ABC and 123: A Learning Collaborative: Movement and Music--in Scotland!!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Movement and Music--in Scotland!!

Today we will be learning about the music and movement in the Scotland!

Hi, this is Jedda from This Little Project.  One of the things that I love about being a musician and a dancer is that it brings me full circle in what I am learning about. It's one thing to read about a place in a book. But if you really want to get to know a people you've got to listen to their music and language and watch (and try!) the movements of their people's dance. That's where you will find a true reflection of a people's traditions and culture.

Since I can't share my personal library with you, I'll be sharing some links online. Some come from youtube, which can be a great resource. Please be cautious and supervise your students/children when they view them.

I have performed Scottish dance in the ghillies before and it is a fun and physical dance.  Check out the links and then try the activities below to learn and experience a little bit of Scotland!

outline map Scotland


These are Scottish Highland dancers in some traditional costume.  Many times, the hands are held in the "stag" hand position while they are in the air.  This resembles the stag antlers of a deer.  It looks like this:

Photo by Stephen's House of Photography

Listen to "Scotland the Brave," the National Anthem of Scotland: 

 Edinburgh Castle with military band:  


 Loch Lomond is a song about a beautiful place in Scotland:
   


Dancing isn't just for girls.  Watch this Male Highland Sword Dance (begins at :45)






1- Color the Scotland flag and sing along with the National Anthem above.


Flag of Scotland -thumbnail




2- Can you pretend you are a bagpipe player?  Try dressing up and pretending to play the bagpipe while you listen to the song above.  



templates
{coloring page source}

3- Listen to the beat of the music and try to march along with it like those in the band.

4- Try to dance with your hands making a "stag" antler shape like the dancers in the photo and movie above.  Does it seem easy to do?  Do you think these dancers and musicians practice a lot?

Thanks for joining in with me today for some great music and movement! 
I hope that you enjoyed traveling around the world-in the comfort of your own home-to learn about cultures as well as the joy of music and movement and dance with your children and students!

 If you would like more ideas on what you can do to learn and share music with kids, come visit my blog, This Little Project. The first Monday of the month is always about music, or search "Music" for past posts at This Little Project.

If you missed the past countries in this Music and Movement series, here are the links for the other countries we have explored together: MexicoChinaIreland USA, and France


2 comments:

  1. Hi!

    I love your blog! Especially this post...as I am a Scot and live and teach in central Scotland! :-)

    Just a wee side note though... the flag you have posted to colour is the the Union flag. It is the combined flag of Britain. Our Scottish flag is called the Saltire (blue background with a white cross) and it is also known as the St. Andrew's Cross (our patron Saint)

    Tapadh Leat ('Thanks' in gaelic)
    Claire

    http://misstoffeesclass.blogspot.com

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  2. Clair-

    Thanks for clarifying that. It just goes to show you can't trust everything you see on the internet ;) That flag was part of an entire page about Scotland! But I was curious about it because I noticed the flag on the Scotland the brave movie/song was not the same. Thanks for the tip! It's fixed now ;)
    Jedda

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