Boom!

Paradiddles Lesson Plan

Name: (Boba) Lee Jia Wen Date: Feb 10th 2022

Grade: 4-6 Class Type: General Music

1.Measurable Objective(s):
a. Students can perform a paradiddle at different tempos, note lengths and dynamic levels with
and without accents on downbeats as an ensemble while keeping a steady pulse.
b. Students can arrange and perform a piece of music with various dynamics and moving parts.

2.Assessment:
Informal Assessment:
a. Teacher observation at student reaction to old/new material.
b. Teacher observation at student performance of material.
c. Verbal question and answer.

Formal Assessment:
a. Students perform a piece with paradiddles as an ensemble according to the order they have
created on the board, with different dynamic levels for each section.

3. National Standards:
Performing
a. MU:Pr4.2.4a Demonstrate understanding of the structure and the elements of music (such as
rhythm, pitch, and form) in music selected for performance.
b. MU:Pr4.2.5b When analyzing selected music, read and perform using standard notation.
c. MU:Pr5.1.3a - Apply teacherprovided and collaborativelydeveloped criteria and feedback to
evaluate accuracy of ensemble performances.
Creating
a. MU:Cr2.1.4a Demonstrate selected and organized musical ideas for an improvisation,
arrangement, or composition to express intent, and explain connection to purpose and
context.
b. MU:Cr3.1.3a Evaluate, refine, and document revisions to personal musical ideas, applying
teacher-provided and collaborativelydeveloped criteria and feedback.
Responding
a. MU:Re7.1.3a Demonstrate and describe how selected music connects to and is influenced by
specific interests, experiences, or purposes.

4. State Standards:
Creating
a. Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. Generate interdisciplinary musical
ideas using a variety of non-traditional sound sources (e.g., found sounds, digital technology,
unusual voices). (5-6.M.Cr.01)
Performing
a. Select, analyze and interpret artistic work for presentation. Individually read moderately
complicated rhythms and melodies (e.g., melodies with alternating eighth notes, quarter notes
and half notes, pentatonic and diatonic tonalities) in standard notation in treble clef. (3-
4.M.P.04)
Connecting

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 a. Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art. Make connections
between personal experience and a musical work. (1-2.M.Co.10)

5. Required Prior Knowledge and Skills:

a. Sight-reading Quarter Notes, 8th Notes, 16th Notes.
b. Counting Quarter Notes, 8th Notes, 16th Notes.
c. Basic Stick Technique.
d. Keeping a Steady Pulse.
e. Dynamics
f. Ternary Form

6. Material, Repertoire, Equipment needed:

Material:
a. Boomwhackers

Repertoire:
a. Boba’s Singles and Doubles Exercise
b. Boba’s Boom! Paradiddles Round

7. Review Needed:
a. Quarter notes, Eighth notes and 16th notes.

8. Accommodations:
a. Physical disability: Students use rhythmic solfege that represents the right and left hand to “speak” the
singles, doubles, and paradiddles instead.
b. ADD: Social stories are integrated into the agenda, visual aids (sheet music) are projected on the board
and notation is colored to Boomwhacker colors.
c. Autism: Common Communication Cards (such as “listen” or “silence”) are at handy.

*Seating plans are made to be inclusive of the above special needs.

9. Agenda:
a. Rhythm Review
b. Singles and Doubles
c. Paradiddle
d. Boomwhackers
e. Make A Song!

10. Lesson Sequence (Be sure to list time in the Pacing Section) Pacing
A. Brief Opening: A.…………………...
Rhythm Review. Students march in a circle to quarter notes, clapping on 8ths 5 mins
and vocalizing 16ths with rhythmic solfege.

B. Learning Activities: B
1. Singles and Doubles.
a. Students pat single strokes on the table /lap leading with their 1. 5mins
dominant hand. 2) 5mins
b. Students pat double strokes on the table/lap leading with their 3) 10mins
dominant hand 4) 10mins
c. Students play the single and double stroke exercise to train switching
from one technique to the other.

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 2. Paradiddles
a. Students watch a demonstration of a paradiddle by the teacher playing
with their hands or sticks.
b. Students demonstrate an understanding that paradiddles are made up of
singles and doubles by performing the paradiddle slowly, and
identifying which notes are single strokes and which notes are double
notes.
c. Students pat paradiddles on the table/lap from slow to fast tempo.

3. Boomwhackers
a. Students are split into three groups (A, B, C). Boomwhackers are
handed out to each student according to their groups.
b. All groups play pattern A, B and C on Boba’s Boom! Paradiddles
Round.
c. Each group then plays their corresponding line on Boba’s Boom!
Paradiddles Round, as an ensemble. Students identify which line
contains quarter, 8th and 16th notes.
d. Students introduce accents to every downbeat.
e. Each group now plays the next pattern (Group A plays Pattern B,
Group B plays Pattern C, etc.) and continues until all groups have
played all the patterns at least once.

4. Make a Song!
a. Students identify the use of ternary form by analyzing the three
sections which are written on the board, with dynamic markings of mf,
p, and f respectively.
b. Students recap the meaning of different dynamic markings. (p = soft,
mf = medium strong, f = strong)
c. Students perform the standard paradiddle round at three dynamic
levels.
d. Each section has three sub-sections. Volunteer students fill in the
blanks for each sub-section with the order in which groups enter to
play in the ensemble.
e. Students perform the piece as an ensemble according to the order they
have created on the board, with different dynamic levels for each
section.
f. Students switch sections and step d. and e. is repeated.

C. Closing/Wrap-up: C.
a. Students play single strokes with the boomwhackers. 5 mins
b. Students play double strokes with the boomwhackers.
c. Students play a paradiddle with the boomwhackers.
d. Students identify how many 8th notes it takes for a single stroke pattern
to repeat. They do the same for double strokes, and finally the
paradiddle.
e. Students respond about which pattern sounded most “interesting” in
relation to the length of the repeating pattern.

D. Assignment: D.

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 a. Students are challenged to write a “new-kind of paradiddle” by 5 mins
combining single strokes and double strokes in a different way than the
standard paradiddle.
b. This “new-kind of paradiddle” will be used as the basis for the next
class activity.

11.Reflection Prompt: What do you think went particularly well? How did this strength impact your students’
learning?

My understanding of rhythm and how to build patterns from ground up (i.e. singles and doubles) made
it easy for me to teach others paradiddles. My flow and pacing was adaptable and flexible, without too
much blank space with kept the lesson engaging.

12.Reflection Prompt: If you could teach this lesson again, is there anything you would do differently? How
would this have impacted your students’ learning?

I would have been more mindful about left-handed drummers by starting with telling everyone to lead
with their dominant hand, and to flip my sticking in their heads if they are left-handed. I would also
have guided each new group by playing along with them when their parts are introduced in the
ensemble section.

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