Art Form: Music

Supplies Needed

-Be You! book

Vocabulary

Tempo - the speed of the beat

Rhythm - long and short sounds and silences

Steady beat - the consistent pulse or "heartbeat" of music

Form - the organization of a piece (how the music is put together)

Dynamics - loud and soft sounds; volume

Instructions

1.  Read the book, Be You!. Discuss the events in the book. Who are the characters? What is the setting? What is the main idea or central message of the book?

2.  What word is repeated? (“be”). Notice that every “be” is followed by a different word or words.

3.  Pat the steady beat at a moderate tempo. Practice saying each “be” phrase rhythmically in two beats—some words and syllables will be short!

4.  Read the book, inserting each “be” phrase spoken rhythmically. Since the other parts of the book can’t be read rhythmically, pat the beat only while you say the “be” phrases.

5.  Some parts of the book have a steady beat (the “be” phrases) while others don’t (the phrases that don’t start with “be”). The book is organized in parts that aren’t read rhythmically and parts that are—it had a specific form!

6.  What other words could make a “be” sentence (for example, “be generous” and “be strong”)? Write those words on a card and add these to the story— you choose where!

Extensions

Experiment with different punctuation at the end of the “be” phrases. How would the dynamics change if the “be” phrase ended with an exclamation mark (as happens on the second page)? Would it be loud or quiet?

For extra challenge, change the beat from pat-pat to pat-clap.