Experience Design: Orff

Designers:​​ Katy Morgan

Summary/Overview​​: This is a lesson plan for students to experience orff teaching and
various styles of orff instruments. This activity will provide students with multiple ways of
learning including aural learning, music notation reading and movement.

Standards:
● 4.3.1 The student will play a variety of pitched and unpitched instruments alone
and with others, including playing music of increasing difficulty in two-part
ensembles.
● 5.1 The students will read and notate music using a system to sight read
melodies based on the diatonic scale.

I Can Statements:
● I can identify and play pitched and unpitched instruments
● I can respond to music with movement.
● I can read melodies based on a hexatonic scale.
● I can identify and sing the solfege syllable ti.
Materials and Visual Aids​​: (class size of 15)
● I saw three ships score
● Alto Xylophone (5)
● Bass Xylophone (6)
● Shakers (preferably sleigh bells) (4)
● Electric Piano (1)

Detailed process​​:
1. Instruments are set up with each instrument is in it’s own section around a circle
2. Sing the song 2-3 times accompanied by the Electric Piano
3. Stop and discuss the song. Was there anything new sounding? (We are hoping
they will identify ti)
4. Sing the song again and have them raise their hand when ti is sung.
5. Now have all the students join in singing. (Sing the song twice).
 a. During the second time singing the song indicate to them to tap the beat
(dotted quarter)
6. Stop singing and pull up the score (just the vocals) on the board.
a. Discuss and have them figure out what beat they were tapping.
7. Now have them chant the melody line in rhythm.
8. Once they have chanted the melody rhythm have them chant the shaker rhythm
on the score. (Watch out for the straight eighth notes!)
9. Now that they have chanted each of the different rhythms let the students pick
their instruments.
10. Once students are at their instruments, pass out mallets and ask them to keep
them on their head like bumble bees until you have returned to your seat.
11. Have individual instrument scores at each instrument, for xylophones take out
the keys that the students aren’t using to help simplify reading.
12. Begin by introducing having one instrument (preferably the bass xylophone) start
by themselves and play the score all the way through without singing.
a. After each time going through the song add each instrument
i. Next the alto xylophone
ii. Then the shakers
iii. The electric keyboard
iv. Lastly add the vocals in
13. Once you have played the song twice with all the instruments in, have students
rotate through all of the instruments so that way they get a turn to play
everything!
Assessment:
One way to assess each student is to bring up one of each instrument to the front
of the classroom to have a performance! Every student gets to pick an instrument and
they go up and play the song in groups of five with the entire class singing. This way
you can see if they are playing the correct notes, rhythms and pitches on the
instruments, and maintaining the entire classes involvement.

Adaptations:
One way we can adapt the activity is by color coding the instruments. For the
xylophones you can have the music print in color and have each note be a different
color and then put colored dots on each of the keys of the xylophone that coordinate
with the score. One way to wind it forward is to have another group of xylophones and
have them play the melody. This would challenge the students because it involves sight
reading more pitches, and having to be well coordinated.