Washington Portrait

This cooperative improvisation between fifth and second grade students can be planned and performed in less than one hour, but preparation for the event should include several previous experiences including viewing the famous painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, hearing the historical details from a variety of sources, engaging in student discussions of the events surround the planning and the Battle of Trenton and identifying targeted musical concepts. Preparation during previous music classes should include students’ descriptions of real sounds they might have heard at the time of the story, as well as the moods and feelings of the participants. Both second and fifth graders should explore instruments in the classroom and ways to play them to evoke desired results. (See musical Round the World activity.) Fifth graders should listen to and discuss the devices used in the orchestral composition, Lincoln Portrait by Aaron Copland. They could discuss the strengths and particular talents they might bring as individuals to the improvisation and these can be shared with the second graders during their discussions in music class