Unit 4: Making Music

Distribute name cards to three children at a time and sing a verse greeting those children.  Repeat until every child is included.

Introduce the idea of making music to children by playing a favorite musical recording. Talk with children about what they like about the music.

Help children place a rubber band around boxes, bread pans, etc. to make “rubber band guitars.” Have them explore making sounds with rubber bands.

Gather children with their rubber-band instruments. Sing the song, “Show Us What Your Instrument Can Do”
 and have children demonstrate making sounds.

Read a book about a girl who loves to make music all day long. Discuss how the various sounds are made and act them out.

Have children sing a song and act out playing an instrument.

Use the Target Letter and Word Routine to introduce children to the letter “Mm” and the word music.

Use the Sandpaper Writing Routine to help children begin to “write” the letter “Mm.” 

Recite the poem “Violet in the Crib” two or three times aloud while stressing the rhythm and the sound words. 

Send a Family Connection letter home with children.

Have rubber band instruments available and tell children to pluck their instrument when you sing their name.

Play some of the recordings of children exploring sounds with their rubber band instruments. Ask children to describe the sounds using descriptive words.

Have children explore tapping and scraping sounds while using different materials. Encourage further exploration by occasionally commenting and/or posing questions.

Play the Between the Lions show “Violet’s Music." Have the book on display and allow children to recall events in the story before viewing.

Talk about noisy places and quiet places.  Have children draw themselves in one of these places and help them write a sentence for the drawing.

Use the Letters in Our Names Routine to help children recognize the letter “Mm” in their names.

Watch a short video clip about the letter “Mm.”  Have children hold up their letter “Mm” card whenever they see the letter “Mm” on the screen.

Teach children a rhyme about a monkey. Invite children to make a sound on their instrument when they hear a word beginning with the /m/ sound.

Teach children a chant, “My Mom Makes Music.” Invite children to pluck their guitar each time they hear a word beginning with the /m/ sound.

Have children choose from a set of musical instruments and have them play that instrument when they hear their name in the song.

Review children’s previous explorations of different surfaces and the different sounds they make.  Talk about texture and prepare children for an outdoor exploration of surfaces.

Allow children to explore freely making sounds on various outdoor surfaces. Tell children you want them to record at least one observation on a clipboard.

Read a folktale about a giant named Abiyoyo. Invite children to act out gestures and sound effects throughout the story.

Have children draw the letter “m” and repeat the words that begin with the letter “m” as they watch a short video clip. 

Show children a bag filled with objects that begin with the /m/ sound. Ask children to pull an object from the bag and name it.

Have children dictate or write words that describe how they think the giant Abiyoyo sounds when he sings, talks, or walks.

Have children join you in singing a song and as you change the volume of your voice for each verse. 

Recite a poem to demonstrate and talk about the concepts of volume and pitch. Facilitate a discussion on sounds with high and low pitches.

Have children explore making different sound pairs with their voices (high sound and a soft sound; low sound and a loud sound, etc.).

Have children use various materials instead of their voices to continue exploring high and low sounds. Encourage children to work in pairs and to take turns.

Reread Abiyoyo by Pete Seeger and have children make connections to their own lives.

Have children vary the pitch as they sing and act out the song “Abiyoyo Is a Giant.”  

Use the Tell Me What You Hear Routine to help children recognize the /m/ sound in the beginning of familiar words.

As a group, create a list of words that describe Abiyoyo.  Help children make their own version of an Abiyoyo puppet using these descriptions.

Have children sing a song and change the pitch of their voices along with you. 

Replay some of the sounds children made this week.  Have children discuss the sounds they made and repeat the sounds as they discuss.

Encourage children to continue their exploration of sound by plucking on rubber bands and changing the pitch by stretching the rubber band.

Have children join you in making rubber band guitars.

Invite children to dictate “How to Make a Rubber Band Guitar” while you write the instructions on chart paper.

Reread one of the read-aloud books about sound or choose a favorite book from the recommended list.

Use the Target Letter and Word Routine to introduce children to the letter “Mm” and the word music.

Review the Between the Lions video clip “Word Morph: moon-mouse-mice.” Pause the video so children can repeat the words and point to the letter “Mm.”

Have children make different sounds as they complete a rhyming chant. 

Revisit the charts, objects, and pictures from the week.  Review sounds, pitch, and volume and how they were made.