Peace At Last
I can use the elements of music to communicate new musical ideas and works. Students will explore sounds, how to listen and record sounds then use them in the creation of new ideas to accompany a story.
The unit, Peace At Last, integrates music, art, science, technology, and literature for the enjoyment and education of students, through developing their use of sound exploration, recording techniques, composition, and interpretation of musical sound effects. Ultimately students will design their own compositions from techniques discovered throughout the unit.
- Students will be able to explore, inquire, investigate, improvise and record and create vocal and instrumental sounds for musical effects within the structure of a story. The story tells about Mr. Bear who cannot sleep because of the sounds around him. With the use of instruments, the students will turn this into a musical story as the text contains onomatopoeia which gives great scope for musical interpretation. Students create meaning by adding musical composition to a story they devise.
Lesson Created By: HelenWalker
Lesson Partners: ABC (Arts in Basic Curriculum)
Essential Question
In what ways can we use and explore sounds and music in literature to enhance the story and create greater meaning? How many ways can we see music?
Grade(s):
- 2
Subject(s):
Recommended Technology:
Ipad/ tablet
Tape recorder or other recording device
Keyboards
chrome books
smart board
Other Instructional Materials or Notes:
Classroom percussion instruments
Extra copies of the book Peace At Last
Lesson Progression
- Begin the lesson with students marching into the tune of Following the Leader to get into a circle on the floor. The teacher states what the goals are for the students learning by discussing the rubric, telling students they will evaluate themselves, and review in words and pictures requirements of the lesson.
- Play sounds from (sound walk/ recordings) to review instrumental work from the previous lesson. Do you remember last lesson students when we talked about the guiro how it sounded like a frog, and cricket, and how the cabasa sounded like leaves rustling? Well, we are going to use our knowledge to bring a story alive with sounds.
- Groups listen to their recorded sounds and make lists of adjectives, describing how they sound, and describing how the soundwaves look.
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Read the story to the class and show pictures.
5. Issue story sections to students and a small selection of instruments.
6. Give time for students to practice and try ideas out. Remind students we can also use recorded sounds, voice or body percussion if we don’t have an instrument that will work.
7. Rotate among student groups observing practice time, interjecting if necessary.
8. Initiate discussion with students about sounds chosen and suitability for the story. What works well? What do we need to change?
9. Re-read the story with students adding in their sounds for their section
10. Initiate question prompts for student discussion of :
Kinds of sounds are we looking for?
What will work as a musical sound effect?
Can we represent parts of a story in sound?
Can we start and stop playing within the structure of a story?
Teacher Notes
Teacher expectations. Students will:
- Review sounds of instruments and what they thought about them.
- Follow along with the teacher telling the story ‘Peace At Last’.
- Be grouped with peers of no more than 5, and a small selection of instruments will be placed with each group. Students are given 5 minutes to find sounds from the given selection to accompany the story in such a manner they find suitable.
- Students listen and discuss sounds chosen to monitor and adjust if necessary.
- Students present their chosen sounds to the class as the teacher retells the story.
Students discuss how their music added meaning to the story and evaluate themselves with the rubric. The teacher should conduct a (sound walk) and recording session around the school prior to or after the lesson to further develop students thinking and links to A/V tech.
To arts areas: Drama/ dance could be brought in to act out the story, or representational dance. Art could be brought in with the development of signs for graphic scores as well as the study of sound waves and how they are formed. Create pictures from music and create music from well-known works of art.
To content areas: Language arts, creative writing. STEAM and design standards could be added to this unit through asking how we can create a new sound making device or instrument or how to make something to reduce the sound Mr. Bear can hear so he can get a good nights sleep. Science can create a group design challenge experiment. Can you design some super ear plugs for Mr. Bear, what materials should be used?
Music and art imagery
Music and Art: Schoenberg and Kandinsky. This link combines art and musical excerpts that can be shown in class or used as an extension to the lesson.
View ResourceStandards
Assessments
Assessment rubric for Peace At Last
Rubric assessment criteria
Exploring & improvising
with voice, body percussion
and musical instruments.
Analyzing musical sounds.
5
Excellent
Developed a musical effect for each sound in their story section.
Able to talk in detail about their sound choices and those of others. Offer positive or helpful comments.
4
Very good
Missed creating 1 sound or musical effect in their story section.
Made an effort to talk about their own sounds and the sounds of others.
3
Good
Missed creating 2 sounds or musical effects in their story section.
Limited discussion about their sounds, unsure of themselves, not able to discuss others sounds.
2
OK
Made only 1 musical effect
for their story section.
No effort to discuss their own sounds criticized others.
1
Needs improvement
Made no effort to create any musical sounds or effects in
their story section. Conflict in a group.
Did not know why they needed to add sounds to a story.