It Rained on the Desert Today
It Rained on the Desert Today was shared with Mrs. Malody-Singer's
third grade class at Harold Steele Elementary School. We discussed the
coming storm and the tension and building of anticipation, and the climax
of the storm from its thunderous beginnings to its calms and serene
ending.
The students were then asked to "make" a rainstorm, using a variety
of rhythm and musical instruments. Several instruments were provided
for the children, including resonator bells based on an Orff pentatonic
scale, cymbals, a rainstick, sand blocks, shaker eggs, tom toms, a tambourine,
a triangle, their own bodies and things they might find in the classroom
(e.g. their desks, feet stomping on the floor, etc.). We outlined the
life of the storm, starting with the low rumbling in the distance, the
lightening claps, the slow start, then the deluge of rain characteristic
of a monsoon. The rain continued with some thunder and veracity, eventually
abating and slowing as the rain in the desert stopped. The students
were very innovative, using cymbals and clapping, and pounding their
desks to communicate the intense thunder. They used the sand blocks,
shaker eggs, and scratching of the tom-tom and tambourine heads to convey
the beginning rumblings of the storm. A triangle and a few resonator
bells portrayed the beginning rains.
The deluge was seen by a huge dynamic increase in the number and intensity
of the resonator bells and by the addition of the rain stick. As the
storm abated, the volume did likewise, until a few solitary resonator
bells showed the slow pitter-patter of the stopping rain.
About the Book | Book
Review | Children's Voices |
Interview | Lesson Plan |
About the Reviewer