Math The Musical
This is my third year partnering with the Metropolitan Opera Guild and with my new position as the 3-5 Math Specialist, I thought how about Math the Musical? Using a Marilyn Burns' recommendation "Amanda's Bean's Amazing Dream: A Mathematical Story" by Cindy Neuschwander we quickly had our source material and we were ready to get started with our teaching Artist, Brandon.
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Story Map: Our chosen turning points
Day One: How does movement tell a story?
Students created tableaus for chosen turning points in the story.
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Day Two: How do words tell a story?
Students learned how to write aria from a libretto. They created lyrics for three hotspot moments in the story using rhyme, repetition, and alliteration.
Day Three: How do words tell a story? Part II
Students compile, edit, and revise lyrics for hotspots in the story.
Bean Counter Song
She’s the bean counter Count Amanda Bean She’s the bean counter She’s the counting queen CLASS (Verse) She’s always late for everything Because she must count all she sees She never gets to participate So try Amanda Bean to multiply please (Chorus) She’s the bean counter Count Amanda Bean She’s the bean counter She’s a counting machine (Bridge) Multiply, Multiply, Multiply Why won’t you even try Multiply, Multiply, Multiply Don’t keep asking why Just Multiply (Chorus) She’s the bean counter Count Amanda Bean She’s the bean counter She’s the counting queen |
DREAM SONG
SHEEP M-u-l-t-i-p-l-y GRANDMAS Multiply, Multiply, Multiply Multiply, Multiply, Multiply SHEEP AND GRANDMAS Don’t ask why, Just Multiply Please just try to Multiply It’s easier to count when you Multiply It’s not like you’re gonna die Don’t try to lie We know you can Multiply SHEEP M-U-L-T-I-P-L-Y GRANDMAS Multiply, Multiply, Multiply Multiply, Multiply, Multiply SHEEP AND GRANDMAS Don’t ask why, just Multiply Please just try, Multiply It’s easier to count when you Multiply It’s not like you’re gonna die Don’t try to lie We know you can Multiply GRANDMAS AND SHEEP YEAH, Multiply! If you multiply You can count faster You’ll be a counting master AMANDA Maybe I should multiply I can count everything quicker I can multiply the balls of yarn And the grandma’s sweaters too. It will be a better way to count for me I think you’ll agree. SHEEP M-u-l-t-i-p-l-y GRANDMAS Multiply, Multiply, Multiply Multiply, Multiply, Multiply SHEEP AND GRANDMAS Don’t ask why, just Multiply You can try to multiply It’s easier to count When you Multiply AMANDA It’s not like I’m gonna die I’m not gonna lie I know I can Multiply |
CLOSING SONG
AMANDA I’m Amanda Bean I still love knowing how many I count each and every penny But I see I need to multiply It’s a good strategy to apply I can still be the counting queen Just like in my dream CHORUS She’s the bean counter Count Amanda Bean She’s the bean counter She’s the counting queen AMANDA But now I am the multiplying machine I count anything and everything faster Because I am the math master I’m Amanda Bean CHORUS She’s the bean counter Count Amanda Bean She’s the bean counter She’s a multiplying machine |
Day Four & Five: How does music tell a story?
Students learn how to compose melody and accompaniment for our lyrics- learning about tempo, dynamics, and articulation.
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