Welcome to Third Grade Music!!

In today's lesson, we will sing an African American spiritual, learn about the Underground Railroad and ride on our own rhythm train! Our musical vocabulary words are: beat, rhythm, spiritual and tempo. Let's begin with reading the paragraph at the top of page 44 in our music books.

"Many African American spirituals were used to send messages along the Underground Railroad. What message does the song below send? LISTEN to 'Train Is A-Comin.' SING the song and learn all the verses."

Before we listen to the song, who can tell us what the Underground Railroad was?

That is correct! The Underground Railroad was actually a network of many people who helped runaway slaves escape and helped them through their dangerous journeys from one point to another until they reached their final destination and freedom.

(Play the recording of "Train Is A-Comin'." Discuss the words and their message. Have the students sing the song with the recording and learn all the verses. Then ask them to sing the song from memory.)

Now it's time to ride on our own rhythm train! Remember that beat is the steady pulse felt in music and who can give me a definition for rhythm? Right again! Rhythm is the pattern of long and short sounds found in music. Today's new vocabulary word is tempo. Our tempo will be very important as we ride our rhythm train because tempo is the speed of music.

Our rhythm train has five different colored stations. Each station has a rhythm written on it and an instrument for you to play when your station color is called out by the conductor. I am the rhythm train conductor. I will set the tempo by keeping a steady beat. You are the train and you will move around the track as I say the rhythm train chant. Don't forget to play each rhythm twice keeping a steady tempo and beat!

Chugga, chugga, choo, choo, movin', movin'
Chugga, chugga, choo, choo, clickety-clack.
Chugga, chugga, choo, choo, movin', movin'
Ride the rhythm train on down the track.
Stop the train, it's time to play.
Find a station, don't delay.
Blue train box cars, lead us now,
Play your rhythms, you know how!

(Repeat the rhythm train chant at different tempos calling a different color station each time until all students have a turn playing a rhythm. As a grand finale, have all train box cars play their rhythms together.)

What a great job you did playing your rhythms! It's time for our rhythm train to move on back to your regular classroom. As I call your station color, move to the tempo and beat I am clapping and line up at the door. Pamela, you will be the engine and Swampy, you will be the caboose. See you all at our next music lesson!