Forte Fireworks!

This lesson is one of my very favorites and was one of the most memorable for the students. We use this as the culmination of our Mighty Musicians week-long camp. This patriotic lesson plan is a blast, as students explore fireworks, flags and more, and learn that music can be loud or soft! Students will march in a parade, play a matching game, explore dynamics using a variety of instruments, compose their own fireworks song, play a pre-staff notation piece, and go on a memorable musical adventure to “see” a fireworks show! Pieces that students will become familiar with include Handel’s Music For the Royal Fireworks, Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever, and Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.

The highlight of this lesson is our musical “fireworks show” activity, which was so much fun at our class! As we listened to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture we went on a musical journey using listening, singing, movement, and storytelling and ended up at an amazing musical fireworks show. I actually think that this song/activity really affected the students – they got so into the story and the movements that when we finally arrived at the fireworks show and heard those cannons go off, it was a really powerful moment. This activity really made the music come alive for these kids, and for me as well! Be sure to crank up the volume so children get the full exciting effect of the fireworks “cannons” at the end of this piece! Here’s a little preview of the song we sing and a great recording of this awesome piece.

I hope you and your students enjoy it as much as we did!

This lesson plan is available for purchase in The Teaching Studio Store or right here in this post. It contains 50 pages (lesson plan, teacher’s guide, supplies needed, printable resources, student take-home materials, clip-art and more) and is in downloadable e-book format.

Forte Fireworks!: Mighty Musicians Lesson Plan
Price: $10.00