Unit Plan 10 (PreK Music): Exploring Classroom Instruments
PreK students explore percussion instruments safely—drums, shakers, sticks, bells—creating simple patterns, matching sounds to movement/feelings, and building listening skills.
Focus: Identify and play basic classroom percussion instruments safely while exploring how different sounds can match movement, feelings, and simple patterns.
Grade Level: PreK
Subject Area: Music (Exploring • Performing • Creating)
Total Unit Duration: 3–4 sessions (2+ weeks), 20–30 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Children are introduced to the “instrument family” of the music room, especially drums, shakers, rhythm sticks, and bells. Through guided exploration, they learn how to hold, tap, shake, and stop instruments safely. Children listen for loud/soft, long/short, and high/low-ish sounds and connect them to simple movements or stories (e.g., “tiptoe sound,” “marching sound”).
Essential Questions
- What kinds of sounds can classroom instruments make?
- How can we use instruments safely and take turns so everyone can play?
- How can instrument sounds help us show movement, feelings, or patterns in music?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Children will:
- Name and point to at least 3–4 classroom percussion instruments (e.g., hand drum, shaker, bells, rhythm sticks).
- Demonstrate safe instrument use: holding correctly, waiting for a turn, stopping on a signal.
- Explore and describe simple sound differences (loud/soft, long/short, shaking vs. tapping).
- Match instrument sounds to movement or simple story ideas (e.g., rain, footsteps, marching).
- Participate in a short “Instrument Pattern” piece (echo, repeat, or AB pattern) and share it with the class.
Standards Alignment — PreK Music
- MU:Cr1.1.PK — Explore musical ideas through play and improvisation.
- Children experiment with sounds using voice, body, and classroom instruments.
- Example: Making up sounds for animals or weather.
- MU:Pr4.2.PK — Explore music concepts through singing and movement.
- Children explore pitch, loud/soft, and steady beat.
- Example: Singing high and low echoes.
Success Criteria — Child-Friendly Language
- I can tell the name of some instruments and show how to hold and play them safely.
- I can start and stop my instrument when the music teacher gives a signal.
- I can say if a sound is loud or soft, long or short, or made by shaking, tapping, or scraping.
- I can help make a little music pattern with my instrument and share it with my friends.