LITTLE CARIBBEAN

Lesson 5

Teaching Artist: Evan Harris

This is the fifth lesson from the New York Stories Course. Students will visit Little Caribbean to explore its deep cultural roots from the West Indies and Africa. Then students will perform “St. Thomas,” a song by jazz luminary Sonny Rollins, which is based on a nursery rhyme sung in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

SUMMARY

OBJECTIVE

  • Students will be able to summarize important information about the community in Little Caribbean.

  • Students will be able to develop awareness of musical structure by rhythmically accompanying a simple melody.

MATERIALS

TEACHER BACKGROUND

Teachers can optionally integrate facts from CaribBEING House and Drummer’s Grove.

EXPLORE

  1. Play this video of New York City musician Patrick Davis performing Despacito on the subway platform at Penn Station. Ask students: Do you know the name of the instrument Patrick Davis is playing? Explain that they will learn about its importance today. Ask students to brainstorm all of the musical instruments they see around New York City (or your home city). Examples may be found on the street, in the park, on the subway platform, at the bus stop, or in the subway car. For more information on this musical instrument, see this Steel Pans resource. 

  2. Distribute the New York Stories Travel Diary. Allow students a moment to personalize the diary. Tell students they will use the diary as they travel through New York, drawing and recording important facts about another culture.

  3. Listen to the song “St. Thomas” by jazz luminary Sonny Rollins. Play the first part of the video New York Stories: Little Caribbean [0:00 - 5:01]. Allow time for students to record facts in their diary through words or drawings.

LEARN

  1. Using the Map of St. Thomas and the Map of Little Caribbean, demonstrate the difference in terrain between the two communities - one is a tropical island, and the other is a cityscape. Ask students to imagine how they might feel walking down a street on the island of St. Thomas, and compare with how they might feel walking down a street in Little Caribbean. Remind students that music can tell a story about the world around you, and can transport your mind to another place.

  2. Play the second part of the video New York Stories: Little Caribbean [5:02 - 6:42], and lead students in clapping twice after each musical sentence and in the brief “dance breaks.”

  3. Ask students to suggest a two-syllable word for the class to chant with each set of claps, and repeat the activity using the words.

PERFORM+SHARE

  1. Record a class ensemble performance of “St. Thomas,” which features the students’ original lyrics, and dance breaks. Share the video at S’Cool Sounds Padlet.