Lesson: “Banana!

” (Todos Quieren la Banana – All the Nations Like Bananas)

Nicaraguan Folk Song Arranged by Nick Page

This is a piece that I am helping to teach in my practicum this semester in a choir. The choir is
comprised of 3rd-5th graders from all different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. There
are a few students whose first language is Spanish, but they are all fluent in English as well.
Most of the students can read music at a basic level, but some of the new students in the choir
struggle a bit with reading the music from notation. When I was planning this lesson, I made
sure to engage all students regardless of their backgrounds or music reading abilities. This piece
of music is half in Spanish and half in English, and at this point in the learning, the students
already know the Spanish verse. There are also some short solo phrases that can be in either
Spanish or English that I am auditioning students for in this lesson. The solos are “Manhattan
like it, Chicago like it” or “Manhattan le gusta, Chicago le gusta” but can be any place, city, or
country the students choose to include and can be ad libbed as they go.

Lesson Sequence:

“Banana!” (Todos Quieren la Banana – All the Nations Like Bananas)

Nicaraguan Folk Song Arranged by Nick Page

1. Show students PowerPoint about Nicaraguan life, include pictures and videos of people,
culture, landscape, etc.
2. Warm-up descending 5-note scale on “All”
3. Review the Spanish words
a. Altos vs Sopranos competition
b. Winner gets to audition for solos first (but all students will get the chance to
audition if they want)
4. Review solo phrases on different city names in both Spanish and English
a. Students work in groups of 3-4 to come up with 4 cities or places they want to
include in the solo phrases
b. Each group will sing their four solo phrases as a group and the class will vote on
the places to include in the ad libbed section
5. Auditions for solos
a. Start with whichever section won the review competition
b. Each student gets to choose whether or not they want to audition and what
language they want to audition on
c. Each student auditions by singing two phrases (they can be the notated cities in
the music or places they ad lib)
d. Every student that auditions will get at least one solo
e. Announce who gets solos next class
6. Think, pair, share on Nicaraguan life
a. One thing they learned / enjoyed / are interested in about the Nicaraguan
culture.
This lesson is culturally responsive because it is a piece of music that all students will be able to
identify with because there is both Spanish and English in it. The students also get a glimpse
into Nicaraguan culture. I include a game/competition between the sections to encourage the
students to do their best. I also allow for some social interaction when I let the students work in
small groups to pick the places they want to include.