- This is a LIVE event
- April 1, 2016, 2pm eastern time
- Invoice and access code will be sent via email. No need to pay now.
Westward Expansion and the Gold Rush
Description
With banjo, guitar, bones, spoons, washboard, jaw harp, Native American water drum and more, Dave leads K-8 students on a fun-filled musical journey back to 19th-century America.
Starting with the Cumberland Gap, Lewis and Clark, and the Erie Canal, this program walks students across the Mississippi River and out to Oregon and California as they answer questions, act out songs, move, laugh, sing, wonder and inquire.
Topics covered include the motivations to move west, the routes, the wagon trains, the Gold Rush, relations with – and effects on – the Native people, and more.
General program outline:
- Program begins in the Appalachian Mountains with a song of the Cumberland Gap, with banjo and vocals
- Students are exposed to Native American music from the Lewis and Clark trip
- An interactive song from the Erie Canal – the great northeastern gateway to the west
- Demonstration of music making on the trail west with spoons, bones, washboard and more
- Discussion of California Gold Rush, effects on Native Americans, and a “hit” song of the era
- Finishing with a fun song from TX from the advent of the railroads, with student names inserted into the lyrics!
“Thank you so much for your wonderful performance today. I think all of the elementary watched and it was AWESOME!!!”
William Weidner, Third Grade Teacher, Central Academy, Ann Arbor MI