8/7/2019 Lesson - Families of the Orchestra

1/2

Music Education DepartmentLesson Planning Format

TeachersName:

Deidre Sheehan Date:

3 October 2010

Grade:

3Title ofLesson:

Families of the Orchestra

Frank Abrahams, 2009

Materials for this lesson

Piano

Rhythm sticks

Hand Drums

Instrument-making materials

(shoeboxes, paper towel rolls, rubber

bands, etc.

Families of the orchestra worksheet

Families of the orchestra memory

game cards.

Examples of reeds and brass

Objectives: What learners will

o be able to do (behavioral)

At the end of four 35 minute class

periods, given starting notes and a

cue from the teacher, students will be

able to perform two part rounds with

90% accuracy. At the end of four 35

minute class periods, when asked

which family of the orchestra an

instrument belongs to and how aninstrument makes its sound, students

will be able to respond with 85%

accuracy.

o understand (cognitive)

At the end of four 35 minute class

periods, students will be able to

explain which family of the orchestra

a given instrument belongs to based

on the way it makes its sound.

Students will be able to explain howrounds are performed.

o encounter (experiential)

Students will encounter three new

songs, and a new way of singing

music rounds.

Process

Problematize:(Honor THEIR world by beginning with an experience they bringto the classroom. Include time for sharing and dialogue)

Students will sing their Everybodys Welcome song. Students will learn a simple

round, Frere Jacque with singing voices, using English words. Students will sing

their Everybodys Welcome song and review hand motions.

Does anyone know what a round means in music? If students are not familiar

with the term, the students will first learn the song, and then listen as the teacher

demonstrates by having the students start and joining in afterwards. Who

understands what a round is now? Students will practice singing the song as a

round. Students will then move to the center and play the rhythm of Frere Jacque

on rhythm sticks. Quietly leave out another box of hand drums out where student

can see. Ask students why it was difficult to hear their part. How could we make

the music more interesting and much clearer for the audience? Look for studentsanswering that all of the tapping sounds the same. Ask students what could be

done so that the two parts sound more different. Look for a student suggestion tha

using two different instruments will make the two parts clearer. Have the studen

play the round again using two different groups of instruments. Allow students to

switch so that everyone plays both instruments.

Prescribe: (Sequence of the lesson steps. Take the learning from THEIR world tthe world of the classroom. Present the information and allow time for students to

practice)

Discuss that composers (people who write music) use lots of different instruments

to make their music sound more interesting.

Ask students to recall how rounds are performed. Teach song Matthew

Mark Luke & John Have students repeat it back phrase by phrase.

Students learn to sing Matthew Mark, Luke & John Have students

perform the round.

Ask students to recall the four families of the orchestra and how they

make their sound. Using reeds and a trumpet mouthpiece, explain and

demonstrate the difference between brass and woodwind sound

production.

Instrument pitch experiment: ask for student volunteers to use

boomwhackers, my guitar, and recorders. Have students demonstrate

playing the smaller then bigger boomwhacker, the two end strings of the

guitar, and blowing into each of the soprano and alto recorders. Ask therest of the class to identify if the bigger or smaller instruments made the

lower sounds.

Have students follow along with the listening map for Bachs Little Fugue in G

minor. Have students trace the map of the path with their finger and a bingo chip

Pause periodically to ask students which family of the orchestra was represented.

When the music is finished, ask students to identify which family of the orchestra

did not play.

Review with students the four families of the orchestra and the major instruments

in each family. Review instrument size to pitch production. Have students play a

game in which each student is given a card with 4 blank boxes on the front, and a

picture of an instrument inside. Students write four facts about the instrument (at

least one about the family of the orchestra, and at least one about how its sound ismade) and then trade with a partner to guess.

Focusing Question:In what waysre musical sounds made?

8/7/2019 Lesson - Families of the Orchestra

2/2

Music Education DepartmentLesson Planning Format

TeachersName:

Deidre Sheehan Date:

3 October 2010

Grade:

3Title ofLesson:

Families of the Orchestra

Then the pair brainstorm anything that they have found confusing and prepare a question to ask that might help clear up

confusion.

Personalize:(Make the learning personal to the student. Provide opportunities for creativity and for students to bemusicians)

Provide students with various equipment such as string, rubber bands, scissors, tape, hole punch, wax paper, tissue boxes,

cans, and paper towel rolls.. Divide students into groups of two or three. Tell students they will be making their own

instrument. Ask each group to decide which family of the orchestra their instrument will be from. String family

instruments will make sounds using strings, percussion by hitting it, etc.

Perform:(Demonstrate the new learning through performance, demonstration or exhibition)

Have students present and play their instrument for the class, and explaining what family of the orchestra their instrument

would belong in, and why.

***Billmeyer Strategy: 3,2,1 Send-off. (p. 230, adapted) Ask each student to share with a partner: 3 activities done or

things learned in class that helped them to make their instrument. 2 ways they contributed to their group, and 1 thing

they would do differently if they got to do it again.

Frank Abrahams, 2009

Assessment and additional notes: While students are singing rounds, walk around each group of students tosee who is actively singing and following along correctly, and which students are lost or not participating, After

students present their instruments to the class, have each student fill out a worksheet which say s: my instrument

belongs in the ____ family because it makes its sound by _____. Check that students responses reflect an

understanding of how sound is produced in each instrument family.