Lesson Plan # 1

Date: 10/1/2015

Grade: 4th
Duration: 10 minutes
National Music Standards: Create and perform
Repertoire: rhythm game, rhythmic improvisation using names
Other Teaching Materials: the rhythm of the Whats in a name? chant written or
projected on the board, index cards and pencils for students to write rhythms
New Vocabulary: time signature, quarter note, half note, quarter rest, eighth note
Lesson Objectives:
Students will
Accurately mimic rhythm patterns
Differentiate between rhythm patterns
Read rhythm patterns with accuracy
Demonstrate understanding of time signature
Create their own rhythm patterns with their names
Translate names spoken rhythmically into rhythms using tas and ti-tis
Teaching Procedure
Prepare
1. Speak and clap chunks of rhythm patterns from the Whats in a name? chant, and
invite students to mimic them.
2. Teach the rhythms using larger and larger chunks until the students can clap and speak
(using tas and ti-tis) the whole thing.
Present
1. Then, I will explain that these rhythms line up with words that talk about names. I will
explain to the students that I am so excited to meet them and I want to learn their names!
2. Teach them the words to the chant, cuing students to follow along with the notated
rhythms.
3. Once the students know the chant, I will ask each student to think about a way to speak
his or her name in rhythm. I will provide my name as an example (My name is Ms.
Stewart = ti-ti ta ta ti-ti = eighth eighth quarter quarter eighth eighth).
4. Ask students: Can you clap the rhythm of my name back to me? Can you translate the
rhythm into tas and and ti-tis?
5. After giving students a few seconds to think about how theyre going to say their name,
go around the classroom listening to each students name, clapping the rhythm and
repeating the name back, and then translating the rhythm into tas an ti-tis
6. Say the whats your name chant together one last time.
Practice & Extend
1. Ask students to write the rhythms of their names using notation in a 4/4 time signature
(walk around the room to see if students need help or understand how to write rhythm
patterns).

2. Remind students to make sure that all four beats of their measure are filled, either with
rests, quarters, eighths, or half notes
Assess & Close
1. Ask students to form a circle and bring their notated rhythm patterns along
2. Instruct students to pass their rhythms to the right and perform their neighbors rhythm
using body percussion.
3. Continue passing rhythms around the circle, each time giving students time to read and
think about the rhythm, and to decide how they want to perform the rhythm.

ideas for next week:

listening activity for Swan Lake differentiating between major and minor, moving to
melodic contour
play for the students?