3rd Grade Daily Lessons

Table of Contents

Unit 1

Lesson 1

Learning targets and success criteria for today:


Materials:


1. Watch this cup passing tutorial video.  When we return to school we will be trying this, so practice it every day!  You will need one plastic cup.  DO NOT use glass!!!  

See how far you can get in this My Turn/Your Turn game (Call and Response)!  What level player are you?  You can use a drum if you have one, or just use your knees.  Practice every day.  Good luck...

Level 1: 0:00-1:13 Easy and short rhythms all on the beat

Level 2: 1:13-2:08 These are still easier, but longer

Level 3: 2:08-3:40 Much trickier rhythms

Level 4: 3:40-5:15 Using more rests and playing on upbeats

Level 5: 5:15-7:15 Congratulations! You are a master!  

This is a really fun dance that we will be learning in music class.  Practice it every day- it's good exercise and will help improve our musical timing with movement.  

Here is a great video that introduces you to the orchestra.  After watching this you should be able to tell me the four families of the orchestra, some examples of instruments in each family, and the role of the conductor in the orchestra.  

It's time for our first ukulele lesson.  The uke is fun and easy to learn.  Watch this short video to learn how to pick the strings and strum 2 different rhythm patterns.  

Lesson 2

Learning targets and success criteria for today:


Materials:


Here is a really fun song from the country of Ghana.  Try to play each part with the song.  For shakers, you can use any container with something in it that makes sound (like a can with rice in it). If you don't have a drum use your hands on the floor or knees.  You get the idea... I usually play a game with this song, but we'll save that for another time.  

In Lesson 2, we will learn to play chords on ukulele.  We will start with C and then learn A minor.  What string and fret do you need to press down on to play a C chord?  What about A minor?  

Let's take a closer look at one family of the orchestra- the Strings.  There are 5 member of the string family: violin, viola, cello, bass, and harp.  This video includes all of them except the harp.  Can you list all of the string family in order from highest pitch to lowest pitch?  

This is a really fun and challenging clapping game.  It gets more and more challenging as the song goes on, so you may need to practice this several times.  I must admit, it took me several times before I got it, but you will probably do better than me.  

Lesson 3

Learning targets and success criteria for today:


Materials:


These two videos teach us all about the woodwind family.  What makes a woodwind instrument belong to that family?  What are the 5 main woodwind instruments?  Making a woodwind instrument at home is easy- try it!  What materials do you need to make a woodwind instrument at home?  

Do you like Hip-Hop dancing as much as me? What about JT? Well, here is a video with both. This dance might take some practice before you get it perfect. Remember that when you dance you are trying to improve your musical timing using movement. Get that heart-rate up and sweat! 

Lesson 4

Learning targets and success criteria for today:


Materials:


Here is a challenging, but fun, game to play that will help you with your pitch recognition. The game will play one of three pitches: low (the button on the left), middle, or high (the button on the right). When you hear the pitch a ball will launch toward your buttons. If it is the low pitch (Do or C), click on the button on the left; if it plays the high pitch (Mi or E), click on the button on the right; the middle pitch (Re or D) is, of course, the button in the middle. This game is difficult, so it may take you several turns to get the hang of it. Good luck! 

First go through this short introduction before you play the game… (If the link doesn't work, copy and paste the link into your browser)

https://trainer.thetamusic.com/en/content/html5-lesson

Now, you are ready to play..

https://trainer.thetamusic.com/en/content/html5-paddle-pitch

Let's talk about the brass family of the orchestra.  What do all of the brass instruments have in common?  Can you name 4 brass instruments?  

Unit 2 

Lesson 1

Learning targets and success criteria for today:


Have you ever seen Line Rider?  It’s a very popular youtube series.  Here is a fun way to listen to Beethoven’s 5th Symphony- one of the most famous pieces of music ever written.  Many people believed that Beethoven wrote this music to express how he felt about continuing to compose music even while he was going deaf.  It’s meant to be a triumphant piece of music.  How does it sound to you?  What part of your life would this sound good as background music to?  Do you recognize any musical symbolism in this?  

Here is another excellent Line Rider Video to the music of Strauss, called The Blue Danube.  The Danube is a river that winds its way through a bunch of Europe, including where Strauss lived: Vienna.  Do you notice all of the dynamic markings in the music?  Dynamics tell a musician how loud or soft to play; p means to play quietly and f means to play loudly.  Also, there are a bunch of trills marked with "tr."  What does a trill sound like?  

This video lesson explains dynamics: piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, and forte.  What does the word dynamics mean?  What is the difference between piano and forte?  What dynamic level do you usually sing at?  Why do you think we still use the Italian words for these dynamic levels?  

Let's talk about the percussion family of the orchestra.  What makes percussion instruments different from the other families in the orchestra?  

This video shows you a lot of percussion instruments.  Which ones do you like the best?  How many percussion instruments can you name?  

Lesson 2

Learning targets and success criteria for today:


This is from one of my favorite episodes of the Muppet Show and stars Harry Belafonte.  Harry Belafonte was a very important leader in the African-American community as well as a phenomenal musician.  Do you notice how this song has two different singing parts and then they combine them together?  What percussion instruments do you recognize?  

This is a really fun and addicting activity for creating loops.  When you press start an 8-beat loop will begin.  Simply drag and drop the different icons onto the different singers and they will begin looping their parts automatically.  There are tons of variations that you can make.  Click on the menu to make changes, start over, or even record your loop.  This is so easy to use that even my 3-year-old made an excellent sounding loop!  Did you prefer to have all the singers going at once, or did you keep things more simple?  How would you describe the music that you created?  There are 3 different versions of this game- try all 3!  

https://www.incredibox.com/demo/v1                                                         

https://www.incredibox.com/demo/v2

https://www.incredibox.com/demo/v3

Lesson 3

Learning targets and success criteria for today:


In 3rd grade we learn how to say and play 16th notes (ti-ka-ti-ka).  This is a game called Poison Rhythm.  You have to really concentrate to avoid playing the poison rhythm.  Good Luck!  

One of my favorite things to do when I am in a different country is to listen to music from the culture that I am visiting.  When I was in Indonesia I got a chance to hear a lot of different types of music.  One concert I went to was called Kecak.  The concert tells the folk story of a monkey and a prince battling an evil king.  Here is one of the videos that I took of the concert.  Does this music sound strange to you?  Do you hear any instruments other than voice in this?  Do you notice how the tempo (speed of the music) keeps changing?  How do you think everyone changes tempo at the exact same time?  

This is a great song for practicing our 3rd grade rhythms, especially the 16th notes.  Stay tuned at the end of this song to hear Rob break down all of the rhythms and explain how they fit into a measure.  

Lesson 4

Learning targets and success criteria for today:


This video will help us with playing and saying 16th notes.  For this one: 

BEAT=quarter note (ta)

CHERRY= 8th notes (ti-ti)

AVOCADO= 16th notes (ti-ka-ti-ka)

I also went to a Gamelon concert while I was in Indonesia.  It was amazing!!!  The gamelon is a group of instruments that are similar to our xylophones and are played with wooden hammers.  The instruments range in size from tiny (smaller than a glockenspiel) to huge gongs.  Dancers come out and perform alongside the gamelon players.  Here is a video I took of the concert.  

Unit 3

Lesson 1

Learning targets and success criteria for this lesson:


Also while I was in Indonesia I actually met a gamelon master (he’s the guy who leads the gamelon orchestra) and he gave me a private lesson.  Here is a video of the gamelon master and me playing a song that he taught me.  Do you notice how my hands are doing two different things?  What does my left hand do?  What about the right?  

Have you ever heard of a dance called the Cupid Shuffle?  I hadn’t, until I found this video and learned it myself.  It was really easy to learn and it was also a lot of fun.  Once you learn how to do it, try doing it with a few of your favorite songs.  What kind of music works well with this dance?  What kind of music doesn’t work as well?  Now go get moving!  

This is a really fun song to sing along to, dance along to, and clap along to.  Can you think of any other words that make cool rhythms?  What rhythm would your name make?  

Lesson 2

Learning targets and success criteria for today:


This is a really fun song to sing called "Agents of Change."  Once there was a really smart man who said, "Be the change you want to see in the world."  What do you think he meant by that?  What is something that you would really like to change in the world?  

This is a song called Tingalayo.  It is easy to sing this song and it is easy to play the rhythms to this song, but can you do both at the same time?  Not so easy!  Practice hard and it will get easier.  

Zimbole is a folk song from South Africa.  It's easy to learn and fun to play along to.  Try to master the body percussion, clapping, solfege, and accompaniment while you sing the song.  

Lesson 3

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This is a dance called the Cha Cha Slide.  It's super fun and is great exercise.  Can you follow all the steps?  Remember, the more we practice this, the better we will get at it. 



I really like this song about the seven continents because it is so catchy.  Sing along and have fun!  How many continents have you been to?  Where would you most like to go?  

Would you rather be too hot or too cold?  This is a song and dance about fire and ice.  See if you can dance and sing along with the music.  

Lesson 4

Learning targets and success criteria for today:


Here is a really fun song to sing along to called "ABC."  I love this video too!  What are some of the ways they make musical sounds in this song without using actual musical instruments?  


Let's have some fun with boomwhackers.  We are going to play along to some classic pieces of music .  Each person will have one boomwhacker- make sure you play yours at the proper time or it won't sound right.  Don't forget to take the quiz at the end.  

This dance might take a little practice before you're able to get the whole thing.  Can you make it all the way through without stopping?

Unit 4

Lesson 1

Learning targets and success criteria for today:


Do you enjoy tongue-twisters?  Here is a really hard one!  See if you can make it all the way through this one without getting your tongue in a twist! 



Did you know that there are five different animal classifications?  Which one do us humans belong to?  How many of the five classifications can you name?  

Lesson 2

Learning targets and success criteria for this lesson:



Here is a challenging body percussion game to play.  Once you learn the pattern you will play the whole thing at a slow tempo.  Then you will slowly increase the tempo (speed of music) and see if you can keep up.  Good luck! 



If you think you are getting good at body percussion, then check out this video.  How long do you think these boys had to practice to get this pattern down perfect? 



Lesson 3

Learning targets and success criteria for this lesson:


This is a really fun way to practice our 16th note rhythms.  Remember that we say 16th notes like this: Ti-Ka-Ti-Ka.  Try saying and playing at the same time, then try just playing the rhythms on your knees.  

Here is another rhythm exercise that will help us learn our OTHER 3rd grade rhythm- the dotted half note.  The dotted half note is played for three beats and is said Ta-2-3.  Practice playing the Fire side and then work on the Ice side.  When you have both sides down, find a partner and play at the same time- you take one side and your partner takes the other.  If you do it right it will sound great together.