Music Lesson Plan

Grade/Class: 4-5 Week: Jazz

Prepare: Improvisation and Music Experiences Music Elements

syncopation
X Speaking X Rhythm

X Singing X Pitch

Present: X Listening X Tempo

X Moving X Form

Playing Dynamics

Practice: Improvisation! Reading Tone Color

Writing X Texture

X Creating X Style

Lesson Objectives: Students will respond to a variety of prompts, both in movements and in
sound when appropriate; students will participate as able with teacher and class.

Assessment: Students will identify scat singing and jazz instruments heard within the piece.

Key Tone Set Materials Song/Activity/Procedure Objectives/Standard/Goal

N/A N/A Ya like jazz? Opening (Steph): A MG3.R.6.i: Express

https://www.yo train- Where does the A musical ideas through
utube.com/wat train stop on its way to verbal, movement,
ch?v=mqDOQ Harlem? Remember the written, or artistic means.
zfM5Kc name of this song, it’s
going to come back! MG4.Cn.6.i: Explain how
A Train music relates to self,
https://www.yo Transition: Our next others, and the world.
utube.com/wat stop on the train is jazz
ch?v=wnurVNk instruments with Allie!
g62Q

Video of Louis Primary Focus (Allie): Evaluate musical works

Armstrong: Jazz Band and performances,
https://www.yo Instrumentation - Play applying established
utube.com/wat video clips of Louis criteria, and explain
ch?v=4WPCBi Armstrong’s “West End appropriateness to the
eSESI Blues” pause video context, citing evidence
once a new instrument from the elements of
has been introduced music. MU:Re9.1.5a
 and invite students to
share what instrument
they heard, give a basic
overview of said
instrument. Continue
until they have heard
and identified the
instruments that make
up a jazz band
(trumpet, sax,
trombones, rhythm
section, vocals).

Transition: (Next step

on train) Now that we
know the make up of a
jazz band let's hear one
in action.

N/A N/A Video of Change of Pace Demonstrate selected

Aretha Franklin (Taylor): Listen & Dance and developed musical
- Respect: Activity - Play video for ideas for improvisations,
https://youtu.b the class. Prompt arrangements, or
e/NKQ3-SwVR students by asking if compositions to express
Qw they noticed any intent, and explain
recurring musical ideas connection to purpose
- this will lead into a and context. MU:Cr2.1.5a
short conversation
about form. Invite
students to stand and
dance along with
recording, changing
ideas when a new
phrase/idea is
introduced (establish a
small vocabulary of
dances/actions first).
Encourage students to
engage in activity by
exaggerating dances
and facial expressions.

Transition: Now we’re

going to chug along to
our next train stop,
where Jayden is going
to teach us about
improvised jazz singing!
N/A N/A Video of Ella Secondary Focus Improvise rhythms and
Fitzgerald (Jayden): Play video of melodies with voice,
Scatting: Ella Fitzgerald scatting. instruments, and a variety
https://www.yo Introduce students to of sound sources to add
utube.com/wat scat and how it interest to a song.
ch?v=PbL9vr4 contributes to Jazz as a MG1.Cr.6.i
Q2LU whole. Perform a call
and response scat with
Allie, improvising
different motifs with
varying pitches and
rhythms. Invite students
to join in on the
response of the scatting
motif. Once
comfortable, encourage
students to come up
with their own short
scatting motifs, on given
syllables, interacting
with the teacher and
class through a call and
response activity like at
the beginning of the
activity. Encourage
students to be engaged,
even if their comfort
level is simply echoing
the scat motifs.

Transition: Now that we

have learned about jazz
instruments and
scatting with Ella, let’s
move on to our last stop
on the A train with
Steph!

N/A N/A A Train Closing (Steph): Back Assessment: Students will

https://www.yo to the station, A Train identify scat singing and
utube.com/wat again. jazz instruments heard in
ch?v=wnurVNk What instruments do the piece.
g62Q you hear?

IDEAS FROM FRIDAY LAB:

● JAZZ!
 ○ Aretha - RESPECT
■ “What does respect mean to you?”
○ Louis Armstrong
○ Billie Holiday
○ Ella Fitzgerald
● Activity idea:
○ Step/dance/move with pulse and have students create/improvise motions that
represent how the music makes them feel
○ Improvise with scat - play video first and then invite to create
○ Listening activity (I.e. Boogie Woogie Blues, Watermelon Man) - dance along,
create own dances and perform
● General ideas:
○ Finger play
○ Rhyme game
○ Ukulele – Jayden has one!
○ Make your own movement/rhyme
■ Ex: Humpty Dumpty and popcorn student to choose another rhyme (Allie
can explain more?)
○ “Let me see your bungalow!”
● Online Resources
○ http://beccasmusicroom.com/music-lesson-ideas-jazz/
○ https://nafme.org/teaching-jazz-in-the-elementary-music-classroom/
○ https://www.bethsnotesplus.com/2012/10/jazz-activities.html
● Ideas
○ Backbeat - practice maintaining a steady beat using movement (delcrose ish)
○ Scatting - listen to a song with scat in it, talk about what it is, decide on a syllable
and note, have students come up with their own rhythms (so they sing on a C
and a syllable so that their main focus is on rhythm) Once comfortable, they can
use different syllables and notes.
○ Listening - talk about jazz instruments, show pictures, what they sound like, etc.
Then, listen to a jazz piece and have students share what they heard, and to
make it harder what instrument it was
○ What a Wonderful World - “Talk to students about Louis Armstrong, and how he
was a really important jazz composer. Tell them a little bit about his life. Have
them listen to the song What a Wonderful World. Have students make up actions
for the song—you could have one group make up actions for the first verse,
another group for the second, so on and so forth.”
■ “Ask students what you think a wonderful world would look like. Have
them draw a picture and write a few sentences about their own wonderful
world.”
● Notes From 3/17/21
○ Wonderful World for opening with Louis Armstrong which opens the door to Ella
Fitzgerald and scat singing
■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbL9vr4Q2LU
 ○ We can alternate screen sharing so that the person that is presenting can see the
kids
○ Taylor: Could you adapt your idea to something with movement and backbeat?
■ Still contains the movement and beat, but the beat is shifted towards
swing and then it relates jazz
■ Another idea: SWING, dance/move to swing?
○ Flow: Primary→ Jazz band Instrumentation
■ Change of pace → Respect
■ Secondary → Scat with Ella
○ Introduction to Jazz → some kind of boogie woogie
○ Closing → A train and students have to say where the train stops for their ticket
on their way out
○ We were really chaotic and thought way too hard about all of this, so feel free to
make suggestions too!
○ Ending ideas: “I’ll be seeing you” or the end of “A train”
○ We are kind of in an Ella and Louis theme because they really hit all of the main
jazz concepts that we are thinking about teaching

POWERPOINT LINK

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1A5RSlipkjWBWZplQzqY92FR_WOCLOfOY2A1fomd2
mZc/edit?usp=sharing

Notes from Friday:

● The kids are talking about syncopation today

● ABA form-movements could demonstrate the change of form
● Syllables specific to scat singing
○ Make it sound like instruments
○ Be careful about what they were going for
○ Limit syllables they can use (3-4)
○ Maybe put movements with each syllable
● How are we going to share sound?
● A Train each time there’s a transition
● “Show me what instruments are playing” with movements
○ Or ask them to unmute all at once and then ask them questions
● Demonstration of processing
● Contextualize the lesson in the opening, sum up in the closing
○ Frame it like “things we tend to hear in music from this era”
○