A music lesson plan on Rhythm and Dynamics

Dawn Roberts

Nov. 4, 1997

#651120

T255 Lesson Plan

Song:

Who Has the Penny?

Materials Needed:

poster
with rhythms, safety pin and penny

Musical Activities:

Listening,
singing, clapping

Musical Concepts:

Rhythm
and dynamics

Grade Level:

2

^nd

grade

Goals:

1) To show children
that music is fun by playing a game.

1. To practice a steady beat and to add a rhythm
   to the beat.

Objectives:

1) Students
will clap the rhythms that appear in the song.

1. Students will practice dynamics by humming softly
   and singing loudly, or with full voices.

2. Students will keep a steady beat while learning
   the rhythms.

Introduction:

Tell the students that they will be learning a new
rhythm called an eighth note. Ask them to pay close attention
and listen carefully for the difference between an eighth note
and a quarter note.

Procedures:

1. Begin clapping a steady moderate beat. Ask the
   children to join in and to try to match your beat, reminding them
   not to speed up or slow down.

2. Ask them to stop and listen. Have them direct
   their attention to the board where a poster displays the following
   rhythms in 2/4 time: quarter eighth-eighth quarter quarter and
   quarter eighth-eighth quarter rest. Clap the rhythms and have
   them echo you.

3. Now divide the group in half. Tell them that
   they will each have a very important job to do. One group will
   keep the steady beat while the other claps the rhythm on the board.
   Repeat switching roles.

4. Next, introduce the song "Who Has the Penny?"
   by singing it all the way through. Ask the students to clap the
   beat while you sing. Then switch, you clap the beat while they
   sing the song.

5. Ask the students to stand up and form a circle.
   Show them the penny and the safety pin and tell them that you
   are going to play a game using the song they just learned. Have
   the students close their eyes and hold their hands out. Hum the
   song softly while you give the penny to one student and the safety
   pin to another. When the song ends, whoever has the penny and
   the pin in their hands will sing the appropriate lines as you
   sing the song loudly (with a full voice). After playing the first
   time, let the children pass the penny and the pin on to other
   students.

Closure:

Ask the children to identify which word of the song
occurs on the eighth-eighth pattern.

Evaluation:

Teacher watches and listens while the students are
clapping their rhythms. Also, make sure that they know the difference
between humming (softly) and singing (loudly).