There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell | Free Music Lesson Plan (Intervals)

Big Idea

There Was an Old Lady Skipped... or did she step? Using the book 'There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell,' students play xylophone patterns to distinguish between step-wise and skipping motion in this fun, introductory free no-prep music lesson plan on intervals.

Grade Level: 2-5
Activity: Literature-Based Instrumental Accompaniment
Skill: Identifying Steps vs. Skips (Intervals)

Students will understand the difference between steps and skips in this introductory lesson on intervals.

This lesson is designed to fulfill the 2014 National Standard for Music:
Demonstrate and explain how the selection of expressive qualities (such as dynamics, tempo, and timbre) is made to support a specific purpose or context. (Responding - MU:Re7.2)

Xylophones
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell by Lucille Colandro

Music Lesson Plan

Step 1
Tell the students, "Today we'll be reading a story together, and then adding some instruments to make the story even more fun."

Step 2
Tell the students, "I'm going to read There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell. As I read the story to you, listen closely for the part that repeats."

Step 3
After the story, ask the kids to identify the repeating part ("She didn't tell"). Tell them, "Many of you will get a chance to play a xylophone along with this part when we read it again!"

Step 4
Show the students the 4-note pattern on the whiteboard. Name the notes together: C-D-E-F. Explain that these notes move up by step. Demonstrate this on the xylophone, then play a few improvised patterns with skips so they can hear the difference.

Xylophone:

C-D-E-F

Step 5
Tell students, "Before we start playing, everyone needs to get into a circle."

Step 6
Distribute the xylophones evenly around the circle. For example, if you have 24 students and six xylophones, place one in front of every fourth person.

Step 7
Tell students, "If you have a xylophone, play the four-note ascending pattern while the rest of us sing." Sing the note names as they play. Once they’re confident, have the class say the words, "She didn't tell." After two tries, ask students to pass their xylophone to the right.

Step 8
Read the book again. Ask students to play the pattern at the right time and pass the instrument after each turn. Occasionally play a "mystery" pattern (step-wise or skipping) and ask the class to identify which one it was.

Any version of this book works! You can adapt this for the traditional There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, or seasonal versions like Swallowed a Pie (Thanksgiving), Swallowed Some Snow (Winter), or Swallowed a Bell (Christmas).