Lesson Overview:

This lesson focuses on the process of writing lyrics and choreographing movement to reflect a character’s mood, feeling, or perspective. Students begin by exploring the movement phrases and sounds used in the song, "It Ain’t So Easy, Bein' a Dog," from James Ingram and Debbie Allen's musical, Brothers of the Knight, and the ways that these phrases and sounds reflect the perspective of the character (Happy, the dog) who sings the song. The students then work in groups to compose original lyrics and choreograph movement based on a dog’s life.

Length of Lesson:

Two 45-minute periods

Notes:

This lesson is particularly suitable for grades 3-4.

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

• analyze the lyrics of "It Ain't So Easy, Bein' a Dog" and identify the movements and behavior described in the song that are typical of a dog.
• compose a six-line stanza of lyrics written from the perspective of a dog.
• memorize and reproduce movement sequences.
• choreograph a dance to be performed by someone who is playing the character of a dog. perform a dance "in character," as a certain breed of dog.

Supplies:

• CD Player
• Any compact disc recording of calming music
• Brothers of the Knight by Debbie Allen (Book)
• Brothers of the Knight Soundtrack by James Ingram and Debbie Allen (recording)
• Paper and pencils

Instructional Plan:

Session One: Writing

Warm-Up

Begin a class discussion by talking about the characteristics of dogs. To prompt discussion, ask questions such as:

• What interesting or fun things does a dog do?
• What kind of mischief can dogs get into?
• Are there any disadvantages to having a dog?

Next, ask students to imagine what it would be like to be a dog for a day. Ask them to consider the following: If you were a dog, what would you do all day? What might go on inside your head? If you could speak, what would you say? Do you think you would enjoy living a dog’s life? Why or why not?

Have students jot down a brief written response to the prompt: "What would it be like to be a dog?" Tell the students that they should identify the best and worst things about a dog's life. Give them about three minutes to jot down quick thoughts and images. Have students share their responses and record them on the board.

Guided Practice

Have students access the "It Ain’t So Easy, Bein' a Dog" lyric sheet. (Note: If computers are not available for all of the students, you may print out the lyric sheet. You will need to play the sound clip for the entire class.) Hand out the Doggie Dance Worksheet. You may also wish to display the first two stanzas of the song on a large poster or overhead transparency. Define the words "stanza" and "verse" for the students. (See the Vocabulary Handout.)

Tell the students that sometimes, songs are written from the perspective of a particular character. Point out that this often happens in songs written for musical theatre and opera—art forms in which portions of the story are sung.

Tell the students that when a composer and a lyricist write a song from the perspective of a character, they have to imagine what the character would be thinking, feeling, and doing. They must write the song so that it helps the audience learn something about the character. The song must also sound "true" to the character and his or her mood and temperament.

If the class has not seen or read Brothers of the Knight, ask them to review the lyrics and consider who might sing "It Ain’t So Easy, Bein' a Dog" and what that character might be feeling. To familiarize students with the story of the musical, you may wish to view the Storytime Online: Brothers of the Knight presentation, narrated by Debbie Allen.

Tell the students that in order to write the song "It Ain’t So Easy, Bein' a Dog," composer James Ingram and lyricist Debbie Allen had to imagine what it would be like to be a dog. Specifically, they had to envision how a dog might feel when he gets into trouble, or when he is frustrated with his master. In the musical, this song begins right after Happy, the dog of the Knight family, is blamed for chewing on a shoe. Ask the students to think about this situation as they read the first two stanzas of "It Ain’t So Easy, Bein' a Dog," the song Happy sings after he has gotten into trouble.

Have the students read the lyrics to themselves again, this time focusing on the song’s content and structure. Then, have them listed to the embedded audio clip on the lyric sheet (or play the audio clip for the students). Note: The audio clip ends before the completion of the second stanza. Have students complete the question on the worksheet. Then, have them discuss their answers as a class.

Independent Practice

Divide the class into groups of four. Tell them that they must create a six-line stanza to continue the song. The first line will be "It ain’t so easy, bein' a dog." The students must compose five more lines, using the ideas that they wrote down about the difficulties of being a dog. Remind the students to use movement words and phrases, as well as dog noises, in the stanza. Allow students fifteen minutes to complete the task. Have each group hand in one clean copy of the finished stanza.

Session Two: Movement Activity

This portion of the lesson focuses on choreographing movements to complement the students’ written work. Prepare the room by pushing the furniture out of the way.

Warm-Up

Lead the students through a three- to five-minute physical warm-up. You may wish to play slow, calm music during the warm-up. Lead the students in the following sequence of movements:

• Turn the head slowly from side to side.
• Tilt the head to the shoulder on each side.
• Raise the shoulders to the ears several times.
• Rotate the shoulders to the front and to the back.
• Place the hands on the shoulders and touch the right elbow to the right hip. Mirror this movement on the left side. Repeat this several times.
• Place the hands on the thighs and curve the spine. Slowly straighten the spine, and follow the motion through to arch the back.
• With the hands still on the thighs, turn the right shoulder to the left thigh. Then turn the left shoulder going to the right thigh.
• Bend at the waist. Relax the spine, arms, neck, and head. Round up slowly, vertebrae by vertebrae, bringing the head up last.
• Inhale deeply, raising the arms up to the ceiling.
• Face the body to the right and lunge. Repeat this on the left side.
• Carefully stretch the calf muscles by raising the toes of each foot and gently bend over.
• Inhale deeply once again and lower the arms to complete the warm-up.

Guided Practice

Define the word "choreographer." (See the Vocabulary Handout.) Explain that when a choreographer creates a dance, he or she must use movements that complement the words and the music. When choreographing for a specific character, he or she must think about how the character would move. Ask the students how a choreographer's work is similar to a lyricist's job.

As a class, listen to the sound clip from "It Ain’t So Easy, Bein' a Dog" again. (If possible, you may wish to listen to the entire song on the Brothers of the Knight Soundtrack; see Sources section for information about the recording.) Have the students take out their copies of the two stanzas of "It Ain’t So Easy, Bein' a Dog," as well as their worksheets. Review the list of movement words and phrases that the students identified earlier in the lesson. Also review their responses to the questions about the tone of the music and the singer.

Ask student volunteers to perform each of the movement phrases as if he or she were a dog. After the volunteer models the movement, have the class repeat it. Begin with the first movement phrase: " . . . stand on your hind legs and jump like a frog," and continue until the entire stanza is choreographed. (As each movement is added, the class should return to the beginning of the stanza and perform it from the beginning.)

Explain that in Brothers of the Knight, Happy the dog is a mutt. Ask students to consider how a mutt moves. Divide the class into groups of four. Have the members of each group move across the floor as if they were Happy the mutt trotting up to say "hi" to his master. After all of the groups have crossed the floor, ask them to repeat the movement, this time moving as if they were poodles, rather than mutts. After the cross, discuss with the students how they adjusted their physical movements to show that they were poodles. Have them complete one more cross, this time as a St. Bernard. Again, ask the students to identify how and why they adjusted their movements.

Independent Activity

Ask the students to return to the groups in which they wrote their stanzas. Give each group its stanza and have the groups spread out so that they have room to choreograph and practice a new movement sequence.

Tell the students that, now that they have choreographed the first two stanzas as a class, they will choreograph the last stanza in small groups. Suggest that they practice saying the words to the song as they work.

Before the students begin choreographing their original stanzas, assign each group a dog breed. (Some good breeds to use include: dachshund, German shepherd, chihuahua, boxer, or pug. You may wish to bring in pictures of each dog breed, in case the students are unfamiliar with the breed names.) The dog type should be reflected in the choreography for the final piece.

Allow groups 30 minutes to choreograph and practice their dance. At the end of the work time, each group should say or sing the words and perform their choreographed piece. After each group’s performance, the class should try to guess the breed of dog depicted in the performance. They should comment on how the performers incorporated dog-like movement and sounds, and how they adjusted their movement to reflect the assigned dog breed. If possible, videotape the final dance pieces.

Assessment:

Assess the students based upon the extent to which they meet the following criteria:

Group Stanza:

• The stanza is six lines.
• The stanza includes creative words that describe dog-like movements and sounds.
• The stanza addresses the difficulties of being a dog.
• The lyrics in the stanza reveal something about the mood, feeling, or perspective of the character.

Group Dance:

• Every member of the group participates in the dance.
• The group performs the first part of the dance accurately, as choreographed by the class.
• The dance incorporates dog-like movement.
• The choreographed movement reveals something about the mood, feeling, or perspective of the character.
• Group members adjust their movements to reflect the assigned dog breed.
• The new choreography complements the original stanza.

Extensions:

Choreograph a dance based on another piece of music from Brothers of the Knight, such as the title song "Brothers of the Knight" or "Ole Girl’s Gotta Go," keeping in mind the characters that perform these songs.

Sources:

Print:

• Allen, Debbie. Brothers of the Knight. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1999.
• Cooper, Elisha. Dance. Greenwillow Books, 2001.
• Igus, Toyomi and Michele Wood. I See the Rhythm. San Francisco: Children’s Book Press, 1998.
• Tobey, Cheryl. Modern Dance. New York: Children’s Press, 2001.

Media:

• Ingram, James and Debbie Allen. Brothers of the Knight. Intering Records, 2001.**

**Brothers of the Knight composer James Ingram is a back-to-back Academy Award nominee. One of truly superb voices in contemporary music, Mr. Ingram has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a singer, performer, and songwriter. He is one of contemporary music’s premier vocalists but he is much, much more. The proud possessor of three Grammy and seventeen Grammy nominations Awards and two Oscar Nominations, James Ingram is a producer, arranger, a songwriter, and musician. He constantly demonstrates unequivocally that he is indeed a multi-talented music man. With his instantly recognizable vocal style, Ingram’s rich, soulful sound has endeared him to audiences literally the world over and his projects are sure to satisfy the many admirers he’s acquired through a career filled with accomplishment and achievement. In many ways, James stands as a testament to a career of hit making that spans two decades. A native of Akron, Ohio, James Ingram was exposed to music at an early age. One of six children, he is a self taught musician who is adept at piano, guitar, bass, drums, and synthesizer. “When I was growing up, I really wanted to be Jimmy Smith,” he says, referring to the legendary jazz organist. Always in the company of some of the finest musical artists in the world, James was invited to record “The American Dream Goes On” with conductor John Williams and The Boston Pops Orchestra. He teamed up with Linda Ronstadt for “Somewhere Out There” in 1986, adding an astounding eleventh Grammy nomination to a recording career only in its fifth year. The essential quality that is apparent in James’ music is the down-on-the-ground realness and authenticity that James Ingram brings to every song he writes, sings, or produces. That honest approach to music stems the balance James maintains between his career and his home life. Away from the stage and the recording studio, James is very much a family man: married to wife Debbie for the past twenty-eight years and the father of six children, James divides his time between Los Angeles and a ten-acre mountain retreat. “Music’s an important part of my life,” he notes, “but it’s not all of my life…my family’s my life.” Fortunately for one and all, James Ingram’s ‘extended’ family includes his many admirers throughout the world. We hope you agree this remarkable artist’s pre-eminence as one of the most outstanding vocalists of our time.

Authors:

• Mary Beth Bauernschub, Teacher
  Kingsford Elementary School
  Mitchellville, MD