This is a simplified version of Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf taught in a developmental delay program for special needs students and English language learners. It is easily adapted to meet the needs of older children with the same educational needs. The purpose of the lesson is to provide the students with a variety of experiences performing and telling the story of the fable that Sergei Prokofiev has set to music, and to introduce the students to various instruments of the orchestra.

Open the eyes of your students to the beauty and power of American and world folk songs and stories through the iconic figure of Pete Seeger. Explore his important work in promoting peace, understanding, community, and wonder through song.

Open the eyes of your students to the beauty and power of American and world folk
songs and stories through the iconic figure of Pete Seeger. Explore his important work
in promoting peace, understanding, community, and wonder through song.

Students will listen to the sounds of instruments and classify instruments into four families. Students will recognize the instruments of the orchestra from sight and sound by utilizing the www.sfskids.org website. They will compare the sounds of different instruments and learn to classify them into four families. Students will make their own fabric square to be sewn into a quilt that will be displayed in the classroom.

Students will be introduced to syncopation through a wacky Thanksgiving song told from the perspective of the turkey. This lesson is designed to fulfill Standard #5 of the National Standards for Music: Reading and notating music.

Students will gain a keen understanding of the Musical Instrument Families. They will understand how instruments are played. Finally, their experience will bring an understanding of the culture and climate of the Symphony, as it becomes truly accessible to students of all socio/economic backgrounds.

This lesson plan encourages students to open their ears and minds to the possibilities of sounds, what constitutes music and what makes a musical instrument. Activities include examining personal definitions of music through discussion, reading and writing with a fun exercise creating water drums.

Students will gain an understanding of ten instruments of the orchestra (trombone, trumpet, french horn, cello, violin, flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, harp). This lesson is designed to fulfill Standard #6 of the National Standards for Music: Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.