Elementary Unit

Madison Howbert
May 3, 2020
Introduction
a. The concept that this unit is based around is the one eighth two sixteenth note rhythms (i.e.
1e&, 1&a). The scope and sequence that this concept pulls from is the Manhattan-Ogden USD
383 Scope and sequence. Prior to this unit, students will have already learned duple rhythms
such as half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, and will have also learned 4 sixteenth notes in a
row. This unit has been prepared for students in 4 th grade.
b. This tool will be used to assess my students learning before we start this unit. If the data shows
that my students need review before we begin the unit, then I will construct lesson plans to
review those concepts that my students are lacking before we begin this unit. Making sure they
have a solid foundation before we begin to build further upon it. (See Figure 1)
c. This is the tool I will be using to assess my students learning post unit. They will be reading the
notation as well as writing it. They will be composing an 8-measure piece in 4/4 time, and they
have to use our concept rhythms at least 4 times. (See Figure 2)
d. Apart from the main concept, students will also be learning other musical concepts in this unit.
They will be learning concepts such as verse-refrain form, call and response rhythms, and
patterns within music.
e. In this unit, students will be making cross-curricular connections to areas such as math, science,
and visual arts. Additionally, students will be learning about music from outside the Western
European traditions through World Music Pedagogy.

Unit Outline
a. In the “Prepare” segment of this unit, we are preparing our students to learn this concept. We
teach them songs by rote and using the whole-part-whole method. We clarify what the songs
are about, and we give context to them. However, we do not show them notation at this point,
it is all by rote. We give activities to explore the songs and delve into them a little bit. The
repertoire I selected for this segment of the unit was Animal Song, Hogs in the Cornfield, and All
Join Hands and Circle to the Left. For all three of these songs, we begin by reciting the song and
asking directed questions so that the students are engaged and listening. After that, we move to
teaching the song. I chose to do this by teaching it in phrases and having the students repeat
after me. Once they have all of the phrases down, then you start to combine phrases until they
have learned the whole thing. After they’ve learned all the words and have that down, then you
add in the body percussion. Once again, I did this in phrases. Once they have learned the
phrases, then you can start to combine those phrases until they can recite the whole song with
body percussion. After the students can recite the song with body percussion, then you can
move to improvisation. Because our concept is a rhythmic concept, we are improvising
rhythmically. If your concept was a melodic concept, then you would improvise melodically.
When teaching improvisation, it’s important to model for the students. For these songs, when
we got to the improvisation section I would always model for the students and ask them what I
did. Then you get to the point where you can break down improvisation into groups and then
partners, and then maybe individually if they are comfortable. During the improvisation
segment. The teacher is watching to make sure the students are staying within the time
signature and within the phrase.
 b. In the “Present” segment of this unit, the students are doing multiple things. The overarching
objective is to discover the concept and identify it in standard notation. We do this through
multiple activities in the one lesson and the parts include reviewing known elements,
discovering the concept aurally, labelling the concept visually with symbols, labelling the
concept in standard notation, and then using and reinforcing the concept. The repertoire that I
selected for this lesson was Animal Song as the students had learned this song prior, so they
already had a decent understanding of it. For this lesson, I asked the students what a couple of
the animals in the song that were not associated with our concept rhythm were. I then put
those measures on the board and just identifying same and different rhythms. They then
identified the animals that matched our concept rhythm aurally. The students then identified
the rhythms with symbols by matching them up on the board. They then identified rhythm in
standard notation by using animals to help with the rhythms. To reinforce and use the concept,
the students sang through animal song again but clapped along when they got to the concept
rhythm.
c. In the “Practice” segment of this unit, the students are reading and writing my concept using
standard or iconic notation. To do this, I selected 3 pieces and activities that would solidify my
students understanding of my concept and get them to the point of recognizing it in music as
well as being able to read it to their friends and write it out. I did this using Dry Bones Come
Skipping, Brother Rabbit, Sandy’s Mill, and Limbo Dance. For Dry Bones, the activity that I had
my students do was I taped rhythms from the song to a skeleton that I had named Zekiel. I had
my students pick a rhythm and then they had to read the rhythm out loud as well as clap it.
Then the whole class would clap the rhythms. Once we had gotten through all the rhythms on
Zekiel, I then put the notation for Dry Bones Come Skipping on the board and had the students
identify where those same familiar rhythms were. In Brother Rabbit, I had the students sing
through the song once, then I put the notation up on the board. We then sing through the song
a few measures at a time and I have the students raise their hands when they hear our concept
rhythm. I then call on a student to circle the rhythm on the board, and when we sing those
measures again, we clap the rhythm while we are singing. We do this throughout the whole
song. Once we have made it through the whole song, we sing and clap the whole song in its
entirety. For Sandy’s Mill, I have the students write the rhythms for the words that have our
concept up on the board. Then I have all the students split up into pairs and sing to each other.
Whichever student is not singing will clap along when they hear the concept rhythm. For Limbo
Dance, students followed the steps of World Music Pedagogy with Attentive listening, engaged
listening, enactive listening, and integrating world music. Students listened to a piece of music
from Trinidad, and they were asked guiding questions. Then the students were charged with
learning a part and putting the whole thing together in an Orff arrangement.

Lesson Plans
 Teacher Name: Madison Howbert

Standards Being Addressed:

 MU:Cr1.1.4a- Improvise rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic ideas.

 MU:Pr6.1.4a- Perform music, alone or with others, with expression, technical accuracy, and
appropriate interpretation.
 MU:Cr1.1.4b- Generate musical ideas within related tonalities and meters.

Materials of Instruction:

Phrase 1 Phrase 2 Phrase 3 Phrase 4

Body Percussion:

Lesson Sequence:

Warm-up: Zip, Zap, Zoom

 1. T will put on a backing track to establish tempo/beat
2. “Alright kiddos, for warmup today we are going to play Zip, Zap, Zoom. I’m going to need you all
to stand in a circle.”
a. <wait for S to move around and situate themselves>
3. “We are going to go around in a circle the first time around to get used to it, but you have to say
“zip” and point to the person next to you to pass the “zip”. BUT you have to do it on beat. Can
we try just going around in a circle on zip, on beat? Let’s go for it.”
a. <Pass Zip around in a circle, address where there is confusion and/or misunderstanding>
4. “That was good everyone! Now this time, you can send the zip back the other way, but you have
to say “zap” when you send it a different direction. Does that make sense? Let’s give it a go.”
a. <Pass zip around and encourage them to use zap as well, while still staying in tempo/on
beat.>
5. “Alright there’s one last twist! We have zip, and we have zap. Remind me what each one does?”
a. S: Zip passes, zap reverses/goes back the other way”
b. T: “That’s right!”
6. “We are adding one more word, and that word is Zoom. When you say Zoom, you can pass it
across the circle to anyone you want, but you have to point to them, so they know you passed it
to them. Can we try our game again but use all three words? Remember to stay on beat!”
a. “Good Job friends! Can we all have a seat back at our spots so we can get started with
our music for the day?”
b. <wait for S to sit down and get situated.>

Entry Activity: Recite the song once through and ask the students if they heard what animals were in my
song. If they didn’t, recite the song again.

Activity #1 Objective: Students in 4th grade will recite a rhythmic text (Animal Song) with accurate beat
and rhythm in 2/4 meter.

1. “Let’s learn this song. Can you all repeat after me?” Give non-verbal cues as to when the
students will repeat the lines.
a) T: Alligator, hedgehog
b) S: Alligator, hedgehog
2. Echo the second phrase same as above.
c) T: Anteater, bear
d) S: Anteater, bear
3. Echo the third phrase same as above.
a. T: Rattlesnake, buffalo
b. S: Rattlesnake, buffalo
4. Echo the fourth phrase same as above.
a. T: Anaconda, hare
b. S: Anaconda, hare
5. Combine first 2 phrases
a. T: Alligator, hedgehog, anteater, bear
b. S: Alligator, hedgehog, anteater, bear
6. Combine next 2 phrases
a. T: Rattlesnake, Buffalo, anaconda, hare
 b. S: Rattlesnake, buffalo, anaconda, hare
7. At this point, combine the whole thing.
a. T: “We’re going to do the whole thing together now, look at me if you get lost.”
8. Continue this method to learn the next two verses as well. Learn each phrase first, then combine
2 and 2, and then recite the whole verse.

Assessment: Teacher will be watching for rhythmic accuracy and vertical alignment in 2/4 meter.

Transition: “Okay, now that we know the words for our song, we’re going to add in some body
percussion.”

Activity #2 (ongoing from activity #1): Students in 4th grade will perform body percussion to accompany
Animal Song with steady beat and accurate rhythm in 2/4 meter.

1. <Teacher will recite the text with body percussion.>

a. “Friends, can you keep a steady beat for me on your laps like this?”
2. Break it down into phrases.
a. Do just the body percussion first
b. “Watch me and join when you’re ready!”
c. <Have S echo the BP that T demonstrates.>
i. T: “Alligator, hedgehog” with BP
ii. S: “Alligator, hedgehog” with BP
d. Second Phrase
i. T: “Anteater, bear” with BP
ii. S: “Anteater, bear” with BP
e. Third Phrase
i. T: “Rattlesnake, buffalo” with BP
ii. S: “Rattlesnake, buffalo” with BP
f. Fourth Phrase
i. T: “Anaconda, hare” with BP
ii. S: “Anaconda, hare” with BP
3. Combine the first 2 phrase with student echo
a. T: “Alligator, hedgehog, anteater, bear” with BP
b. S: “Alligator, hedgehog, anteater, bear” with BP
4. Combine the next 2 phrases with student echo
a. T: “Rattlesnake, buffalo, anaconda, hare” with BP
b. S: “Rattlesnake, buffalo, anaconda, hare” with BP
5. Do the whole thing together
6. Repeat this process with the other 2 verses

Assessment: Teacher will watch students and make sure they maintain rhythmic accuracy with body
percussion on 3 levels with accurate rhythm in 2/4 meter.

Transition: “Now that we know the words and we have body percussion to go along with our song, do
you think we should learn the melody now?”
Activity #3 (ongoing from activity #2): Students in 4th grade will improvise rhythmically using body
percussion or drums over a 2-bar phrase in 2/4 meter.

1. <T will put on a backing track>

2. “Now that we have some body percussion and we know all our words, were going to add one
more thing. Watch me and tell me what I do.”
a. <T then recites all phrases of the chant and then improvises rhythmically for 2 bars>
b. S: “you made something up!”
3. “That’s right, I made something up! Tell you what, I want everybody to say the chant with me,
and then we are all going to just make something up on either our body percussion or on our
drums. Sound good? Here we go!”
a. <T and S recite the text together and then all improvise.>
4. “Hey friends, what’s the difference between this and this?”
a. <T plays in rhythms and tempo, and then T plays wild and erratically>
b. S: “it didn’t sound right” or “it didn’t fit”
5. “Exactly! Can I have this half of the room say it again and play with me how it’s supposed to fit?”
a. <T then counts off and improvises with half of the room>
6. “That was a great example! Can I have this half do it now?”
a. <T then counts off and improvises with the other half>
7. “You all did awesome with that. Can you all get into groups of 4 for me please?”
a. <T waits for S to get into groups>
8. “This time around, were all going to say it, but when we get to the made-something-up-part I’m
going to point at a group and each group is going to get their own turn. Make sense? Let’s Go!”
a. <T then counts off and goes around the room pointing to groups until each group has
had a turn.>

Assessment: Teacher will be watching students to make sure they stay within the 2-bar phrase and
within 2/4 time.

Closure: Great job with this song today kiddos, I’m looking forward to next time!
 Teacher Name: Madison Howbert

Standards Being Addressed:

 MU:Cr1.1.4a- Improvise rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic ideas.

 MU:Pr6.1.4a- Perform music, alone or with others, with expression, technical accuracy, and
appropriate interpretation.
 MU:Cr1.1.4b- Generate musical ideas within related tonalities and meters.

Materials of Instruction:

Phrase 1 Phrase 2

Phrase 3 Phrase 4

Body Percussion:

Lesson Sequence:

Warm-Up: Don’t Clap it Back

1. T will have “special” rhythms written up on the board when class comes in.
2. “Today, we are going to be clapping some rhythms. Can I have everybody stand up?”
a. <Wait for S to stand and get situated.>
3. “I’m going to be clapping some rhythms and after I clap them, I want you to clap them back to
me. Can we try that?”
a. T claps a rhythm to S
b. S claps the rhythm back
c. T claps a different rhythm, does this approx. 3 times
d. S claps rhythm back
 4. “Yeah, you all have a good handle on that. Do you see my rhythms over here on the board?”
a. S: “yes”
5. “Those are our special rhythms, and when you hear those rhythms, you don’t clap them. Does
that make sense? Here’s an example.”
a. <T then claps a rhythm containing one of the special rhythms and demonstrates when
not to clap.>
6. “Do you think we can all try that?”
a. S: “yes”
7. “Awesome, let’s try it just like we did before with the echo, but remember if there’s a special
rhythm then you don’t clap it back to me.”
a. <T and S do the echoes back and forth; T also clarifies if there is any misunderstanding
or confusion.>
8. “You know what friends, you are doing awesome with that, let’s make a game out of it. If I clap a
rhythm, and you clap one of our special rhythms back then go ahead and take a seat. Our last
friend standing can be my helper for the day. Sound good? Let’s go for it!”
a. <T then claps various rhythms and incorporates the special rhythms until there is only
one student left.>
9. “Thank you all so much for being good participants in our game this morning, are you ready to
make some music?”

Entry Activity: Recite the song once through and ask the students if they heard where the cows were at
in my song. If they didn’t, recite the song again, maybe ask what the sisters name is.

Activity #1 Objective: Students in 4th grade will recite a rhythmic text (Hogs in the Cornfield) with
accurate beat and rhythm in 2/4 meter.

1. Echo the first phrase.

a. T: Hogs in the cornfield, cows in the clover
b. S: Hogs in the cornfield, cows in the clover
2. Echo the second phrase same as above.
a. T: Tell your sister Kate, we’re coming over
b. S: Tell your sister Kate, we’re coming over
3. Echo the third phrase same as above.
a. Hogs in the cornfield, how do you know?
b. Hogs in the cornfield, how do you know?
4. Echo the fourth phrase same as above.
a. Met a little boy and he told me so.
b. Met a little boy and he told me so.
5. Combine first 2 phrases
a. T: Hogs in the cornfield, cows in the clover, tell your sister Kate, we’re coming over
b. S: Hogs in the cornfield, cows in the clover, tell your sister Kate, we’re coming over
6. Combine next 2 phrases
a. T: Hogs in the cornfield, how do you know? Met a little boy and he told me so.
b. S: Hogs in the cornfield, how do you know? Met a little boy and he told me so.
7. At this point, combine the whole thing.
a. T: “We’re going to do the whole thing together now, look at me if you get lost.”
Assessment: Teacher will be watching for rhythmic accuracy and vertical alignment in 2/4 meter.

Transition: “Okay, now that we know the words for our song, we’re going to add in some body
percussion.”

Activity #2 (ongoing from activity #1): Students in 4th grade will perform body percussion to accompany
Hogs in the Cornfield with steady beat and accurate rhythm in 2/4 meter.

1. <T will recite the text with Body Percussion>

a. “Friends can you keep a steady beat on your laps for me?”
2. <T then recites the text with BP once S keeps a steady beat on their laps>
3. Then break it down into phrases
4. Echo the first phrase with BP
a. T: “Hogs in the cornfield, cows in the clover” with BP
b. S: “Hogs in the cornfield, cows in the clover” with BP
5. Echo the second phrase same as above.
a. T: “Tell your sister Kate, we’re coming over” with BP
b. S: “Tell your sister Kate, we’re coming over” with BP
6. Echo the third phrase same as above.
a. T: “Hogs in the cornfield, how do you know?” with BP
b. S: “Hogs in the cornfield, how do you know?” with BP
7. Echo the fourth phrase same as above.
a. T: “Met a little boy and he told me so.” With BP
b. S: “Met a little boy and he told me so.” With BP
8. Combine first 2 phrases
a. T: “Hogs in the cornfield, cows in the clover, tell your sister Kate, we’re coming over”
with BP
b. S: “Hogs in the cornfield, cows in the clover, tell your sister Kate, we’re coming over”
with BP
9. Combine next 2 phrases
a. T: “Hogs in the cornfield, how do you know? Met a little boy and he told me so.” With
BP
b. S: “Hogs in the cornfield, how do you know? Met a little boy and he told me so.” With
BP
10. Recite the whole chant together
a. <T will recite chant with BP with S>
b. <T will then fade out after a couple of times>

Assessment: Teacher will watch students and make sure they maintain rhythmic accuracy with body
percussion on 3 levels with accurate rhythm in 2/4 meter.

Transition: “Now that we know the words and we have body percussion to go along with our song, do
you think we should learn the melody now?”

Activity #3 (ongoing from activity #2): Students in 4th grade will improvise rhythmically using body
percussion or drums over a 2-bar phrase in 2/4 meter.
 1. <T will set the scene by putting on a straight 2/4 backing track drumbeat.>
2. <T will model the last phrase of Hogs in the cornfield to start>
a. “Watch what I do and tell me what I did.”
i. “Hogs in the cornfield, how do you know? Met a little boy and he told me so.”
Teacher improvises the next 8 counts.
ii. “What did I do that time?”
1. S: “you made something up!”
3. Teacher will then explain the next phase.
a. “Everybody is going to say the last phrase, and then we are all going to make something
up for the next phrase.”
b. All: “Hogs in the cornfield, how do you know? Met a little boy and he told me so.”
c. All: Improvise rhythmically.
4. Move to half the students improvise at a time.
a. “Okay this half of the room is going to make something up first, and then the other half
will make something up.”
b. All: “Hogs in the cornfield, how do you know? Met a little boy and he told me so.”
c. <Half of S improvises>
d. All: “Hogs in the cornfield, how do you know? Met a little boy and he told me so.”
e. <Other half of S improvises>
5. Move to partners, but still all together.
a. “Okay turn to your shoulder partner and raise your hand if your birthday is in the
summer. Okay, that partner is going to make something up first, and then our other
partner is going to go second.”
b. All: “Hogs in the cornfield, how do you know? Met a little boy and he told me so.”
c. <Half improvises>
d. All: “Hogs in the cornfield, how do you know? Met a little boy and he told me so.”
e. <Other half improvises>

Assessment: Teacher will be watching students to make sure they stay within the 2-bar phrase and
within 2/4 time.

Closure: You guys did awesome with Hogs in the Cornfield today; I can’t wait to see what song we learn
next time!
 Teacher Name: Madison Howbert

Standards Being Addressed:

 MU:Cr1.1.4a- Improvise rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic ideas.

 MU:Pr6.1.4a- Perform music, alone or with others, with expression, technical accuracy, and
appropriate interpretation.
 MU:Cr1.1.4b- Generate musical ideas within related tonalities and meters.

Materials of Instruction:

Phrase 1

Phrase 2

Phrase 3

Phrase 4

Body Percussion:
Lesson Sequence:

Warm-Up: Minimal Patterns

1. “Good morning class! Can I have everybody stand up with me?”

a. <wait for S to stand up and get situated>
b. <T puts on backing track while S are following directions>
2. “Can you all follow me?”
a. <T taps head, shoulders, knees, and claps (all on beat)>
b. <T then counts backwards from 4.>
c. <T then goes backwards i.e. clap, knees, shoulders, head (all on beat)>
d. <T then counts down from 4 again, and then repeats the cycle, inviting students to
follow along>
3. “You all have a pretty goof handle on that. Can I have this half of the room start with your head,
and this half of the room start with your clap? Let’s try it. I’ll count you in, 1 2 3 4.”
a. <Half of S should have started on their head, and half of S should have started with claps
and went backwards through the sequence.>
4. “Okay here’s a twist, I’m going to say “switch when you guys are doing your sequence, and you’ll
have to switch to what the other group was doing. Okay? Let’s try it, I know you all can do this!”
a. <T then says “switch” periodically, initially in spots where they have time to think about
what they should be doing, but then more and more frequently to really get their minds
going.>
b. <If they can handle this with relatively no issues, split the class into three groups and do
it in a round and ask them to listen for when all three groups clap at the same time.>
5. “Thank you, friends, for being good participators in my patterns today, who’s ready to make
some music?”

Entry Activity: Recite the song once through and ask the students if they know what kind of song this is
(Folk song/dance).

Activity #1 Objective: Students in 4th grade will recite a rhythmic text (All join hands and Circle to the
Left) with accurate beat and rhythm in 2/4 meter.

1. “Let’s learn this song. Can you all repeat after me?” Give non-verbal cues as to when the
students will repeat the lines.
a) T: All join hands and circle to the left, and circle to the left, and circle to the left
b) S: All join hands and circle to the left, and circle to the left, and circle to the left
2. Echo the second phrase same as above.
 c) T: All join hands and circle to the left and swing them all around.
d) S: All join hands and circle to the left and swing them all around.
3. Echo the third phrase same as above.
a. T: Round and around and around we go
b. S: Round and around and around we go
4. Echo the fourth phrase same as above.
a. T: Round and around and around we go to swing them all around
b. S: Round and around and around we go to swing them all around
5. Combine first 2 phrases
a. T: All join hands and circle to the left, and circle to the left, and circle to the left, All join
hands and circle to the left and swing them all around.
b. S: All join hands and circle to the left, and circle to the left, and circle to the left, All join
hands and circle to the left and swing them all around.
6. Combine next 2 phrases
a. T: Round and around and around we go, Round and around and around we go to swing
them all around
b. S: Round and around and around we go, Round and around and around we go to swing
them all around
7. At this point, combine the whole thing.
a. T: “We’re going to do the whole thing together now, look at me if you get lost.”
8. Continue this method to learn the next verse as well. Learn each phrase first, then combine 2
and 2, and then recite the whole verse.

Assessment: Teacher will be watching for rhythmic accuracy and vertical alignment in 2/4 meter.

Transition: “Okay, now that we know the words for our song, we’re going to add in some body
percussion.”

Activity #2 (ongoing from activity #1): Students in 4th grade will perform body percussion to accompany
Hogs in the Cornfield with steady beat and accurate rhythm in 2/4 meter.

1. “Now that we know all the words, do you think we could add some body percussion and make
this song even cooler? Let’s see what happens! Can you keep a steady beat on your laps for me
like this?”
2. <T then recites whole text while demonstrating body percussion.>
3. <T breaks the song down into phrases.>
4. <T can repeat each phrase as many times as necessary to maintain retention as this song is a
little wordier.>
5. “Can you all repeat after me?”
e) T: “All join hands and circle to the left, and circle to the left, and circle to the left” with
BP
f) S: “All join hands and circle to the left, and circle to the left, and circle to the left” with
BP
6. Echo the second phrase same as above.
g) T: “All join hands and circle to the left and swing them all around.” With BP
h) S: “All join hands and circle to the left and swing them all around.” With BP
 7. Echo the third phrase same as above.
a. T: “Round and around and around we go” with BP
b. S: “Round and around and around we go” with BP
8. Echo the fourth phrase same as above.
a. T: “Round and around and around we go to swing them all around” with BP
b. S: “Round and around and around we go to swing them all around” with BP
9. Combine first 2 phrases
a. T: “All join hands and circle to the left, and circle to the left, and circle to the left, all join
hands and circle to the left and swing them all around.” With BP
b. S: “All join hands and circle to the left, and circle to the left, and circle to the left, all join
hands and circle to the left and swing them all around.” With BP
10. Combine next 2 phrases
a. T: “Round and around and around we go, Round and around and around we go to swing
them all around” with BP
b. S: “Round and around and around we go, Round and around and around we go to swing
them all around” with BP
11. Combine all phrases
12. “Alright friends, we’re going to do the whole thing, just look at me if you get lost.”
a. <T then recites with S multiple times to ensure retention and confidence>

Assessment: Teacher will watch students and make sure they maintain rhythmic accuracy with body
percussion on 3 levels with accurate rhythm in 2/4 meter.

Transition: “Now that we know the words and we have body percussion to go along with our song, do
you think we should learn the melody now?”

Activity #3 (ongoing from activity #2): Students in 4th grade will improvise rhythmically using body
percussion or drums over a 4-bar phrase in 2/4 meter.

1. “Okay we are going to add something else to our song now, and if you all crush it and can
handle it then we’ll learn the dance that goes with it. Sound good? Alright, let’s dig in”
2. <T will set the scene by putting on a straight 2/4 backing track drumbeat.>
3. <T will model the last phrase of All join hands and circle to the left to start>
a. “Watch what I do and tell me what I did.”
i. “Round and around and around we go to swing them all around.”
ii. Teacher improvises the next 16 counts.
iii. “What did I do that time?”
1. S: “you made something up!”
4. Teacher will then explain the next phase.
a. “Everybody is going to say the last phrase, and then we are all going to make something
up for the next phrase.”
b. All: “Round and around and around we go to swing them all around.”
c. All: Improvise rhythmically.
5. “Friends can you tell me what the difference is between these two things I play?”
a. <T plays somethings that fits beat and tempo, and then plays something wild and erratic
that doesn’t fit.>
 b. S: “That didn’t sound right” or “that didn’t fit”
6. “That’s right! Remember that whatever we make up has to fit within our song. Let’s try half of
the room at a time.”
7. Move to half the students improvise at a time.
a. “Okay this half of the room is going to make something up first, and then the other half
will make something up.”
b. All: “Round and around and around we go to swing them all around.”
c. <Half of S improvises>
d. All: “Round and around and around we go to swing them all around”
e. <Other half of S improvises>
8. Move to partners, but still all together.
a. “Okay turn to your shoulder partner and raise your hand if your birthday is in the
summer. Okay, that partner is going to make something up first, and then our other
partner is going to go second.”
b. All: “Round and around and around we go to swing them all around”
c. <Half improvises>
d. All: “Round and around and around we go to swing them all around”
e. <Other half improvises>
9. “Do you guys want to try going around in a circle by yourself? You don’t have to, but if you want
to you can. Here we go, let’s try one big circle!”
a. <Improvise around the circle giving all students who want one a turn to make something
up.>

Assessment: Teacher will be watching students to make sure they stay within the 4-bar phrase and
within 2/4 time.

Closure: I hope you all had a fun time learning this song today, next time we are going to learn the dance
that goes with it!
 Teacher Name: Madison Howbert

Standards Being Addressed:

 MU:Cr3.1.4a- Evaluate, refine, and document revisions to personal music, applying teacher-
provided and collaboratively-developed criteria and feedback.
 MU:Pr4.2.4b- When analyzing selected music, read and perform using iconic and/or standard
notation.
 MU:Pr5.1.4b- Rehearse to refine technical accuracy and address performance challenges

Materials of Instruction:

Body Percussion:

Lesson Sequence:
Warm-up:

1. “Welcome to music class today kiddos! Can you all think of your favorite animal?”
a. <T waits for students to think of their favorite animal>
2. “We are going to clap the rhythm of some of our friend’s favorite animals. For example, mine is
blue whale. So, when we clap it, it will sound like this.”
a. <T claps the rhythm for blue whale as 2 eighth notes.>
3. “I’m going to call on a couple of my friends who are sitting quietly with their hands in the air, so
we can figure out what their animals sound like.”
a. <T calls on various students and has the class echo what the animal names would sound
like.>

Activity #1 Objective: Students in 4th grade will review 4 sixteenth notes, 2 eighth notes, and quarter
note values.

1. “You guys have so many favorite animals, do you remember our song we learned the other day
about animals? Can we all sing it together?”
a. <T and S sing the song together once through, addressing any hiccups or errors.>
2. “Do you guys remember the first 2 animals we said?”
a. S: “alligator, hedgehog!”
3. “Do you guys remember the last 2 animals we said?”
a. S: “anaconda, hare!”
4. “This is what those animals’ rhythms look like.”
a. <T puts the first measure and the last measure up on the board.>
5. “What do you notice about alligator and anaconda?”
a. S: “They look the same!”
6. “That’s right they have the same rhythm! What about hedgehog and hare though?”
a. S: “They aren’t the same.”
7. “Right again, Can I have this side clap hedgehog and this side clap hare?”
a. <S claps the rhythms>
b. S: “Hare is half as long and hedgehog!”
8. “You all are so smart. Can we do just those two measures together?”
a. <T and S do the first and last measures together.>

Activity #2 Objective: Students in 4th grade will discover one eighth two sixteenth rhythms aurally.

1. “Now can anyone tell me what animals we didn’t mention?”

a. S: “Anteater, bear, rattlesnake, buffalo!”
2. “Let’s look at rattlesnake and buffalo. Can we clap those animals?”
a. <T and S clap the rhythms for both rattlesnake and buffalo>
3. “Rattlesnake and buffalo sound the same right?”
a. S: “yes”
4. “Awesome, can we clap anteater?”
a. <T and S clap anteater.>
5. “Did anteater sound completely different from rattlesnake and buffalo, or kind of the same?”
a. S: “kind of the same.”
6. “You are correct, let’s dig into that!”
Activity #3 Objective: Students in 4th grade will be able to label one eighth two sixteenth notes rhythms
visually with symbols.

1. “Let’s look at those animals.”

a. <T writes the words anteater, rattlesnake, and buffalo on the board but under each
other so the syllables line up.>
2. “What do you guys notice about these words?”
a. <looking for “they line up” or “they all have 2 parts together” or something along the
lines of one long part and two short parts.>
3. “Rattlesnake and buffalo both have 2 short beat and then one long beat, right?”
a. S: “yes”
4. “And what do you notice about anteater?”
a. S: “it has 2 short and one long beat.”
5. “That is correct, it’s like it’s switched around. Our short beats are sixteenth notes and our long
beat is an eighth note. Can we clap on the long beats and stomp our feet on the short beats?”
a. <T and S recite the animals while clapping the long beats and stomping the short beats.>
6. “That is awesome friends, you really know your stuff.”

Activity #4 Objective: Students in 4th grade will be able to label one eighth two sixteenth note rhythms
in standard notation.

1. <T puts the standard notation up on the board for Animal song.>
2. “So friends, If this rhythm is alligator, and this rhythm is hedgehog, what would this next rhythm
be?”
a. S: “Anteater!’
3. “Yes! So then what would these rhythms after Bear be?”
a. S: “Rattlesnake and buffalo!”
4. “Man, you all are on top of things today, you are correct!”
a. <T circles the animals that have the special rhythm.>

Activity #5 Objective: Students in 4th grade will utilize one eighth two sixteenth rhythms in Animal Song
with emphasis on the eighth two sixteenth note rhythms.

1. “Now that we know which animals have our special rhythm, can we clap and stomp to the
rhythm when we get to those animals?”
a. <T and S recite animal song, putting emphasis on the special rhythms.>

Assessment:

 Split the class in half and have half the class recite the first 2 measures of the song, and then
have the other half recite the last two measures. After that, then have them switch which half
they sing and put emphasis on.
 Teacher Name: Madison Howbert

Standards Being Addressed:

 MU:Cr2.1.4b- Use standard and/or iconic notation and recording technology to document
personal rhythmic musical ideas.
 MU:Cr3.2.4a- Present the final version of personal created music to others
 MU:Pr4.2.4a- Demonstrate understanding of the structure and the elements of music such as
rhythm in music selected for performance

Materials of Instruction:

Phrase 1 Phrase 2

Phrase 3 Phrase 4

Body Percussion:

Lesson Sequence:

Warm-Up: Music Walk

10. T will have rhythms cards for each student to use for this warm-up
11. “Okay friends, I need everybody to stand up for me.”
a. <Wait for S to stand>
12. “I’m going to play a song, and when the song is playing you can walk around the room however
you’d like, but you have to have your listening ears open. Make sense?”
a. S: “yes”
13. “When the music stops, you have to find a partner that’s close to you and you have to read your
rhythm card to your partner using claps. Once you and your partner have both read your cards
 to each other, then you switch cards and wait for the music to start playing again. When the
music starts back up, you walk around the room again and then it starts over. Sound good?”
a. S: “What if everybody has a partner except us?”
b. Then you can make your way over to this special spot called “the land of Lost Partners,
and I will be your partner!”
i. <T will have some sort of marking on the floor whether it be a carpet square or a
tape x or a dot or something like that.>
14. “Okay friends, here we go!”
a. <T plays music while S walks around the room. T will periodically pause the music giving
S the chance to read their rhythms cards to each other and switch.>
b. <T will address any confusion or errors, as necessary.>

Entry Activity: Recite the first 2 phrases of the song using a neutral syllable.

Activity Objective: Using popsicle sticks, students in 4th grade will practice writing sixteenth note
rhythms in a 2-bar phrase.

1. “Does that sound like a song we know?”

a. S: “Yes! Hogs in the cornfield!”
b. S: “I don’t know” or “No.”
i. <T will recite the phrases again on a neutral syllable, if the students still don’t
recognize the song then T will use the words.”
2. “Yes, it is Hogs in the cornfield, can you all sing it all with me?”
a. <T puts notation and words up for S to see.>
b. <T and S sing together>
3. “Do you all remember those special rhythms we talked about last time? The ones with a long
beat and two short beats?”
a. S: “yes”
4. “Can you point those out to me here on the board? Or better yet, can I have a couple of my
friends come up here and circle them on the board?”
a. <T calls on students to circle rhythms with one long beat and two short beats.>
b. <Should have 7 rhythms circled>
5. “You found them all! Now, we are going to make our own song. It’s going to have 4 beats and
you have to use our special rhythm twice. Does that make sense?”
a. S: “Yes”
b. S: “No”
i. <T will explain the parameters again, going into slightly more detail and going a
little bit slower when explaining.>
6. “I’m going to hand out popsicle sticks and that what we are going to use to create our songs. 1
stick is a quarter note, 2 sticks with a top beam is 2 eighth notes, and remember we have to use
our special rhythms twice. I’ll leave them on the board so that you know what they look like and
can make them with your sticks.”
a. <T hands out popsicle sticks, giving each student a handful.>
7. “Okay I’m going to give you a couple of minutes to create your songs, and then we are going to
go around the room and give our friends a chance to show us theirs. Go!”
 a. <T plays music quietly in the background while S create their songs. T can also be
walking around the room just watching S create and maybe ask a couple questions
about their creative processes.>
8. “Okay friends, time is up! Do I have any volunteers that want to show us their song first?
a. <T calls on S>
9. “Awesome, can you clap your rhythm for us?”
a. <S claps rhythm.>
b. <T corrects as necessary.>
10. “That was a super cool rhythm! Can we all clap that rhythm together?”
a. <T and S clap the rhythm together.>
11. “Great job guys, who wants to go next?”
a. <T will call on S as they volunteer. After everyone hears the rhythm first, the entire class
will then clap the rhythms with them.>

Assessment: Teacher will be watching for rhythmic accuracy and vertical alignment in 2/4 meter.

Closure: “You all made some really cool rhythms today, can you all put your popsicle sticks in this bag as
you line up today? Thank you so much!”
 Teacher Name: Madison Howbert

Standards Being Addressed:

 MU:Pr4.2.4b- When analyzing selected music, read and perform using iconic and/or standard
notation.
 MU:Pr6.1.4a- Perform music, alone or with others, with technical accuracy.
 MU:Pr5.1.4b- Rehearse to refine technical accuracy and address performance challenges.

Materials of Instruction:

Phrase 1

Phrase 2

Phrase 3

Phrase 4

Body Percussion:
Lesson Sequence:

Warm-Up: Telephone Rhythm

6. “Good morning class! Today we are going to start with a little puzzle. I’m going to number you
off and then we will get started.”
a. <T numbers off S in groups of 8>
7. “Now when I say go, find your group members and pick a spot in the room. Go!”
a. <Wait for S to find their group members and find a spot.>
8. “1,2,3 eyes on me.”
a. S: “1,2 eyes on you”
9. “Thank you! So how this puzzle works is your group will need to sit in a line. The first person in
the line will come up and get a rhythm card from me. Then you will go back to your group and
read your rhythm card to the person next to you, but you have to do it in a whisper. Then you
repeat what you heard to the person next to you until it gets all the way down the line. Make
sense so far?”
a. S: “yes”
10. “Okay, the next part is that the person at the end of the line has to write what they heard on
their whiteboard and hold it up. You get a point if it’s right. After that, the first person moves to
the end of the line and then the next person comes and gets another card from me and it starts
over. Does this make sense, or do you have any questions?”
a. S: “No, it makes sense.”
11. “Okay let’s do a practice round so that I know you all know how it works. First person, come and
get a card.”
a. <S come and get a card from T, and then the practice round begins. Address any
confusion or errors as it comes.>
12. “Now that we’ve had a practice round, let’s go for the real thing now. Next person come up and
get a card.”
a. <T hands our rhythm cards and S continues to do the puzzle. T walks around and checks
whiteboards when they are held in the air and addresses any discrepancies.>

Entry Activity: T will start to recite All Join Hands and invite S to join as they sing.

Activity Objective: Using rhythmic Go Fish and All Join Hands, students in 4 th grade will practice reading
and clapping sixteenth note rhythms.

9. “I’m glad to see you all still remember that song! Do you still remember our body percussion
that goes with it?”
 a. S: “yes”
10. “Can we do Body Percussion along with it this time? Let’s go for it.”
a. <T and S recite All Join Hands with body percussion.>
11. “Great job friends! Now, I am going to number you off again and I want you to hold your
number up in the air when I tell you.”
a. <T numbers off S in groups of 4 or 5, whichever works out better, and has S hold up their
numbers.>
12. “When I say go, you are going to find your group members and find a spot in the room again.
Go!”
a. <T waits for S to find group members and a spot in the room.>
13. “Does everyone know how to play go fish?”
a. S: “yes”
b. S: “no”
i. <T will explain how to play go fish if there are students who don’t know how to
play.>
14. “There’s a catch to this version of Go Fish though, you have to either clap the rhythm on the
card, or you have to speak the rhythm on the card. Everybody with me?”
a. S: “yes”
15. “Awesome, can I have one person from each group come and get a deck of cards from me?”
a. <T will have made decks of cards with rhythms from All Join Hands on the cards.>
b. <S will come and get a deck of cards from T for each group.>
16. “When you get back to your group, go ahead and pass out the cards and get started.”
a. <As S gets started and begins to play, T will walk around the room and monitor groups
as well as assess student learning.>
17. <After students have time to play rhythm Go Fish>
18. “Can I have this half of the class grab rhythm sticks, and can I have this half of the class bring me
the cards?”
a. <Half of S gets rhythms sticks; half of S grabs cards and brings them to T.>
19. “We are going to sing our song again, and my friends with rhythms sticks, can you play those
rhythms that I have circled on the board? Let’s go for it.”
a. <T and S sing together while half of S uses the sticks to play sixteenth rhythms on the
board.>

Assessment: Teacher will be walking around the room watching for rhythmic accuracy and appropriate
syllables.
 Teacher Name: Madison Howbert

Standards Being Addressed:

 MU:Pr4.2.4b- When analyzing selected music, read and perform using iconic and/or standard
notation.
 MU:Pr6.1.4a- Perform music, alone or with others, with technical accuracy.
 MU:Pr5.1.4b- Rehearse to refine technical accuracy and address performance challenges.

Materials of Instruction:

Rhythm 1 Rhythm 2

Rhythm 3

Rhythm 4

Lesson Sequence:

Warm-Up: Steal the Rhythm

1. <T will have rhythms cards velcroed to the board or some surface at the front of the room.>
2. <T will also have two sets of rhythm flashcards, one set for each team, that contain 4 beat
rhythms. They will incorporate various rhythms as well as incorporating rhythms from Dry Bones
that they are already familiar with.>
3. “Okay if you were born in January-June forma line here, and if you were born from July to
December form a line here.”
a. <Wait for S to form lines, even them out if they are lopsided.>
 4. “We are starting music class today with a rhythm exercise, and the winning team will get to be
special friends and help me out with something later. So, you see those rhythm cards on the
board?”
a. S: “yes”
5. “I’m going to clap or play a rhythm on my drum here, and the first person in each line has to
figure out which rhythm I just played from the ones on the board. Then they will bring the card
to me to see if they got it right. If you got it right, then your team gets a point and you go to the
end of the line and the next person gets a turn. Make sense?”
a. S: “yes!”
6. “You can use your group members to help you if you need it, but the goal here is to be the
fastest. Let’s do a practice round to make sure you guys understand.”
a. <T plays a 4-beat rhythm and S has to bring the corresponding flash card to them to
confirm they got it right.>
7. “You all did great that round! Let’s keep going.”
a. T continues to play rhythms and S continues to figure out what rhythms T is playing.>

Entry Activity: T will start to recite Dry Bones Come Skipping and make eye contact with S as they sing.

Activity Objective: Students will recognize and read sixteenth note rhythms in Dry Bones Come
Skipping.

1. “Hey kiddos, who’s bones were I singing about?”

a. “Your bones” or “Zekiels bones”
b. <If S didn’t hear, sing the song again.>
2. “Exactly. Do you all know how many bones you have in your body?”
a. S: “a lot!”
3. “A lot is right. You start out with about 270 bones when you’re a baby, and you end up with
around 206 bones when you get to be an adult!”
4. <T pulls out skeleton of some sort, doesn’t have to be life size, just big enough to stick some
rhythm cards to different limbs. Because this song consists of 4 different 4-beat patterns, you
can attach each bar to a different part of the body.>
5. “This is my friend Zekiel, and we are going to learn about a song today called Dry Bones Come
Skipping. Can someone tell me what this rhythm sounds like?”
a. <T points to arm where the rhythm card with the first rhythm is.>
b. <S claps or says rhythm out loud.>
c. “Can we all clap/say that rhythm?”
d. <T and S clap/say the first rhythm.
e. “Can you say these words while you clap that rhythm? Dry bones come skipping up the
valley.”
i. <T demonstrates and the invites S to join.>
ii. S: “Dry bones come skipping up the valley”
6. “Awesome, can I have another friend tell me what this rhythm sounds like?”
a. <T points to another body part with the second rhythm.>
b. <S claps or says rhythm out loud.>
c. “Can we all clap/say that rhythm with our friend?”
d. <T and S clap/say the second rhythm.>
 e. “Can you say these words while you clap that rhythm? One of dem bones is mine.”
i. <T demonstrates and the invites S to join.>
ii. S: “One of dem bones is mine.”
7. “That sounds great friends, can I have someone tell me what this rhythm sounds like?”
a. <T points to another body part with the third rhythm.>
b. <S claps or says rhythm out loud.>
c. “Can we all clap/say that rhythm with our friend?”
d. <T and S clap/say the third rhythm.>
e. “Can we put these words to that? One of dem bones is Zekiels bones.”
i. <T demonstrates and the invites S to join.>
ii. S: “One of dem bones is Zekiels bones”
8. “Okay, I need one more friend to tell us what this last rhythm sounds like.”
a. <T points to another body part with the fourth rhythm.>
b. <S claps or says rhythm out loud.>
c. “Can we all clap/say that rhythm with our friend?”
d. <T and S clap/say the fourth rhythm.>
e. “Can we put these words to it again? One of dem bones is mine.”
i. <T demonstrates and the invites S to join.>
ii. S: “One of dem bones is mine”
9. “You all did so good with those rhythms, I think you’re ready to sing our song.”
a. <T puts notation up for S to see.>
10. “Hmmmmm, this looks familiar. Do you see any familiar rhythms up here?”
a. S: “yes! They were on zekiels bones!”
11. “Exactly! And do these words look familiar?”
a. S: “Yes! We said them with our rhythms!”
12. “That’s so neat! Do you think we could sing this whole song together?”
a. S: “Yes”
13. <T and S sing the song together.>
14. “You know, I feel like its missing something… Can I have this half of the room keep a beat by
saying bones and patting their laps like this?”
a. <T pats lap in quarter notes and says bones in tempo and on beat with the quarter
notes.>
15. “Can I have the other half of the room sing the song with me and then we will switch?”
a. <T sings with half of S while the other half of S is keeping time.>
16. “Switch!”
a. <T sings with the other half of S.>

Assessment: T will be watching S for rhythmic accuracy in 4/4 meter.

 Teacher Name: Madison Howbert

Standards Being Addressed:

 MU:Pr4.2.4b- When analyzing selected music, read and perform using iconic and/or standard
notation.
 MU:Pr6.1.4a- Perform music, alone or with others, with technical accuracy.
 MU:Pr5.1.4b- Rehearse to refine technical accuracy and address performance challenges.

Materials of Instruction:

**T will change dotted rhythms in measures 10 & 14 to be eighth notes**

Lesson Sequence:

Warm-up: Repeat After Me/Create Your Own

1. <As S enters the room, T will be clapping rhythms for students to repeat.>
2. <If S are unsure what is going on, continue to repeat a starting rhythm until they catch on to
repeat after T.>
3. <Make sure to keep voices off, and minimal instruction unless S are very lost and confused.>
4. <T will change up the rhythm after the rhythm is repeated correctly.>
5. <After a few rounds>
a. “Does anyone want to come up and be the rhythm leader?”
b. <T calls on any S that volunteers.>
 6. <T and S continue to clap rhythms and T will switch out the rhythm leaders with other S who
volunteer.>

Entry Activity: <T will show a picture of Thumper from Bambi up on the board.>

 “Can somebody tell me who this is?”

o S: “Thumper!”
 “What kind of animal is Thumper?”
o S: “A rabbit!”

Activity Objective: Using Brother Rabbit, students will read and recognize the one eighth two sixteenth
note rhythm.

1. “Hey friends! Speaking of rabbits, do you remember our friend Brother Rabbit?”
a. S: “yes”
2. “Can we sing about Brother Rabbit to remind our friends who don’t remember?”
3. <T and S sing Brother Rabbit>
4. “Nice job kiddos! I’m going to put our song up on the board, and we are going to sing just a little
bit at a time.”
5. <T puts notation on the board>
6. “We’re going to look at these first few measures. Can we sing these first few measures and
stop?”
7. <T and S sing the first few measures and then stop.>
8. “This next time we sing it, can you raise your hand when you hear this rhythm?”
a. <T claps the rhythm 1&a>
9. <T and S sing the first few measures.>
a. <S raises hand when they hear they rhythm.>
10. “Can I have a friend who is sitting oh so quietly to come circle where that rhythm is on the
board?”
a. <T calls on S who is sitting quietly to come circle the rhythm on the board.>
11. “Good job! Can we sing those measures again and when we get to that circled rhythm, can we
clap it while we sing?”
a. <T and S sing the first few measures and clap the rhythm.>
12. “Can we sing these next few measures together?”
a. <T and S sing the next few measures together.>
13. “Great job friends, can we raise our hands when we hear that rhythm again?”
a. <T and S sing and raise hands when the rhythm is heard.>
14. “Can I have another friend come up and circle where that rhythm is?”
a. <S comes and circles rhythm on the board.>
15. “You found it! Can we sing and clap that rhythm?”
a. <T and S sing and clap the rhythm.>
16. <This process continues until all rhythms are circled.>
17. “Can we sing our whole song and clap every time we hear that rhythm?”
a. S: “Yes”
18. <T and S sing all of Brother Rabbit and clap on the identified rhythms.>
Assessment: T will be watching S for accurate identification and technical accuracy in 2/4 meter.
 Teacher Name: Madison Howbert

Standards Being Addressed:

 MU:Pr4.2.4b- When analyzing selected music, read and perform using iconic and/or standard
notation.
 MU:Pr6.1.4a- Perform music, alone or with others, with technical accuracy.
 MU:Pr5.1.4b- Rehearse to refine technical accuracy and address performance challenges.

Materials of Instruction:

**T will change the rhythm in measures 3 to quarter notes, and 5 & 8 to be eighth notes**

Lesson Sequence:

Warm-up: Pat, Clap, Click

1. “Can I have everyone sit in a circle over here on the carpet?”

a. <Wait for S to sit in a circle.>
b. <T passes out rhythm sticks.>
2. “To start music class today, we are going to do a sort of game. It’s called Pat, Clap, Click and how
you play is you pat your lap 4 times, and then clap 4 times, and then you snap 4 times. With me
so far?”
a. S: “Yes”
3. “the catch is that when you snap 4 times, you have to say your name and you have to say an
animal that starts with the same letter as your name. Does that make sense?”
a. S: “Yes”
4. “Okay, I’ll do a practice one to demonstrate.”
a. <T demonstrates how it goes.>
 5. “Make sense? Can we try it?”
a. S: “Yes!”
6. “Alright let’s give it a shot.”
a. <T and S go around the circle doing pat, clap, click. If there are discrepancies or
confusion, T will address it.>

Entry Activity: T will recite the first couple of measures while inviting S to repeat after them.

Activity Objective: Students in 4th grade will identify and write the concept rhythm of one eighth two
sixteenth notes using the song Sandy’s Mill.

1. “Do you remember where I got those funny words from?”

a. S: “No.”
2. “I got those words from a song we are going to dive into some more today called Sandy’s Mill.
Do you all remember Sandy’s Mill?”
a. S: “Yes”
b. S: “No”
3. “Can we all sing Sandy’s Mill to remind our friends who don’t remember as much?”
a. <T and S recite Sandy’s Mill.>
4. “You remember those words I had you repeat back to me? What were they?”
a. S: “oompah oompah tiddley pom!”
5. “That’s right!”
6. <T puts the first 2 measures up on the board, but the rhythm for “tiddley” is missing.>
7. “You know friends, I think something here is missing…. What is it?”
a. S: “a rhythm” or “notes”
8. “You’re right, and what rhythm is it that’s missing?”
a. S: “the rhythm for tiddley”
9. “Let’s say those words again and can we clap the rhythm for tiddley?”
a. <T and S sing the words and clap the rhythm.>
10. “Who thinks that they can come up here and write the rhythm on the board for us all?”
a. <T calls on S to come write the rhythm on the board.>
11. “Good job! Can somebody else come up and write the rhythm in the second measure?”
a. <T calls on another S to come and write the rhythm in the second measure.>
12. “Well done!”
13. <T then does this same process with measures 5 and 7.>
14. “I’m going to split you all into partners and you and your partner are going to sing the song to
each other and whoever is not singing, is going to clap those rhythms that we just wrote on the
board when they come up.”
15. <T splits S into partners and S begins to sing to each other. T will walk around the room to
monitor and address any confusion or mistakes.>

Assessment: T will be watching for accurate rhythm identification aurally and accurate rhythm with
clapping.
 Teacher Name: Madison Howbert

Standards Being Addressed:

 MU:Pr4.2.4b- When analyzing selected music, read and perform using iconic and/or standard
notation.
 MU:Pr6.1.4a- Perform music, alone or with others, with technical accuracy.
 MU:Pr5.1.4b- Rehearse to refine technical accuracy and address performance challenges.
 MU:Re7.1.4a- Demonstrate and explain how selected music connects to and is influenced by
specific interests, experiences, purposes, or contexts.
 MU:Re7.2.4a- Demonstrate and explain how responses to music are informed by the structure,
the use of the elements of the music, and context (such as social and cultural).

Materials of Instruction:

**This piece is originally in cut time, so the 2 eighth 1 quarter note rhythm would sound as the 2
sixteenth 1 eight note rhythm. I arranged it in 4/4 for easier reading. **

https://youtu.be/wLltGCFEkjU

http://www.folkways.si.edu/lord-invader/west-indian-folksongs-for-
children/caribbean/music/album/smithsonian

Lesson Sequence:

Warm-up: I have, Who has

 1. <T will have a set of rhythm cards with various rhythms on them, including our concept rhythms.
Each student will be handed one as they enter the classroom.>
2. “Can I have everybody sit in a circle?”
a. <wait for S to sit in a circle.>
3. “The way that this exercise goes, is its called “I have, who has”. I’m going to start it, and I’ll say “I
have” and then I will clap the first rhythm I have on my card. Then I will ask “who has” and then I
will clap the second rhythm on my card. Does that make sense so far?”
a. S: “yes”
b. S: “no”
i. <T will address any confusion.>
4. “Whoever has the second rhythm that I clap, it’s their turn, and then they read and clap their
card. The trick is you have to have your ears open and paying attention because you don’t want
to miss your turn. Should we give it a go?”
a. S: “Yes!”
5. <T starts the exercise. The rhythms should take you through all the students, address any
confusion or discrepancies in rhythms.>

Entry Activity: “Great job kiddos! As you listen to this, can you have your listening ears on and ready
because I’m going to be asking you some questions about what’s playing over the speakers.”

<T will have a recording of Limbo Dance playing over the speakers as S walk in.>

Activity Objective: Students in 4th grade will listen to and perform “Limbo Dance” in an Orff
arrangement, Utilizing the concept rhythm in the vocal part.

1. Attentive Listening
a. <T will play recording once without questions.>
b. “Okay, we are going to listen to this again, and I have some questions for you to think
about this time. Who do you think could be singing this? Where do you think this song
comes from? How many voices are there?”
c. <T plays the recording a second time with S thinking about those questions.>
d. “What do you all think? What did you come up with?”
i. <T calls on S for feedback and answers to previous questions.>
2. Engaged Listening
a. “This next time we listen to it, can you pick a part from the music and just play along on
your lap, or hum along with it?”
i. <T plays the recording again while S is patting/clapping/humming along to
whichever part they choose.>
b. “I’m going to keep playing this song over and over, this time can you move to the music
however you feel?”
i. <T plays recording while S move around the room however they feel.>
3. Enactive Listening
a. “Good job kiddos, can I have this group go grab xylophones? And this group grab
xylophones? And this group go grab rhythm sticks, and this group go grab
boomwhackers?”
i. <S go grab instruments.>
 ii. <T puts notation up on the board for S to see>
b. “We are going to listen to this one more time, and I want to see if you can match what
you played earlier with what’s on the board. Whichever part you picked, see if you can
find it up here.”
i. <T plays the recording again.>
c. “Did you find your part?”
i. S: “yes!”
ii. S: “no”
1. <If no, T can either assign them to a part, or help them figure out which
part they played.>
d. “Can you repeat after me? Nobody can limbo like me!”
i. S: “Nobody can limbo like me!
e. “Nobody can limbo like me!
i. “Nobody can limbo like me!”
f. “Limbo, limbo like me”
i. “limbo, limbo like me”
g. “limbo, limbo like me”
i. Limbo, limbo like me”
h. “Nobody can limbo like me! Limbo, limbo like me”
i. “Nobody can limbo like me! Limbo, limbo like me
i. “Tell you what, can I have this group of Xylophones play this line?”
i. <T points to mallets 1>
j. “And can I have this group of xylophones play this line?”
i. <T points to mallets 2>
k. “I’d like this group of rhythm sticks to play this line.”
i. <T points to percussion 2>
l. “And I’d like my boomwhacker group to play this line.”
i. <T points to percussion 1>
m. “Can I hear just my first group of xylophones play their line?”
i. <T plays along with the group to ensure awareness.>
n. <T has each group play their line and T plays along to make sure S know where they are
and which line they are playing.>
o. “Now that we all know what we are playing and singing, can we put the whole thing
together?”
i. S: “Yes!”
p. <T and S play the Orff arrangement of the piece. T can walk around and assist students if
they are struggling or confused.>
4. Integrating World Music
a. “Awesome job all! Can I have everybody put their instruments back and join me back
over here in your row?”
i. <T waits for S to put instruments back and sit back in their rows.>
b. <T then gives background info about the piece and where it came from. Calypso singing,
Limbo Dance, call and response form. T will talk about how this song is performed, and
about the showmanship of calypso singers.>
Assessment: T will be watching for rhythmic accuracy as well as accurate reading of parts.
Figure 1:
Figure 2:

Elementary Unit Post-Assessment

Using the rhythms we have just finished learning in our unit and other rhythms,
compose an 8-meausure piece of music. You can use any rhythms you’d like, but
you must use our special rhythms at least 4 times. You will be writing a piece in
4/4 time, and 8 measures long. Be creative! Compose your song below: