MusEd 351 Lesson Plan General Music Lesson focus on Listening Liz Miller

Dr. Inks
Listening Selection Title/Composer/Resource: Carnival of the Animals XIII. The
Swan, Camille Saint-Saens
Target Grade level: Late elementary (5th)
Primary musical concept to be addressed: Melodic Direction
Secondary musical concepts addressed: Form/Phrases
National Standards content and achievement
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
Identifying melodic direction and phrases
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the
arts
Describing a swans movements, and how it moves in the water
Materials needed for the lesson: Recording, Paper, Cardstock, Water cups, Water,
Water Color paint, brushes
3-4 behavioral objectives addressed in the lesson, relevant to the concept:
1. After discussion, the students will describe melodic direction of a phrase to teacher
satisfaction.
2. Students will sketch melodic direction after teacher demonstration, with reasonable
accuracy.
3. After sketching, students will identify similar and different phrases correctly.
4. To show understanding, students will move in the direction of the melody to an
acceptable standard.
Assessment strategies used during the lesson: observe students sketching,
movement to show melodic direction
Detailed Procedure:
Prepare the listeners- Opening Set Ask students about their previous knowledge of swans
o Show video on Swans, discuss movements and characteristics of the animal
(slowly, gracefully, smooth)
Okay Boys and Girls, now were going to listen to a piece called The Swan
o This is from a big collection of pieces called Carnival of the Animals by
Camille Saint-Saens
o Based on how we know swans move, were going to listen to the first two
phrases, and I want you to tell me if you the music reflects the words we
used to describe a swans movements
Listen to the music First phrase (0-18 sec.), Second phrase (18-30 sec.)

o Okay boys and girls, can anyone describe what we just heard? Can we use
any of those same words that describe a swans movement to describe our
music?
Now were going to listen to just the first phrase, and were going to focus on the
musics melodic direction: weve talked about this before so lets review what we
know
o What are the directions that a melody can move?
Up, Down, Stay the same
o How does the melody move?
Step, Skip, Stay the same
Listen to first phrase
o Describe what we hear
Listen to second phrase
o Compare: same, different
Activate the learning.
Pass out water cups. Brushes, water color, and paper will already be at desks
Okay boys and girls, now that weve described and compared our first two phrases
we are going to listen to them again and this time we will sketch what we hear with
our paint.
o To paint with watercolors, we will take our brushes and dip them in the water.
Then we will swirl the brush in the paint to get it in the water.
Can anyone guess why were using watercolors to paint with?
o Ive divided the paper into sections, so were just going to listen to the first
phrase, and paint the direction of the melody in that space.
Activate
Now were going to listen to the second phrase and sketch its melodic direction.
How did we say this was different from the first phrase?
Question- How did we know it was different? How does our picture look different?
Listen/Activate/Question
Lets go on to the third (31-44 sec.) and fourth (45- 55 sec.) phrases! Were going to
listen to them together, and I want you to tell me if they sound familiar to the first
and second, or if theyre different, in terms of their direction
Since they are the same, lets go ahead and sketch these two phrases.
Listen/Activate
Now were going on to a new phrase (56- 1:11). I want us to listen to this phrase,
but dont sketch anything yet! This phrase has a different melodic direction.
Question- What did we hear? Did the melody go up/down/stay the same? How so?
Now lets sketch this phrase.
Listen/Activate
We have one more phrase to listen to (1:11- 1:23). Im going to play it, and tell me
if it sounds like any of the phrases weve sketched, including the last one.
Sketch final phrase- same as previous
Listen/Activate
Boys and girls, now were going to show our understanding of melodic direction by
standing up and moving in ways that reflect what we sketched.
Now would someone like to volunteer their sketches for the class to look at while
we move?
o Put sketch up on overhead

Were just going to move our upper bodies, so that includes arms, chest and head
o We want to move like a swan would, so how do you think well want to move?
Use descriptors from preparation
Everyone come up with a movement for each phrase, but if the phrases are the
same use the same movement.
Now were going to have our final listen all the way through.
o Follow the sketches and move with the music like a swan! Remember to
show the different directions that you chose!

Evaluate/Extend: Today we talked about and showed our understanding of melodic

direction. In what directions can a melody move? How? How many different phrases did
we listen to? How many of them we the same, and how many were different?
Reflect on activity and preparation.
o Why did we use the watercolors to paint with?
o Did our descriptions of a swans movement always apply to the music, or did
it ever change?