or rattles, that imitate natural sounds. Tell the students that diverse ancient cultures produced instruments from elements available within their own environments. Experiencing how ancient cultures developed instruments to imitate the sound of rain encourages students to explore their own perception of water more closely.

Background Knowledge: The rainstick is a type of tubular rattle instrument that belonged to some of the earliest cultures in the world. In some parts of the world it has cultural meaning as a traditional instrument associated with the onset of rain. The rainstick is a product of the environment in which it is found.

Focus / Set

Introduction: To grab hold of the students attention the teacher would ask students to list sounds from the natural environment on the board. The teacher would then play music that incorporates these sounds. The music is to help students understand that many musical instruments were designed to imitate natural sounds. Display to the students with simple instruments and discuss how the sounds are made.

Read Aloud: The teacher reads aloud to the whole class The Rainstick , A Fable. After the story the teacher plays an actual rainstick for the class to hear. The teacher would then ask the following questions. What sounds in nature do you think this instrument imitates. After the student tell the teacher "rain" the teacher would then play a recording of rain to compare the sounds from the rainstick and the recording.

Instructional Input: The teacher will discuss the use of the rainstick. The teacher would ask the following question. How do you think ancient cultures might have used the rainstick? After a few answers the teacher would explain further that many different cultures might have used rainsticks for ceremonial celebrations of rain or for simple musical purposes. The teacher would then separate the class into groups of three or four be handing out a card with a picture of a Texas Native American tribe. The cards work by dividing the class into five groups of four. The teacher would then ask the students to sit in their groups.

Cooperative Group Learning: Once the students are in their groups and one piece of paper is distributed to each group the activity can begin. The teacher will have the students hypothesize how the rainstick is made and what materials were used to make it. Then have the students predict what kind of materials the Native Americans used to make rainsticks. In the groups have the students suggest other materials in their environment that could imitate the sound of rain.

Guided Practice: The teacher will have the students follow along during their making of the rainsticks. As the students read their instructions the teacher will guide the class through each step of the process in a timely manner.

Independent Practice: Each student makes their own rainstick in groups of four. Each student can decorate their rainstick. To view the instructions / directions in making a rainstick click on the image at the beginning of the lesson.

Extensions: For higher-level students the instruments may be used to study sound. Students can make conclusions and investigate how the rainstick's sound varies by changing: the diameter of the tube, the spacing of the nails and the materials placed inside the tube.

Closure: Have the students compare the sounds produced by their rainsticks. Discuss how the different sounds make you feel.

Evaluation: The teacher will assess the children's understanding by their performance during the making of the rainstick by making necessary jottings. The teacher will also assess complete lesson comprehension when the rainstick is complete and their participation during class discussion.

The Rain Stick: Celebration of Rain
Fourth Grade - Art and Music Curriculum / Ancient Native American Culture