JMUke @ Explore More Discovery Museum

Description of Location 

Explore More Discovery Museum is a Museum in downtown Harrisonburg where children can roam
around and play with educationally stimulating toys and do stimulating activities. JMUke will be set
up in the museum where children can come and learn how to play songs on the ukulele. There will be
slides put up with the chords for the songs over the lyrics. Of course, the children will learn the
chords first.

Rationale 

Why does this Experience Matter?:

● Adaptable music making opportunity at no cost to participant
● Connects with the demographic and promotes community through social musiking
● Allows children to experience inclusive music making in a group setting

I Can Statements (learning goals) 

● I can read chord charts for the ukulele, with colors (VA 2.1)
● I can sing a repertoire of songs with others, with melodies moving upwards, downwards and staying
the same. (VA 2.2)
● I can demonstrate my knowledge of rhythmic patterns including half notes and whole notes, through
my strumming on the ukulele. (VA 2.4)
● I can follow dynamic and tempo changes by playing along with the experience leaders successfully.
(VA 2.10)
● I can sing with a clear, and free tone, using accurate intonation (VASOL- CB.2)

Materials 

● Ukuleles
● Projector screen
● Laptop with powerpoint
● Chairs
● Handouts
● Some type of percussive instrument
● Sound equipment

Detailed Process 

Time Required
10 min 1) First get in to groups with one JMU person designated to teaching uke chords.
(JMU people can switch off and roam around room)
3 mins 2) Teach how to play basic one finger chords first (like C or Am)

5 mins 3) After proficiency of the one finger chords has been achieved, add chords that are
featured in the songs, such as D, G, and Em. For simplicity for the kids, we can call
these chords by their color names rather than by the real chord names to avoid
confusion.
N/A 4) Begin looking at songs! Depending on participation, this can be done a few different
ways. If there are only a few kids at a time, we can take requests, but if there is a
large group, it might be most efficient/fair to just roll through the slides in order.

3-5 min./song 5) Play the song! Don’t stop unless it absolutely falls apart and there is basically
nothing that can be done. This will allow participants to understand how the song
fits together

3-5 min/ song 6) Play the song again to allow participants an opportunity to improve from first run
and possibly add more singing and playing than from the first run..

7) Repeat 4-6 as time allows!

Assessments 

✔ Standards to assess:

The participant read chord charts for the ukulele, with colors (VA 2.1)

The participant sang a repertoire of songs with others, with melodies moving upwards,
downwards and staying the same. (VA 2.2)

The participant demonstrated knowledge of rhythmic patterns including half notes and whole
notes, through strumming on the ukulele. (VA 2.4)

The participant followed dynamic and tempo changes by playing along with the experienced
leaders successfully.

Extensions: 

● Students can experiment to find a song that uses the same chord progression.
● Students can create lyrics to their own song using a particular chord progression.

Adaptations 

Size If children are coming in and out of the space, the JMUke teachers will have to adapt to the
amount of people in the room who want to learn how to play the ukulele.

Color ● The ukuleles have different colored strings, giving leader the opportunity to refer to
each string by its color
● The chords on the slide are organized by color, so students know what chord to
play depending on what color the word is in the lyrics
Pacing Similar to size, if people are coming in and out at different times, JMUke teachers will have
to adjust to the amount of people joining groups and the energy they bring to the groups,
as well as adjusting timing for when to transition.

Modality Participants can use a hammer or noter such as the one used on dulcimers to strum.