Music and Words

Grade: Kindergarten

Subject: Music
Duration: 30 minutes
Focus: Speaking through Music
Curriculum Area: National Core Arts Standards - MU:Cr1.1.Ka (Explore and generate musical ideas and concepts)

Objective

Students will explore basic musical concepts while engaging in speaking exercises that enhance articulation, rhythm, and expression through music-themed activities.

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Materials Needed

• Rhythm sticks (one pair per student)
• A drum or percussion instrument for the teacher
• A large poster with simple lyrics to a familiar song (e.g., "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star")
• Emotion cards with faces displaying different emotions
• A large picture book with musical instruments

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Introduction (5 minutes)

1. Greeting & Circle Time: Have the students sit in a circle. Warmly greet them and introduce the theme of the day, "Music and Words."
2. Sound Warm-up: Use clapping and simple vocal sounds to prepare students for the lesson. Clap in patterns (e.g., slow-fast-slow) and have students mimic the patterns with clapping and vocalizations (e.g., "la, la, lo").

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Activity 1: Musical Sounds and Emotions (10 minutes)

1. Emotion and Sound Connection: Show the students the emotion cards. Demonstrate how we can express feelings through our voices.
2. Interactive Exercise:
   • Hold up an emotion card (e.g., happy).
   • Facilitate a discussion: "What words can we use to speak with a happy voice?"
   • Instruct students to say "Twinkle, twinkle" while expressing the selected emotion through their voice.
3. Iteration: Repeat the exercise with different emotions (e.g., sad, excited, sleepy), encouraging students to modify their tone and volume to match the emotion.

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Activity 2: Rhythm and Words (10 minutes)

1. Rhythm Sticks Introduction: Distribute rhythm sticks to the students. Explain the safe use and handling of the sticks.
2. Teacher Demonstration: Using the sticks, demonstrate tapping simple rhythms while speaking.
3. Call and Response Practice:
   • The teacher says a familiar line from the song, tapping a rhythm simultaneously (e.g., "Twinkle, twinkle, little star").
   • Students repeat the line, tapping the same rhythm.
4. Exploration: Experiment with different speeds and dynamics and observe how it alters the expression of the words.

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Activity 3: Storytelling with Music (5 minutes)

1. Introduce the Picture Book: Show the students a picture book featuring musical instruments. Discuss the images briefly.
2. Storytelling: As you go through the pages, encourage students to mimic the sound of each instrument vocally. Discuss how each instrument might "speak" or sound like when playing.
3. Group Speaking Task: Choose a simple passage from the book and read it aloud. Have the students repeat the passage using different musical expressions they have learned (e.g., soft, loud, excited, etc.).

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Conclusion (5 minutes)

1. Reflection Circle: Gather students in a circle. Ask them to share one new thing they learned about music and speaking today.
2. Wrap-Up Song: End with a short, cheerful song that incorporates rhythm and words, engaging the students in clapping and speaking.

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Assessment

• Observation: Monitor each student’s ability to express different emotions through voice and rhythm during activities.
• Participation: Ensure all students actively participate and demonstrate an understanding of the connection between music and spoken words.

Extensions

• Encourage students to create their own simple "spoken songs" at home using words from their daily routine, unifying rhythm and emotion in their speech.

This engaging lesson seeks to marry the expressive power of music with the budding speaking skills of our young learners, aligning with US kindergarten music education standards in a vibrant and energetic way.