Karen Farley

October 21 1996

Lesson # I

Song: If All of the Raindrops

Musical Element: Dynamics (fortissimo and pianissimo)

Grade: 1st

Concept:

The students will experience a
change in dynamics that will also be visually represented by the


children’s changing stance when singing fortissimo
and pianissimo.

Objectives:

– – The students will sing "If All
of the Raindrops…"

– – The students will demonstrate understanding
of dynamics by singing part of the


song loudly and repeating the song and singing that
same part softly.

– – The students


will use their arms when singing loudly and crouch
down when singing softly.

Materials needed:



Instrument
to give starting pitch.

Preliminary procedures:



The
teacher will discuss with students how music can be played loudly
and softly and that students can sing loudly and softly.

Procedures:

1. Teach "If All of the Raindrops…"
using the rote method. The teacher can take suggestions from students
about


different foods that could make up the raindrops
and sing additional verses.

2. The teacher explains that singers use their voices
to make certain parts of the song louder. The teacher continues
by explaining that during the "uh uh uh uh" portion
of the song students will sing it louder and use their arms to
express how that part of the song is louder.

3.The teacher explains that singers can also use
their voices to make certain parts of the song softer. This time


during the "uh uh uh uh" portion of the
song students will sing softly and crouch down to demonstrate
how that


part of the song is softer.

Evaluation:

The teacher will lead the students in singing the
song 3 more times – – once using normal voices, the second
time using fortissimo voices, and the third time using pianissimo
voices. The teacher can listen for the changes in dynamics and
watch if the children change positions as the dynamics change.
If the students seem to have a fairly good understanding of the
process, the teacher can use suggestions from the students about
different foods that could make the raindrops.

Follow – up:

The teacher will review what was experienced and
discussed about dynamics and fortissimo and pianissimo.

If All the Raindrops…