The Great Tempo Race

The traditional story of the tortoise and the hare was rewritten with a musical twist to help elementary students learn and remember some musical terms. The characters and events were used to help students form a picture in their mind of what each word means. Choral parts were included to bring about audience participation. Allegro = hare (Allie) --- very fast tempo Largo = tortoise (Larz) --- slow tempo Moderato = the bird that oversees the race (Moderato) --- medium tempo Rallentando = roll on to --- gradually slowing up Fermata = the firm mat --- hold Cheering sections: Allie go (4x) spoken quickly Larz go (4x) spoken slowly *It is recommended that the vocabulary be taught before the story is read to the students. This book then becomes a reinforcement of the terms they are learning or have learned.