Instruments

Grade Level: 4 Subject: Music

Lesson Aim/Objective: Students will be able to recognize the

instruments in the orchestra by picture and sound, and will be able to
sort the instruments into their corresponding families while identifying
unique characteristics for each family.

Materials:
Pre-test/Post-test
Whiteboard/Markers/Erasers
Projector/computer
Instrument Manipulatives (full orchestra and individual families)
PowerPoint containing Instrument pictures, and videos of each
instrument playing
House of Sound videos (Strings, woodwinds, percussion, brass)
Plastic Straws
Scissors
Various instruments in classroom or borrowed from band/strings
teachers. Possible ones include:
-violin, viola, cello, bass, guitar
-trumpet, trombone, French horn, tuba
-Piccolo, Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Oboe, Bassoon
-Triangle, piano, drums, tambourine, cymbals, xylophone

Common Core Standards:

Instruction/Procedure:
Class 1
- Students take pre-test with no talking. The purpose is to do their
best, and show what they know and don’t know.
- When finished, practice Harvest Time on recorder.
Class 2
- As a class, students create their own word bank on the whiteboard of
all the instruments, with the teacher helping them out if they missed
any. (10 minutes)
- Students will get into groups of 4, and use the full orchestra
manipulatives to sort instruments into the different families (not
graded). (20 minutes)
- As a class, we will go over the activity, and the students will describe
characteristics of each family. These characteristics will be noted, and
brought back in later classes. (15 minutes)
Class 3- String Family
- Students will raise their hand to name the 4 string instruments we
are talking about, and will address any others they may bring up.
- Students will take turns labeling pictures of the instruments on the
whiteboard in front of the class. (5 minutes)
- Teacher will bring out the characteristics for string instruments
from the previous class, and add any others they can think of. We will
listen to videos of each instrument, and describe the sound (high/low,
timbre), and physical characteristics. (15 minutes)
- Students will watch the House of Sound String Family Video to see
how string instruments work. (10 minutes)
- We will compare the 4 instruments, and pass around at least one of
the instruments and a bow, and add/subtract our list of
characteristics. (10)
- Quiz students on different aspects of the string family either in
groups, or individually to reinforce the instruments and their
characteristics. (5)
Class 4- Brass Family
- Students will raise their hand to name the 4 brass instruments we
are talking about, and will address any others they may bring up.
- Students will take turns labeling pictures of the instruments on the
whiteboard in front of the class. (5 minutes)
- Teacher will bring out the characteristics for brass instruments from
the second class, and add any others they can think of. We will listen
to videos of each instrument, and describe the sound (high/low,
timbre), and physical characteristics. (15 minutes)
- Students will watch the House of Sound Brass Family Video to see
how brass instruments work. (10 minutes)
- We will compare the 4 instruments, and pass around at least one of
the instruments and the mouthpiece, and add/subtract our list of
characteristics. (10)
- Quiz students on different aspects of the brass family either in
groups, or individually to reinforce the instruments and their
characteristics. (5)
Class 5- Woodwind Family
- Students will raise their hand to name the 6 woodwind instruments
we are talking about, and will address any others they may bring up.
- Students will take turns labeling pictures of the instruments on the
whiteboard in front of the class. (5 minutes)
- Teacher will bring out the characteristics for woodwind instruments
from the second class, and add any others they can think of. We will
listen to videos of each instrument, and describe the sound (high/low,
timbre), and physical characteristics. (15 minutes)
- Students will watch the House of Sound Woodwind Family Video to
see how Woodwind instruments work. (10 minutes)
- We will compare the 6 instruments, and pass around at least one of
the instruments and the two types of reeds, and add/subtract our list
of characteristics. (10)
- Quiz students on different aspects of the woodwind family either in
groups, or individually to reinforce the instruments and their
characteristics. (5)
Class 5- Percussion Family
- Students will raise their hand to name the 6 Percussion instruments
we are talking about, and will address any others they may bring up.
- Students will take turns labeling pictures of the instruments on the
whiteboard in front of the class. (5 minutes)
- Teacher will bring out the characteristics for Percussion instruments
from the second class, and add any others they can think of. We will
listen to videos of each instrument, and describe the sound (high/low,
timbre), and physical characteristics. (15 minutes)
- Students will watch the House of Sound Percussion Family Video to
see how Percussion instruments work. (10 minutes)
- We will compare the 6 instruments, and we will have students take
turns playing/touching the instruments (depending on behavior). (10)
- Quiz students on different aspects of the percussion family either in
groups, or individually to reinforce the instruments and their
characteristics. (5)
Class 6- Review
- Students will get into groups and use the individual family
manipulatives to sort the instruments into their families and list their
characteristics. (20 minutes)
- We will go over those as a class to make sure everyone is on the same
page. (10 minutes)
- Students will receive the same full orchestra manipulative that they
got on the second day, and do the same activity. (10 minutes)
- Quiz students on different aspects of the instruments and their
characteristics. (5 minutes)
Class 7- Post-Test
- Students will take the same test they took on the first class as their
assessment. No talking.
- When they are finished, they can start silently practicing Harvest
Time again.
Class 8- Fun
- The classroom will be set up with 5 stations: xylophones (with only C,
E, and G bars), triangles, tambourines, cymbals, and drums.
- The students will be split into 5 groups, and they will spend about 4
minutes at each station. For the first 2 minutes, they will get free
play. For the second two minutes, teacher will improvise on the piano in
the key of C, and the students play to the steady beat on the
instrument station they are at. (30 min)
- Each student will receive a plastic straw and some scissors. They will
make straw-woodwind instruments and play with them for 15 minutes.

Assessment Activity:
The post-test is the assessment!

Follow Up:
They will be attending the NSO performance at the Kennedy Center,
and will review the instruments when it gets closer to that time.

Reflections