Djernes-+Many+Mumbling+Mice+Lesson

This lesson was designed for a fourth grade class that was being introduced to Orff instruments. This lesson gives the students the chance to sing, read rhtyhms, compose, notate, and evaluate. I found that this lesson involved many aspects, therefore the students were actively engaged throughout the lesson. When the students are divided into groups, the noise level raises because each group is playing and singing at different times. During that time it is best to check on each group and monitor that they are understanding ostinatos. When I graded the students' notation sheets, I found what rhythms or aspects of ostinatos or notation gave them the most problems. That allowed me to structure my next lesson around those issues, so the notation was a very helpful tool for assessment. 

Concepts/Skills: Composing Melodic Ostinatos

National Standards: Sing, Play, Listen, Evaluate, Compose/Arr., History, Improvise, Read/Notate

Behavioral Learning Objectives: The students will be able to discuss Bartok's "Hungarian Dances" (after listening), speak and clap notated rhythms, sing Many Mumbling Mice and compose, perform, notate and evaluate melodic ostinatos. Material: Bartok CD, stereo, white board, pitched percussion instruments, notation paper Sequence of Activities/Assessment: -Play excerpt of Bartok (composer of the month) and discuss what the music makes the students think of -Rhythm reading: speaking and clapping notated rhythms in unison, then in round. The rhythms are written on the board -Sing "Many Mumbling Mice" which was taught in the previous class. -Once the students know the song, I will improvise some melodic ostinatos as they sing using only D F and A on the xylophone -I will do three or four of these, asking the students which one they liked best. This kicks off our discussion of what makes a "good" ostinato (end on Do, repeating pattern, uses Tahs and Titis, etc.) Tahs and Titiis are quarter notes and eighth notes -One at a time, several students will have the opportunity to come to the front of the class and create their own ostinato as the rest of the class sings many mumbling mice at the same time as the ostinato plays -I will divide the class into groups of 5 (by counting off) and each group will have one xylophone. Students will be instructed that:  -Everyone in the group will have the chance to create an ostinato -The students who are not playing the xylophone are to sing Many Mumbling Mice -After everyone has had the chance to play, I will inform the students that they must select one of the ostinatos from their group to perform for the rest of the class. They will have a few minutes to practice, and then they will perform (one player, the rest singing). -The class will pick one ostinato to notate together on the board -I will walk them through notating it (Which bars/notes did you play, and in what order? Did you use tahs or titis? etc.) -After it is notated on the board, one student from the class will come and perform the ostinato by reading the notation on the board -If time permits, each group will notate one ostinato from their group together. They will then give theirs to another group, performing each others' compositions. - Before the students leave class, they turn in their paper with their name on it. The paper includes include the ostinato we notated as a class and the ostinato they notated in their group of five. The notation is the form of assessment in this lesson.

Teacher Effectiveness Reminders: Use "small chunks." Don't pace too quickly. Remind them to sing well. Make it ok to experiment.

Nick, What a cute lesson! I'm sure your students had a blast creating ostinatos. Here are a few suggestions based on my experience in fourth grade as well as a few questions that I have. When you write that your objective is to "discuss" Bartoks piece, could you write down a few sample questions that would allow another educator who is reading your lesson plan for the first time to what extend you are discussing the piece? What do you want students to know and remember about Bartok's piece after the lesson? And what criterion are you using? You did a very nice job explaining to the unfamiliar general music educator what ta's and ti's are, which will make your lesson less time consuming to prepare (because people don't have to look up what you mean). In my experience, I usually don't allow an activity like this to take up most of the lesson mostly because there will be students that will get very bored (for one reason or the other) and might stop focusing. One thing that worked well for me to keep the students focused would be to have the students that are not performing clapping the rhythm. I often have at least one observer next to the performer to either keep time, or say the rhythm if the performer has problems. By the time you switch players, the observer will know the notes and rhythm from having watched. These are just a few suggestions that work well for my fourth graders... Gabi

Nick, This is an excellent lesson that obviously worked well when you taught it and I firmly believe that if it's not broke don't fix it but of course I have to throw in my feeble two cents. I would maybe have several cards containing ostinato patterns cut up and randomly scattered on the board. The student then comes up and arranges the pieces to create an ostinato. There may be some students who just can not think that creatively on the spot to create an ostinato all on their own and this may be a way to remedy that fear.

Nick- Overall this is a really great lesson. It's awesome that you were able to get composition in, as that one can be a challenge at times to fit in. First, I agree with Gabi about giving a few discussion questions in your plan, that way other educators or possibly a sub would have something to build off of. Another suggestion that I have for you would be to try and incorporate the Bartok piece more throughout the rest of the lesson. I know that sometimes this is challenging to do but it would be so much more beneficial if you incorporate the Bartok piece in a way that they could experience beyond listening and discussing. My last suggestion would be to have the kids continue to sing together even when they are divided into their groups, that way it may be a little less chaotic and you could more easily check that they are all still singing and not just standing in their groups. Even though I had a few suggestions, this is still a great lesson, nice work! -Kinsey Cole-

Nick, I love the lesson! You are a detailed thinker and it shows in this lesson plan. This lesson really keeps students moving around and you're trying to cover a lot within the short time period of a class, that's great. From what you have said, the students were having trouble with the rhythms of the ostinatos, which was something that you addressed within the next class. That's always great to go back and pick up right where you left off in class, especially with an activity that is well designed and rememberable. I am not sure what you did with the next class, but I figured I would recommend some things that I have noticed really work well. One is giving the students different objects that have syllables for each of the different rhythms. I think we did some stuff with this in Woody's general music class. Ex. Apple (two syllables, two eighth notes) Banana (three syllables, triplets),etc. Another suggestion is to come up with a saying that gives the students a tempo and shows each of the different rhythms within the tempo. Overall, the lesson looks great and I am sure it works great as well. Keep on keepin on. T. Jones