DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Lesson 3

Teaching Artist: Juan Manuel Trujillo, Hery Paz
Two puppets presenting the flag of the Dominican Republic.

SUMMARY

This is the third lesson from the Alegría Musical Course. Students will visit the Dominican Republic with puppets Pepe and Tito to learn about the traditions of merengue and bachata music. Then students will participate in bachata rhythmic activities.

OBJECTIVE

  • Summarize important information about the culture and geography of the Dominican Republic.

  • Play a basic bachata güira part.

MATERIALS

EXPLORE

  1. Display Google Slides: Dominican Republic. Distribute the Alegría Musical: Latin American Stories Travel Diary. Allow students a moment to personalize the diary. Tell students they will use the diary as they travel through Latin America with puppets Pepe and Tito, drawing and recording important facts about another culture. 

  2. Show students the All About the Dominican Republic video. Ask the students to remember the key geographical and cultural elements discussed in the video. Ask: Where is the country located on a map? What are the most important regions discussed in the video? What foods do people eat? Is there a national sport?

  3. Allow time for students to draw and write in their diary, recalling information they learned from the video.

LEARN

  1. Introduce students to Bachata Music. Explain that bachata is a type of music that expresses feelings of love and romance. Ask students to name titles of familiar love songs and invite them to share or sing the lyrics.

  2. Ask students to recall the musical instruments of bachata: a) requinto (lead guitar), b) segunda (rhythm guitar), c) bass guitar, d) bongos, and e) güira. Show images of the Metal Güira and ask students to describe its features, the sound it makes, and how it is played. Watch a demonstration of the Metal Güira in Performance to observe the way the güira is played. Then, watch a demonstration of How to Play a Homemade Güira to search for an item in the classroom or at home that could be used as a güira. A spiral-bound book, zipper, or anything with ‘ribs’ will work when scraped with a pencil.

  3. Using the Bachata Rhythm Track, ask students to play along on their own güiras, prompting them to create a strong beat by making the same motions in unison.

PERFORM+SHARE

  1. Create a one minute video of students playing a rhythm on the güira. Share the video at the S’Cool Sounds Padlet

  2. Tell students to get their diary ready for the next lesson, which is a visit to Puerto Rico.