Canadian Soundscapes
Rich Roach
Grade
4
Subject:
Social Studies
Topic:
Regions of Canada
Descriptive Sentence
A musical exploration of the landforms of Canada
Curricular Outcome or Expectation
Please see the lesson plan preview for the expectations/outcomes for your province.
Materials
• CD/cassette player with recording capability
• A large map of Canada
• Simple musical instruments and/or objects in the classroom that produce different and interesting
sounds
• A chalk board and chalk
Space Requirements
Everything can be done in the classroom.
Complete Description of Lesson
Getting Ready
• Discuss the seven main landforms of Canada (The Cordillera, The Canadian Shield, The Interior Plains,
The Arctic Lowlands, The Hudson Bay Lowlands, The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands, and The
Appalachian Highlands).
• Locate these landforms on a large map of Canada and discuss the main features of each landform.
• Make a list of descriptive words for each of the landforms.
E.g.
The Interior Plains
– flat, low, long, stretching out, endless, open, spacious
Canadian Shield
- rock, solid, hard, strong, permanent, grey, sturdy, old
The Arctic Lowlands
– barren, stark, icy, tundra, grassy, muskeg, wild, permafrost
The Hudson Bay Lowlands
– picturesque, woodlands, lakes, rivers, ponds
The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands – fertile, lakes, rivers, canals
The Appalachian Highlands
– rugged, impressive, hilly, expansive
1
Develop
• Discuss how you could make a simple collage for each region (using old magazines, etc.) Form groups
of 3-5 students and have them choose one of the seven landforms and make a collage. They may wish
to include some of the descriptive words for their collage.
• Gather together some simple instruments or objects in your classroom that make interesting sounds.
Look for objects made of different materials. Explore different ways of creating sounds with each
object. Explore the quality of each sound (timbre) and try to put them into different categories (e.g.
high, low, icy, long, short, rugged, watery, rocky).
• Over time, you could make a collection of sound sources. Ask students to bring in some interesting
sounds from home (E.g. metal pipe, suspended objects, kitchen pots). Encourage them to be openminded in their search for sounds.
• Add any simple percussion/wind instruments (drums, shakers, pipes, etc.) to your collection.
Application
Please take a moment to review
the “Sound Association Arctic
Lowlands and Canadian Shield”
videos
Soundscape Composition
• Explore the instruments and sounds that have been collected. Discuss how the shape and design of an
instrument gives it its distinctive sound and how the different landforms of Canada are distinctive
because of the physical differences.
• Ask the students to work in groups of 3-5. Assign a landform to each group. Refer back to the
descriptive word list for the landforms and challenge the students to choose up to five sounds which
would best illustrate their landform. Each group could also be given the corresponding collage to both
inspire and keep them focused. E.g. If they have the Arctic Lowlands, what sound sources
(instruments) would best give the feeling of stark, icy etc.
• When the students have chosen their instruments and are back in their groups, challenge them to
create a short sound composition. To prepare the students for creating their musical soundscapes, give
the following guidelines:
The composition should be no more than 12 seconds long.
The composition should have a definite beginning and ending.
The music should capture the essential essence of the landform.
• Now ask questions such as:
Will all the instruments play at the same time, or should various instruments be introduced during
the composition?
Will there be repeated parts?
Will some parts be loud and some soft?
Will some sounds gradually increase in volume (crescendo) or decrease in volume (decrescendo)?
How will the composition end (softly or abruptly)?
2
• Take some time to talk with the students and ask them to think about how the composition should
begin. Should it be soft or loud? Which instrument should begin? This will give the students a range of
musical options to think about when creating their composition.
• Now give the students 7-10 minutes to create their compositions. At this time you might want to
circulate around from group to group, assisting students who need help in getting started.
• When students are ready, ask each group to perform their composition for the class. Ask the audience
to be active listeners and to comment on 2-3 things they heard in each composition that captured the
essence of the landform. They may wish to give suggestions for any improvement that could be made.
• When all groups have played, give the students some time to refine their ideas and make any changes
that they feel are necessary to improve their composition.
• Record the final compositions. Play back to listen to the compositions and discuss what changes might
be made. Now that the students have listened to each other, they may have further ideas about how
they might refine their composition. Plan a future recording time.
Closure
• Discuss what has been learned about the landforms of Canada. What effect did creating the music
have on gaining an understanding of the landforms?
Extensions
Form seven groups, one for each physical region: The Cordillera; The Canadian Shield; The Interior
Plains; The Arctic Lowlands; The Hudson Bay Lowlands; The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands; The
Appalachian Highlands.
Ask each group to choose appropriate instruments/sounds for their region to create a soundscape. Allow
time for each group to create their soundscape. Share compositions and discuss. Challenge the students
to make a montage of all the collages from west to east across Canada and have each group play their
composition across Canada without a break. Let one merge into the other until the sound of Canada's
seven landforms is heard.
Discuss deforestation and the devastation this can cause. Ask each group to create the effect of deforestation
by gradually ceasing to play their instruments, one at a time, letting the sounds fall to silence. Discuss how the
planting of trees in B.C. has restored the forest. How can this be represented in the music? Discuss how the
song of Canada's landforms is diminished if any part is taken away, how the landform regions are connected,
and the importance of having diverse land forms. Unity and diversity in Canada can be expressed through
music.
This time, while in the seven groups, have the students create an action for each physical region (e.g.
cutting trees in The Cordillera; an ocean liner moving along the St. Lawrence River in The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Lowlands).
A Haiku Poem: Haiku began in Japan during the 17th century. Haiku are short poems usually about
things that make people feel a connection to nature. In Japanese, haiku traditionally have seventeen
short sounds divided into three lines of a fixed five-seven-five pattern.
3
Using haiku form (three lines: first line 5 syllables; second line 7 syllables; third line 5 syllables), have
small groups of students create haiku poems incorporating some of the descriptive words of each
Canadian landform. Share poems. Think about how these poems can be incorporated into the musical
soundscapes.
4