Ways to Teach Danse Macabre to Elementary Students
Danse Macabre is one of my favorite pieces to teach my elementary students. I introduce it in 3rd grade, and after that, they ask for it every year. Danse Macabre is playful, eerie, and captures the spirit of Halloween. That being said, the subject matter can be a little mature for the elementary level, so I try to keep things light.
First, I give some background information about Camille Saint-Saens. Since we study Carnival of the Animals in kindergarten, I start by asking them “remember when you were in kindergarten and you had to guess what animal the music was trying to portray? The same composer wrote this piece.”
Active Listening Guide
The next class, we begin the Danse Macabre Active Listening Guide . It’s called an active listening guide because it gives students something specific to listen for or imagine throughout the 7 minute piece. I’ve found that simply playing the piece in its entirety is too much information for students, so they just tune it out.
I tell them what to listen for in each section on the paper–”you’ll hear the clock chime right away, so be ready to count how many times it chimes. You also need to think about what instrument is playing to answer the next question.” We then listen to a few sections while they fill out the sheet.
Once we have filled out the entire worksheet, we listen to the whole piece again without stopping, with me saying “next section” so students know where to look on their paper.
Of course, this all happens over several class periods. It’s a long piece, and I want students to be excited about it, not bored with it.
A note: there are two versions of the active listening guide. One uses the name “Death,” and one uses “Concertmaster.” With 3rd grade, I call Death the Concertmaster to keep the subject a little lighter.
Listening Map Videos
There are tons of listening map videos available to help students visualize the story of Danse Macabre. I switch up which ones I show every year to keep it interesting.
Danse Macabre Education Concert | Listening Map - YouTube Here is a short one by The Cleveland Orchestra (this would be good for younger grades who aren’t hearing the whole piece)
Danse Macabre- Visual Listening Guide This is the listening map I use the most frequently because it covers the whole piece and changes images enough to keep students’ attention.
Danse Macabre animation This isn’t really a listening map, but kind of brings the spirit of the piece to life. Word of warning– around the 4 minute mark, a man and a woman dance together. I’ve had classes exclaim “eeewwwww!” at that part, so I really only show this to my 5th grade classes that can handle it, and I tell them ahead of time that they will see two people (gasp!) dancing.
Acting
Now comes the fun part. We complete a Readers’ Theater based on Danse Macabre. I usually do this with my 3rd graders because they are the only grade not in performance-mode at this time of year, but 4th and 5th have enjoyed it the times I’ve been able to fit it in.
The Readers’ Theater has 30 parts, so depending on class size, some students have to double up. There are a few parts for kids who don’t like to read–the “clock,” which is just a handbell dinging, and the Rooster, whose only line is “cock-a-doodle-doo” at the end.
Just like the active listening guide, there is a “Death” version and a “Concertmaster” version.
Movement
New! Movement for Grades K-2: I now have a scarf movement video for grades K-2 so they can get in on the Danse Macabre fun as well. You can view that video here!
During the week of Halloween, grades 3-5 complete a movement routine to the entire 7 minute piece. This video outlines how to use the listening map and how to teach the routine to students. I modify it a bit for my students based on space constraints.
The class period before we do the movement, I do a bit of a “dress rehearsal” with students. We have already chosen who is in the ghost group and who is in the skeleton group, and we walk through some of the trickier movements (like circling with scarves, weaving through with scarves connected, follow the leader). I project the listening map and they verbally tell me what each symbol means. This is all done without music, and we just kind of mime our way through each motion.
On the day of the movement activity, I have a few black lights set up as well as halloween lights. Students enter the room in darkness and are SO excited. It can be hard to contain the excitement, so I warn them that if there is screaming or out of control behavior, we will stop. It usually goes very smoothly since we practice the class before. After trying it once in 3rd grade, they ask for it every year!
Bundle
If you want to use the Active Listening Guide and Readers’ Theater, they are available separately for $3 each, or in a bundle ($9) with two other resources: a Danse Macabre I Have, Who Has? game and a Music Detectives activity based on Danse Macabre.
For some reason, my students love I Have, Who Has. It’s so simple, yet they love it every time we play. Each student gets a card (or two) and they take turns reading what card they have. That’s all it is! Yet every time we do one, they want to scramble the cards up and do it again.
The Music Detectives activity is good for 5th grade. It really tests students’ knowledge of musical terms and symbols. Students are trying to figure out who stole the rooster on Halloween night. There are 22 skeletons who each have a “musical signature,” and students have to eliminate each one based on the clues given. It is a challenge, but really fun!
Final Thoughts
Danse Macabre can get students interested in instrumental music if it is presented in a fun way. The acting and movement are ways to make Danse Macabre unforgettable, but in order to get there, we have to study the piece first. It’s always my mission to get all the kids to buy in to this unit at some point along the way. I hope you are able to have the same success with your students!
