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For early primary students, an introduction to message drums, suitable for inclusion in a unit on music, percussion, communication, history, or world cultures.

Introduction and overview

Message drums are actually large slit gongs , usually constructed from hollowed-out logs, that are used to send messages over considerable distances. This lesson plan, suitable for a wide range of ages, includes an explanation and discussion of message drums, and an activity demonstrating how they are used. It is a cross-discipline lesson, appropriate for a music class unit on percussion or instrument traditions around the world, a social studies unit on world cultures (message drums were independently invented in several different places, including Africa, Asia, and the Americas), a language arts unit on the history of communication or a poetry unit on the rhythm of language, or a science/math unit on codes and messages.

    Goals and standards

  • Grade Level - K-12 (adaptable)
  • Student Prerequisites - Students must be able to cooperate to accomplish goals in small groups with minimal supervision. (If they cannot, see "Adaptations".)
  • Teacher Expertise - Teacher expertise in music is not necessary to present this activity.
  • Time Requirements - One (approximately 45-minute) class period for the presentation and activity.
  • Goals - The student will learn how and why message drums have been used in several cultures around the world.
  • Objectives - The class will discuss various forms of pre-electronic-era long-distance messages and draw conclusions about why a culture might choose one form over another. Small groups of students will each develop a code consisting of several messages that can be sent using two drum pitches, and will demonstrate their code to the class by using it to successfully send messages across a classroom.
  • Music Standards Addressed - National Standards for Music Education standards 8 (understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts) and 9 (understanding music in relation to history and culture).
  • Other Subjects Addressed - The activity also addresses National Standards in the Social Studies standards 1 (culture), 2 (time, continuity and change), 3 (people, places and environments), and 8 (science, technology, and society), and National Standards for the English Language Arts standard 9 (Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles).
  • Evaluation - Base assessment on discussion and activity participation, and on each group's success in developing and using a code according to the given parameters.
  • Adaptations - If the students cannot cooperate in small groups with minimal supervision, do the activity as a class instead.

Message drums

Introducing the subject

Give young students copies of the Slit Gong Message Drum handout. If possible, show students a picture of a real message drum from a book or website. (As of this writing, there were useful photos at Art-Pacific and Papua New Guinea - BUAI Digital Information Project .)

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Source:  OpenStax, Noisy learning: loud but fun music education activities. OpenStax CNX. May 17, 2007 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10222/1.7
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