STUDY GUIDE
"THE WORLD TURNED
UPSIDE DOWN":
Music of the American Revolution
(Grades 3-5 & 7-8)
Yankee Doodle comes to town with this exciting, hands-on program which
gives students some insights into the causes and attitudes of the various
participants of the American Revolutionary War. Through performances on
the piccolo and the drum, Donna Wissinger helps students understand the
role which music and musicians played in this conflict. Throughout the program,
students have the opportunity to participate by experiencing a day in the
life of a soldier. They learn some of the drum beats and what they meant,
march to the beat of the drum and sing along with the artists. In the 7th
& 8th grade programs, the character traits of historical figures and
their actions during crisis are discussed and related to the students’ personal
lives and dreams. This program fits particularly well with the social studies
curriculum of the fourth and seventh grades.
GOAL OF THE PROGRAM:
The aim of the program is to give some insights into the causes and attitudes
of the various participants of the American Revolutionary War and to understand
the role which music and musicians played in this conflict and in others.
I will elicit from the children the fact that there were at least 4 sides
to this conflict between the Colonists and the British: the Colonists (Patriots/
Rebels), the British (Tories/Loyalists), the Quakers and other Pacifists
who were caught in the middle, and the Native Americans. We will see from
this how the names people gave to themselves and their opponents (i.e. Patriot
or Rebel) reflect their perspectives.
Next, with the help of the children, we will discuss the role of music
during war time. We will see how it can be used to rally the home front,
to express feelings, to keep up moral, etc.
Music was also instrumental in sounding commands to the troops, keeping
the troops together as they marched, signaling battlefield maneuvers, and
regulating camp life. We will give several examples of these and have the
students both respond to the calls and learn to play some of the simple drum
beats.
We will look at the contributions of George Washington and see several
instances where he used music to good effect in his strategy of keeping
his armies unconquered in the field.
We will briefly discuss the Battle of Yorktown and use the song "The World
Turned Upside Down" to show how unlikely and astonishing a victory it was
for the Colonists.
Finally, we will look at the Declaration of Independence and frankly discuss
the strange circumstance that a people fighting for their freedom could
yet hold slaves. Through the song, "Good-bye America", we will examine
the perspective of many African-Americans who had to leave the newly independent
company in order to find their freedom.
We will close with the singing of "God Save Our States".
Throughout the program, Donna will be performing on piccolo and drum to
illustrate the music of the time, to have the children do some marching and
to reinforce the points of discussion. When possible, I will have the students
sing along with us.
SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDENT PREPARATION PRIOR TO THE PROGRAM:
Preparation for the program can consist of a review of some vocabulary
words, a discussion about some aspect of the American Revolution or a hands
on project involving the art or music teachers. Following are a few suggestions
to get started.
Vocabulary/Spelling words:
conflict
pacifist
revolution
declaration
fife
flam
stroke
Writing/Reading:
Read excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, rewrite it in your
own words.
Read some of Benjamin Franklin's "Poor Richard's Almanac" or some other
period writing.
Create a space in the library of books of relating to the Revolution.
Write new words to the song, "The World Turned Upside Down".
Social Studies:
Read the Declaration of Independence and discuss its meaning. Examine
the
signatures of the authors and supporters.
Discuss the names given to the participants in the war. (Rebel/patriot,
Tory/loyalist, Quakers and Native Americans) Role play a discussion on
taxation, whether to declare independence, etc. taking the various positions
of the participants in the conflict.
How did the geography in America impact the war?
Read about and discuss some of leaders at that time. What were their
strengths? What impact did they have on the conflict?
Discuss the reasons George Washington was selected Commander- in-Chief.
Art:
Make a map of the thirteen colonies. Mark historical sites or important
battles.
Make a colonial flag.
Music:
Discuss the role music could play in times of war. Discuss the reason
the fife and drum were selected as instruments of the American Revolution.
Who played them? Why?
Learn to sing "The World Turned Upside Down", "God Save our Thirteen States",
"Good-bye America"
SUGGESTIONS FOR FOLLOW-UP:
Any of the preparatory suggestions can be used as follow-up.
What did you like best about the program? What can we learn from this
war and the people involved?
Men and Women We Must Remember
Paul Revere, yes.But many others fought America's battle for liberty.
An opinion essay by Andrew Cline
Reprinted from THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
By now you've probably seen some reference to April 19's place in history.
Perhaps a news brief summarizing David Koresh's fiery finale in Waco, Texas,
or a feature story memorializing victims of the Oklahoma City bombing.
But, long before these events were captured by TV for constant refrain
on Hard Copy, April 19 was a date to remember. April 19 is the day this
nation was conceived.
At about 6 a.m. on the 19th of April, 1775, Samuel Adams surveyed the green
at Lexington in the Colony of Massachusetts and said to his friend John
Hancock, "Oh what a glorious morning!" He wasn't talking about the weather.
An hour earlier a great war had begun.
Almost every American knows of Paul Revere's ride and of the way colonists
hid "like Indians" to chase the redcoats back to Boston.
But how many know of the bravery of the Lexington women who risked being
hanged for treason to hide gunpowder, muskets and food from the British
regulars who searched their homes? Of the American spies who kept track
of the British troop movements?
Or of the post carriers who nearly killed their horses to spread news of
the battle to the ends of the colonies?
10 P.M.- the British assemble
It was at 10 on the evening of April 18 that 700 plus British regulars
assembled on Boston Common. They had orders to confiscate the arms and
munitions that the colony's leading radicals had stored in Lexington and
Concord. As they crossed the Charles River, two lanterns were hung in the
steeple of the Old North Church. The lanterns launched riders Paul Revere
and William Dawes to Lexington to warn of the coming danger.
Revere arrived at the home of Jonas Clarke at midnight. Two sentries were
posted to protect the Clarke's guests, Adams and Hancock, who were wanted
by the government. The sentries told Revere not to make any noise. "Noise!"
Revere retorted. "You'll have noise enough before long. The regulars are
coming out!"
By 2 a.m. on April 19, 130 townsmen had assembled on the Lexington Green.
They agreed to keep still and not engage the regulars "unless they should
insult or molest us". During the next few hours, most of the "minutemen"
slinked back to their homes or to Buckman Tavern.
5 a.m.- the alarm sounds
When the alarm was sounded near 5 a.m., 70 men (almost half of Lexington's
adult male population) answered, including Jonas Parker, who was more than
60 years old. Women and children followed, coming to see what all the ruckus
was about.
The ruckus was caused by Maj. John Pitcairn's six companies of regulars
marching onto the green. Pitcairn ordered the townsmen to drop their weapons
and disperse. Some trudged away, but only under orders from their own captain,
John Parker. Others, including Jonas Parker (related to Captain Parker) stood
firm. Not one laid down his musket.
Naturally, the British said the rebels fired first, and vise versa. Some
of the regulars reported seeing shots fired from a house, while Pitcairn
and others reported that the first shot flashed from behind a stone wall.
American observers thought a mounted Redcoat fired first.
Before Pitcairn's troops left, half an hour after they arrived, eight townspeople
were dead, including old Jonas Parker who had been shot and then bayoneted
where he stood. One man Jonathan Harrington died on his own doorstep as
his wife and children watched.
Most Americans don't think knowing the date America's first battle for
independence or the names of the men and women involved is useful. They
consider it trivia.
This is not trivia
It's not. Those who resisted the British that day and for the next six
years were the founders of a nation and of a culture.
Lexington's minister was a patriot named William Emerson, grandfather of
Ralph Waldo Emerson. Nathaniel Hawthorne's grandmother watched the battle.
Herman Melville's grandfather was at the Boston Tea Party. Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow's grandfather commanded Paul Revere during the war and Henry
David Thoreau's grandfather served under Revere.
We owe these people more than our Freedom; they helped found our national
identity as well.
William Emerson's brother-in-law was one Daniel Bliss, a Tory (and a lawyer).
A month before the battle at Lexington and Concord, Bliss gave two British
spies food and shelter, then escorted them to Boston. Emerson said of this
event, "Verily our enemies are of our household."
The same can be said (perhaps hyperbolically, perhaps not) of those Americans
who think history unimportant. Without a collective memory a nation cannot
maintain its purpose and character. If we forget the men and women who
gave us liberty, we forget what a peculiar commodity liberty is and we may
risk losing it.
*Andrew Cline is director of publications at the John Locke Foundation,
a public policy think tank in Raleigh, N.C.
The FL Sunshine State standards are designed to give students the skills
and knowledge to achieve with excellence. To help teachers clearly understand
what each of the programs hopes to accomplish, I have included a page with
each study guide that outlines the specific art standard and the interdisciplinary
standard that this program will help your students achieve.
"THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN":
MUSIC OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (GRADE 3-5)
THE ARTS:
Standard 1: Creating, Performing and Participating in the Arts
Throughout the program, students have the opportunity to participate
by experiencing the day in the life of a Revolutionary War soldier. They
learn various drumbeats and what they meant, march to the beat of the drum
and sing along with the artists.
Standard 2: Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources
Students learn more about the two musical instruments featured in the
program: the piccolo, (the fife) and the drum. They come to appreciate
them as tools for communication as well as musical instruments.
Standard 3: Responding to and Analyzing Works of Art
The students discuss the role that music plays in times of war. They
analyze the words to the songs that were used to motivate, express feelings
and rally the home front.
Standard 4: Understanding the Cultural Contributions of the Arts
Music becomes the vehicle for understanding some of the causes and
attitudes of the various participants of the American Revolution.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
History of the United States
Students look at the history of the American Revolution from the perspective
of the 4 different sides to this conflict: the Colonists (Patriots/Rebels),
the British (Tories/Loyalists), the Quakers and other Pacifists who were
caught in the middle, and the Native Americans.
Civics, Citizenship, and Government
Students spend some time reviewing the Declaration of Independence
and the Constitution and come to better understand the roots of our government.
Click Here For A Printable Study Guide For This Program