Submitted by Connie Herbon, Iowa
Idea posted June 3, 2005
I used this with my second graders, who recently studied penguins. I originally thought I'd use it with my first graders, but it worked very well with second grade. One of the biggest pluses was that the students could take over reading their parts by the third time through, taking the story completely out of the teacher's hands!
There are no page numbers, so I've given the first couple words from each page as cues for following the activity. All sounds are added after the page of dialog, except as noted in directions.
Materials:Five Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice by Steve Metzger, illustrated by Laura Bryant, Scholastic Books
Bass Xylophone (BX); Alto Xylophone (AX); Soprano Xylophone (SX); Alto Glockenspiel (AG); two Soprano Glockenspiels (SG); a large drum (we used a 12" Tubano); five or more sets of jingle bells, wind or bar chimes, slap sticks, or wood blocks.
Objectives:
1. Compare/contrast "pitched" and "unpitched" percussion.
2. Add pitched and unpitched percussion colors to a book to enhance the story.
Process:
1. Share story and pictures with class.
2. Organize players in a large arch, with instruments/cue-sheets moving in story order around the arch.
3. Demonstrate and discuss each instrument, whether it is pitched or unpitched, and how it will be used in our story.
4. Teacher reads pages, and students add instrumental colors. (This takes about five minutes.)
5. Trade jobs and repeat as time allows.
6. Optional - Students take over reading the lines that go with their instrument.
Activity:
"Five little penguins..." BX ascending glissando
"One fell down..." Slap large drum on "ouch"
"The mother called..." Eight steady beats on jingle bells each time this comes back. We used two new players each time, moving around the arch.
"No more penguins..." All students read this together from a visual each time it occurs.
"Four little penguins..." AX ascending glissando
"One fell..." Wind chimes throughout line
"Three little penguins..." SX glissando - ascending, descending, ascending
"One flew..." SG ascending glissando on "up" and "play" and low tone on "down!"
"Two little penguins..." AG ascending following into a descending glissando (i.e., like the outline of a hill)
"One slipped off..." Slap stick or wood block
"One little penguin..." SG glissando
"Broke the ice..." Student(s) "cry"
"Now there's no..." Read by all students or selected readers from a visual.
"Let those penguins..." All shout or add a tune and sing.