Class Profile: / Fourth graders participate in an Exploratory Music class with the purpose of introducing the students to the instruments of the orchestra. Addition focus points are on understanding and demonstrating the science of sound; being able to describe or demonstrate how instruments from each family of instruments creates and changes it’s sound; the relationship of pitch to instrument size; being able to produce a sound on a variety of instruments. Students will come into this unit for a variable degree of prior knowledge: Students will have a basic understanding of the four families of musical instruments and what basic characteristics place an instrument into each family. They will be able to name several instruments that belong in each family. Students will have already discussed the science of sound and vibration. They will have acquired several key vocabulary words to be used in discussing or demonstrating the science of sound.
Outcomes:
(There are currently no Core Curriculum goals published for music education.) / This Unit will meet the following MD State Music Outcomes:
#1 Perceiving, Performing, and Responding
#2 Historical, Cultural, and Social Contexts
#3 Creative Expression and Production
This Unit will meet the following National Content Standards for Music:
#2 Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
#3 Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments
#4 Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines
#5 Reading and notating music
#8 Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts
#9 Understanding music in relation to history and culture
Unit Objectives: / Students will:
- know the characteristics that place an instrument in the percussion family (Outcome 1) (Content Standard 2)
- be able to identify instruments of the percussion family (Outcome 1) (Content Standard 2)
- apply critical thinking to discover other non-traditional “instruments” which could be used as percussion instruments (i.e. recycled materials such as plastic or glass bottles, bowls, buckets, cans, etc.) (Outcome 1, 3) (Content Standard 2)
- create non-traditional percussion instruments that meet the necessary characteristics (Outcome 2, 3) (Content Standard 2, 8)
- use their knowledge of musical rhythms and notation to improvise and notate music using percussion instruments (Outcome 1, 3) (Content Standard 2, 3, 4, 5)
Lesson Objectives: /
- Today we will know the characteristics of the percussion family to be able to identify many of the traditional instruments in the percussion family.
- Today we will know how percussion instruments produce their sound and begin to create percussion instruments out of non-traditional materials.
- Today we will know standard music notation to be able to write and perform various rhythm patterns on percussion instruments.
- Today we will know how to arrange an ensemble performance to be able to use our composed rhythms and homemade instruments in a musical setting.
Materials /
- Listening excerpt CD and player
- ELMO/whiteboard (and/or Computer lab/laptop cart)
- Resource (online and/or paper) sheets:percussion characteristics, scientific process for creating instrument/brainstorm web/planning sheet, music notation hints/composition template, performance plan brainstorming web, reflection, demonstration/video examples of percussion
- Instruments: cymbals, bass drum and beater, snare drum and stand, orchestra bells, small percussion instruments as available (tambourine, triangle, wood block, etc.),
- A variety of recycled materials, such as plastic, glass bottles, cans, plastic containers, cardboard tubes, etc. (collected through donation ahead of time)
Vocabulary: / orchestra bells
snare drum
bass drum
cymbals
names of available small percussion instruments
pitched percussion
non-pitched percussion / snares
rim
shell
eighth, quarter, half, whole notes
eighth, quarter, half, whole rests
pitch
vibration
Extensions: / Students will:
- Brainstorm ideas for performance of final product (i.e. performance café, on announcements, make video, visit primary classrooms, PTA meetings, etc.)
- Plan, promote, and execute performances
Assessment: / Students will:
- Describe the three ways in which vibration is started on percussion instruments.
- Name a variety of percussion instruments.
- Describe, design, & demonstrate how a percussion instrument can be made out of non-traditional materials.
- Improvise and notate rhythms.
- Compose percussion ensemble music to be performed on student created instruments.
- Perform composed music on student created instruments.
Summary: / Through the completion of this unit, students will demonstrate all levels of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. Some examples:
Level 1 Remembering– students name percussion instruments
Level 2 Understanding– students classify percussion instrument by the way they produce sound
Level 3 Applying– students use their knowledge of percussion instruments to discover non-traditional possibilities for percussion instruments
Level 4 Analyzing– students relate/compare traditional percussion to their creations
Level 5 Evaluating– students use this critical thinking step to design and create their best version of their instrument; students modify/edit compositions
Level 6 Creating – students plan and build their own percussion instruments; students compose and play their own music
This unit will address UDL Principles in the following ways:
I. Provide Multiple Means of Representation – Students will use actual instruments and interactive websites to explore percussion instruments. (UDL 1) Students will be able to explore the percussion family on their own through interactive videos and websites that are provided. (UDL 1.1) Students will have the opportunity to work with vocabulary in a concrete, physical way. (UDL 2.1) Students will organize their information through several options of graphic organizers/charts. (UDL 3.3)
II. Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression – Choices of preferred graphic organizers will be provided. (UDL 4.1) Interactive rhythm and notation websites will be experimented with. (UDL 5.1)Students will use improvisation and/or notation when they first begin creating rhythms on their instruments moving towards all notation. (UDL 5.2) Students will use provided structure and guidelines in the process of independently building their instruments and in composing their music. (UDL 6.2)
III. Provide Multiple Means of Engagement – Students will be motivated by the physical interaction with a variety of percussion instruments, interactive websites, the creation of their own instrument and the potential performances of their final products. (UDL 8.1) Students will have the option to work individually or in a group for portions of the unit. (UDL 8.3)Structure and guidelines will be in place during each stage of the unit. (UDL 7.3) Support provided by working in a group will help manage stress or worries that the tasks are difficult. (UDL 9.2) Students will analyze and assess their own and each other’s compositions to improve the final product. (UDL 9.3)
Websites/Links: / Percussion Unit Resources - Padlet
WorldBook Online-Percussion
Percussion sound examples
DSO Kids
SFS Kids
The Sound Exchange
Arts Alive- Instrument Lab
Interactive: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
BrainPop Percussion
Disney-The Trash Can Band video / Rowen Atkinson - The Invisible Drumset
Stinkin' Garbage
Street Musician's Homemade Drumset
The Exam
CGI Percussion Machine
Rhythm Lessons
Music Theory Lessons
Compose your own rhythms
Percussion Quick Quiz
Documents / C:\Users\Carol\Google Drive\The Families of the Orchestra.docx
C:\Users\Carol\Google Drive\Families of theOrchestra web.docx
C:\Users\Carol\Google Drive\How Do Percussion Instruments Make Their Sound.docx
C:\Users\Carol\Google Drive\How Do Percussion Instruments Make Their Sound chart.docx
C:\Users\Carol\Google Drive\Build an Instrument - Project Planning & Reflection.docx
Percussion notation practice.docx
Percussion Performance Composition.docx
Brainstorming web.docx
C:\Users\Carol\Google Drive\Virtual FractionTubes.docx
Percussion Unit: Lesson 1
Objective: / Today we will know the characteristics of the percussion family to be able to identify many of the traditional instruments in the percussion family. (MLO #1, NCS #2)
Materials: / Class will meet in the computer lab OR reserve the laptop cart
Resource sheets
Pencils
Websites
ELMO/Interactive whiteboard
Instruments: cymbals, bass drum and beater, snare drum and stand, orchestra bells, small percussion instruments as available (tambourine, triangle, wood block, rhythm sticks, etc.)
Procedures: /
- Class will meet in the computer lab (if available) or use the laptop cart in my classroom
- Students will work with a neighbor to name the four families of musical instruments and to try to name at least two of each. Each student will have a graphic organizer to record this information. C:\Users\Carol\Google Drive\The Families of the Orchestra.docx or C:\Users\Carol\Google Drive\Families of the Orchestra web.docx
- Students will be asked to recall how instruments from each of these families produce their sounds and add this information to the graphic organizer.
- While students are completing the information, a musical example of a full orchestra performance will be played.
- We will share our information together on the whiteboard as students make any corrections or changes on their own resource sheet.
- Students will interact with the Percussion Unit Resources - Padlet website with the following information to be discovered/discussed:
- The Percussion Family is the most diverse family of instruments. This is because of how the sound is produced on the percussion instruments.
- Think of the instruments that you and your partner named.
- How are they played? (How do they make their sound?)
- How do they look?
- The following websites will allow students to explore the percussion family on their own.
Arts Alive- Instrument Lab; Interactive: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra; BrainPop Percussion
- Students will complete a graphic organizer to classify the four main ways a percussion instrument makes its sound and to be able to identify at least three instruments for each. C:\Users\Carol\Google Drive\How Do Percussion Instruments Make Their Sound.docx or C:\Users\Carol\Google Drive\How Do Percussion Instruments Make Their Sound chart.docx
Assessment /
- Students are given/assigned a percussion instrument.
- Students move into groups based on how their instrument makes sound.
- Each group will have a chance to identify,demonstrate, and play their instrument for the class
Summary/Closure / Today’s goal was to identify the characteristics of the percussion family and be able to identify the instruments in this family. Next week we will discuss the percussion family again and discover some non-traditional types of percussion instruments.
Percussion Unit Lesson 2
Objective: / Today we will know how percussion instruments produce their sound and be able to create our own percussion instruments out of non-traditional materials.
Materials: / Instruments: cymbals, bass drum and beater, snare drum and stand, orchestra bells, small percussion instruments as available (tambourine, triangle, wood block, rhythm sticks, etc.)
Recycled materials: plastic bottles, cardboard tubes, buttons, beans, tape, etc (whatever has been donated/collected)
ELMO/Interactive whiteboard
Websites/videos
Resource sheets and pencils
***parent volunteers if possible**
Procedures: / Review of prior knowledge:
- Students, working with a partner, will review the characteristics of the percussion family and see how many percussion instruments they can name without use of their resource sheets.
- Students will review using resource sheets from last week to correct mistakes or jog their memory of forgotten instruments.
- Lead students in a discussion on possible non-traditional percussion instruments.
- Students brainstorm materials that could be used
- Show series of videos showing non-traditional instruments being played
The Exam; CGI Percussion Machine; Disney-The Trash Can Band video
- Allow for student discussion/reaction between videos
- Show various homemade instrument sites to help with ideas
- Introduce today’s project and hand out project guide C:\Users\Carol\Google Drive\Build an Instrument - Project Planning & Reflection.docx
- Show selection of materials that are available to be used in their projects
- Students complete the Planning portion of the project guide – once they have shown me their planning, they can begin to create their project (Students may work alone or in groups, but each project must be independently planned and completed)
- Once completed, students will complete the Reflection portion of their project guide
Assessment: / Students will show an understanding of the characteristics of the percussion family through the creation of their own instruments out of non-traditional materials. The planning and reflection guide will be collected and assessed along with the project.
Summary/Closure: / Today’s goal was for students to use their knowledge of the percussion family to create their own percussion instrument. Next week we will use our instruments to perform rhythms and songs of our own composition.
Percussion Unit Lesson 3
Possible extension and integration with vocal music
Objective: / We will know standard music notation to be able to write and perform various rhythm patterns on percussion instruments.
Materials: / ELMO/interactive whiteboard
Previously made percussion instruments
Resource sheets and pencils
Whiteboard slates and dry erase markers
Procedure: / Review of prior knowledge:
- Warm up students with basic hand clapping echoed rhythm patterns. Allow several students to be leaders as well.
- Discuss improvised rhythms vs. notated rhythms
- Students get into groups of 4-5 and practice creating their own improvised rhythms using vocal syllables (ta, ti-ti, sh)
- Students will review parts of the music staff and types of notes and rests (from vocal music curriculum) (whole, half, quarter, eighth)
- In groups, hand out student-made instruments, white board slates and dry erase markers. Students take turns notating each other’s improvised rhythms
- Hand out music staff paper and pencilsPercussion notation practice.docx
- Students experiment with which rhythms suit their instruments the best, seeking input from their other group members – each student should create and notate at least 5 rhythms for their instrument
Assessment: / Student-made rhythms will show correct use of rhythm notation and note duration and be appropriate for the instrument on which they will be performed.
Summary/Closure: / Today’s goal was for students to use their knowledge of rhythms, note duration, and standard music notation to create and notate appropriate rhythms for their instruments. The next step would be to organize the student-made rhythms into an ensemble piece that can be performed on their instruments.
Percussion Unit Lesson 4
Possible extension and integration with vocal music
Objective: / We will know how to arrange an ensemble performance to be able to use our composed rhythms and homemade instruments in a musical setting.
Materials: / Resource sheets and pencils
Student-made instruments
Recording device
Procedures: / Review of prior knowledge:
- Warm-up with echo rhythms
- Hand out student-made instruments and notation practice resource sheets
- Students lead echo rhythms from rhythms they’ve created, using their instruments
- Discuss composition for an individual instrument vs. an ensemble or group
- Students get into their performance groups
- Using their notation practice sheets, groups work together to pick the best combination of rhythm lines for their instruments to play together or modify existing lines as needed
- Students complete the composing for a percussion ensemble resource sheet Percussion Performance Composition.docx
- Students practice performing their composition in preparation for sharing with the class
- Student performances
- Students complete the brainstorming web with performing ideas Brainstorming web.docx
Assessment: / Students will show knowledge of appropriate ensemble composition through their performance of notated rhythms on their student-made instruments.
Unit Summary: / This unit is designed to take students beyond memorizing which orchestral instruments are in the percussion section to a more thorough understanding of what a percussion instrument it, how it works, and its use in a performance group. Students are expected to extend their knowledge from the concrete to a more abstract understanding of the percussion family.
Students have had the opportunity to:
- work alone and in groups
- work at their own pace (within class time constraints)
- experience the percussion family in many different ways- video, pictures, descriptions, hands-on, inventing of new instruments
- using a variety of graphic organizers and resource sheets for scaffolding/support/structure
- create a final product to demonstrate their learning
- extend the learning by experiencing further performance opportunities as desired