First Grade Barred Instrument Lesson: Exploring Sound with Frog and Toad

Objective

Students will explore sound using barred instruments while practicing good mallet technique, focusing on allowing the mallet to bounce off the bar.

Materials

    • Barred instruments (xylophones, glockenspiels. I wouldn’t use metallophones)
    • Mallets
    • A copy of a Frog and Toad story

Lesson Outline

1. Introduction/Story Time

    • Quick chat on the importance of proper mallet grip.
    • Introduce or reiterate the mallet cues: “Pinch and Wrap” or “Gentle fists, bike handles come down.” Do it with invisible mallets, then with holding the mallets AWAY from instruments, then at the instruments.
    • Pick and read a story from the Frog and Toad series.
    • Discuss the characters and how they move, emphasizing bouncing or hopping motions.
    • Highlight certain words or phrases that you can play during the story (“…and the kite went high in the sky…”)

2. Demonstration

    • Practice and model the correct mallet grip using the chosen word cue
    • Show how to allow the mallet to bounce off the bar, mimicking the hopping of Frog and Toad.
    • Explore high and low (“way up high_______, way down low_____, up the ladder (single bars are played), now down you go!” glissando down)

3. Guided Practice

    • Have students pick up their mallets and practice the grip using only visual gestures.
    • Guide students in bouncing the mallet off the bar, creating a resonant sound.
    • Use phrases like “Frog hops” and “Toad hops” to make it engaging.
    • Add fast/slow; soft/loud; high/low; and then combine! i..e. slow & soft (my favorite, LOL!)

4. Story Integration Activity

    • As you read or recount parts of the Frog and Toad story, instruct students to create sounds on their instruments that match the actions of Frog and Toad.
    • Encourage students to experiment with different bars to explore various sounds while maintaining good mallet technique.

Extension Activity

    • Have students create their own short story about Frog and Toad, incorporating different movements that they can represent with the barred instruments.
    • Allow students to share their stories and sounds with the class.