Lesson 1: Speak/Sing Native Curriculum Overview

Unit 1: Exploration of Native American Music

Grade Level: 9-12

Overview

Lesson 1: Introduction to Native American Music. A music listening activity that introduces students to Native American musicians and their influence on and creation of various music genres.

Lesson 2: Native American Musicians’ Influence on Diverse Genres of Music and Introduction to Jim Pepper. This lesson expands students’ focus on different Native American musicians, who play(ed) in different styles and crossed genres, including Jim Pepper, who ” is remembered for his contributions to the jazz scene and to the Native music scene, and for expanding the perceptions and expectations in both genres.”  Activities include drawing, writing, and discussion in response to the music and culture of the musicians.

Lesson 3: Native American Musician Profile Research Project. Students are introduced to the main assignment for this unit, the Native American Musician profile slideshow exhibit. Students learn about the biographies of a number of musicians, listen to varied music, and are introduced to the Speak/Sing Native Music Archive, where they explore musicians and develop presentations to share a biography of a Native American musician with the class.

Lesson 4: Research and Slideshow Development. Students work on their slideshow research and get feedback from peers and the instructor.

Lesson 5: Presentations. Slides are presented to the class. At the end of the unit, students reflect on what they have learned about Native American music and musicians.

Unit 2: Native American/Pacific Northwest Artists and Songwriting

Grade Level: 9-12

Overview

This unit will allow students to learn about Native American musicians/artists who create music in various mediums. It will introduce them to artists who come from areas that are closely related to their own and will incorporate those same artists into their songwriting course. This inclusion shows the students the importance of Native American musicians’ contributions to music as well as learning an example of how Native musicians integrate their culture into the music.

Essential Questions

• How do the arts, disciplines, contexts, and daily life inform the creation, performance, and response delivered through music?
• How does understanding the context of musical works inform an audience’s understanding of the music?

Lesson 1: Native American Oregon Musicians. This lesson gives students an in depth look at prominent Indigenous musicians who are from the state of Oregon. Alongside the sample music, the students will have the chance to see lyrics/music of the sample and have their first glimpse into songwriting. This will come in handy for the other lessons in the unit.

Lesson 2: Pacific Northwest Artists. This lesson will build on Lesson 1 and introduce students to Native American musicians/artists who are from the entire Pacific Northwest region.

Lesson 3: Introduction to Songwriting. Students will be introduced to the concept of songwriting, listen to a song, and identify the different parts. Students begin writing their own song.

Lesson 4: Songwriting Part 2. Students review different parts of a song and continue writing.

Lesson 5: Presentations. Students share their songs with peers and reflect on their peers’ work and what they have learned in this unit. 

Unit 3: The Story Teller: Social Movements through Native American Music

Grade Level: 9-12

Overview

Unit 4: Developing a Digtial Native Amercian Music Festival

Grade Level: 9-12

Overview

This project-based learning activity asks students to familiarize themselves with the SpeakSing Native database and the work of Native American musicians. They will then work in groups to create an online, Indigenous music festival to share with their peers.

Essential Questions

• How does understanding the structure and context of musical works inform performance?
• How do those in the music industry curate festivals or collections of music? What do they consider as they choose what artists to include?
• How have Native American musicians been represented in the music industry? Is that changing?

Lesson 1: What is a Music Festival? This lesson introduces the Digital Native American Music Festival project, roles and tasks. Students learn to define components of a music/film festival, create “production teams,” assign roles, and develop team posters with duties and responsibilities.

Lesson 2: Festival Theme, Teams, and Roles. Student explore the Speak/Sing Native Database, choose a theme (genre, issue, cultural lens), and draft a festival outline that goals, audience, style, responsibilities.

Lesson 3: Storyboarding. Students create a visual plan showing order of performances, MC segments, transitions, and closing , and they identify where and how narration will appear.

Lesson 4: Production. During this lesson, students focus on production, gathering footage from the database and following Fair Use guidelines, writing MC scripts, recording narration, and beginning the editing process.

Lesson 5: Students Share Their Festival. Students do a peer review process, and then upload and submit their festival for peer and public viewing. Students share their festivals and reflect on the process and the representation of Native voices in media.

Unit 5: Understanding Self through Poetry and Creative Expression

Grade Level: Middle School 

Time Required: 5 days

Overview

This unit is designed to expose students to a variety of music and video clips to pair with Indigenous poet voices. All of the work is centered on the concept of ‘self’ and follows the essential question: How does poetry and creative expression contribute to the understanding of self?

Essential Question

• How do poetry and creative expression contribute to understanding the self?

Lesson 1: Introduction to Poetry. Students will explore the fundamental characteristics of poetry and begin to understand how poetry can express identity. They consider what makes a poem…a poem through the work of Melissa Kovaks and learn about literary devices.

Lesson 2: Poetic Devices and Annotation. This lesson helps students explore poetic devices further and introduces a poetry annotation assignment for this unit. Students pick their favorite poem from a list and dig deeper into how the poem works by looking at how it uses different poetic devices.

Lesson 3: Analyzing Indigenous Poetry. In this lesson, students read some indigenous poetry and begin an exploration of how poetry can express cultural identity. They also continue to work on their annotations.

Lesson 4: Creative Expression: Writing Your Own Poem. Students are asked to consider the differents between art, music, and poetry, how they express emotional, and how they might work together. The class considers works where two or more art forms are used together. They begin a poetry writing assingment. Students continue to read exemplary “mentor poems,” and begin to write their own poem.

Lesson 5: Poetry Performance and Unit Reflection. Students perform their poems. In class discussion afterward, they reflect on the unit’s essential questions, “How did the poetry and creative expression activities help you understand more about yourself?”

Unit 6: Indigenous Stories and Storytellers

Lesson 1: The Power of Storytelling. Student watch Supaman’s “Alright,” listen to Elder Ed Edmo, and read Fox Doesn’t Wear a Watch by Michelle M. Jacob. They discuss types of stories, feelings, and roles of storytellers, asking “What are the ideas, images, landscapes, and themes being discussed in these stories? Are there any Native cultures, languages, or homelands represented? What message is the artist telling through his story? Why do stories matter? What are the roles of a storyteller? How do stories play a role in the development of community? How are those stories shared, what medium do stories take?

Lesson 2: Stories of My Community. In this lesson, students watch indigenous storytellers and read Native American stories about home and self, and create a zine about community and identity.

Lesson 3: Stories of My State. Students watch oral history with Wilson Wewa, complete 9 Tribes of Oregon Jigsaw using tribal websites, and present findings and learn about tribal governance and land. 

Lesson 4: Stories of My Country. Students read We Are Still Here by Traci Sorell, watch OPB’s Broken Treaties documentary, analyze “One World” by Taboo Nawasha, and explore dual citizenship and cultural preservation. 

Lesson 5: Stories of My Rights and Responsibilities. Students watch videos on Indigenous water protection (Autumn Peltier, C’waam fish, Mill Creek) and read We Are Water Protectors and Salmon Boy. They explore responsibility to Earth and rights to sovereignty.

Unit 1: Singer, Song, Drum, Rattle, Flute, Dance

Lesson 1: Identity and Self Expression. Students read/listen to a book about identity (Taboo Nawasha – Shoshone). They create an Identity Web, dance to “Dragonfly Medicine” by Supaman and watch: “You Are Perfect” (Supaman).

Lesson 2: Drum as a Heartbeat
In this lesson, students consider the role of the drum in Native American cultures. They watch ABC10 “Heartbeat of Mother Earth” and the class reads “We Belong to the Drum” (Sandra Lamouche – Cree). Students learn the Double Beat Side Step and explore the Big Drum & Hand Drum

Lesson 3: Regalia and Dance. Students read Jingle Dancer (Cynthia Leitich Smith – Muscogee) and learn about Jingle, Fancy, and Grass Dances. They also watch CBC Kids & Stylehorse Collective dance videos and watch a closing video, “PBS Native Men and Women in Regalia.”

Lesson 4: Powwow and Community
In this lesson, student learn about Powwows and the role of the Powwow in Native American communities. They read, Powwow Day (Traci Sorell – Cherokee), watch “What is a Powwow?” (CBC), and create a Community Puzzle with Ode’min Kwe Singers music.

Lesson 5: Rattle and Flute.
Students learn about the rattle and flute. They  watch, Traditional Dakota Flute (Will Crawford), listen to “Flute Frequencies” (Supaman), and “Mother Earth Flute Song” (Tony Duncan) and watch rattle performances. They end the unit sitting in a circle and chosing a talking piece to share their favorite part of the lesson and what they learned.