Music K to 1
Context - Historical and Cultural

demonstrate an awareness of historical and cultural contexts of music
demonstrate an awareness of a variety of purposes for music
demonstrate a willingness to experience music from a variety of historical and cultural contexts

As a class, learn folk dances from cultures represented in the local community. Play examples of the music for these dances and, where possible, have students sing the lyrics. Share with students the history and culture surrounding the dances. Repeat this activity over the course of the year, highlighting other cultures and dances.
Choose or ask students to choose a cultural festival or celebration (e.g., Chinese New Year, Hanukkah, a powwow, Diwali, Remembrance Day, May Day). Have the class listen to, dramatize, dance to, and sing music from the chosen celebration. Continue this activity throughout the year as various holidays arise. At the end of the year, invite students to create collages or murals illustrating their favourite celebrations.
Invite parents or community members to share music from their cultures and to identify why the music is used in particular settings (e.g., wedding songs, love songs, dance music). Expand this activity to a multicultural festival that includes dances, costumes, food, and so on.
Plan a birthday party or school celebration. Invite students to help plan the music for the celebration and ask them to share their reasons for their selections.
Build a classroom repertoire of songs that includes seasonal, cultural, and celebrational music. Invite students to suggest examples to be used for current themes or holidays. Create a class calendar to monitor and list songs for these events.

When students participate in cultural festivals or folk dances, look for evidence that they are:
- enthusiastic about participating in a variety of music experiences
- curious and interested in how and why dances and music traditions develop
- able to make connections among music from different cultures and contexts
- able to incorporate some of the music they hear and learn into other classroom activities (e.g., puppet plays, stories)
Play selections of music from various historical periods and cultures and have students use movement to interpret what they hear. Discuss the reasons for the movements they select. Observe and note evidence of their:
- inventiveness in creating movements to go with the music
- abilities to make connections between the music and the movements
After students have had many opportunities to listen to music from various historical periods and cultures, invite them to choose their favourite pieces and draw themselves dancing to the music. Ask students to draw or write to complete sentence stems such as:
- This is me dancing to my favourite music. It is ---------- .
- I like it best because ----------.
- The people in this time or culture created this music because---------- .
- I like to dance to this music because ----------.
Note the extent to which students show interest in their experiences through their representations of mood and detail. As well, observe the extent to which they are interested in sharing ideas about the activity.