Name: Bryce Nicastro

District: LAUSD
School: Nora Sterry Elementary School
Subject: General Music
Grade: Pre-Kindergarten
Date: November 9th, 2017
Lesson Plan Number: 2

National Standards for Music Education

CREATING
Plan and Make Select and develop musical ideas for defined purposes and contexts.
MU:Cr2.1.PKa With substantial guidance, explore favorite musical ideas (such as
movements, vocalizations, or instrumental accompaniments).
PERFORMING
Interpret Develop personal interpretations that consider creators intent.
MU:Pr4.3.PKa With substantial guidance, explore musics expressive qualities (such as
voice quality, dynamics, and tempo).
RESPONDING
Analyze - Analyze how the structure and context of varied musical works inform the response.
MU:Re7.2.PKa With substantial guidance, explore musical contrasts in music.
Interpret - Support interpretations of musical works that reflect creators/performers expressive
intent.
MU:Re8.1.PKa With substantial guidance, explore musics expressive qualities (such as
dynamics and tempo).

California Visual and Performing Arts Content Standards

2.0 CREATIVE EXPRESSION Creating, preforming, and participating in music
2.2 Use the voice to speak, chant, and sing.
4.0 AESTHETIC VALUING Responding to, analyzing, and making judgements about works
of music.
4.1 Create movements in response to music.

Objectives:
1. To recognize different instruments from the string family and their differing timbres.
2. To distinguish differences between different forms of string instrument arrangements
(Sonata, Concerto, Quartet).
3. To identify the difference between arco and pizzicato through listening to different string
instrument excerpts and through movement games.

Equipment and Supplies:

Violin
Guest Helper, Ms. Rebecca, and Her Viola
Music Stand
Sheet Music for Anonymous Violin and Viola Duet
Computer
Speakers
 Projector VGI to MacBook connector
Power Point with photos and videos of the string family
Recording of Vanhals Double Bass Concerto in E-flat Major
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfXWX__hcqY)
Recording of Greigs Sonata for Cello and Piano in A Minor
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgdpeLx0TGI)
Recording of Tchaikovskys Waltz of the Flowers arranged for a string quartet
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQA5Fnher3o)
Recording of Faulkners Arkansas Traveler
Recording of Kingsleys Pizzicato Popcorn
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQcVokp1mJU)
15 Classroom Scarves

Procedure:
1. Form a circle, stand, and sing the Good Morning Song to greet each other.
A. Remind students of proper singing posture and sing again with energized singing
voices.
B. The children are asked to be seated.
2. Introduce our guest helper, Ms. Rebecca, and tell the children we are going to play a song
for them with our instruments.
A. The children listen to the Violin and Viola Duet
B. The children are asked what they heard:
i. Could you hear a difference between what Ms. Rebecca was playing and
what I was playing?
ii. Do our instruments sound the same or different? How?
iii. Do you know what its called when two instruments play together?
Four?
iv. Explain how string instruments can play in a variety of different
groupings to have different effects.
C. The children are asked to close their eyes.
D. Ms. Rebecca and I take turns playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
E. The children are asked if they can identify which instrument played the music.
F. Discuss the unique Timbre, or vibrating sound, that makes each instrument
different.
G. Thank Ms. Rebecca for helping!
3. Discuss the string family from an orchestra.
A. Explain how the violin and viola are part of a larger family of string instruments,
just like a real family:
i. Bass = Father (Largest, deepest voice)
a. Play Excerpt of Vanhals Double Bass Concerto in E-flat
Major.
ii. Cello = Mother (Second Largest, warm voice)
b. Play Excerpt of Greigs Sonata for Cello and Piano in A Minor
iii. Viola = Big Brother (Second Smallest, less deep voice)
c. Play Excerpt of Tchaikovskys Waltz of the Flowers arranged
for a string quartet.
 iv. Violin = Baby Brother (Smallest, high voice)
d. Play Excerpt of Faulkners Arkansas Traveler.
4. Introduce the terms Arco and Pizzicato
A. Play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the violin, both arco and pizzicato.
i. The children are asked if they can hear a difference.
B. Display (in the PowerPoint presentation):
i. Arco slide
a. Image of rainbow. Explain how the rainbow has a smooth arc, just
the smooth arch of the violin bow when its playing arco.
ii. Pizzicato slide
a. Image of rabbit hopping. Explain how the rabbit hops up and down
like how the finger hops up and down off the strings to pluck when
its playing pizzicato.
iii. Pass Out Scarves
iv. The children are instructed to listen to the excerpt of Pizzicato Popcorn.
When they hear the string instruments using pizzicato, they are
instructed to tug at their scarves and jump up and down. When they hear
the cello play the arco line, they are to wave their scarves as if playing a
bow on a violin string.
v. The children are asked to return the scarves, remain standing, and return
to the circle.
5. Review what the children learned in their lesson.
A. The children are asked if they remember any of the instruments from the string
family.
B. The children are asked if they remember the difference between arco and
pizzicato.
C. The children are asked if they remember any of the different groupings in which
the string family can play.
6. Sing the Goodbye Song.
A. The children are reminded of proper singing posture and asked to sing one more
time with energized singing voices.

Evaluation:
1. The students were successfully able to identify differences between the violin and viola.
A student referred to the violin as a pretty sound and the conversation was guided to
how music sounds pretty. We discussed how smaller string instruments make a higher
pitch and larger instruments make a lower pitch. More examples of different pitches
would have been helpful for the students to fully understand how different instruments
produce different timbres.
2. The students were introduced to a couple different types of groups of string
instrumentalists including a duet, a quartet, and a concerto. Unfortunately, time did not
permit to delve further into this subject.
3. The students successfully identified the difference in music the violin can make. After
hearing the excerpt of Faulkners Arkansas Traveler, the children immediately noticed a
difference. They could hear the faster melodic lines and one student mentioned it sounded
like a Western film, successfully differentiating from a classical sound. More time could
 have been spent with different musical styles to increase their knowledge of a variety of
different sounds.
4. The children were successful in identifying the different playing styles of pizzicato and
arco by participating in the scarf game. Students were able to hear the cello switch to an
arco line and began to wave their scarfs accordingly. More time could have been spent
with retaining the terms of arco and pizzicato by repeating the terms more frequently.
The children were able to identify the terms after they were given the first part of the
word.

Extension:
1. To further the childrens understanding about different string instruments and their
unique timbres, flash cards with each instrument (violin, viola, cello, & bass) with their
respective family member names (Father, Mother, Big Brother, Baby Brother) are given
to each student. A musical excerpt of a string instrument is played. The children are
asked to display which instrument they think is playing using their flash cards. The
excerpt is played again, this time with video, and the children are asked if they would like
to change their answer. The correct answer is given and a discussion about why it was
that particular instrument is held.
2. To expand on musical styles played by string instruments, three movements are brought
to the class: a conductors arm movements, a box step, and a rock strum of the air
guitar. Each movement is used to three different genres of music and explain how the
same instrument can have three very different sounds. The conductors movements are
used to portray classical music by showing how an orchestra playing classical music has
to follow the conductor to stay in-time. The box step is used to portray fiddle music
because fiddle music sounds like its from a ho-down where people would be dancing.
The rock strum is used to portray rock music because the guitar player in a rock band
would use this type of exaggerated movement. Different videos of these three genres are
played showcasing violin solos. The children are asked to use one of the three
movements to the correct style of the video theyre viewing.