Purpose:
This lesson, completed in two thirty minute sessions, explores various Native American musical instruments. Through the lesson, students will discuss the geographical factors leading to the creation of the instruments, listen to recordings of Native American music (both traditional and modern), discuss similarities and/or differences between traditional and modern Native American music, create their own instrument, and play their instrument along with the recording.

Note: This lesson is designed to be used in conjunction with the fifth grade study of American History (primarily the study of the Native American Indian's effect on America). As a music specialist, I have created this lesson to encompass geographical aspects, as well as musical aspects, focusing more on the musical aspects of the lesson.

Objectives:
By the end of this lesson, students will:

1. Listen (Active listening skills) and react to recordings of Native American Instruments with each student completing a corresponding Reaction Worksheet after listening to the recordings.
2. Name a Native American Instrument in each of the four classification of instruments with each student able to identify one instrument in at least three of four classifications.
3. Identify Native American Instruments in a recording, with each student able to identify at least two different instruments of different classifications.
4. Create a "Working" replica of a Native American Instrument instrument, with each student creating an instrument that is unique to themself.
5. Play a rhythmic drum pattern (from a Native American Musical Recording), on their instrument, with each student able to play the rhythmic drum pattern along with the recording after no more than 3 tries.

Geographic Themes:
Regions

Geographic Standards:
The students will engage in the following standard:
#16 The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.

Geographic Skills:
Throughout this lesson, all students will:

1. Ask geographic questions
2. Analyze geographic questions
3. Answer geographic questions

National Music Standards:
The students will engage in the following standards:

#2 Perform on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.

#5 Read and notate music.

#6 Listen, analyze and describe music.

#9 Understand music in relation to history and culture.

Music Concepts:
By the end of this lesson, all students will experience the following:

1. Duration of sound and silence are symbolized in a notation system that people understand.
2. Pitches are heard differently due to the instrument's length, size, dimensions, or tensions of tubing, string, or vibrating mechanism.
3. Instruments (the medium) are created from natural resources that may or may not be further refined and decorated, however, through technology, these sounds can be technologically reproduced.
4. All instruments are distributed into one of six categories: Aerophone, chordophone, idiophone, membranophone, electric, and body.
5. Instruments may have connotative meanings to those who play it, among them, religion and ethnicity.

Materials Needed:

1. Native American Music (Recorded Music), see appendix for resources
2. Stereo/Casette/CD Player
3. Paper and pencil
4. Pictures of Native American Musical Instruments

Procedure:
Session 1

1. Play a recording of Native American music. After listening to the recording, have the students write a reaction to the recording on question 1 of the worksheet Native American Music: Traditional and Modern. Play the second recording, and then have the students write their reaction on question 2 of the worksheet. Play the third recording and have the students write their reaction on question 3 of the worksheet. After replaying all three recordings again, have the students answer question 4.
2. After everyone is finished, have the students share their answers in small groups for no more than 5 minutes (give every student at least 1 minute to speak) focusing on question 4.
3. Replay the recordings, and discuss various instruments that are heard. List these instruments on the board. Do these instruments fall into any instrumental classifications? Show the students pictures of the instruments and discuss what the instruments are made of. Generate a list on the board of what the instruments are made of. Discuss why Native Americans created these types of instruments: What use, if any did the environment play, and what use, if any did their culture needs play in the creation of these instruments? Use maps of the areas, if necessary. If time permits, discuss the importance of the instruments in the Native American Tribal Society. If time does not permit, do this section in session 2.
4. Break into small groups, and have each group determine what type of everyday, around the house type of supplies may be used to replicate at least two different Native American Instruments. Share as a class.
5. Assign students to make, at home, a "Replica" of a Native American musical instrument using any supplies they find (use the list generated earlier if necessary). The instrument must be able to produce a tone!

Session 2

1. Write one rhythm pattern each from each of the three Native American Music Recordings on the board and have students clap out each set of rhythms.
2. Share the various instruments that were created having each student play their instrument while sharing!
3. Play the recording of the first Native American music and have the students select which rhythm pattern (of the three that they clapped to earlier) is being used in this recording. Do this for each of the three recordings. Discuss which instruments (of the ones that they created) should be used for which recordings, and have the students play the rhythm patterns on these instruments along with the recording. If students have instruments that are not applicable, pass out drums to use.

Assessment:
See objectives

Extensions:

1. Explore the similarities/differences in the music of the various regional tribes (ie: Plains vs. Southwest vs. Northwest)
2. Explore the function/role of the instruments in the Tribe's Ceremonial Functions.

Appendix:

1. Worksheet: Native American Music: Traditional and Modern
2. List of sounds (short 20 - 40 second Native American Music Recordings) that may be downloaded from the internet.

References:

• Evolution of the Native American Flute.
  http://home.earthlink.net/~meber/evolution.htm
• Flute and Whistle Traditions.
  http://www.teleport.com/~rnbowlkr/flutrad.html
• The Drum.
  http://pc65.frontier.osrhe.edu/students/plumleyo/drum.htm
• Finney, Susan and Kindle, Patricia.
  American Indians Pueblo to Potlatch, Totems to Tepees. Carthage: Good Apple, Inc., 1985
• Hoven, Leigh.
  Native Americans. Huntington Beach: Teacher Created Materials, Inc., 1990.
• O'Brien, James P.
  Music in World Cultures. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1994.