Bring the jungle to your music classroom with this wildly fun free music lesson plan on musical form! Students learn AABA form as they dance a different step to each section of Trashin' the Camp from Disney's "Tarzan."
Step 2
Stop the recording and ask them what the name of the piece is or the movie it comes from.
Step 3
Tell the students, "We will be learning about musical form today. Musical form has to do with how
music is put together. As we listen to the recording again, I will write an alphabet letter on the
white board to label the section of music that we are listening to."
Step 4
Start the recording.
Step 5
Form: Introduction - A - A - B - A
Step 6
Stop the recording.
Step 7
Tell the students, "We will be learning a dance to this music. Each section of the music will have a
different dance movement. When the music sounds different, the dance will be
different."
Step 8
Begin with the movement for the first A section.
Step 9
Step to the right for 8 counts: Side-Together-Side-Together-Side-Together-Side-Together
Step 10
Step to the left for 8 counts: Side-Together-Side-Together-Side-Together-Side-Together
Step 11
Repeat this pattern until the vocalist sings "Do Bop She Do". On this cue, the students rotate once
in a circle with jazz hands.
Step 12
Try the movement with the recording. If the class is successful, move on to the B section.
Step 13
Teach the movement to the B section.
Step 14
Stepping backward for 4 counts: Back-Two-Three-Flip. On the flip, students jump in the air and flip
around, changing direction.
Step 15
Repeat this pattern until the drums perform a triplet rhythm.
Step 16
When the drums perform the triplet rhythm, students recite in a loud voice along with the rhythm:
Step 17
Tarzan the Man - Tarzan the Man - Tarzan the Monkey Goes AHHHH (Tarzan Yell)!
Step 18
Repeat the movement of the A section. As this A section is slightly longer, the dance will repeat
the rotation with jazz hands until the music ends.
Step 19
When the music falls apart at the end, the kids fall down.
Step 20
When movement practice for the A and B sections is complete, you can add the movement for the
introduction.
Step 21
Ask students to pretend they are an elephant by bending over slightly and making an elephant trunk
with their arm extending down to the floor.
Step 22
Hold this pose for the first few measures of the music.
Step 23
When the students hear the sound of the elephant, they will respond to it with their own elephant
sound.
Step 24
When the drums enter with a steady pulse, the students will extend their arms out to their sides
slightly and jump up and down like a monkey.
"Was the last A section longer than the first two A sections?""What made the last A section longer?"
"Why was the A section different than the B section?"
"What is an introduction?"
"What does the introduction tell us about the music?"