LESSON PLAN

Lesson Title: Building Vocabulary through Songwriting: Rewriting rhymes the

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Content Area & Arts Discipline: Language Arts, Math, Music

Date:

Author &Presenter: Richelle Putnam

Grade Level: 1 - 3

Proposed Time Frame: 45 minutes

Spatial Requirements: for small group, classroom is fine; larger groups

will require a bigger room with working tables and a performance space

Materials/Equipment: Power Point screen/TV, projector, several decks

of playing cards (enough for each child to have ten cards), pencils.
Paper, markers, CD player, instruments (can be homemade or not),
chopsticks make good drumstricks; jars filled with rice or beans make
the perfect shakers, etc.

Resources:
http://www.zelo.com/FAMILY/NURSERY/
A site of nursery rhymes!

http://www.nurseryrhymes.com/
Another great site

http://www.tlsbooks.com/englishworksheets.htm

*Inspired by Kennedy Center’s ArtsEdge website.

http://www.kindergartenworksheets.net/rhyming-words-worksheets/kindergarten-
rhyming-words-worksheet.html
http://www.kidslearningstation.com/phonics/words-that-rhyme-v1.asp
free rhyming worksheets for kindergarten

http://www.nursery-rhymes-collection.com/music-for-kids_free-nursery-rhyme-
audio.html

http://yea.fm/album/283-Children_s_Music/192780-My_First_CD_-
_Classic_Nursery_Rhymes_1/#/album/283-Children_s_Music/192780-
My_First_CD_-_Classic_Nursery_Rhymes_1/

http://www.nurseryrhymes4u.com/NURSERY_RHYMES/Page_J.html
Audios of nursery rhymes

http://www.wordcalc.com/
Great tool for counting syllables

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/pre-k-and-k-lesson-plans/15864-fun-activity-
for-teaching-syllables/
Teaching syllables to kindergartners

Children Writer’s Word Book by Alijandra Mogilner, Writers Digest Books ISBN 0-
89879-511-7

Early Childhood Education - Preschool Through Primary Grades by Jo Anne Brewer, 5th
edition, University of Massachusetts, page 284

Vocabulary:

SUMMARY
Give a brief overview of the lesson:
This lesson introduces phonetics, lyrical meter, and the development
of character and story. Students learn about rhyme and how counting
syllables helps to create perfect meter in song and poetry. They will
discuss the characters, the events and the settings in a nursery
rhyme, brainstorm pairs of rhyming words and create their own
verses. They will engage in activities to support their learning and
*Inspired by Kennedy Center’s ArtsEdge website.
 share their new knowledge in the classroom. Students will learn that
selecting new words in nursery rhymes can change stories,
characters and events while maintaining the meter of the
poem/song. Students will work on one poem, but can be introduced
to other poems to expand the unit and give students an opportunity
to work independently

BIG IDEA
&
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
What overarching understandings are desired?
Students will identify how new characters, events and actions change
a story.

Students will demonstrate their understanding of matching words that

rhyme.

Students will demonstrate an understanding of phonetics and

syllables through musical beats.

Students will demonstrate an understanding of character and plot

development by using the creative thinking process of a writer.

Students will demonstrate an understanding of meter and rhythm.

Students will briefly identify the characters and events in nursery

rhymes

Students will brainstorm on rhyming words

Students will create song verses (as a group or individually)

LESSON INSTRUCTION

List the steps of the lesson by following the outline below:

Engaging Students:

 Each student should have a printout of the Itsy Spider

 Share lesson goals and objectives with students that they will
create new verses to favorite nursery rhymes by selecting new
words.

*Inspired by Kennedy Center’s ArtsEdge website.

  Recite with the students the nursery rhyme, “The Itsy Bitsy
Spider.” Then, play the audio of “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” First
students listen. Then they sing along. Doing hand motions or
introducing body movements to the song will be good.
 While listening to different versions of the song, students will
clap their hands, slaps thighs, march, snap their fingers, do the
wave and then return to the original hand motions of the song.
This engages their bodily rhythmic skills and is lots of fun!
 Each student uses playing cards to count syllables in each line of
the verse. As a “student reader” reads each word slowly, the
other students lay a card on the table with each syllable,
spreading the cards out so they can easily see how many cards,
or syllables, there are in each line of the poem.
 Students put their own words into a musical version of the song.
Students will be challenged by fitting their words to the rhythm
of Soul, The Blues, Jazz and Latin, some rhythm being faster than
others. Though the music may not be the authentic structure of
each musical category, teachers can introduce the history of the
music genre and ask students what “instrument” sounds they
hear in each genre. Authentic cultural music techniques and
structure can be introduced in a later lesson.

Building on Knowledge:

 Ask students questions about character motivation and sequence

of events. (Why do you think the itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the
water spout? Where do you think the spout was located? Where
are water spouts at your house? What do you think the sky
looked like? Remind them of the line: “Down came the rain.” Test
students’ knowledge by asking how many legs the spider had.)
 Recite the poem again, but this time the students will recite and
count with you. After you count, ask them again how many
syllables are in the line. Then say each word and ask them how
many syllables there in the word. After they answer, repeat their
answer. For example, the word “spider.” How many syllables are
in the word “spider”? Spi (lay down card) der (lay down card).
How many cards did I lay down? Pick up cards and count. One.
Two. How many syllables are in the word “spider”? Students say
“two.” Then, repeat, “Spider. There are two syllables in spider.”
Repetition reinforces retention.
 Have an overhead with the same nursery rhyme, but this one
includes some blank lines.
 On board or on poster paper, have word lists from several
rhyming families: est, ent, ell, ee, etc. (Create rhyming word lists
that will easily replace the words (nouns and verbs) in the
nursery rhymes.
 Explain that the class is going to brainstorm for new rhyming
*Inspired by Kennedy Center’s ArtsEdge website.
 words to put into the blanks.
 Explain that the meter (syllable count) has to be the same and
that if you replace the word “spider,” you have to replace
another word with two syllables or you can replace two words,
each one having one syllable. For instance, “spider” can be
replaced with the word “pony” or the two words “big cat.” When
a student suggests something like “little dog” to replace the
word “spider,” use the cards to count the syllables. Spi (care)
der (card); lit (card) tle (card) dog (card). How many cards in
spider? Two. How many cards in little dog? Three. Can we use
“little dog” to replace “spider”?

This will be present some challenges because the characters and the
action in the story will change. Sample poems with blanks should
include clues for the students.

Applying Understanding:
 Students will work in small groups, but each one has a specific
duty to the project whether being a reader or writer. Each
student is a counter.
 Each table is provided students with several rhyming word lists
that may or may not include corresponding pictures.
 These lists should include several possibilities for the underlined
words for which the students need to find a rhyme.
 Students will count the syllables of each line in the poem with
the cards on the table.
 Teacher will ask questions to make sure each student
understands the process and assist when needed
.
Creating Opportunities for Reflection:
 Students will share how the characters and settings change din
their new versions

 Students will share their experience of keeping the syllable

count the same

 Students will share how even though the speed of a song may
change, but the basic beat and rhythm remain the same.

 Students will share how changing from one version of music to

another challenged them.

Assessing the Experience:

*Inspired by Kennedy Center’s ArtsEdge website.

At end of lesson collect worksheets
Did student accurately choose correct rhyming words
Did student accurately choose correct syllable count
Did student accurately portray new rhyme in drawing

STANDARDS
&
PRINCIPLES

State Content Standards:

RL.K.1. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about
key details in a text.
RL.K.2. With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including
key details.
RL.K.3. With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and
major events in a story.
RL.K.4. Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
RL.K.5. Recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems).
RL.K.6. With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator
of a story and define the role of each in telling the story.
RL.K.7. With prompting and support, describe the relationship
between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what
moment in a story an illustration depicts).
RL.K.9. With prompting and support, compare and contrast the
adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories.
RL.K.10. Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and
understanding.

Visual & Performing Arts Standards:

 Sing with accurate pitch and rhythm.

 Play a steady beat.
 Using a variety of melodic and rhythmic instruments, create
dramatizations of songs, poems, and stories.
 Improvise rhythms and accompaniments by playing instruments.
 Listen and respond to a variety of musical styles.
*Inspired by Kennedy Center’s ArtsEdge website.
  Distinguish between qualities of music such as soft and loud, low
and high, fast and slow, same and different, and tone colors.
 Improvise a response to the beat and tempo of various music
examples with appropriate movements or dramatization.
 Identify the sound of brass, string, woodwind, percussion, and
keyboard instrument families.
 Respond to music by painting, drawing a picture, or dictating a
story.
 Recognize the message of the music in relation to other subject
areas.
 Interpret ideas and stories contained in the language of songs
and relate them to the appropriate subject area (e.g., reading,
math, science).
 Identify word patterns and rhymes within a song text.
 Recognize differences that exist in various styles/genre of music.

COMPETENCIES and Suggested Teaching Objectives:

LANGUAGE ARTS:

The teacher will model segmenting a three to five syllable word

By laying down a playing card for each syllable (e.g., hippo-pota-mus).
The teacher will model using fingers to count the number of syllables
in a multiple syllable word (e.g., bas-ket-ball = 3 syllables; student
should hold up a finger for each syllable in word, three fingers).
The teacher will show students a photograph or picture (spider, water
spout) and ask them to orally describe it.
The teacher will provide a sample rewritten verse of the Itsy Bitsy
Spider
The student will draw a picture of a familiar place or thing to
correspond with the rewritten nursery rhyme.
The teacher will have students create sentences that contain age-
appropriate vocabulary.

MUSIC
Through rewriting the Itsy Bitsy Spider, teachers will observe how
students sing and keep a steady beat. Add the finger movements of
each line of the verse. Most students will know the movements, but
this gets them into the song. When the beat is internalized and
performed correctly, a new version of the song is introduced. Students
perform new body motions through clapping, slapping, marching, etc.
and experience the song in new and exciting ways. After students
rewrite the verse, teachers add the instruments and students sing and
play instruments in groups.

*Inspired by Kennedy Center’s ArtsEdge website.

Principles of Universal Design for Learning:

By the end of the 45 minute lesson, students will have been exposed
to a variety of writing tools. They will have had the opportunity to
select new characters, settings and new words to rewrite a favorite
nursery rhyme. They will have listened to music, responded to the
beat, and participated in making the beat. Using playing cards to count
syllables, they recognized how words form their own rhythmic sound
and beat. They also chose new characters, settings and action and
chose words that fit into the right syllable count of each line to
maintain the beat and the rhyming pattern. They will have illustrated
their new song by drawing a picture.

MISC NOTES

Extended Learning Activities:

Each student can choose their own nursery rhyme to rewrite and do
so independently.

Teacher can expand syllable lesson by asking students to find one

two three syllable words to replace three two syllable words and one
four syllable words to replace two two syllable words.

Teachers can expand on the genres of music, discussing more

thoroughly the origins of the Blues, Jazz, Soul and Latino, as well as
the instruments typically used and the rhythms.

Teachers can incorporate a history unit into this activity by having

student choose a historical character and event to write about. ie: a
frontiersman chopping down a tree to build a house in a new land.

Teachers can incorporate science into this activity by having student

choose an element and action to write about. Ie: a seed grows into a
plant.

TIPS/FAQs:

Provide a few sample rewritten poems for students to refer to. Sing
the new poems several times, using the different genres of music
provided. This helps the students “hear” how the songs will work to
the same time signatures, but different beats.

*Inspired by Kennedy Center’s ArtsEdge website.

Rhyming word lists should include words that will work well together
in a story. Cats chase rats. Cats have fleas. Rats eat cheese. So
including the rhyming words cat, rat, fleas, cheese on the rhyming
words lists will be helpful.

Allow students a few practice times to incorporate their new songs

into the music. This helps to develop their rhythm and listening skills.

Those students too shy about singing will participate with the
instruments, so don’t worry too much about those who play more
than sing. They are still developing their rhythmic skills during
performance.

Teachers should show readers how to read the lines slowly, clearly
enunciating each syllable so the other students at the table have time
to lay a card down with each syllable.

Take all the new songs and the illustrations and create a Classroom
Song Book

Invite other classrooms and/or parents to see the students perform

their new songs to the different genres of music.

*Inspired by Kennedy Center’s ArtsEdge website.