1st Grade Provide Opportunities For Creative Expression Through Simple Improvisation Using Voice, Body Percussion, Or Classroom Instruments.. Lesson Plan Example

Topic: Creative Expression Through Simple Improvisation

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will be able to express themselves creatively through simple improvisation using voice, body percussion, or classroom instruments.
• Students will be able to listen carefully and respond creatively to the actions and sounds of their classmates.

Materials

• Classroom instrument (e.g. xylophone, drum, bell, maracas)
• Handheld percussion instrument (e.g. drumsticks, maracas)
• Marker or pen
• Paper
• Classroom microphone or instrument recordings (optional)

Warm-up

• Begin the lesson by asking students to close their eyes and take a few deep breaths to center themselves.
• Next, have students stretch and move around the room to get their bodies and minds ready to create.
• Then, have students stand in a circle and call out the name of a body part. Have students quickly move to a spot in the circle that is called out (e.g. "knee, elbow, shoulder, hip, forehead, nose").

Direct Instruction

• Introduce the concept of improvisation to the students, and explain that it is when someone creates something without planning it ahead of time.
• Explain that improvisation can be done with voice, body percussion, or with instruments.
• Demonstrate improvisation using voice, body percussion, or an instrument by creating a short, simple phrase or melody and repeating it several times, changing it slightly each time.

Guided Practice

• Provide the students with handouts with simple prompts for improvisation, such as "I see ___ in my mind's eye," or "I feel ___ inside me."
• Have the students take turns improvising a short phrase or melody using voice, body percussion, or an instrument, and encouraging them to use the phrase or melody from the handout as a starting point.
• Have the students work in small groups to create their own prompts for improvisation, and have each group share their creations with the class.
• As a class, create a short improvisation using voice, body percussion, or instruments, using at least one prompt from the group's creations.

Independent Practice

• Provide the students with an opportunity to create their own prompts for improvisation, using voice, body percussion, or an instrument.
• Have the students take turns improvising using their own prompts, and encouraging them to be creative and expressive.
• Encourage the students to be supportive of each other and to offer constructive feedback on each other's improvisations.

Closure

• Review the importance of improvisation in music and its value as a form of creative expression.
• Ask the students to share their favorite parts of the improvisation activity and why they enjoyed it.

Assessment

• Observe the students during the guided and independent improvisation activities and provide feedback on their participation and creative expression.
• Collect the students' improvised musical pieces and review them to assess their ability to use basic musical elements and structure in their music.