High/low pitches

Everyday we are surrounded with music, voices and sounds.  In this grouptime the children learned about recognizing the pitch (high/low), loudness and quality of sound by listening to various instruments and excerpts of classical music.  At first we played the high and low game where children called out things that are high up in the sky and things that are low down to to ground.
We used hand gestures(pointed up for high and down for low) to show high and low.  Then we played each instrument and sorted them to what feels like a high or low pitch.  The children commented about how low pitch instruments sounded "scary" and made them want to stomp their feet and bang the table. On the other hand, they said high pitched instruments make them want to wiggle and shake their arms.

We dramatized the story of Goldilocks and the 3 bears using instruments to show represent each characters in the story.  The children chose the drums for the Big bear voice, the Jingle Bells for the Mama Bear's voice and the Triangle for the Baby Bear's voice.
The children enjoyed dramatizing the story but it was difficult for them to stay in character because they would rather play the instrument in front of their peers.
Sorting instruments: high or low





marching band






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