Mortimer | Free Music Lesson Plan (Solfege) - MakingMusicFun.net

Big Idea

Clang, Clang, Rattle, Bing, Bang! In this free no-prep elementary music lesson plan students accompany Mortimer (Mortimer by Robert Munsch) by singing the solfège scale as Mortimer goes up and down the stairs, and by loudly banging on pots, pans, and percussion instruments!

Grade Level: 1-3
Activity: Literature-Based Musical Play
Skill: Intro to Solfège (Ascending/Descending Scales)

Students will be introduced to solfège, singing the scale forward and backward, and understanding that each scale note has its own unique syllable.

This lesson is designed to fulfill the 2014 National Standard for Music:
Read and identify rhythmic patterns and melodic notes using iconic or standard notation. (Creating - MU:Cr2.1)

Mortimer by Robert Munsch (Book)
2-3 Orff Xylophones
Pots, Pans, and Non-Pitched Percussion Instruments

Music Lesson Plan

Step 1
Read Mortimer to your music students.

Step 2
Tell the students, "Today we're learning about solfège. Solfège is a sight-singing method that helps singers learn new music. It uses seven syllables: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, and Ti — one syllable for each note of the scale."

Step 3
Draw a set of ascending steps on the whiteboard. Above each step, write the syllables: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do.

Step 4
Explain that we start and end on "Do" because musical scales always start and end on the same note.

Step 5
Underneath your steps, write the corresponding alphabet letters: C (Do), D (Re), E (Mi), F (Fa), G (Sol), A (La), B (Ti), C (Do).

Step 6
Sing the scale up and down for the class, then ask everyone to sing it with you.

Step 7
Select 2 or 3 students to play the scale on the xylophones.

Step 8
Practice the scale again, going up and down, while the students on the xylophones play along.

Step 9
Ask the entire class to sing the syllables while the xylophones lead the way.

Step 10
Tell the students, "In our story, every time someone goes upstairs to tell Mortimer to 'Be Quiet!' or walks back down, we are going to sing and play those scale steps." Pick one moment from the book and practice it together.

Step 11
Teach the students Mortimer's song:

Mortimer's Song Sheet Music

CLANG, CLANG, RATTLE, BING, BANG,
GONNA MAKE MY NOISE ALL DAY.
CLANG, CLANG, RATTLE, BING, BANG,
GONNA MAKE MY NOISE ALL DAY.

Step 12
Pass out the pots, pans, and percussion. Every student should have an instrument ready to play.

Step 13
Tell the class, "When we sing along with the story, we’re going to add clanging and banging with our instruments!"

Step 14
Read the story again from the beginning. This time, everyone sings Mortimer's song, adds the "clanging", and sings the solfège scale as characters move up and down the stairs.

Step 15
Switch the xylophone players and read the story one more time so more students get a turn on the pitched instruments!

Perform the enhanced version of "Mortimer" for the homeroom teacher when they return.