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Looking to use Grade 4 Back to School – Lesson 4 in your Grade 4 classroom?

While teaching this learning module you will cover multiple concepts including: Beat, Melodic Direction (high-middle-low)

Grade 4 Back to School – Lesson 4

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Introduction

In this lesson, you will:

  1. Play the “Circle Name Game”
  2. Discuss How tos and What ifs
  3. Review “Music Room Rules”
  4. Play poison melody
  5. Play rhythm erase
  6. Teach “Seven Up”
  7. Teach the game for “Seven Up”
  8. Play the game and sing “Seven Up”
  9. Option 1: Complete the solfa challenge for “Seven Up”
  10. Option 2: Complete the note name challenge for “Seven Up”
  11. Optional: Teach the Orff arrangement for “Seven Up”
  12. Review “It’s All Right”
  13. Review the choreography for “It’s All Right”
  14. Sing along while you try the full choreography to “It’s All Right”
  15. Review “Plainsies Clapsies”
  16. Review the game with “Plainsies Clapsies”
  17. Play the game and sing “Plainsies Clapsies”
  18. Optional: Teach the Orff arrangement for “Plainsies Clapsies”

Extensions

About the ‘Back to School’ Lessons
Different school districts have different start dates, ranging from the end of July to after Labor Day. The Musicplay song sequence is designed to begin in the first week of September. For teachers whose schools start earlier than September, there are five ‘Back to School’ lessons provided. If your school year begins in August, start with ‘Back to School’ lesson 1. Once September begins, regardless of your start date, use the ‘September Week 1’ lesson.

Objectives

  • I can play instruments with different note values.
  • I can read the rhythm and melody of a song.
  • I can define accented beats.

Play the "Circle Name Game"

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Song Used: Circle Name Game

Discuss How tos and What ifs

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Unit Used: Back to School

Review “Music Room Rules”

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Unit Used: Back to School

Play Poison Melody

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Practice Item Used: do re mi (drm)

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Play Rhythm Erase

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Song Used: Seven Up

Clap all 4 rhythms. Click on a square to take one away.
Clap all 4 rhythms, including the missing one. Click on a square to take another away.
Clap all 4 rhythms, including the missing ones. Click on a square to take another away.
Clap all 4 rhythms, including the missing ones. Click on a square to take another away.
Invite 4 students to help you write the complete rhythm on the board. (Each does one square)
Ask the students if they can identify the song.

Teach “Seven Up”

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Song Used: Seven Up

Teach with do re mi or melodic contour. Play the game. There is a new solfa note in “Seven Up.” The note that is found between mi and do is re. Circle every re in “Seven Up.”

Teach the game for “Seven Up”

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Song Used: Seven Up

Choose seven children to come to the front of the class to be “choosers.” The students all put their heads down, close their eyes, and hold their fists out. While singing, each of the “choosers” touches the thumb of one student and returns to the front of the classroom. You may sing the song twice to give the choosers enough time. At the end of the song, the class sits up and those students who had their thumbs touched, stand up. Each of the chosen students tries in turn to guess which of the “choosers” selected them. If they are correct, they exchange places. The game continues until all students have been chosen at least once.

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Play the game and sing “Seven Up”

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Song Used: Seven Up

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Option 1: Complete the solfa challenge for “Seven Up”

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Practice Item Used: do re mi (drm)

Option 2: Complete the note name challenge for “Seven Up”

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Song Used: Seven Up

Optional: Teach the Orff arrangement for “Seven Up”

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Song Used: Seven Up

Playing and Creating: Have the students make word rhythms with numbers. For example: one, two, threefour, five. Play the rhythm of the number pattern on their choice of non pitched instruments as an interlude between repetitions of the song. Model the activity for the class, then divide them into groups of 2-4 students and have them create and play their own patterns. If you use the theme of the song as the theme, each group would
be a variation in a rondo.

Audience Behavior: When you have groups perform for each other it provides an opportunity to discuss audience behavior with your class. Discuss what the students need to do to be good listeners when listening to a performance.

Review “It’s All Right”

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Song Used: It’s All Right – From Disney/Pixar’s Soul

“It’s All Right” was written in 1963 by Curtis Mayfield, who is considered one of the most influential musicians behind soul music as it developed in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. It was performed and recorded by a vocal group that Curtis sang in called The Impressions. Many artists recorded cover versions of the song, including Etta James, Phil Collins, Huey Lewis and the News, Bruce Springsteen, and of course Jon Batiste. Jon Batiste recorded two version for the movie Soul. One is a solo version by Jon Batiste, and the
other is a duet with Jon Batiste and Celeste.

Review the choreography for “It’s All Right

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Sing along while you try the full choreography to “It’s All Right”

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Review “Plainsies Clapsies”

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Song Used: Plainsies Clapsies

This song is a good song for learning about accented beats. The process below is given as a projectable in the Concept Slides for the song. Give each student a tennis ball and have them bounce and catch as they sing. When they bounce the ball, the beat feels stronger than when they catch the ball.

1. Have the students show the beat for the first line of the song as follows. Pat the stronger beats, and tap shoulders on the weak beats.

2. Count the beats. There are eight. Each beat is a ta, or a quarter note. Draw the eight quarter notes on the board.

Review the game with “Plainsies Clapsies”

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Song Used: Plainsies Clapsies

"Plainsies, Clapsies" is a ball bouncing game. While you sing, you try to bounce a ball and do all the actions that are indicated by the words of the song.

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Play the game and sing “Plainsies Clapsies”

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Optional: Teach the Orff arrangement for “Plainsies Clapsies”

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Song Used: Plainsies Clapsies

Create simple rhythmic ostinatos that could be used to accompany the song using the names of different kinds of balls.
For example: Tennis ball, golf ball

Choose unpitched instruments or body percussion to play the ostinato and perform an ostinato with the song. Part of the class could then play that pattern while the rest sing the song with all the actions.

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