The following lesson plan was designed for a third grade general
music classroom that I worked with during the fall of 2004.
Grade
Level: 3rd Date
Taught:
I. Musical
Concepts: Musical elements are combined into a whole to express a musical or
extra-musical idea
II.
Instructional
Objectives and National / State Standards:
SWBAT pair pictures of scenes with pieces of music to show
that some music may reference extra-musical ideas.
Nat’l
Standard number 6 (Listening to, analyzing, describing music);
PA State Standard number 9.3, 9.4.
III.
Lesson Evaluation
Procedures:
Teacher will informally evaluate students during the lesson
IV.
Materials and Board /
Space Preparation:
Pictures for groups (6 pictures)
Chalk
Chalkboard
Magnets (to hold pictures on board)
V.
Teaching Procedures:
A.
Setting the Stage: “Good Morning, ladies and gentlemen. Today we are going to start out with
something a little different. I need to
divide the class into 6 different groups.
B.
Developing the lesson
1.
T splits the class
into 6 evenly sized groups (4-5 people is ideal). Groups spread out into
different areas of the room
2.
“I’m going to give
each group a picture. You may look at it
as a group, but don’t show it to any other group.”
3.
T distributes one
picture to each group.
4.
“When I say go, you will
all have 2 minutes to think of a way to act out the picture that your group
has. You will be acting this out in
front of the class. There are some rules
to help you: You may not use anything
other than your bodies. Also, you may
make sounds, but you may not say what your picture is.”
5.
T gives class 2
minutes to work. T circulates to ensure
progress.
6.
“Time is up. Let’s see what the first group came up
with. When you think you know what the
group might be acting out, raise your hand quietly. You may talk with other group members so see
what you all think it might be”
7.
T gets picture from
group without showing it to other Ss.
Group number one comes to the front of the room, and students act out
scene.
8.
T calls on student
quietly raising hand
9.
If Ss guess correctly,
T shows picture. If not, T helps group.
10.
Repeat steps 7-9 until
all groups have gone.
11.
“Now that we know what
the pictures are, we are going to listen to some different pieces of
music. When you hear the music that you
think represents your group’s picture, I’d like one person in the group to
quietly hold up the picture. Then, we’ll
decide which pictures go with which song and why.
12.
T plays track 1
(Elephant) for 45 seconds.
13.
“I see the elephant
picture raised. Does everyone agree with
that?”
14.
T takes picture and
applies to chalkboard using magnet(s).
15.
“What did you hear in
the music that made you think that this piece represented the elephant?” Ss answer; T paraphrases responses and writes
them beside the picture on the board.
16.
Repeat steps 12-15 for
all 6 tracks. Track list follows:
track 1 Elephant (Pictures at an Exhibition) (Elephant Photo)
track 2 Storm (Rain) (Rain Photo)
track 3 Brahms Lullaby (Baby Photo)
track 4 Rodeo - Copland (Hoedown at El Rodeo) (Farm Photo)
track 5 Pacific 231 (Locomotive Photo)
track 6 Valse
d’Emporer (Dance Photo / Painting)
17.
“So, I think it’s safe
to say that we have a pretty good list here on the board of why certain songs
reminded you of the pictures. Remember,
you came up with these descriptions on your own. Why do you think the sounds reminded you of
these pictures on the board?” Ss
answer. T helps guide discussion.
18.
“Good job, boys and
girls. Thanks for paying excellent
attention.”