Music Education Department
Lesson Planning Format
Teacher’s Deidre Sheehan
Name:
3 Families of the Orchestra
Grade Title of
: Lesson:
Objectives: What learners will
o be able to do (behavioral)
At the end of four 35 minute class
periods, given starting notes and a
cue from the teacher, students will be
able to perform two part rounds with
90% accuracy. At the end of four 35
minute class periods, when asked
which family of the orchestra an
instrument belongs to and how an
instrument makes its sound, students
will be able to respond with 85%
accuracy.
o understand (cognitive)
At the end of four 35 minute class
periods, students will be able to
explain which family of the orchestra
a given instrument belongs to based
on the way it makes its sound.
Students will be able to explain how
rounds are performed.
o encounter (experiential)
Students will encounter three new
songs, and a new way of singing
music – rounds.
Focusing Question: In what ways
are musical sounds made?
Materials for this lesson
• Piano
• Rhythm sticks
• Hand Drums
• Instrument-making materials
(shoeboxes, paper towel rolls, rubber
bands, etc.
• Families of the orchestra worksheet
• Families of the orchestra memory
game cards.
• Examples of reeds and brass
Dat 3 October 2010
e:
Process
Problematize: (Honor THEIR world by beginning with an experience they bring
to the classroom. Include time for sharing and dialogue)
Students will sing their “Everybody’s Welcome” song. Students will learn a simple
round, “Frere Jacque” with singing voices, using English words. Students will sing
their “Everybody’s Welcome” song and review hand motions.
Does anyone know what a “round” means in music? If students are not familiar
with the term, the students will first learn the song, and then listen as the teacher
demonstrates by having the students start and joining in afterwards. Who
understands what a round is now? Students will practice singing the song as a
round. Students will then move to the center and play the rhythm of Frere Jacque
on rhythm sticks. Quietly leave out another box of hand drums out where students
can see. Ask students why it was difficult to hear their part. How could we make
the music more interesting and much clearer for the audience? Look for students
answering that all of the tapping sounds the same. Ask students what could be
done so that the two parts sound more different. Look for a student suggestion that
using two different instruments will make the two parts clearer. Have the students
play the round again using two different groups of instruments. Allow students to
switch so that everyone plays both instruments.
Prescribe: (Sequence of the lesson steps. Take the learning from THEIR world to
the world of the classroom. Present the information and allow time for students to
practice)
Discuss that composers (people who write music) use lots of different instruments
to make their music sound more interesting.
• Ask students to recall how rounds are performed. Teach song “Matthew
Mark Luke & John” Have students repeat it back phrase by phrase.
Students learn to sing “ Matthew Mark, Luke & John “ Have students
perform the round.
• Ask students to recall the four families of the orchestra and how they
make their sound. Using reeds and a trumpet mouthpiece, explain and
demonstrate the difference between brass and woodwind sound
production.
• Instrument pitch experiment: ask for student volunteers to use
boomwhackers, my guitar, and recorders. Have students demonstrate
playing the smaller then bigger boomwhacker, the two end strings of the
guitar, and blowing into each of the soprano and alto recorders. Ask the
rest of the class to identify if the bigger or smaller instruments made the
lower sounds.
Have students follow along with the listening map for Bach’s “Little Fugue” in G
minor. Have students trace the map of the path with their finger and a bingo chip.
Pause periodically to ask students which family of the orchestra was represented.
When the music is finished, ask students to identify which family of the orchestra
did not play.
Review with students the four families of the orchestra and the major instruments
in each family. Review instrument size to pitch production. Have students play a
game in which each student is given a card with 4 blank boxes on the front, and a
©picture
Frank Abrahams,
of an 2009
instrument inside. Students write four facts about the instrument (at
least one about the family of the orchestra, and at least one about how its sound is
made) and then trade with a partner to guess.
 Music Education Department
Lesson Planning Format

Teacher’s Deidre Sheehan Dat 3 October 2010

Name: e:
3 Families of the Orchestra
Grade Title of
: Lesson:

Then the pair brainstorm anything that they have found confusing and prepare a question to ask that might help clear up
confusion.

Personalize: (Make the learning personal to the student. Provide opportunities for creativity and for students to be
musicians)

Provide students with various equipment such as string, rubber bands, scissors, tape, hole punch, wax paper, tissue boxes,
cans, and paper towel rolls.. Divide students into groups of two or three. Tell students they will be making their own
instrument. Ask each group to decide which family of the orchestra their instrument will be from. String family
instruments will make sounds using strings, percussion by hitting it, etc.

Perform: (Demonstrate the new learning through performance, demonstration or exhibition)

Have students present and play their instrument for the class, and explaining what family of the orchestra their instrument
would belong in, and why.

***Billmeyer Strategy: 3,2,1 Send-off. (p. 230, adapted) Ask each student to share with a partner: 3 activities done or
things learned in class that helped them to make their instrument. 2 ways they contributed to their group, and 1 thing
they would do differently if they got to do it again.

Assessment and additional notes: While students are singing rounds, walk around each group of students to
see who is actively singing and following along correctly, and which students are lost or not participating, After
students present their instruments to the class, have each student fill out a worksheet which say s: my instrument
belongs in the ____ family because it makes its sound by _____. Check that students’ responses reflect an
understanding of how sound is produced in each instrument family.

© Frank Abrahams, 2009