Instrument Lesson Plan

Title: “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly”

Grade Level: 2nd or 3rd
Source: Dr. McConkey

Materials needed:

Glockenspiel
finger cymbals
Vibraslap
Hand drums
Triangle
Wood block
The book “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly”

Procedure:

A.S “who can tell me what it means to add?”

1. Introduce the book “There was an old lady”

2. Have students sing the part “perhaps she’ll die” when it appears throughout
the book
3. Read through the story and have the students sing their parts when needed
4. Before finishing the whole story, explain the usage of instruments and how
they will be used for the story
5. Pass out instruments to different groups of students
6. Connect the instruments with the different animals and phrases within the
story
a. Example: “perhaps she’ll die” is played by the xylophones
7. Explain that when they hear their assigned animal or phrase, they must do
the corresponding sound within the story using their assigned instrument
8. Go through the story along, include all the instruments when it’s their turn
9. Once finished, prompt students to add how many instruments they have in
order to work on their math skills
Closure: “how many drums did we have? How many finger cymbals did we have?
How many does that make?”
Educational Objective: By the end of this lesson, students will have learned . . .
 A little bit more about instruments and the different types there are and their distinct sounds and
how they can be used to add sound effects to a story.

Social/ Cognitive Physical Musical Non-Musica

l Subjects
Emotional
Listening to Listening for National Standards “Core” Music Content
Standards
the story their part 1. Singing Creating Standards
during the Imagine
2. Play Instruments MU: Cr1.1 Ka
Playing story MU: Cr1.1.2a
their 3. Improvising
instrument Using Plan and Make
4. Composing
with a addition to Evaluate &
group count how 5. Reading & Notating Refine
many MU: Cr3.1.1a
6. Listening
instruments Present
there are 7. Evaluating
Performing
8. Integration Select
(outside arts)
Analyze
9. History/Culture
Interpret

Rehearse,
Evaluate, &
Refine

Present

Responding
Select

Analyze

Interpret

Evaluate

Connecting
Connect #10

Connect #11