Utah Core Standards

I chose to address Standard 1, Objective 3 of the 5th grade music state core:

Standard 1
Singing The student will develop the voice and body as instruments of musical expression.

Objective 3
Discover how songs, singing games, and dances relate to various cultures in the history of the United States. (See Social Studies Core.)

1. Share songs, instruments, and music enjoyed by various cultures in the history of the United States.
2. Describe how music is used by cultures in U.S. history.
3. Play singing games, enjoy traditional folk dances, and patriotic songs that have originated in the cultures of the United States. Explain what they mean personally.

I thought Google Earth would be a fun way to introduce my students to a historical unit on the music of the US. I plan to be an elementary music education teacher, so I constantly look for ways I can apply what I am learning not only in a regular elementary classroom setting but also a music classroom. Using Google Earth allows children to interact with various aspects of music history, spending as little or as much time as they would like on each area. In sum, they can pursue their interests. They can also see the main geographic location of each type of music in relation to other types. Google Earth also enables connection with other multimedia, such as videos, pictures, and interactive websites, all of which would prove helpful in teaching this or any other subject matter.