Kassa of Senegal

Mr. Corbin Janssen, 5

th
Grade

Standards (Music and other Academic Area):

CCSS.SS.6.5: Relationships between people, place, idea, and environments are dynamic.
MU:Pr4.2.6c: Identify how cultural and historical context inform the performances.

Objectives:
1. Given the knowledge of the Sengalese peoples, students will create a dance that explores
body movements that resemble the harvest celebration.

Materials:
Video of Kassa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXMe1vscwXg
Video of Djembe Drumming http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfXnuG6X7cw Video of
Djembe Drumming http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfXnuG6X7cw
Percussion instruments
Construction paper and colored pencils for masks (optional)
Background for teachers:
West African dance is an essential component of West African culture. Over time, traditional
dances incorporated new moves, rhythms and ideas. Through the slave trade, and through
national production of traditional dance forms, West African dance has found it's way around the
globe. West African Dance has influenced many popular American dance forms, such as hip-
hop, salsa and jazz dance. Traditional dances are still practiced by many people today.

Dance has always played a very important role in the lives of West Africans. Throughout history,
West Africans performed dances to celebrate a birth, harvest or death. Communities relied on
dance to ward off evil spirits, to ask the gods for prosperity, or to resolve conflict. Dance
continues to serve those functions. For example, villagers perform the Malinke rhythm Kassa
during farming and harvesting work. The singing, dancing and clapping entertains and motivates
the hard-working farmers.


Steps in the lesson:

Introduction/Building Background Knowledge:
The teacher will play a video of the Kassa Harvest Dance for the students to just watch for now.
Students should write down some of the movements (at least 3) that they see being done and of
what they remind them . The teacher will then talk about the West African dances and their
impacts on culture. What would be some reasons for a celebratory dance? The teacher will
explain other cultural norms of the past and today in West African tribes and nations. lead a
discussion about the location of Senegal in West Africa and identify some of the people who
have and do live in the area. The class will be asked what a tribe is and how might peoples of a
similar area differ from each other. How does this compare to American peoples? The teacher
will show a powerpoint similar to http://caheadstart.org/2012Conference/Chappill-Nichols2.pdf
to help in the lecture.


Body:
The students will share some of the moves that they noticed being done with their shoulder
partners and then with the entire class. The teacher will write the different dance moves on the
board and the class will practice some of them as a group. What do you think this dance is
celebrating/representing? The teacher will lecture about harvest in West Africa and explain the
celebration and dance called the Kassa. The class will then analyze the moves to determine if any
of them look like harvesting or farming moves. The teacher will show another video of the
Kassa. This time students will be encouraged to join in with the dance or create new moves to
the rhythmic drumming.

Closure:
Following the dancing, the class will return to their seats and discuss the relevance of the dance
to them. The teacher will talk about the influence that this music and dance had on African slaves
as they were brought to America. This eventually influenced the more contemporary American
music and dance styles of hip-hop and jazz.

Assessment (linked directly to objectives):
- Observational checklist for participation
- 3 observations of the dance moves should be handed in by students

Adaptations/Extensions (include at least one strategy for differentiation):
Students that are uncomfortable to unable to dance can create moves for others, film the other
students, or add to the performance by playing a drum or other percussion instrument.

Rationale: This ancient form of dancing is one of the oldest in the world that is still practiced
today. It influenced much of the dance and music that is popular in modern culture in America.
Lastly, celebration takes place in a variety of ways, but there are similarities too. Students
should begin to be able to make connections to other cultures through both similarities and
differences.

Next Steps/ Connections to Other Subjects:
Some of the West African tribes will wear masks or other types of clothing that represent
different things. Students could respectfully create a mask that would be worn at a celebratory
dance. The teacher and music teacher can team up to add drummers and more dancers to perform
this celebration at a themed concert.
This could also be a lead-in to a unit on ancient Africa.
I would also like to incorporate some of the drumming for all students, especially if the dance
was going to performed. The djembe is an hand drum with roots in West Africa and still very
popular in Senegal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfXnuG6X7cw