Illinois State Standards

Anchor Standard 7 (Responding)

Perceive and analyze artistic work.

Enduring Understanding: Individuals choose music based on their interests, experiences, musical understanding, and each musical work’s purpose.

Essential Question: How do individuals choose music to experience?

Anchor Standard 8 (Responding)

Construct meaningful interpretations of artistic work.

Enduring Understanding: Through their use of elements and structures of music, creators and performers provide clues to their expressive intent.

Essential Question: How do we discern the musical performers’ emotions, thoughts, and ideas?

Anchor Standard 9 (Responding)

Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.

Enduring Understanding: The personal evaluation of musical work(s) and performance(s) is informed by analysis, interpretation, and teacher- or student-established criteria.

Essential Question: How do we judge the quality of musical work(s) and performance(s)?

Anchor Standard 10 (Connecting)

Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.

Enduring Understanding: Musicians connect their personal interests, experiences, ideas, and knowledge to creating, performing, and responding.

Essential Question: How do musicians make meaningful connections to creating, performing, and responding?

Objectives

Students will:

  • Learn the history of the recorder
  • Listen to two recorder songs
  • Compare and contrast recorder songs

Materials

  • Computer
  • Speakers
  • Smartboard
  • Recorders

Activities

  1. Listen and Watch

    2-10 minutes

    “Recorder Sonata in C Major” by Handel performed by Teun & Teun on alto recorder and harpsichord (listen to all or a portion)

  2. History of the Recorder

    15-20 minutes

    Students share what they already know about the recorder.

    Recorder History

    • The recorder is a vertical flute with an ancient history
    • The recorder took its current-day form in the Renaissance (15th–16th century)
    • The golden age of the recorder was in the baroque era (17th to mid-18th century)
    • Almost no recorder music in the Romantic era (19th century)
    • Recorders were first used in schools in Japan in 1959
    • 8 different types of recorders
  3. Listen and Watch

    3 minutes

    “All of Me” by John Legend performed by Elizabeth Postol on soprano recorder

  4. Compare and Contrast

    10 minutes
    • Which example do you prefer and why?
    • How do the examples sound similar?
    • How do the examples sound different?
  5. Depth Questions

    15 minutes
    • How do individuals choose music to experience?
    • How do we discern the musical performers’ emotions, thoughts, and ideas?
    • How do we judge the quality of musical work(s) and performance(s)?
    • How do musicians make meaningful connections to creating, performing, and responding?