Primary Lesson

Title: Tango Stories

Arizona State Standards

  • Reading: Strand 1-Concept 6 (apply reading strategies) Strand 2-Concept 1(identify facts and main ideas, author’s purpose) Strand 3-Concept 1 (analyze non-fiction) Strand 2-Concept 2 (recognize historical and cultural perspectives)
  • Writing: Creative Writing: Strand 2-Concepts 1,2 & 4, Strand 3-Concept 1 (Grade1) Strand 1-Concept 2, Strand 2 Concepts 1,2, & 4, Strand 3-Concept 1 (Grade 2) Strand 1-Concept2, Strand 2-Concepts 1,2 & 4, Strand 3-Concept 2 (Grade 3) Writing Process: Strand 1- Concepts 1-5, Strand 2-Concept 6 (Grades1-2) Strand 1-Concepts 1 & 3-5, Strand 2 Concepts 1 & 6. Gather & Report Information: Strand 2-Concept 1-2, Strand 3-Concept 2-3 (Grade 1) Strand 1-Concept 2, Strand 2-Concepts 1-2, Strand 3 Concepts 2-3 (Grade 2) Strand 2-Concepts 1-2 (Grade 3).
  • Listening and Speaking: LS-F1 and LS-F3 (shares, presents, participates in activities)
  • History: 1SS-F2 (knowledge of past & present) 1SS-E1(research tools)
  • Civics and Government: 2SS-F1 (multiculturalism)
  • Geography: 3SS-R1 (concept of location) 3SS-F1 (map skills)
  • Arts: 1AM-R1 (songs) 1AM-R2 (rhythm) 1AM-R7 (music appreciation) 2AV-R2 (art & culture)
    1AD-R5 (dance movement) 1AD-R7 (dance appreciation)

Goals & Objectives:

  1. Students become familiar with South America and Argentina.
  2. Students express themselves by dancing to tango music.
  3. Students write creative stories incorporating facts they have learned about Argentina and Tango.

Length of lesson: 4-5 one-hour periods

Materials & Preparation:

  1. books about Argentina
  2. tango music
  3. video of tango dancing (see bibliography)
  4. world map and/or globe

Lesson

First Period

  1. Begin lesson by playing tango music.
  2. Have students standing and the classroom ready for movement (chairs and such put away.)
  3. Ask students what kind of music is this? Is it music for dancing? (Many may say no, as much of the dancing and music today is such a part of American pop culture, and this music is so different from what they are used to.) How would you dance to this music?
  4. Allow students time to listen to and move their bodies to the music. You may want to play 2 or 3 songs, giving students time to warm up to the idea of free dancing. Make note of how they move, long sweeping movements, with a friend or alone, moving around the room, etc.
  5. Turn off the music and have the group come to order.
  6. Ask questions about their dancing, How did they know how to move? Did they like to dance to that music? How did this kind of music make you feel?
  7. Ask students questions about the music. What kind of instruments do they hear? Do they know the name of this music? Is it rap music? Is it country music? Is it modern music from today or music from long ago? If they say old music, ask them from when, during what years?
  8. Collect students’ ideas on butcher paper for reference.
  9. End the period by sharing that this music is named tango and acknowledge, if appropriate, that some students knew this name.
  10. Play a video of tango dancing for a few minutes, compare to the form in which they were dancing, how was it the same or different. Do not emphasize that there is a right or a wrong way, only differences.
  11. Have students investigate for homework where tango music comes from.

Second Period

  1. Begin this period by playing some tango music again and accept any comments students have. Ask them if anyone learned where tango comes from.
  2. Using a map(s) of the world or a globe(s), if nobody knows, tell students that tango comes from a country named Argentina. Does anyone know where Argentina is? Have students explore the globes/maps to find Argentina.
  3. Come back together as a class and discuss what students know about Argentina. Ask them what language they speak, what continent it is on, what are the people like? etc. Focus the discussion on the conversation, and student generated facts instead of telling them all the answers.
  4. Dismiss students to freely explore the collection of books about Argentina, or turn it into a search for information about tango inside the books.

Third Period

  1. Show a picture or a video of Carlos Gardel. If it is a video, play a portion first without the sound, as to not give away the music.
  2. Ask questions about the picture. Where is he from? When was the picture taken? What job do you think he had? (Someone may have seen a picture of him in yesterday’s book search.)
  3. Replay the video again with the volume, so students can hear the tango music. Explain that he was a famous singer from the 1920’s in Argentina and the kind of music he sang to was tango.
  4. Explain that tomorrow, the class will write stories incorporating everything they have learned about tango. Review the elements of a story, setting, characters, plot, etc. Call attention to where the setting and who the characters could be. (Argentina, Carlos Gardel or two dancers.)

Fourth Period

  1. Play tango music/and or the videos and have the books about Argentina available to students as they write a tango story.

Closure

  1. Have some or all students share the tango stories they have written.


Evaluation

  1. While reading student papers, look for information and facts about Argentina and tango music and dance in their writings.

Extensions

  1. After dancing to the tango music, or instead, have students draw pictures while the music is playing. How does this music make you feel, what does if make you think about? What does it make you want to draw? After drawing, discuss why they drew the kind of pictures they did. Have them develop their stories around the pictures they drew while listening to tango music.
  2. If students are more developed as writers, you could also explain the history of tango as a way for men to “fight” each other for the right to dance with a girl. They could then add this element, the tension between tango dancers into their writing.
  3. Compare tango dancing to other dances around the world. Look at salsa dancing in Puerto Rico or New York, samba dancing in Brazil and flamenco dancing in Spain. You could divide the class into groups, each with the name of a dance, and have them research where the dance comes from, what music is played during the dance, and famous people connected with the dance. Incorporate geographical information for each of these countries.
  4. Have a dance instructor or a physical education teacher come and teach some basic tango movements to your class.