Grades: 	Elementary (K–5)
Subjects: 	Visual Arts, Music, History–Social Science
Time Required:	3–5-Part Lesson
	Five 30-minute class periods
Author: 	J. Paul Getty Museum Education Staff

Lesson Overview
Students will discuss a page from a late-medieval choir book, including its function and how it was made. They will learn how music was notated in the Middle Ages and practice a simplified method of notating music. Working in teams, students will create a class choir book of songs of celebration. 

Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
•	describe lines and shapes depicted in an illuminated manuscript page.
•	discuss how and why choir books were made in the Middle Ages.
•	compare music written in the Middle Ages to music today.
•	notate the melody for a song using simple shapes.
•	work in teams to create an illuminated page for a class choir book of songs of celebration.

Featured Getty Artwork
Initial R: The Resurrection by Antonio da Monza
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=3455 

Related Getty Artwork

Decorated Initial P by Antonio da Monza 
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=135010 

Materials
•	Reproduction of Initial R: The Resurrection by Antonio da Monza (one copy per student pair plus one image to project for class discussion)
•	Background Information and Questions for Teaching about the manuscript page 
•	Reproduction of Decorated Initial P by Antonio da Monza (one copy for class discussion)
•	CD of popular music appropriate for your classroom
•	CD player
•	Sheet music for a song that would be heard on a holiday 
•	Xylophone or keyboard (optional)
•	Internet access
•	Projector
•	Information and activities in the “Understanding Formal Analysis” section on the Getty website (optional) at http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/building_lessons/formal_analysis.html 
•	Student Handout: “Writing Music”
•	Audio: Vocal ensemble performing music written on Initial R: The Resurrection in the “Multimedia” list on the Getty website at http://getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/performing_arts/multimedia.html
•	Audio: Digital file or CD of “Jingle Bells,” or a keyboard or virtual keyboard to play the melody (see the Birmingham Grid for Learning website at  http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/music/piano/index.htm)
•	Butcher paper
•	Precut shapes of circles and ovals made of foam or paper
•	Student Handout: “Choir Book Template”
•	11 x 17 inch paper (one sheet per group of four students)
•	Colored pencils
•	Audio recording of medieval choir music, such as the CD Musica Vaticana: Music from the Vatican Manuscripts (1503-1534) by Pomerium (Glissando/Pure Classics, 1998), or excerpts of a vocal ensemble performing medieval music in the “Multimedia” list on the Getty website at http://getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/performing_arts/multimedia.html) (optional)

Lesson Steps

Day 1: Songs of Celebration

1.	Play an example of popular music appropriate for your students. Ask students why we sing and play music. Point out that one of the reasons we sing and play music is to celebrate. Ask students the following questions:
•	What is your favorite type of celebration? 
•	Do you listen to or play music at these celebrations? What are some examples of songs you would sing or hear at your birthday, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Halloween, or the Fourth of July? 
•	Do you sing any of the songs out loud? If so, do you follow along by reading the song lyrics or looking at music notes as you sing?

Point out that we may know some popular songs by heart because we have heard them so many times. To help musicians perform new songs, the rhythm and pitch are written down. Write down the words rhythm and pitch, along with their definitions, on the board.

2.	Choose a song played at celebrations, and sing the song as a class. For younger students, focus on rhythm. Break up the song into short sections. Model how to clap out the rhythm in a call-and-response activity. First establish a steady beat and tempo. After you clap each short rhythm, have students echo the rhythm.

3.	For older students, focus on pitch. Pass out corresponding sheet music for your chosen song. Point out that the highness or lowness of a note is called pitch. Explain that the higher notes in the melody are placed near the top of the five-line staff, and lower notes are placed on the bottom lines. Depending on your comfort level, you may wish to play the song’s 
melody on a xylophone, keyboard, or virtual keyboard (such as the one available on the Birmingham Grid for Learning website at:  http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/music/piano/index.htm). Point out that the notes get higher as you move to the right on the keyboard. Have students listen to the song again, and instruct them to raise their hands higher or lower, depending on the pitch.

Day 2: Medieval Music for a Holiday

1.	Project an image of a reproduction of Initial R: The Resurrection by Antonio da Monza to facilitate class discussion. Distribute one 8½ x 11 inch copy of the reproduction per student pair to help students see all the details. Tell students that the work of art includes a chant that was sung during the Easter holiday a very long time ago. You may wish to play an audio recording of medieval choir music. Point out that the work of art is a page from a book made in the late 1400s or early 1500s.

2.	Have students take the time to look closely at the work of art with a partner and describe what they see to one another. Tell them to discuss all the details they notice about the work. Discuss the formal elements of color, shape, and line with students. Refer to the section “Understanding Formal Analysis” for more information about elements of art, or for ideas for warm-up activities for line and shape. Prompt students with the following questions:
•	What colors do you see? (blue, gold, red, brown, etc.)
•	What kinds of lines do you see? (curvy, straight, diagonal, horizontal, etc.)
•	What kinds of shapes do you see? (circles, rectangles, squares, diamonds, ovals, geometric, organic, etc.)
•	What lines and shapes are repeated? (circles, squares, organic shapes, curvy lines, horizontal lines, etc.)
•	What details do you notice in the page’s borders? What other details do you see? (curvy blue leaves, circles containing people, serpents with colorful tails, angels with wings shaped like triangles, etc.)
•	What words would you use to describe this work of art? (fancy, pretty, detailed, etc.) 

3.	Point out that the lines and squares on the central part of the page represent a chant that would have been sung by a choir on Easter Sunday. Explain that the page has many surrounding decorations because Easter is considered the most important holiday of the Christian calendar. For comparison, display a reproduction of Decorated Initial P by Antonio da Monza, which is a simpler page from the same choir book. Also explain that many people who lived in medieval times were not able to read, so drawings in books would help readers understand the stories being told.

4.	Point out that the lyrics of the chant would have been written by a scribe. The text of the chant begins with a very fancy letter R. Ask students to point out where in the letter they see shapes and lines repeated to form patterns. Explain that medieval books did not have page numbers, so artists often decorated the first letter of an important part of a book to call attention to the beginning of a chapter. Decorated letters also had a functional purpose—they would serve as bookmarks that helped readers find the right page. You may wish to tell students that the letter R is decorated with an illustration of a story relating to the celebration of Easter.
5.	Explain that the page comes from a book that contains all the chants sung by a choir in the Christian mass during medieval times. Share relevant background information about the page.

6.	Ask students if they can find the initials “SPQR.” You may wish to give them a hint by telling them that the initials are located in the right border. Tell students that these initials communicated to medieval readers that a special church, the official church of the Senate and Roman people, commissioned the book. Point out that very few people would have had access to this book or would be able to read it. At this time, only monks or canons could be in the choir. Moreover, only the wealthiest people, as well as monks and priests, were able to read and write. Ask students how they would feel if they weren’t allowed access to the manuscript page or didn’t know how to read unless they were wealthy or were monks or priests in the Roman Catholic Church.  

Day 3: Writing Music—Past and Present

1.	Pass out the student handout “Writing Music,” which contains a detail of the music notes. Explain that monks used a system called “square notation” to represent music. Play an excerpt of a vocal ensemble performing the music represented on the page (see the “Multimedia” list at http://getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/performing_arts/multimedia.html). As students listen to the music, have them view the notes on the page.

2.	If your students viewed the sheet music of a popular tune on the first day of the lesson, ask them if they notice any similarities or differences between the medieval way of writing music and the music of a modern-day holiday song. Explain that medieval music is written with squares and rectangles instead of the ovals used in modern-day music. If appropriate for your grade level, point out that both ways of writing music use a staff consisting of long horizontal lines. The modern-day staff has five lines; the medieval staff has four. Each staff line represents a specific pitch, and a series of notes represents a tune. Also point out that, just like today’s music, higher pitches are placed near the top of the staff, and lower pitches are placed toward the bottom of the staff.

3.	Have students practice using a simplified version of musical notation. Play the opening line of “Jingle Bells” on a CD or from a digital file, or use a keyboard or virtual keyboard to play the melody. Have students work in teams of four. Give each team a piece of butcher paper and precut circle shapes. Each circle represents a note. Tell students to place the first circle at the left center edge of the paper, which corresponds to the syllable “Jing-” in “Jingle bells….” As students listen to the melody, have them place a circle for each note higher or lower on the paper, based on whether the note is higher or lower than the previous one (see diagram below).

			         		 

                         		       

  		

Jing-le bells    jing-le bells,     jing-le all the way.

4.	Pass out oval shapes and have students listen to the melody again. Have students listen for notes that are held longer than others. Tell students to replace the circles with ovals for each note that is held longer. Point out that the different shapes will help singers know that they should sing a note for a longer period of time.

	

                          		         

				                  

Jing-le bells,    jing-le bells,    jing-le all the way.

Days 4–6: Class Book of Holiday Songs
 
1.	Tell students that they will be making pages for a class book of songs of celebration.

2.	Divide the class into groups of three. Each group will be responsible for creating one page of the class book. For younger grades, select a song for the book and assign a single line of the song for each group. For older grades, allow the groups to select a song for a celebration they would like to illustrate, and instruct them to choose one line from the song.

3.	Allow students to decide who will have which of the following roles:
•	scribe—neatly write the lyrics and draw circles/ovals representing short/long beats; write the first letter of the lyrics very large so that it can be decorated. 
•	first illustrator—decorate the first letter of the lyrics by drawing a scene that relates to the celebration, making sure to include colorful details.
•	second illustrator—create decorations around the border of the page using repeated lines and shapes.
 
4.	Pass out the handout “Choir Book Template” to each student. Have students use pencil to create a rough draft of their contributions to their group’s choir book page. When they are finished, tell students to discuss how they will combine each group member’s contributions on one larger sheet of paper. Pass out colored pencils and 11 x 17 inch paper to each group and have each group complete a final draft of their choir book page.    

Assessment
Assess students based on their participation in class discussion, including whether they are able to describe lines and shapes in the illuminated manuscript page, and their comparisons of music today versus that of the Middle Ages. 

Assess students’ illuminated pages based on the following criteria:
•	inclusion of circles and ovals representing short and long beats of a portion of a song of celebration
•	inclusion of an illustration of a song that includes colorful details
•	use of repeated lines and shapes in the border decoration
•	ability to work cooperatively in a group
•	ability to follow directions

Extensions
Have students research the different classes of society during the medieval period on Annenberg Media’s Middle Ages website (http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/). Have each student role-play a monk, soldier, or peasant. How would their everyday lives be different? What privileges would some classes have that others wouldn’t? Who would be in the church listening, and who would be singing?

Standards Addressed

Common Core Standards for English Language Arts

Grades K–5

SPEAKING AND LISTENING
K.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and text with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
K.3 Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood. 
1.4 Describe familiar people places, things, and events, with relative details expressing ideas and feelings more clearly.
1.6 Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 1 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)
2.4 Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audible in coherent sentences.
3.6 Speak in complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification. (See grade 3 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)
4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
4.6 Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion); use formal English when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 4 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)
5.3 Summarize the points a speaker or media source makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence, and identify and analyze any logical fallacies. 
5.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 5 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)

Visual Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools 

Grade K
1.0 Artistic Perception
1.3 Identify the elements of art (line, color, shape/form, texture, value, space) in the environment and in works of art, emphasizing line, color, and shape/form.

2.0 Creative Expression
2.6 Use geometric shapes/forms (circle, triangle, square) in a work of art. 

4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
4.2 Describe what is seen (including both literal and expressive content) in selected works of art.

Grade 1
1.0 Artistic Perception
1.3 Identify the elements of art in objects in nature, in the environment, and in works of art, emphasizing line, color, shape/form, and texture.

Grade 2
1.0 Artistic Perception
1.3 Identify the elements of art in objects in nature, the environment, and works of art, emphasizing line, color, shape/form, texture, and space.

3.0 Historical and Cultural Context
3.3 Identify and discuss how art is used in events and celebrations in various cultures, past and present, including the use in their own lives.

Grade 3
1.0 Artistic Perception
1.5 Identify and describe elements of art in works of art, emphasizing line, color, shape/form, texture, space, and value.

Grade 4
1.0 Artistic Perception
1.5 Describe and analyze the elements of art (e.g., color, shape/form, line, texture, space, value), emphasizing form, as they are used in works of art and found in the environment.

Grade 5
3.0 Historical and Cultural Context
3.2 Identify and describe various fine, traditional, and folk arts from historical periods worldwide.

4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
4.1 Identify how selected principles of design are used in a work of art and how they affect personal responses to and evaluation of the work of art.

Music Content Standards for California Public Schools

Grade K
1.0 Artistic Perception
1.1 Use icons or invented symbols to represent beat.

2.0 Creative Expression
2.2 Sing age-appropriate songs from memory.

3.0 Historical and Cultural Context
3.1 Identify the various uses of music in daily experiences. 

4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
4.2 Identify, talk about, sing, or play music written for specific purposes (e.g., work song, lullaby).

Grade 1
2.0 Creative Expression
2.2 Sing age-appropriate songs from memory.

3.0 Historical and Cultural Context
3.1 Recognize and talk about music and celebrations of the cultures represented in the school population.

Grade 2
2.0 Creative Expression
2.2 Sing age-appropriate songs from memory.

3.0 Historical and Cultural Context
3.1 Identify the uses of specific music in daily or special events.

Grade 3
3.0 Historical and Cultural Context
3.1 Identify the uses of music in various cultures and time periods.
3.4 Identify differences and commonalities in music from various cultures.

Grade 4
3.0 Historical and Cultural Context
3.1 Explain the relationship between music and events in history.

5.0 Connections, Relationships, Applications
5.2 Integrate several art disciplines (dance, music, theatre, or the visual arts) into a well-organized presentation or performance.

Grade 5
5.0 Connections, Relationships, Applications
5.1 Explain the role of music in community events.

History–Social Science Content Standards for California Public Schools

Grade K
K.6 Students understand that history relates to events, people, and places of other times.

1. Identify the purposes of, and the people and events honored in, commemorative holidays, including the human struggles that were the basis for the events (e.g., Thanksgiving, Independence Day, Washington’s and Lincoln’s Birthdays, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day). 

3. Understand how people lived in earlier times and how their lives would be different today (e.g., getting water from a well, growing food, making clothing, having fun, forming organizations, living by rules and laws). 

Grade 1
1.4 Students compare and contrast everyday life in different times and places around the world and recognize that some aspects of people, places, and things change over time while others stay the same. 

1. Examine the structure of schools and communities in the past. 

4.	Recognize similarities and differences of earlier generations in such areas as work (inside and outside the home), dress, manners, stories, games, and festivals, drawing from biographies, oral histories, and folklore.