SongofAmericaCurriculumInitiative
http://songofamerica.net
TheSoundsofWhitman’sMemories,9-12
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TheSoundsofWhitman’sMemories
High(9tih–12thgrade)
Timerequired:45-50minutes
Specificrecommendation:Honors-levelEnglish,10th/11thgrade
Goals/Objectives:
• IdentifyWaltWhitman’spurposeforincluding“drums”and“bugles”inhispoem“Beat!Beat!
Drums!”
• DifferentiatebetweenWhitman’smoodin“Beat!Beat!Drums!”and“WhenLilacsLastinthe
DooryardBloom’d”
• Identifyinstrumentstoaccompany“WhenLilacsLastintheDooryardBloom’d”and“OCaptain!
MyCaptain!”
• Define“soundscape”andidentifysoundscapesin“MemoriesofLincoln”
CommonCoreStandards:
• RL.9-10.7:Analyzetherepresentationofasubjectorakeysceneintwodifferentartistic
mediums,includingwhatisemphasizedorabsentineachtreatment
• W.9-10.1:Writeargumentstosupportclaimsinananalysisofsubstantivetopicsortexts,using
validreasoningandrelevantandsufficientevidence
Materials:
• SongofAmericaLinks
Toprint:
BasicMusicalElementshandout:http://songofamerica.net/for-educators/basic-musical-elements-handout
WaltWhitmanprintabletimeline:http://songofamerica.net/for-educators/walt-whitman-timeline
“MemoriesofLincoln”worksheet:
http://songofamerica.net/for-educators/memories-of-lincoln-worksheet
Toreference:
SongofAmericaonlinetimeline:http://songofamerica.net/timeline/civil-war-reconstruction
SongofAmericaWaltWhitmanpage:http://songofamerica.net/writer/whitman-walt
Tolistento:
SongofAmericaWaltWhitmanradioprogram:http://songofamerica.net/radio/program-3
SongofAmerica“MemoriesofLincoln”songpage:http://songofamerica.net/song/memories-of-lincoln
Instruction:
• TheteacherintroducesthepoetWaltWhitman,Lincoln’sassassination,andthestateof
Americaatthattime[http://songofamerica.net/timeline/civil-war-reconstruction&
http://songofamerica.net/for-educators/walt-whitman-timeline]
©PatriciaFinn,M.A.,SusanKey,Ph.D.&ChristieFinn,M.M.
CreatedfortheHampsongFoundation’sSongofAmericaCurriculumInitiative(http://songofamerica.net/for-educators)
Thislessonplanmaybeusedfreeofchargeforeducationalpurposes.
Pleasereferencethecreatorsofthehandout,theHampsongFoundationandSongofAmericawhennecessary.
Formoreinformation,pleasevisithttp://songofamerica.net/&http://hampsongfoundation.org/
SongofAmericaCurriculumInitiative
http://songofamerica.net
TheSoundsofWhitman’sMemories,9-12
•
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Theteacherintroducespage1ofthe“MemoriesofLincoln”worksheet
[http://songofamerica.net/for-educators/memories-of-lincoln-worksheet]andastudentreads
theentirepoem“Beat!Beat!Drums!”outloud.
o Theteacherdefineswhatasoundscapeis,andtheclassmakesalistontheboardor
projector:“WhatsoundsdoesWhitmanreferenceinthispoem,musicalorotherwise?”
•
TheteacherexplainsthatWilliamNeidlinger’ssong“MemoriesofLincoln”isasonginthree
parts,usingexcerptsfromWhitman’spoetry,andstudentslistentothefirstpartofthe
“MemoriesofLincoln”[http://songofamerica.net/radio/program-3at38:55,orat38:01with
ThomasHampsonintroduction]withtext“Beat!Beat!Drums!”
o Thisrecordingisalsofoundonthesongpageof“MemoriesofLincoln”:
http://songofamerica.net/song/memories-of-lincoln
•
Classdiscussion:“WhydidWhitmanwriteabouttheseparticularinstrumentstomemorialize
Lincoln?”
o Halfwaythroughthediscussion,theteacherhandsoutpage3of“MemoriesofLincoln”
worksheet:“HowdotheseinstrumentsreflectWhitman’semotiontowardsLincolnand
hisdeathasdelineatedinthispoem?HowisthatemotioninterpretedinNeidlinger’s
musicalsetting?”
▪ RefertotheSongofAmericaBasicMusicalElementshandoutforaneasyguide
totalkingaboutmusic:
http://songofamerica.net/for-educators/basic-musical-elements-handout
•
GuidedPractice
o Astudentreadstheentiretyof“WhenLilacsLastintheDooryardBloom’d”(page2of
theworksheet).Studentslistentothissecondpartofthesong“MemoriesofLincoln”
andindependentlyorwithapartnerwritetwotothreeinstrumentsthatwouldfitwith
thepoem
o Classdiscussion:“Whatinstrumentsdidyouchoosethatwouldfitwiththepoem?What
doyouimaginethesoundscapetobe?”
•
IndependentPractice
o Studentslistentothethirdandfinalpartof“MemoriesofLincoln”withthewordsof“O
Captain!MyCaptain!”(secondhalfofpage2oftheworksheet),andthenastudentor
theteacherreadsthepoem“OCaptain!MyCaptain!”aloudinitsentirety
o Studentsindependentlywriteaparagraphorcreateaslidepresentationansweringthe
question:“Whatisthemoodofthis‘Lincolnmemory’,andhowdidNeidlingerinterpret
Whitman’swordsandemotioninhismusic?Whatisincludedinthesoundscapeofthis
poem?Whatinstrumentswouldyouchoosetoincludeifyouweretocomposeapiece
for‘OCaptain!MyCaptain!’?”
©PatriciaFinn,M.A.,SusanKey,Ph.D.&ChristieFinn,M.M.
CreatedfortheHampsongFoundation’sSongofAmericaCurriculumInitiative(http://songofamerica.net/for-educators)
Thislessonplanmaybeusedfreeofchargeforeducationalpurposes.
Pleasereferencethecreatorsofthehandout,theHampsongFoundationandSongofAmericawhennecessary.
Formoreinformation,pleasevisithttp://songofamerica.net/&http://hampsongfoundation.org/