5th Grade Learns about Opera

For the past two weeks 5th graders have been learning about opera. To be specific, "La Serva Padrona", the most popular opera of the 18th century, by a composer named Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. Students watched a scene of the aria "Stizzoso mio Stizzoso".

Then students learned how to play an accompaniment I wrote to the aria for hand drum, tambourine, and finger cymbals. The notation below might look confusing at first, but students were able to discuss what each part meant that they already understood, and asked questions about the parts they didn't understand.

Here is a clip of one 5th grade class playing this accompaniment.