Instrument

Music Lesson Plan

Title: The Little Shekere Grade Level: ​ 1st

Source: “The Music Connection” Silver Burdett Ginn p. 10

Materials needed:
- Shekeres or Maracas
- The Little Shekere​ Audio

Procedure:

A.S: Do any of you know what a maraca is or have you heard of one? What
kind of sound does it make?

1. “Today we are going to learn about a new instrument that is similar to

the maraca, and it comes from West Africa. It is called the
SHEKERE.
2. “Now we're going to listen carefully to a song and answer some
questions. Play ​The Little Shekere.
3. After the first set of lines (after “but since I couldn't run away, I had to
wait and see”) ask the students “who or what is this song about?”
ANSWER: A squash in Aminatta’s field
“Does anyone remember where I said this instrument comes from?”
ANSWER: West Africa
4. Continue playing the music until the end.
5. Ask students “What is a shekere?” ANSWER: an instrument made out
of squash from Africa.
6. Give students their “Shekere” (SAY: “okay now we will get out our
SHEKRE and practice with them for a few moments”)
7. Remind the students that we have been working on beat and ask if
someone can give us an example, using their SHEKERE, of a beat.
8. After a volunteer, ask the whole class to shake the beat that that
student just did.
9. Ask students if they are ready to shake along to the song.
10.After reviewing beat, PLAY the song again and have the students
shake their shekere to the beat of the song.
Closure: Finish the lesson by asking the students if they can think of any
other instruments that make a sound when they are shaken? What was the
instrument called that we used today? Where did it come from?
 Educational Objective: ​ ​By the end of this lesson, students will have learned . . .
- How to keep a beat through using their shekere or maraca
- About the cultural connections music has

Social/ Cognitive Physical Musical Non-Musical

Subjects
Emotional
Students The The National Standards “Core” Music Content
Standards Standards
have to students students
focus and have to will be 1. Singing Creating The
Imagine
observe focus on shaking students
how their maintaining their Plan and Make
are
peers are a steady shekere or 2. ​Play Instruments Evaluate & Refine learning
shaking beat. maraca to Present about the
their keep the cultural
3. Improvising Performing
shekeres or The beat. Select connection
maracas to students The Little
Analyze
ensure that have to Shekere
4. Composing
they stay on think of Interpret
has. The
beat. other Rehearse, singing
Evaluate, & Refine
instruments group,
5. Reading &
that make a Notating
Present “Sweet
sound when Responding Honey in
they are Select
the Rock”
shaken. 6. Listening Analyze created this
Interpret song and
The have
Evaluate
students 7. Evaluating passed it
have to Connecting along.
Connect #10
think about
what a 8. Integration Connect #11

shekere is. (outside arts)

9. History/Culture