Fun-Arts Year 2 – The USA Lesson 1: A “Brand” New Year! Song: Track 4

This is our solar system. Earth is the 3 rd planet away from the sun.

This is our planet “Earth.” The blue parts are oceans. The green parts are landmasses. What are the white things? The white parts are clouds!

This is our western hemisphere. Is this really a planet or is it artwork? How do we know?

This is the continent where we live. This continent is called North America.

This is the country where we live: the United States of America. The lines on the map show boundaries of USA’s 50 states. This year we will explore 6 regions. What is a region? A region is a large area.

REGION 1: The WEST Since the USA was first formed in 1776, it has had immigrants from all over the world. Immigrants bring cultures and talents with them. Many headed to the West to start farms and ranches. The first to make the attempt were called pioneers.

Iconic Things in the West top row: made by nature. bottom row: made by humans. What is the difference between top and bottom rows? Yosemite,CA Mt. Hood, OR Monument Valley, UT New Mexico Seattle, WA Golden Gate Bridge, CA

Let’s talk about music! INSTRUMENTS TEMPO RHYTHM DYNAMICS MELODY HARMONY

Pioneer Instruments As pioneers crossed the mountains and plains, they used stories and songs as entertainment. Pioneers used whatever musical instruments they had: guitar, autoharp, mandolin mountain dulcimer, banjo fiddle, ukulele, Jew's harp, mouth bow bass, harmonica, spoons. Song: Track 5:“Home on The Range” INSTRUMENTS TEMPO RHYTHM DYNAMICS MELODY HARMONY

Cowboy Instruments Cowboys were important when people started ranches. Cowboys use small, portable instruments: Harmonica spoons mouth harp (recording on this page adds violin) When Hollywood started making “Western” movies, it was fun to show cowboys playing guitars while riding horses. We call this new style “country/western” music. Song: Track 7: “Metsäpelto D” INSTRUMENTS TEMPO RHYTHM DYNAMICS MELODY HARMONY

Country/Western Music Today Country/Western music mixes many types of music: gospel, folk, Celtic, and others. What does 1 st song remind you of? (Song: Track 1 “Cowboy Night Herd Song”) Modern Country/Western singers come in all varieties. Johnny Cash – there is a trail in Folsom named after him! Carrie Underwood is a young country singer. Garth Brooks has sold more solo music than anyone in US history. 2 nd Song: Track 8 “Johnny Cash “Old Chunk of Coal” INSTRUMENTS TEMPO RHYTHM DYNAMICS MELODY HARMONY

Now let’s talk about art! LINE COLOR SHAPE TEXTURE SPACE VALUE

Icons for the USA The USA has things that represent Liberty. What are these items named? What is liberty? Liberty is the freedom to make your own good choices. LINE COLOR SHAPE TEXTURE SPACE VALUE

Icons & Brands Today We use brand names for many things Tissue = “Kleenex” Soda = “Coke” “Icons” or “logos” are simple pictures that help us remember products, places, and ideas. This logo is written in Hebrew – do you know what the product brand is? LINE COLOR SHAPE TEXTURE SPACE VALUE

Brand The history of branding livestock dates back to ancient Egypt. A brand is a simple line drawing to show ownership. Brands help cowboys sort cattle and other livestock. Look at the N with feet! The name of the ranch is “Running N Ranch.” If YOU had a ranch, what would you name it? LINE COLOR SHAPE TEXTURE SPACE VALUE

Let’s Create! Materials needed: White paper Pencils Markers or crayons Vocabulary: lines, design symbol, icon, brand free form Music tracks 9-13 (guitar music) DIRECTIONS: Brainstorm: On scrap paper create a pattern or design using initials that demonstrates your personality and interests. Draw (or Trace) initials onto second paper. FILL the SPACE! Create your “brand” using the brainstorm designs and patterns. Color in the final design using colored pencils or crayons. K & 1 st : use letter stencils and they can decorate with drawings of their favorite things. LINE COLOR SHAPE TEXTURE SPACE VALUE

Credits Fun-Arts is written and developed by Monica Merrill with assistance by Christine Krause. Fun-Arts is a non-profit group hoping to share the world’s fine arts treasures with the rightful heirs: all children. Thank you to the docents who bring these lessons to life. Thank you artists and photographers who have allowed us to use their works in the Fun-Arts program. Fun-Arts is sponsored by the Russell Ranch PTAs, the City of Folsom, and a Block Grant from the State of California. Copyright Monica Merrill