"All right class, push your desks into a circle to get ready for music time." The kids excitedly moved their desks apart and strained their necks to get a glimpse of what they would be doing. I had initially planned to have them predict what instrument I would be teaching them, but the element of surprise was ruined when I entered the classroom lugging 28 ukuleles. By the end of the lesson, most children understood how to play the C chord and were having fun learning a new instrument. Below I have provided a copy of my lesson plan.
Objective: Students will be able to play a one chord song on the ukulele using a variety of strum patterns and with good rhythm.
State Standard(s):
Standard 6.M.CR.1:Improvise rhythmic and melodic patterns and
musical ideas, explain connections to specific purpose and context, and
generate musical ideas using specific tonalities, meters, and simple chord
changes.
PROCEDURE:
1.
Introduce myself. Have them ask me a few questions.
2.
Ask, “Who has played the Ukulele before?”
3.
Bring out my ukulele and ask, “What can you tell me
about a Ukulele?” Teach them a few basic terms (frets, tuning keys, sound hole,
names of the strings.)
4.
Go over behavior expectations and display them: 1) Only
play when instructed. 2) Treat the instruments with care and respect. 3) Keep
trying!
a.
They will get the Ukuleles a few at a time.
b.
When I ring a bell, they will place the ukuleles on
their desks. Practice this procedure once.
5.
Once they all have their Ukuleles, I will teach them
the C chord. I will demonstrate a basic strumming pattern. After demonstrating,
they will play it with me.
8.
After they are comfortable playing it, we will play
Fara Jaka. I will post the lyrics on the board.
9.
Teach them more strumming patterns (on the beat, and
down-down-up-down-down).
10. Have
them get into small groups (3-4 children) and they will think of new lyrics for
the Fara jaka song. Have a few groups perform their song in front of the class.
Things that went well: The lesson went pretty well, but I found it surprisingly difficult to maintain good management with so many instruments. Also, I loved hearing some of the lyrics that the kids came up with. I also thought that many children enjoyed the time to create and come up with their own song.
What I would change: I would give the kids a chance to play the instrument before teaching them a new concept and trying to force them to pay attention. I realized that they needed more time to play around and experiment, and I think this would have helped improve management. I also realized that I needed to explain some key elements of the Ukulele better.
Day 2
Overall, the second day went much better. I started off playing a game with them to help me learn their names. They tapped, snapped, or clapped their name one at a time and then simultaneously. Then I pulled out the drums and they did the same thing but with the drums. By the end they created a pretty fun rhythm.
Then we pulled out the Ukuleles and I put them into three different centers. In the first center, students watched a short video clip about strumming patterns while practicing. The second group practiced the C chord that they had learned the time before, and the third group came with me and learned the G7 chord. I realized the that G7 chord is difficult for their fingers, so I might find songs without it for next time. I decided to do centers because I thought it might give them more time to play. I think the only way to really make it effective in a setting like this (where I am only teaching a few times), would be if I had a teacher at each station. Luckily, we did have someone at each station so it seemed to work. However, I am not sure if I will continue doing the stations.
Laurann, this is awesome! You're pretty ambitious to try ukuleles, I feel like, and I'm sure that the students will feel so much more accomplished by the end, knowing that they are proficient at such a useful instrument.
ReplyDeleteI think it's pretty insightful that you would have given them more time to experiment with the ukueleles. Some kids might even learn better by just trying things out on their own, and it could encourage their ability to learn musical instruments on their own.
I love how much you are able to fit into each lesson. The centers also probably helped with that, and it's something I might try in the future. I like the idea of letting them discover music on their own or in groups, since it's how music is often created. I also love that you jumped right to having them create in the very first lesson.
Overall, I think you're doing a wonderful job of making their musical experience as meaningful and authentic as possible.