Summer Burton

Dr.Talbot
Social Foundations of Music Education
November 6th, 2018
Assignment #4.5: Creative Musical Activity
Context: This lesson will be used in a third-grade general music class. The students have played
on Orff instruments and know the sounds of a major scale. They have some experience with
playing simplistic melodies on the instruments. The students also have experience with the song
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Essential Question: How can we improvise and arrange using the major triad?

Materials:
● Boomwhackers
● Orff Instruments
● Mallets
● A large space to spread out in
● Twinkle Twinkle Little star
o Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - Free Beginner Piano Sheet Music. (2018).
Retrieved December 3, 2018, from
https://makingmusicfun.net/htm/f_printit_free_printable_sheet_music/twinkle-
twinkle-little-star-piano-solo.php
● Writing Utensils
● Provided exit ticket

All definitions retrieved from:

Core, R. (2015). OnMusic Dictionary. Retrieved from https://dictionary.onmusic.org/

Glossary:

Triad: A chord made up of three notes based on the interval of a third. Triads can be major,
minor, augmented, or diminished.

Major: Term referring to a sequence of notes that define the tonality of the major scale. This
series consists of seven notes: the tonic, followed by the next note a whole step up from the
tonic, the third is a whole step from the second, the fourth is a half-step from the third, the fifth is
a whole step from the fourth, the sixth is a whole step from the fifth, the seventh is another whole
step, followed by the tonic, a half step above the seventh. Thus, the first and eighth tones are
exactly an octave apart.

Improvisation: Term referring to the spontaneous performance of music without previous

preparation or any written notes.
 
Arranging: The selection and adaptation of a composition or parts of a composition to
instruments for which it was not originally designed or for some other use for which it was not
at first written.
Bass: The selection and adaptation of a composition or parts of a composition to instruments for
which it was not originally designed or for some other use for which it was not at first written.

Melody: A tune; a succession of tones comprised of mode, rhythm, and pitches so arranged as to
achieve musical shape, being perceived as a unity by the mind.

Standards:
● MU:Cr1.1.3a Improvise rhythmic and melodic ideas, and describe connection to specific
purpose and context (such as personal and social).
● MU:Pr4.1.3a Demonstrate and explain how the selection of music to perform is
influenced by personal interest, knowledge, purpose, and context.
● MU:Cn10.0.3a Demonstrate how interests, knowledge, and skills relate to personal
choices and intent when creating, performing, and responding to music.
● MU:Re7.1.3a Demonstrate and describe how selected music connects to and is
influenced by specific interests, experiences, or purposes.
Learning Outcome:
1. The students will perform improvisation and arranged selection utilizing the major triad.
2. The students will create their own arrangements utilizing the major triad.
3. The students will identify the C major triad.
4. The students will define triad.

Procedures:
1. Set out the Orff instruments with mallets of choice in a circle.
2. Invite students to sit in the circle in front of the instruments.
3. Play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star for the students.
4. Sing the song with the students in order to review the solfege with hand signs that they
have previously learned.
5. Introduce the starting pitch of the piece, allowing for students to find the pitch on their
instruments.
6. Work through the piece note by note, associating each note in the C major scale with a
solfege syllable.
7. Play through Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on Orff instruments.
8. Split the class into two groups.
9. Pass out the Boomwhackers for the notes C, E, G, and C8 to one group and allow for the
other students to keep the Orff Instruments.
10. Have the students play the Boomwhackers to the beat while the other students play
Twinkle on the Orff instruments.
a. Alternatively, you could have the students have an arpeggiated bass line, in which
each of the notes are on a different beat.
11. Ask the students to share how they felt about the piece.
12. Have the students switch and perform again.
13. Ask the students what they believe the students with the Boomwhackers were playing.
14. Introduce the term triad by combining what the students described in the previous
15. Split the class into two different groups, or small groups.
16. Give the groups two Orff instruments and the Boomwhackers for C,E, and G.
 17. Ask the students to play a song that they know or can aurally figure out on the Orff
instruments.
18. Ask them to incorporate a measure that only has notes from the C major triad.
19. Once the students have decided a piece, have them create a rhythmic bass line with the
Boomwhackers, within the triad.
20. Allow the students to share their arrangements with the class.
21. Have the students talk in pairs, one student from one group and one student from the
other, about how their group created their arrangements.
22. Come together and ask the students to share.
23. Introduce the term arrangement and improvising by having the students create a class
definition for each.
24. Have the students gather their writing utensils and ask them to complete the provided exit
ticket.
25. Collect the exit ticket and ask for students to put thumbs up and down on how they felt
the third question went.
26. Allow for students to ask questions.
Assessments:
1. The teacher will assess the arrangements the students create in groups by the rubric of a
check, check plus, or check minus. The check plus will represent that the students
successfully performed their arrangement while staying within the major triad and
diatonic scale, a check meaning they performed their piece without stopping, but may
have had issues with incorporating the triad, and a check minus meaning that they did not
have a piece to perform or did not incorporate the measure of triadic motion.
2. The teacher will assess using affective assessment, such as thumbs up and thumbs down,
to gauge how the students feel about the concept of triads.
3. The teacher will assess visually if the students performing the rhythmic background parts
are playing the triadic notes together.
4. The teacher will assess the students by grading the definition of triad on the students
provides, based on completion.

Further Learning:
The teacher can use this lesson to introduce improvisation, by taking the original Twinkle
melody and having them improv between phrases, or between runs. They can also use this lesson
to introduce jazz improvisation and explore the cultural significance of the history and origins of
jazz. They can also introduce swing, and also explore how a piece can be created for band and
played by an orchestra, and many other examples of that.

Honor Code:
I affirm that I have upheld the highest principles of honesty and integrity in my academic
work and have not witnessed a violation of the honor code.
Summer Burton
Name:__________________________
Date__________________
Exit Ticket Fun!

● What song did your group chose?

● How do you think working in your group went? (Please circle one)

● Why?
☺☹
What do you think the word triad means? How did you use this today in class?

Name:__________________________
Date__________________
Exit Ticket Fun!

● What song did your group chose?

● How do you think working in your group went? (Please circle one)

● Why?
☺☹
What do you think the word triad means? How did you use this today in class?