FULL Lesson Plan for the Elementary Music Class

Teacher Name Abigail Huck

Main Objective (specific objectives are contained within lesson plan): 4th Grade Students
will perform melodic improvisations within 4 measures of 2/4 time, given pitches do, me, and sol
from the D minor scale (DFA).

Standards Being Addressed:

● Song: MU:Pr6.1.4a
Perform music, alone or with others, with expression and technical accuracy, and
appropriate interpretation.
● Improvisation: MU:Cr1.1.5b
Generate musical ideas (such as rhythms, melodies, and accompaniment patterns) within
specific related tonalities, meters, and simple chord changes.
● Body Perc/Keyboard Accompaniment: MU:Pr4.2.4a
Demonstrate understanding of the structure and the elements of
music (such as rhythm, pitch, and form) in music selected for performance.

Materials of Instruction:
● Bass Xylophone, Bass
Metallophone, Alto Xylophone,
Alto Glockenspiel, Soprano
Glockenspiel
● “I’ve Got a Dog” from Diane
Lange’s Together in Harmony
Lesson Sequence (lessons may have more or less activities as appropriate):

Entry Activity/Transition: Good morning class! Today we are going to be talking about pets.
Does anyone have a pet? [Let Ss respond]. I want you to think of something your pet would do.
a. T has Ss pretend to be their pet (If a student doesn’t have one, tell them to play the
imaginary game and think of a cool pet they would like to have).
b. T begins playing D and A on a bass xylophone on the beat.
c. T “Keep pretending to be your animal, but now try to move with me.” T plays quarter
notes in 2/4 time to get students used to the beat.
d. When all Ss are moving with the beat, “Good job! Now you need to be magic animals
that don’t make any sound at all.”
e. T (when Ss are quiet) “Move to your sitting spot while being your magic quiet animal
and I’m going to sing you a song.”

Activity #1 Objective: Ss will sing “I’ve Got a Dog” with accurate pitch (D minor d-sol)
and rhythm (2/4 meter, sixteenth notes, eighth notes and quarter notes).
1. T will sing “I’ve Got a Dog” while playing D and A on the bass xylophone.
2. T “Can anyone tell me what animal my song was about?” (expected ans. ‘dog’)
3. T “Great job!” Does anyone know what happened to the dog in my song?” (expected
ans. ‘he got fleas’)
4. If the Ss don’t get the answer, T sings and plays the song again and repeats step 3, if
the students did know the answer move to step 5.
5. T sings the song for Ss again, making sure to enunciate the words so that the Ss can
hear them.
6. “Repeat after me!” T sings the first phrase of the song.
7. Ss echo the first phrase of the song.
8. T sings the second phrase of the song
9. Ss sing the second the second phrase of the song.
10. T has the Ss sing the first half of the song and then sings the second half for them.
11. T teaches the second half of the song using the same process as steps 6&7.
12. “Let’s sing the whole thing!”
Assessment: Can the students sing the song correctly both rhymically and
melodically?

Transition: Alright, everyone stand up! We are going to learn our Body Percussion
now.

Activity #2:
1. T has the students pat on their laps and sing the song while the teacher demonstrates
the simplest version of the BP. (pat-clap in eighth notes)
2. Ss join in on easiest version, singing the song along with it
3. T adds snap on the and of 2 in the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth measures, and
omits beat 2.
4. Ss join in on this harder version, singing the song along with it.
5. T substitutes pat on first beat of every phrase with a stamp
6. Ss join in on this finished BP, singing the song along with it
 7. T “I think you can do it by yourself. Let’s try”
Assessment: Can the students demonstrate the BP while singing to song? Teacher will
observe.

Transition: Remind the Ss of classroom procedures, and have them move to the
xylophones. *make it magic and make them earn it*

Activity #3:
1. T will play quarter notes on D on the BX, and ask the students to join in
2. Ss will join in
3. T will add the A, playing both at once.
4. Ss will join in
6. T will tell bass instruments to play this part while the other instruments learn the “new
part”
7. T will demonstrate the broken bordon rhythm in the AX part.
8. Ss will join in, either using their bass rhythm or the new AX part.
9. T will break up the cluster chord into 6 parts, having each student on an instrument that
hasn’t played yet, play one note of the chord each.
10. T will have Ss play together while the T sings the song.
11. T has Ss listen while they play. “What did I do different?” (Expected ans. ‘Made it
up’)
12. T gives a “bad example” and together with class sets parameters for improv
13. T has Ss try improv all at once, with partners, and alone (if class seems ready to
perform)
Assessment: can Ss play improv within parameters?

Transition:

Closure: Thanks for paying attention to our song today, guys. You did a great job!