- chart paper
- marker
- real instruments or pictures of instruments (see Educator Prep below for a list of instruments)
- blow
- musical instrument
- pluck
- tap
- triangle
MA Standards:
Speaking and Listening: SL.PK.MA.2 Recall information for short periods of time and retell, act out, or represent information from a text read aloud, a recording, or a video (e.g., watch a video about birds and their habitats and make drawings or constructions of birds and their nests).
Head Start Outcomes:
Language Development/Receptive Language Attends to language during conversations, songs, stories, or other learning experiences.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 12 Listen to, recite, sing, and dramatize a variety of age-appropriate literature.
Watch Together: “What Instrument Does Alvin Play?” (BTL show)
ELA Focus Skills: Active Viewing, Speaking and Listening, Vocabulary
Educator Prep: Between the Lions “What Instrument Does Alvin Play?” is a show that introduces children to different musical instruments. Before beginning the activity, gather pictures of the different instruments that will be featured in this show: tambourine, triangle, trombone, trumpet, tuba, violin, and xylophone. Glue them onto chart paper and display for children to refer to throughout the week.
Before You Watch
Introduce the show and explain that children in the show play different musical instruments. Set a listening focus by having children try to figure out which instrument Alvin plays.
As You Watch
Model active viewing by naming the characters, describing the action, repeating the featured words, and singing and moving along with the songs.
- Encourage children to mime playing the instruments along with the children in the video.
- Pause each time Theo poses the question, “What instrument does Alvin play?” Encourage children to guess the instrument and what sound it makes.
- At the end of the story, when the children play their instruments together in a band, encourage children to pretend play along with children in the show.
After You Watch
Talk about the instruments featured in the show. Direct children’s attention to the pictures of the musical instruments. Ask,
- What instrument does Alvin play? Have children point to the correct picture on the chart paper.
- What kind of sound does the triangle make? How do you play the triangle? Encourage children to use the term tap in their explanations.
- Show children a picture of a tuba and ask, Have you ever seen a tuba or heard one played? How do you think you play a tuba? Do you blow into it, do you pluck it, or do you tap it? Encourage children to discuss how each instrument is played.
- Have children point to all the instruments that make loud and soft sounds.
English Language Learners: To help build vocabulary, point to an instrument on the chart paper and have children say the word tap, blow, or pluck to describe how it is played.
