More Creepy Carrots

• Kate Hagen
• Posted 10/13/21
• 0 comments

Compose in La Hexatonic

Suggested Grades: K-2 

National Core Arts Standards

#1 – Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. 

Objectives

• Create rhythm chains using Rhythmic Building Bricks 
• Compose using La Hexatonic 

Materials

• Book: Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds 
• Optional: Creepy Vegetable Cards & PowerPoint 

Introduction

Carl Orff and his associate, Gunild Keetman, developed the Orff-Schulwerk approach to teaching music in Germany during the 1920s. It is an active music-making approach in which children learn musical behavior by creating, listening, analyzing, and performing through speech, singing, movement, body percussion, and instruments. The Orff approach teaches musical skills and concepts using a four-stage learning process: imitation, exploration, literacy, and improvisation. This lesson is an example of how to utilize all Orff process steps through many of the Orff media with older students.  

Overview

Students will compose in La hexatonic melody with creepy vegetables after reading the book Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds in this fall Orff composition improvisation lesson plan.

Suggested Teaching Process

Lesson One

• Teach the melody using echo imitation. 
• Read story singing the melody after every page beginning with p. 4 .

Lesson Two

• Review the melody. 
• Set up barred instruments in A – La Hexatonic (remove G bars – this isolates the 6 bars students need).
• Teach melody.
• Identify which phrases are identical – mm. 1 & 3.
• Identify which phrases are almost identical – mm. 2 & 4. 
• Teach – mm. 1 & 3.  
• Practice entire phrase – the students play mm. 1 & 3 and the teacher plays mm. 2 & 4. 
• Teach – mm. 2. 
• Practice entire phrase – the students play mm. 2  and the teacher plays mm. 1, 3 & 4. 
• Teach – mm. 4 
• Practice entire phrase – the students play mm. 2 & 4 and the teacher plays mm. 1 & 3. 
• Play entire melody. 

Lesson Three

• Review playing the melody. 
• Teach accompanying parts. 
• Reread the story, while students sing and play the melody after every page beginning with p. 4. 

Lesson Four

Keetman’s “Rhythmic Building Bricks” – Elementaria  

Gunild Keetman’s “Rhythmic Building Bricks” use the most basic rhythms. Each block contains of two beats using only quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter rest. Join these bricks together to make longer phrases. Forming longer phrases gives students and teachers the ability to form longer phrases for improvisation, body percussion, ostinato patterns, and composition. 

• Display Rhythmic Building Bricks. 
• Clap each building brick, students echo.  
• Identify the names and rhythms of the creepy vegetables. 
• Create 4 word pattern using Creepy Vegetables (Rhythmic Building Bricks) 

Optional

The creepy vegetable cards and PowerPoint for this lesson are available for purchase for $5.00.  Please consider helping me fund my Educlips Clipart addiction on Teacher Pay Teachers so that I can continue to provide quality graphics to accompany your teaching. 

Lesson Five: Improvising in La-Pentatonic

• At barred instruments, students perform their rhythms on A. 
• Students repeat playing their phrase any two notes of their choosing, beginning and ending on A. 
• Continue adding a note until students can improvise using all of the notes in the hexatonic scale. (beginning and ending on A) 
• Discuss the idea of what makes a melody sound best with students. 
• Use notes that repeat. 
• Choose notes that move by skip or step. 
• Perform as a Rondo, using Melody (2x) and Accompaniment for A section and student improvisations for contrasting sections 

Extension:

• Students create compositions using Elemental Forms 

Elemental music is pattern-based music built on natural speech and body rhythms, familiar melodic patterns,
and simple forms that can be learned, created, understood, and performed without extensive technical or theoretical musical training.

– Definition by Nick Wild 

Elemental Forms – Each letter is replaced with a creepy vegetable 

• AAAB 
• ABAB 
• ABBA 
• ABAC 

• Students add movement to their compositions 

At Home

Make your own Creepy Carrot Cake, the cover image @thesweetandsourbaker.

Additional Resources

Lesson Sketch: Creepy Carrots – Music ConstructED

Creepy Carrots Read by Aaron Reynolds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWdPJLvaKYU

Creepy Carrots – Scholastic Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbt2FDyLDKM

References

Keetman, G. (1974). Elementaria: First acquaintance with Orff-Schulwek (1175895883 881146786 M. Murray, Trans.). London, England: Schott Music Ltd. 

Reynolds, A., & Brown, P. (2014). Creepy carrots! Scholastic.  

Wild, N. (n.d.). Defining Elemental Music. Retrieved February 02, 2021, from http://www.neaosa.org/defining-elemental-music.html.

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