The Firebird Suite Lesson Plan 4th Grade

Objective: Students will observe Stravinskys use of tone color in the Firebird suite through the reading of Firebird Jane Yolen and viewing part 4 of Firebird the ballet on YouTube. Students will then take turns making their own tone color decisions to accompany a poem with unpitched instruments and create a sound carpet to prelude and postlude the poem.

Materials: The Firebird Jane Yolen Internet access: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVuc19PbeQU&feature=related Someone - Walter de la Mare Wide selection of unpitched percussion instruments Extra: Fantasia 2000 Firbird Suite / scene no. 16 Process: Firebird 1) Briefly introduce Stravinsky and the idea of using sound to tell stories and create feelings in an audience. Introduce vocabulary word affect by its musical definition The feelings or emotions experienced by an audience through a piece of music. 2) Read Jane Yolens The Firebird 3) Play part four of the Firebird ballet from You Tube and remind students to listen for the sounds and effects Stravinsky used to tell the story. Also have students watch for how the dancers used mime, gestures, and facial expressions to tell this story without words. 4) Discuss: Whisper to your partner one word that described the affect/emotion you felt during the clip. Someone 1) Explain that today the students will get a chance to use instrumentation to create their own sound stories and evoke different feelings. 2) Read Walter de la Mare (de la mer) poem Someone 3) Ask students to identify the three creatures who made sounds in the poem.

4) As a class, determine which percussion instruments would provide the best affect for each creature. (i.e. three creatures, 4-5 choices of rhythm sticks, egg shakers, tambourines, clave/woodblock, etc) 5) Teach three rhythmic ostinoti patterns, one for each creature: Busy Beetle = four sixteenth notes, Screech-Owl = quarter two eighths, Cricket whistle shhh = four sixteenth notes rest. 6) Assign instruments to students in three groups. 7) Read poem again and have students perform on their line. 8) Have students create a prelude and postlude to the poem by creating a sound carpet using their percussion instruments bringing in one group at a time. Add vocal owl hoos. Stop sound carpet and perform poem. Finish with sound carpet. Extra: Begin Fantasia Firebird Suite and introduce as a second interpretation of Stravinskys Firebird story.