Twinkle Twinkle

Grade:  K-1st
Duration: 30 min        
Repertoire: Twinkle Twinkle
Materials: Kira Boshi youtube clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIxxw06YhlE), Mozart variations youtube clip, floor piano (or a way for students as a class to dictate the first phrase of Twinkle Twinkle), large solfege note heads, projector to show notation of Twinkle on whiteboard, computer

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Procedure
Prepare:
  1. As students walk in, sing solfege scale (preparing for solfege practice)
  2. Sing Twinkle Twinkle- include solfege hand motions
  3. Repeat to enforce hand motions
  4. Ask how our movements matched our voices
  5. Teach first phrase in solfege. Repeat until they can do it by themselves)
Present:
  1. Move over to floor piano- dictate first phrase of Twinkle
    1. Give students the first note- Do
    2. What comes next in the song? (another Do)
    3. What comes next? (Sol) How do we know where “sol” is going to go?
    4. Have students point to the lines and spaces of the staff as they sing up from Do to Sol. Ask students where Sol should go.
    5. Continue until students have notated the first phrase of the song.
  2. Turn on the projector. On the projector should be the same phrase of Twinkle that the students dictated on the floor.
  3. Compare to floor piano (they are the same!)
  4. Sing song looking at whiteboard
  5. Discuss  rhythm of song
  6. What happens if we change the rhythm?
  7. Write a new rhythm on the board, have them chant the new rhythm
  8. Substitute the two quarters on each solfege with the new rhythm. Have students sing the whole song with this new rhythm.
  9. Play Mozart’s variations.
    1. Follow notation as first variation is playing
    2. Discuss instrumentation (just piano)
    3. Pretend to play piano during next variation- what was different?
    4. Have students stand up for the next variation. Demonstrate motions for them to follow, or have them come up with their own motions.
  10. Have students sit back down and recap how the music changed throughout the song.
    1. First time was just the theme, as they normally sing
    2. Second variation had more notes, sounded faster
    3. Third variation was louder, sounded like a march
Practice/Extend:
  1. We can change the language too!
  2. Play video of Japanese Twinkle
  3. Repeat after me phrases in Japanese (with lyrics on whiteboard)
    1. Kira kira
    2. Hikaru
    3. Osora no
    4. Hoshi yo
  4. Sing song in Japanese
  5. Sing song with video


If you would like to see an example video of me teaching this lesson, please contact me!
Contact me:
ouellete@salineschools.org
(734)-429-8000 ext. 4838