1st Grade Encourage Hands-On Exploration Of Classroom Percussion Instruments To Develop Basic Rhythmic And Coordination Skills. Lesson Plan

Topic: Differentiating Instruction Through Percussion

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will be able to identify and name different percussion instruments.
• Students will be able to demonstrate basic rhythmic and coordination skills using percussion instruments.

Materials

• Selection of classroom percussion instruments (e.g. tambourines, maracas, drums, cymbals)
• List of names of percussion instruments
• Music for students to play along to (optional)

Warm-Up

• Have students sit in a circle.
• Pass a percussion instrument around the circle and have each student say the name of the instrument as they touch it.
• Once the students have named all the instruments, have them place them in a row on the floor according to their names.

Direct Instruction

• Introduce the concept of music and rhythm.
• Using the rhythm sticks, demonstrate how to create a steady beat by tapping the sticks together in a syncopated rhythm.
• Explain that all sounds in music have a rhythm, and that the combination of different rhythms creates a sense of harmony.
• Show the students how to hold the hand drums and strike them with the drumsticks to create different rhythms.

Guided Practice

• Have the students work in pairs, with one student holding and striking the hand drums and the other student holding and striking the rhythm sticks.
• Have the students take turns creating different rhythms on the hand drums and the rhythm sticks, encouraging them to listen and pay attention to the different sounds and rhythms being created.
• As a class, create a list of common rhythms (such as pure and mixed thirds, eighths, and sixteenths) and review them together.

Independent Practice

• Have the students work in small groups to create their own unique rhythms on the hand drums and rhythm sticks.
• Encourage the students to think about the timing and coordination of their rhythms and to communicate with their partners to ensure that their rhythms are in sync.

Closure

• Have the students share their creations with the class and discuss the different rhythms that they created and how they used their coordination and timing skills to create them.
• Review the concepts of pitch and amplitude as they relate to the hand drums and rhythm sticks and discuss how the students were able to use them to create different rhythms.

Assessment

• Observe the students as they participate in the guided and independent practice activities to assess their understanding of the concepts of pitch and amplitude and their ability to use them to create simple rhythms.
• Have the students share their creations with the class and use their participation and observations to assess their ability to use the concepts of pitch and amplitude to create complex rhythms.