Lesson Plan for the Elementary Music Class (Peer #4)

Teacher Name: Ms. Tadda Target Grade Level: 3rd Grade

Standards Being Addressed:

Improvisation:
MU:Cr1.1.3b Generate musical ideas (such as rhythms and melodies) within a given tonality
and/or meter.
Song/Arrangement:
MU:Pr6.1.3a Perform music with expression and technical accuracy.

Materials of Instruction:
 The song “Who’s Tapping at the Window?” song in D major
 Instruments: pitched instruments such as a bass xylophone or a metallophone,
woodblock/temple blocks/claves, and unpitched metal instrument of your choice
(triangle, finger cymbals, etc.)
Lesson Sequence (lessons may have more or less activities as appropriate):

Entry Activity/Transition: As students walk in the room, the teacher will say: “Good morning
everyone! Can everyone tell a story of when a bird, another animal, or a family member tapped
on a window while you were doing something? Have you tapped on a window to get a family
member’s attention?”
1. Students will discuss their answers to the questions, and eventually the discussion will
shift to knocking on a door.
2. T: “Great stories everyone! I want everyone to pretend they are knocking on a window or
a door. Pick a wall, chair, or the whiteboard to walk around and knock. Use 8th note
patterns or quarter note patterns that we learned last time.” (students walk around the
room making up their own knocking rhythms. As the students are walking around, the
teacher will be preforming the xylophone line in the rhythm of the song.
3. After walking around, the T will say: “I love the creativity! This time I am going to add
some words to my knocking rhythm. Listen for who is tapping and who is knocking.” T
will sing the song while also playing the xylophone part.
4. T: “Who was tapping?” S answer “mommy” T: “Who was knocking?” Ss answer
“Pappy”
5. T: “Good job! I am going to sing this again, and as I do, listen for what Mammy and
Pappy are tapping and knocking.”
6. T: “What was mammy tapping?” Ss answer “window” T: “What was pappy knocking?”
Ss answer “door”.
7. T: “Good job everyone, you all have learned the majority of the song already, let us learn
how to sing it!”

Activity #1 Objective: Students will sing “Who’s That Tapping At the Window” with
accurate rhythm and pitch in a 2/4 meter in the key of D Major.

1. Without accompaniment, the teacher will introduce the song using the Solfège
pitches and syllables. Because the pitches and the pattern repeats, T will only
introduce the first two lines.
i. T: “Repeat after me!” After giving the starting pitch, T then sings Do, So,
Mi Mi, Sol Sol, Mi Do in the rhythm on the page. S will then repeat. If
there are trouble with pitches, or the understanding of the rhythm, the T
will repeat the line.
ii. After successfully learning the first line pitches and rhythms, the T will
then introduce the second melodic phrase and rhythm: Do, So, Mi Mi Sol
Sol, Do. Ss will repeat.
iii. T: “Good job keeping the pitches and rhythm! Let us try the line together.”
T then combines both solfège phrases, and students will echo.
2. Using the xylophone accompaniment, T will re-introduce the lyrics with the
pitches and rhythm. T: “Let us learn the lyrics with the pitches!”
3. Students will echo line by line of the song:
i. While the teacher plays the accompaniment and sings, students will hear
the words/lyrics and the rhythm T is playing on the xylophone. T will start
with “Who’s that tapping at the window?” Then teacher will point to
 students to echo the line.
1. T and students will continue each line individually: A) “Who’s that
knocking at the door B) Mammy’s tapping at the window, C)
pappy’s knocking at the door.”
4. The teacher will then start Fill in the Blank with the words “Window” and “door”
whenever they appear in the song. Students will sing the words in time.
i. T: “okay! Now we can fill in the blank! When I sing the line, I want you
all to sing the words in rhythm.” T will then sing “Who’s that tapping at
the _____ (Students fill in the words while the teacher continues the song
and accompaniment. If there is hesitation, the teacher will repeat the line
until the rhythm and pitches are accurate.)
ii. The same echo process repeats for the next 3 phrases. Ss will fill in the
words “Window” and “Door.”
5. T will start extended fill in the blank for the first two phrases:
i. T: “Now you all will finish the sentence for me! I will start and point to
you when it is your turn to finish the song.” T: “Who’s that ____” Ss fill
in the blank. And T does that again for the second phrase. If there was any
discrepancy, the teacher will go back to the extended echo.
ii. T: “Awesome job everyone! I am going to start the next two phrases, and I
will point to you when it is your turn to finish the line.” T: “mammy’s
_____” Ss fill in the blank. T: “pappy’s _____” Ss finish the line. If
needed, the teacher will do the extended echo again so students can firmly
grasp the words, pitches, and rhythms.
6. Ss will adiate the song, then sing it by themselves.
i. T: “This time, while I play the accompaniment, I want everyone to use
their Magic Lips to sing the song.” T will then give the starting pitch and
students will hum or lip-sing the song.
ii. T: “I bet you all know the words amazingly. Let us go ahead and sing the
song together.” T will give starting pitch, and play the accompaniment
while everyone sings. If T hears wrong words, they will go back to small
fill in the blank or small echo until the students have a firm grasp of the
whole song.
Assessment:
Are all students able to sing the song with accurate pitch and rhythm in a 2/4 meter in
the key of D major? If not, T will review the song and take note of the students who
are struggling.

Transition:
“Let us all play the accompaniment together to create musical knocking/tapping
noises!”

Activity #2 Objective:
Students will be able to perform the melodic and rhythmic accompaniment to “Who’s That
Tapping at the Window” on a xylophone, Woodblock/claves, and triangles with accurate
rhythm, notes, and a steady tempo in the key of D in 2/4 meter.
1. T will invite students to pat the rhythm on their legs with the teacher.
a. T: “Watch my pattern and join when ready.” T will show the accompaniment
pattern for the first two phrases. T will loop those phrases until all students
have joined the pattern accurately. During the process, the T will watch
students and correct the issues if needed. If many students are confused, the T
will break it down into smaller chunks (one phrase at a time)
b. T: “Good job, as we continue the pattern, I am going to sing the first two
phrases on top of it. If you are comfortable, you may sing with me.” T will
then sing as the students continue the accompaniment pattern with the teacher.
After looping 3 times, the T will invite the students to sing with her/him.
c. T: “Let us sing together!” Ss sing with the teacher while continuing the pats
on their laps of the accompaniment pattern. T will signal the end of the two
phrases on the xylophone. If students are struggling, the Teacher will take it
apart by phrase and encourage students to only play the accompaniment if
they are not comfortable with the singing part yet. This process will repeat
until students are comfortable singing while patting the rhythm.
d. T will use the same steps to learn the last 2 phrases.
e. T: “Let us sing the whole song and pat together!” Ss will then chunk together
the whole song. If there are issues, the teacher will go back and address the
trouble spots.
f. T: “Great job everyone! Let’s move our pattern to the xylophones.”
2. Students will gather around their xylophones. T will show them where to place their
mallets on the keyboard.
a. T: “Does someone want to show me the accompaniment pattern we just
learned on their keyboard?” T will encourage students to preform the
accompaniment with the teacher, or by themselves or with a partner if wanted.
b. If no student wants to volunteer, the teacher will review the pattern. T: “Let us
review the pattern on our keyboard!” Ss and T will play the accompaniment of
the first two lines on the keyboard.
c. After looping that 3 times, the teacher will sing while the students play on the
keyboard so they can experience the accompaniment and song in context. T:
“let us sing together!” the teacher and students will then sing the first two
phrases with the pattern. T will signal the end of the line they are singing on
the xylophone. If there is any trouble, the teacher will break down the phrases
with the accompaniment and isolate the trouble measures in order for students
to understand how the words fit with the accompaniment.
d. T will repeat the same singing/learning process for the next 2 phrases.
3. T will then introduce the Woodblock/clave part, and students will be invited to
choose between the wood part and the xylophone part at this point in the lesson.
a. T: “Everyone sounds great on the xylophone, but now I want to introduce
something new to our song. Let’s sing the first two phrases. This time when
we sing, keep playing the xylophone and I am going to play something
different on the claves.” T will count off the song while Ss and T sing the
song together. While the Ss are playing the xylophone, the T will perform
clave part.
b. T: “What was I doing?” (Ss reply with clapped 8th notes, or played a different
 rhythm) “What did it sound like? Was it supposed to represent something?” Ss
reply with “Knocking” or “Tapping” sounds. T: “That is correct! I played a
new part on the claves. The clave part is the knocks and taps that happen in
the song. Let us sing the first two phrases again. Would anyone like to play
the clave part with me?” Ss volunteer. T: “Great! This time when we play,
Lets use our magic lips. Xylophones, clap the clave rhythms. Claves, watch
and listen to what I do and shadow me.” T counts of song and everyone
audiates the song while the teacher plays the clave rhythm. T will show the
Clave Ss the rhythm they are about to play. This shadow/audiation process
happens 4 times. The Shadow play happens 1 time. The students join w/ the
clave rhythm in on the 2nd run through. During the third run through, the
students originally on xylophone switch back to that instrument. On the 4th
time, students and teacher play the xylophone and claves, but now everyone
sings. That process happens again for the second two phrases.
c. During that process, the teacher will walk around the room. If the students
sound hesitant or confused with the new part, the Teacher will isolate the
clave part while singing. The teacher will sing and play the first two phrases,
then the students echo the first two phrases with the claves. If needed, that will
happen for the second two phrases as well. The xylophones will clap the clave
part for practice during this exercise if it is needed.
d. T: “Good job everyone! Let us sing the song and play together!” T and Ss
combine the phrases for the whole song. They will also play the Keyboard
accompaniment all the way through.
e. After singing through all together, the xylophone and clave students will
rotate and play the part they did not play before.
4. T introduces the triangle/finger cymbals part to complete the set.
a. T: “Everyone is doing so well on the xylophone and clave part, I want some
people to try the finger cymbals or triangle! Would anyone like to volunteer
for the triangle or finger cymbals?” Ss volunteer. At this point, all three
groups have an instrument. If there is an unevenly distributed group, the
teacher will encourage/invite students to try a new/different instrument they
have not focused on yet.
b. T: “Those with the triangles/finger cymbals, play the xylophone part at the
beginning of each of the phrases. I will play with you.” T and Ss sing the
whole song while the teacher is modeling the finger cymbal part. If students
are confused, the teacher will model the triangle part by itself while singing
the whole song. Students will then shadow the teacher the first time of
isolation, then students will join on the second time through. During that
process, the xylophone and clave students will clap the triangle rhythm.
c. T: “Good job, let us try the song with everything all together.” Ss and T sing
the song with all the parts. After singing all together, the class will rotate
through each group of instruments in order to learn them all.

Assessment:
Can all students accurately play the melodic and rhythmic accompaniment to “Who’s That
Tapping at the Window” in 2/4 time in the key of D major? Teacher will walk around the
classroom and adjust instruction as needed for each student to grasp the instrument processes.

Transition: T: “Lets sing the song again. This time, I want you all to watch what I do.” Ss and T
sing and play the song again, but the teacher improvises new rhythms on the xylophone (using
the notes D and A) at the end of each pair of phrases. T: “What did I do differently?” Ss discuss
changing the rhythm/pattern of notes. At this point, teacher introduces improvisation.

Activity #3 Objective: Students will be able to improvise on the xylophone in 2/4 meter for a
total of 2 bars in the song, ending every other phrase with improvised rhythms.

1. T introduces the rules of improvisation:

a. T: “Watch me again. This time I just want you all to pat half notes on your
laps. What is something I am doing whenever I improvise?” T sings and plays
the song, but only improvises in time with 8th notes and quarter notes. Ss then
discuss how the teacher used 8th notes and quarter-notes on the xylophone.
2. T invites students on the xylophone to try the improvisation. Students on the claves
and triangle play their original rhythm. This happens three times. Each run through,
the students switch groups of instruments so that each student has an opportunity to
improvise on the xylophone.
3. Students then pair up in groups of 3: One clave, one finger cymbal/triangle, and one
xylophone. The teacher then invites each group to come up with an idea for what the
xylophone player should improvise. Each group gets a chance to preform for the
class. At this point, the teacher will walk around the room facilitating rhythms and
giving ideas to each group for improvising.
4. Each group gets a chance to preform their improvisations for the class.

Assessment: Are students able to improvise rhythms in 2/4 meter using the xylophone in the key
of D major ending every other phrase in improvised rhythms?

Transition: Ss will cycle through the instruments while in their groups so that each student has a
chance to improvise. Throughout each rotation, the teacher will encourage new instruments to
improvise if the xylophone player does not want to.

Closure: T: “What is something that you learned today in class?” Ss then discuss improvisation,
how to play the xylophone, claves, and triangle/finger cymbals. T: “Yes! Next week when we
improvise, we will improvise while singing.”