Art Form: Music

Supplies Needed

The Smallest Spot of a Dot book

Optional: Various sound makers (pots, pans, box, spoons, etc.)

Vocabulary

Dynamics - Loudness or softness of sounds

Rhythm - Short and long sounds

Steady beat - Consistent pulse; “heartbeat” of music

Tempo - Speed of the beat

Soundscape - Using sounds to represent actions, ideas, feelings, or objects in a story; telling a story through sound

Pitch - Highness or lowness of sound

Instructions

1. Read the book and look for words or pictures that make you think of sounds (for example, rain falling, splashing in puddles, eating, floating in space).

2. Use your voice, body or materials around you to create each sound (for example, snapping to illustrate a  gentle rain falling).

3. As you make your sounds, ask these questions:

• Will the sounds be high or low? (Pitch)
• Will the sounds be loud or soft? (Dynamics)
• Will the sounds be fast or slow? (Tempo)
• Will the sounds be long or short? (Rhythm)
• Will any sound have a steady beat?

4. Read the story again adding your sounds to make a soundscape.

5. Experiment with different sounds. How does changing the tempo, dynamics, and pitch change your sounds?

Extensions

Find materials around you to use as instruments (paper plates, empty paper towel rolls, pencils, empty cans, rice, beans, etc.).

Read the story for someone new. Don’t tell them what pictures or words you are illustrating are and have them guess!

Compare and contrast two sounds in the story. How are  they alike? How are they different?

Art Form: Music

Supplies Needed

The Smallest Spot of a Dot book

Vocabulary

Steady beat - Consistent pulse; “heartbeat” of music

Tempo - Speed of the beat

Ostinato - Repeated pattern

Stanza - Group of lines forming a unit, often ending with rhyming words

Rhythm - Long and short sounds

Instructions

1. Read the book, The Smallest Spot of a Dot, and talk about the main idea.

2. Notice the words on the first four pages are arranged differently than the rest of the book. After page four, the words and lines are arranged in groups(stanzas) with rhyming words at the end of each line.

3. Pat the steady beat using a moderate tempo (medium speed). Change to a patclap pattern. Keep repeating this steady beat pattern (ostinato).

4. Read each line of a stanza in a rhythm. Make each line last four beats. Sometimes, you’ll say several syllables in a single beat! Slow the tempo if needed.

5. Go back and read the whole book. The first four pages will be read regularly (not in a rhythm); after that, read the book rhythmically!

Extensions

Say the title of the book in four beats using a rhythm. When you decide on the rhythm, say the title twice.

Read the book saying the title twice (using your rhythm) after each page.

Art Form: Music

Supplies Needed

The Big Umbrella book

Vocabulary

Dynamics - Loudness or softness of sounds

Steady beat - Consistent pulse; “heartbeat” of music

Tempo - Speed of the beat

Pitch - The highness or lowness of sound

Character - A person in a story or play, or an animal or object that has human qualities

Instructions

1. Begin by reading the book, The Big Umbrella. Count how many people and animals are under the umbrella on each page.

2. Using a steady beat, make a sound, such as “beep”, for each person and animal under the umbrella on each page. For example, if there are four people and animals under the umbrella, say “beep beep beep beep”. Don’t forget the duck! Be ready--you have lots of steady beat sounds near the end!

3. On the last two pages of the book, experiment with making different steady beat sounds for each person and animal.

• For example, will the pitch for the ducklings be high or low?
• Will the tempo be fast or slow? With the dynamics be loud or soft?
• Will the sounds for the children on the see-saw be high or low?

4. Read the story again and add your steady beat sounds after each page.

Extensions

Use the last two pages to practice reading left to right. Choose a small section of pictures. Decide on sounds for each person and animal. Moving from left to right,
point to each person and animal and make their sound using a steady beat.

Compare and contrast two sounds on the last two pages. How are they alike? How are they different?

Art Form: Music

Supplies Needed

The Big Umbrella book

Various sound makers (pots,
pans, pencils, box, spoons,
etc.)

Vocabulary

Soundscape - Using sounds to represent
actions, ideas, feelings, or objects in a story;
telling a story through sound

Rhythm - Short and long sounds

Tempo - The speed of the beat

Pitch - The highness or lowness of sound

Steady beat - Consistent pulse; “heartbeat”
of music

Dynamics - Loudness or softness of
sounds

Instructions

1. After you read the book, The Big Umbrella, look for phrases or pictures on each page that make you think of sounds (for example, rain falling, door opening, leaves blowing).

2. Use your voice, body, and/or materials around you to create each sound (for example, pat legs quickly to illustrate rain falling). Ask yourself:

• Will the sounds be high or low? (Pitch--for example, climbing a ladder might have pitches going from low to high)
• Will the sounds be loud or soft? (Dynamics)
• Will the sounds be fast or slow? (Tempo)
• Will the sounds be long or short? (Rhythm)
• Will any sounds have a steady beat? Which ones?

3. Read the story again and add your sounds as you come across the phrases and illustrations. Experiment with different sounds. How does changing the tempo, dynamics, and pitch change your sounds?

Extensions

Find materials around you to use as instruments. (paper plates, empty paper towel rolls, pencils, empty cans filled with rice or beans, etc.)

Compare and contrast two sounds in the story. How are they alike? How are they different?