Sandra Hartigan
EDTE 229B section; 09
Grade level; K- 2nd
Time Frame: center time=30 minutes , lesson time=1 hour.

Peter and the Wolf: Instrument Listening Game

(Students have had previous lessons covering the classification of wind, string and percussion instruments).

Topic: A music lesson featuring a book and cassette of Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev which introduces the sounds of a symphony orchestra.

Rationale: Listening to this piece of music will foster the students ability to recognize individual instruments and the sounds they create. The art of music inspires the students to become sensitive listeners able to make aesthetic judgements and appreciate the essential nature of music. (Visual and Performing Arts Framework, 1996, p. 53.)

Artistic Perception
: The students will be able to match the instruments to the characters they represent. Students will also identify the instruments by name from listening to their sound.

Strategy: Direct instruction and guided discovery.

Vocabulary: orchestra , flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn and drums.
Orchestra---a group of performers on various musical instruments, including strings, winds, and percussion, who play together.

Violin---a stringed instrument played with a bow.

Flute---a wind instrument consisting of a tube with a series of finger holes.

Oboe---a wind instrument having a slender tubular body.

Clarinet---a wind instrument in the form of a tube.

Bassoon---a large wind instrument of low range, with a tube and a metal crook attached.

French horn---a wind instrument with a coiled tube.

Drums---a musical percussion instrument consisting of a hollow body covered at one or both ends.

: During center time I will set up one table with different kinds of children’s instruments for free exploration. To start this lesson I will pose the following questions; What did I put on the table for you to play with at center time? How are they different from each other? After a general debriefing of the instruments, I will focus the discussion on the sounds the instruments make. I will then have them close their eyes and guess which one of the instruments I have played. Holding up the Peter and the Wolf book, I will explain to the students the listening game we will play, using the book, it’s cassette and the cards of the characters with the symphony instruments they represent. Using an enlarged poster of each of the cards for visuals, an introduction of each symphony instrument and expectations for using the cards will be given. I will then hand out the cards. The students will practice the game in groups while I play the first part of the cassette and book. I will then rewind the tape and play it in it’s entirety.

Pupil Activity Sequence;

1. Each student will be given a card picturing one character and the instrument it represents. There will be 7 card groups.

2. Students will stand up in group with their card anytime they hear the instrument on their card (teacher may have to prompt at first)

3. Students will repeat the name of the instrument on their card when first standing ( teacher may have to prompt at first).

Closure: Once the story is completed I will pose the following questions for the class to reflect on.
• How did you decide which sound was your instrument and character?
• Could you hear the other instruments sounds that were not on your card?

Clean up: Collect the cards by selecting one child in each group to collect and return the cards to the teacher.

Evaluation: Students will listen to a tape of sounds and guess the instrument and character it represents. I will play the tape and pause after each sound for the answer to be made orally by full class response. On a large sheet of paper which has a chart showing sounds 1-7 and lists all 7 instruments I will record how many students guess each instrument for each sound played.

Sound #





French horn







After all sounds have been played we will review them and I will give the correct answers. The class will discuss how well we guessed the sounds.


• Instruments from the string, wind and percussion classification

• Peter and The Wolf retold by Loriot with pictures by Jorg Muller.(other versions could be improvised)

• Cards made by photocopying page 1 and 2 of the book.

• Enlarged posters of cards for the teacher to use on display.

• Tape of introduction of characters without the vocals for the quiz.

• Tape player.

A large graphed chart listing 1-7 for the sounds to guess on and on each line a square for each instrument the student could guess.


• Groups or individual students could act out the parts with the book and cassette.

• Full exploration and making of different kinds of instruments could follow.

• Introduction of other "wolf" stories. Example; Red Riding Hood or Three Little Pigs.

• Science: What is the difference in the true nature of the wolf and the folk lore version?

• Rewrite the story from a different animal’s point of view.