Music 2 to 3
Context - Historical and Cultural

It is expected that students will:

• identify historical and cultural contexts of music
• describe a variety of purposes for music
• demonstrate a willingness to experience music from a variety of historical and cultural contexts

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Context - Historical and Cultural in other grades click on an icon below.

• Continue to build a classroom repertoire of songs that includes seasonal, cultural, and celebrational music. Invite students to suggest additions to the repertoire as they relate to current holidays, seasons, topics being studied in other classes, and so on.
• Teach students the Canadian national anthem in a variety of forms (e.g., French and English, sign language). Provide opportunities for them to practise these variations in school assemblies.
• Invite musicians from the community to the class to perform and talk about music from their cultures. Ask students to prepare class lists of questions prior to visits. Encourage students to include questions about the purpose and history of the music. After the presentations, have students create a music atlas that includes simple maps of the countries or regions the music comes from and brief descriptions of the music in these areas.
• Have students invite grandparents or community elders to class to share songs from their childhoods and to talk about how music has changed from then to now. As a class, complete a Then-and-Now chart. Ask students in groups to extend the then-and-now concept to other topics relevant to young people (e.g., dance styles, clothing, hobbies, money).
• Have students work individually or in groups, using a variety of sources (e.g., community organizations, print, video, CD-ROMs), to investigate celebrations from selected cultures. Encourage them to focus on the role of music as well as costumes, dances, food, and rituals. Students should share their findings with the class in the form of oral presentations with accompaniments such as dance, videos, or recordings.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

• When guest speakers discuss music from their cultures, encourage students to ask questions about the purposes of the music and to participate in the music demonstrations if possible. Following each presentation, have students create posters that represent:
  • two things they learned about the music from the presenter
  • one purpose for which the music was written
  • one connection between the presenter's music and the music in their own lives
• Divide the class into small groups and ask each group to choose and present one selection of music from a cultural celebration experienced at school or in the community. After all groups have presented, discuss the similarities and differences among the selections. Look for evidence that students are willing and able to:
  • experience music from a variety of cultures
  • be respectful toward music from other cultures
  • make connections between music from various cultures
• As students are exposed to music from a variety of historical and cultural contexts, have them record the name of the music and the cultural origin of each selection in their journals. Discuss the gender of the composers, ensuring that female composers are represented. From time to time, ask them to review their records and respond to prompts such as the following:
  • The music we have listened to that I like best is ---------- . My reasons are ---------- .
  • Two things I learned about the purpose of music in different cultures were ---------- .
  • When I'm older, I'd like to participate in music by ---------- .

Recommended Learning Resources