about adjectives through using them to describe both objects and
music.
Objectives: The student will:
1. write down adjectives to describe objects in a
bag.
2. report to the class the adjectives they used.
3. write down adjectives that describe the music
they listen to.
4. share their adjectives with the class.
Materials Needed:
5 paper bags
5 different objects to place in each bag (potato,
granola bar, fabric softner, apple, bagel)
various samples of recorded music (Classic Disney
Volume I )
Procedure:
Introduction: The teacher asks the students what
an adjective is. (a word that describes) The teacher then talks
with the class about the work they have done with adjectives the
past few days. They have been identifying adjectives in sentences.
Explain that today they are going to do a fun activity using adjectives.
Development: Five mystery bags will be distributed
around the room. Each student is asked to place one hand in the
bag and feel the object. They can touch the object, shake the
bag, etc., but they can not look at the object. The student should
then write down as many adjectives as they can to describe the
unknown object. After each child has written adjectives for all
five bags, the adjectives will be shared with the class. The teacher
will ask the students if they can name the object. The teacher
will then display each object to the class. We will then talk
about the fact that adjectives can help us figure out what objects
are. Next, the teacher will play a sample of music (Zip – A – Dee – Doo – Dah)
and the students will write down adjectives that describe the
music (elements of the music, how it makes them feel, what it
makes them think of). The students will then share their adjectives
with the class.
Closure: The teacher will discuss that adjectives
can be used to describe many objects and can also be used to describe
music. Even though we can’t actually see the objects or the music,
we came up with many descriptive words to help others understand
what are senses are telling us about the objects and music. The
song Zip – A – Dee – Doo – Dah uses many different
adjectives in the song that can help students better grasp this
concept.
Evaluation: The students will hand in the papers
on which they recorded adjectives. If the students’ words were
indeed adjectives, then they will receive full credit for this
assignment.
Follow – Up: The students can pair up and use
adjectives to describe an object to their partner. The student
describing will have an object to describe while their partner
sits quietly with their eyes shut. The student describes the object
using detailed adjectives so that the partner can guess the object.
The same can be done with music. One student describes a popular
piece of music while the other tries to guess the music by listening
to the adjectives.
Musical Element: The song Zip – A – Dee – Doo – Dah
can be taught using the repeated melody and form that it has throughout
the song. Children between the ages of kindergarten and second
grade would all know this song and they would understand form
and repeated patterns more easily when working with a familiar
song.
