Hello again! Today I’m sharing another printable for our folk song of the week, Cherries So Ripe. Have you downloaded the song card and the dramatic play set? Great!
Today’s printable is an ideograph. An ideograph is a picture map of a song–it is an excellent tool for young kids to develop musical literacy. An ideograph is an approachable way for them to begin to read the music they sing. It shows them they can track the song as they sing, that music is sung left to right, and depending on the structure of the ideograph it can also reinforce musical phrases or the beat of the song. The ideograph I have prepared today does reinforce the musical phrases for this folk song. And the images I used for the ideograph are pulled from the dramatic play set I shared yesterday. I did so intentionally–the exposure the kids have from playing with the folk song and getting used to the physical toys in the song as they play are now easily recognizable icons for them to track as they sing along with the ideograph. This is a natural next step for them as they begin to master this song and put it into their long term storage, to be recalled as they need throughout their life and in future music lessons.
I also wanted to share a few other resources today for lesson extensions. The folk song Cherries So Ripe is a street cry–a type of song sung by people trying to sell things in a market or on the street. I recently ran across this delightful little illustrated book of street cries that my kids have been loving. We already have a few favorites and enjoy singing all the many different cries.
Another literacy link for talking about street cries is the classic book, Caps for Sale! This delightful book is a great example of street cries: the little cap seller goes up and down the street calling out about his caps for sale.
I also ran across some recordings of old American street cries on the Smithsonian Folkways archive. It would be so fun to share some recordings with your child or students as you teach them about street cries. It’s always really special to find an original source, and I think children really appreciate learning the authenticity and history of the songs they sing. My personal favorite is the flower vendor track. You can find the recordings here–the street cries are the second half of the album.–and I have also found these tracks on Spotify.
I also found this incredible old recording of two women performing traditional street cries in costume. It’s an old fashioned video but I think it’s so fun for the kids to see these songs living–as they were really used! And it’s fun to recognize some of these street cries from the first book I shared, Hot Cross Buns And Other Street Cries
And here’s a fun recording of children singing different street cries. This would make a wonderful listening activity or center activity to encourage active listening–what do you hear being sold? How many sellers in all? etc.
As I said, the history of street cries is deep and wide and there are so many fun ways to learn and play with them. I’ll definitely share some more street cries in the future, because they’re one of my favorite types of folk songs, and the children always love them!
Click here to download the ideograph
Happy Singing!
-Lauren