Unit Plan 13 (Grade 5 Orchestra): Instrument Families & Sound
Grade 5 orchestra listening unit where students identify violin, viola, cello, and bass and describe how size, strings, and bowing shape tone color.
Focus: Identify string instruments and describe how size, string choice, and bowing change tone color and character.
Grade Level: 5
Subject Area: Orchestra (Listening • Tone • Analysis)
Total Unit Duration: 1–2 weeks, 30-minute sessions
I. Introduction
Students explore the string family by listening to and observing violin, viola, cello, and bass. Through pictures, short videos, and live or recorded examples, they notice how instrument size, string choice, and bowing affect the sound (bright/dark, high/low, thin/full). Students begin to use simple tone words to describe what they hear and connect sounds to the different instruments.
Essential Questions
- What instruments belong to the string family, and how can we tell them apart by sight and sound?
- How do size, string choice, and bowing change the tone color of a string instrument?
- How can we describe what we hear using clear musical words so others understand the sound?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Identify violin, viola, cello, and bass by name and basic visual features.
- Describe tone differences (e.g., bright/dark, high/low, light/full) between instruments in the string family.
- Explain how instrument size and string choice affect pitch and tone color.
- Use simple listening charts to record observations about sound and instrument roles.
- Create a short Instrument Families & Sound chart or poster that shows each instrument and describes its sound in student-friendly language.
Standards Alignment — Grade 5 Orchestra (custom, NAfME-style)
- OR:Re7.5b — Describe how bowing, string choice, and instrument size affect the sound and character of string music.
- Example: Students explain how low strings sound darker than high strings.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can name the instruments in the string family and tell which is which.
- I can describe how each instrument sounds using words like bright, dark, high, low, full, or thin.
- I can explain how size and string choice change the sound of an instrument.
- I can use a chart or poster to show each instrument and describe its sound clearly so someone else can understand.