Vocal Technique- 3

rd
Grade Music Lesson Representation- already fit, modified to fit
Lakeview Elementary School- Miss Strazzinski Expression- already fit, modified to fit
National Standards for Music Education: Engagement- already fit, modified to fit
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
8. Evaluating music and music performances.

Day 1- 45 Minutes
Daily Opening Activities (10-15 minutes)
Warm Up Song (sing through together): Its a Small World (Music Express Aug/Sep 2012)
Performer of the Week performs for the class. Choose a new performer for next week.
Calypso Birthday Song- sing for students with birthdays this week.

Vocal Technique Introduction
Teacher explains that students will be learning to use their voices as instruments in order to perform
their best in our programs, sing their best in music class, and know how to use their voices for auditions
for Lakeview Chorus, plays, and talent shows.
Teacher uses a PowerPoint presentation to lead students through the following activities:
Discuss the definitions of vocal, technique, and vocal technique.
The human voice as an instrument: (7 minutes)
o Show diagram from http://old.bpsd.org/ims/Tech_Ed/8th%20Grade/Webpages_10-
11/4th9weeks/PD8/guardinokoch.tunde/instruments.htm; explain vocal anatomy
o Watch 3 videos.
Pitch Vocal Cords video from Quaver TV at www.quavermusic.com
Vocals video from Quaver TV at www.quavermusic.com
http://youtu.be/o1abZZxePE8 about Adeles throat problem requiring surgery
o Ask students to think about the names of 3 important parts of the vocal instrument. Call
on 3 students for answers; write their answers in a prominent location in the classroom.
Stretching- Students stand and mirror the teacher. Teacher models a full-body yawn,
lengthening exercises, and facial stretches. (3 minutes)
Breathing- Teacher models the following exercises and students repeat: silent full-body yawn,
breathing lying down, and breathing in through a straw with arms crossed at shoulders and
exhaling in a variety of ways (ha, no, slowly) (10 minutes)
Vocal Warm-Ups- Teacher leads the students through warm-ups with good posture: (5 minutes)
o Echo patterns on the slide whistle
o 1-3-5-3-1 on ho, hand on belly to check breathing. Encourage projection.
o 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 on la, focusing on mouth opening vertically
Ask students to think about some of the big ideas when singing correctly. Call on 3-5 students
for answers; write them in the same place as the key vocal instrument ideas.
Volunteer Solos- Teacher asks for volunteers to stand in front of the class and sing warm-up #2
or #3 alone. Volunteers will be observed for posture, breathing, projection, and mouth
formation. Teacher will give positive feedback and constructive criticism to volunteers .


Day 2- 45 Minutes
Daily Opening Activities (10-15 minutes)- Same as Day 1

Vocal Technique Review (8 minutes)
Ask students what they remember about vocal technique. Give all students time to think of an answer,
then let 3 students each share 1 answer. Show 3 videos; while watching, students will write down their
1
st
observation about the singers vocal technique and then rate the singer on a scale of 1-5.
http://youtu.be/-6hodmW0ttk (8 year old singing I Turn to You)
http://youtu.be/YnrUEwxq7WU (Little boy singing blues)
http://youtu.be/CwFWWCRvftw (9-year old singing I Could Have Danced All Night)
Mock Lakeview Chorus Auditions
Discuss goals:
Discuss ideas of long-term goals (ex: being able to sing well enough to have a lead in a musical in
high school). Have students close their eyes and think of one long-term goal.
Short-term- With their eyes closed & current skills in mind, ask students to hold up the number
of fingers corresponding to their goal score on the mock audition. (Scale of 1-5)
Brainstorm as a class strategies to reach their goals.
Teacher leads warm-up: lengthening stretch, breath exercise, vocal warm-ups from Day 1. (5 minutes)
Teacher will call four students at a time to the piano in the back of the room to audition. (15 minutes)
Each student will sing warm-ups #2 and #3 starting on Eb.
Students in the small group must listen to each other and be prepared to give each other
positive, specific feedback later in the lesson. (Ex: She stood up straight.)
Teacher will make note of a score for each student1 point each for projection, breath control,
posture, pitch matching, and mouth formation.
Meanwhile, other students expand on their responses to the videos and write one positive
specific remark about each of their group members auditions.


Day 3- 45 Minutes
Daily Opening Activities (10-15 minutes)- Same as Day 1

Vocal Technique Wrap-Up (30 minutes)
Praise the class for their participation. Guide how to handle scores constructively:
o If met goal- reflect on how they could continue to do well and how they could improve.
o If didnt meet goal- think of what went well and what needs to be done to meet the goal
next time.
Return students graded observation sheets from last weeks lesson with comments about their
auditions.
Discuss students observations about the singers in the videos.
Web of Kindness: Class stands in a circle. A ball of yarn is passed around/across the circle;
whoever passes the yarn says one positive specific comment about the singing of the person to
whom they are passing the yarn. Every student holds on to a piece of the yarn as it is passed so
that the end result is a web with everyone holding on to a piece of the yarn.