Alexandra Bruder

Social Foundations of Music Education

April 13, 2020

4rd Grade Music Class; “El Puente Está Quebrado” Game

Section 1: Essential Questions & Standards

Essential Questions ● How do we use rhythm in the games we play?
How are we learning?
(Element, not
concept!)

Standards MU:Cn11.0.4a Demonstrate understanding of

What is the relationships between music and the other arts, other
framework for our disciplines, varied contexts, and daily life.
learning outcome? MU:Re7.1.4a Demonstrate and explain how selected
music connects to and is influenced by specific interests,
experiences, purposes, or contexts.
MU:Cr1.1.4b Generate musical ideas (such as rhythms,
melodies, and simple accompaniment patterns) within
related tonalities (such as major and minor) and meters.
MU:Pr4.1.4a Demonstrate and explain how the selection
of music to perform is influenced by personal interest,
knowledge, context, and technical skill.

Section 2: Learning Outcomes

Learning 1. Students will connect the music of “El Puente” to Colombia’s
Outcomes culture through the Spanish language.
How are we relating 2. Students will create a definition of triplets using “El Puente”’s
the standards to the second verse as an example.
lesson? 3. Students will create an example of a triplet rhythm while in pairs.
“Students will…” 4. Students will perform “El Puente” through the game, and explain
the context of the song in the exit slip.

Section 3: Materials, Vocabulary, & Prerequisites

Materials ⮚ A laptop with projector
⮚ The Google Slides Presentation (fig. 1)
⮚ An open space
⮚ Hula hoops (2)
⮚ Exit slips (fig. 2)
⮚ “El Puente Está Quebrado” (Sheet music is fig. 3)
o Thompson, Beth. “El Puente Está Quebrado.” Beth's Notes,
25 Nov. 2019, www.bethsnotesplus.com/2018/07/el-
puente-esta-quebrado.html.
Glossary of Terms & Abbreviations
⮚ Triplet: Three notes of equal length that
are to be performed in the duration of
two notes of equal length.
o Triplet. 11 May 2016,
dictionary.onmusic.org/terms/36
90-triplet.

Previous Learning / Context ⮚ The students have learned basic rhythms

Topic students have obtained earlier. such as the eighth, quarter, half, and
whole note.

Section 4: Procedures
“El Puente Está 1) The teacher will have a board set up with the following Google
Quebrado” Slides Presentation (fig. 1).
2) The teacher will ask students to sit down in a circle while they
talk about the game they will be playing. The teacher will
introduce the game as “El Puente Está Quebrado” that started in
Colombia
3) The teacher uses the next slide to talk about Colombia
a. The teacher will briefly talk about Colombia’s history:
“The Republic of Colombia is the home to almost 50
million people. Those who live there speak Spanish, but
they come from many other cultures from the Carribean,
Africa, and the Middle East. Their capitol is called
Bogota, and their flag colors are yellow, red, and blue.”
i. “Colombia Facts, Worksheets & Historic
Information For Kids.” KidsKonnect, 10 Dec.
2019, kidskonnect.com/places/colombia/.
4) After talking about Colombia, the teacher will ask if students
have any questions about the country.
a. Answer these questions to the best of your ability, and
be honest if you don’t know an answer.
5) After all questions are done (or about five questions go by, to
get back on track), the teacher will then reintroduce the song
again by singing “El Puente Está Quebrado”.
a. If there is a substitute, there is a recording on the third
slide of the presentation.
6) Moving onto the lyrics slide, the teacher will sing the song three
times before signalling the students to sing with them. They will
then sing the song two more times before the teacher stops
them.
7) After moving on to the triplet slide, the teacher will sing the
first two lines of the second verse while clapping triplets (“trip-
uh-let, trip-uh-let”). The teacher will ask the students to clap
 the same rhythm as the teacher.
8) The teacher will slow down the activity to locate the triplets in
this section, putting emphasis on there being three equal notes.
9) The teacher will then ask the students what they think a triplet
is based on that activity.
a. Look for a definition like “three notes notes that are
played in equal time”
10) The teacher will then ask each student to turn to a peer and
find a word or phrase that fits with the “triplet” scheme”. Once
given a minute, the teacher will go around the circle to ask for
these examples.
11) With this, the teacher will then explain the game.
a. Two students will be picked randomly before the game
starts. These two students choose a topic to choose
between, and each student would choose one thing from
that topic to represent. For example, if the students
chose the topic to be animals, one student may choose to
be “cats” while the other chooses to be “dogs”.
b. After the students have chosen their topics and item, the
rest of the students will form a line/circle in front of the
pairs’ arms. The game starts when the pair lifts their
arms like a bridge and everyone starts singing.
c. As soon as everyone starts singing, the other students
will go under the pairs’ arms like a bridge. Once the
lyrics get to the end, the pair will bring their arms down
to the person under them.
d. The pair will then ask them to choose one of the two
items that were previously chosen before. Once the
student chooses, they go on to the side of the pair they
chose. The pair raises their arms again and starts singing
for the rest of the students to go under.
e. This continues until all students have gone under the
bridge and have chosen a side. Once all students have
chosen a side, each side now becomes a team! Each team
will lock hands with each other and try to pass a hula
hoop from the first person of the pair to the last person
to choose a rise-- without unlocking hands!
f. Whichever team gets their hula hoop to the other side
without breaking hands wins.
12) This can continue until there are five minutes left in class, to
which the teacher will end the game and ask students to fill out
the exit slip before lining up to leave.

Section 5: Assessment & Extensions

Assessment ✔ The teacher will use the exit slip (q. 1) to assess connection of
Checking music to the Spanish language
understanding of ✔ The teacher will assess definitions of triplets by adding a
objectives. classroom definition to the powerpoint.
✔ The teacher will assess students’ use of triplets through triplet
examples.
✔ The teacher will assess performance of “El puente” while using
the exit slip (q. 1-2) to contextualize the performance.

Extension of ⮚ The game will continue with new pairs until there is five minutes
Lesson left in class.
Where can this
lesson go in context?

Honor Code
I affirm that I have upheld the highest principles of honesty and integrity in my academic
work, and have not witnessed a violation of the honor code.

Alexandra Bruder
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1d2S6JxNkuHqlAYxOkmbbZZsUEcCgIAk8BTQ
a6wKdF9s/edit?usp=sharing
Figure 1. Link to the Google Slides Presentation

Figure 2. Exit Slip

Figure 3. Bethnotesplus.com’s notation of “El puente”