Vivaldi's Seasons and Weather (Science)

Notes:

Vivaldi’s Seasons and Weather

Subject: Science/Music Education

Grade Level: 1-2

Time Needed: one (40 minute) lesson

Previous Knowledge: Students will have already had exposure to

Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons

General Outcomes and Curriculum Connections:

New Brunswick You and Your World Curriculum

• Grade 1, Unit 2: Our Environment
• Grade 2, Unit 5: Change and the physical Environment

New Brunswick Music Curriculum

• GCO 5: Students will be expected to examine the relationship among the arts, societies, and environments

• GCO 8: Students will be expected to analyse the relationship between artistic intent and the expressive work

Specific Outcomes:

• To learn about different weather that happens in different seasons
• To connect spring and weather to music by Vivaldi

Rationale:

This lesson is to make students familiar with Vivaldi’s Spring and the various sections and what they represent (thunder storms, dog barking, etc).

It is also an activity to get students moving to music

Materials and Resources:

• Copy of Vivaldi’s Spring from the Four Seasons
• Science Journal
• 
  

Introduction/Procedures:

• Students will be learning about the weather of the seasons one season at a time
• The first season will be Spring
• Students will brainstorm the type of weather they think happens in spring
• Teacher will then elaborate on the ideas given and maybe add a few more
• Students will talk about rain and why we need rain (trees, flowers), thunder storms, sometimes snow…

Body

• Students will be divided into groups of two or three and will listen to Vivaldi’s Spring from his Four Seasons.
• Explain to students that we are going to do something special. Tell them that Vivaldi made music about seasons and made sounds to go along with the weather of the seasons, plants, animals, and feelings.
• Students will try to write down what they think the music is portraying in sounds about spring (weather, plants, animals, etc)
• 
  

Conclusion

Students will sit in a circle and talk about the experience. What did they like or not like about the activity. Why do they think certain parts of the music represented certain parts of a season (eg. loud music was like a storm). Tell students what each part represented and ask them why or how the music might represent that.

Evaluation and Assessment:

• Observation (checklist)

• Did students follow-directions
• Do students have an understanding of spring weather
• Can the students explain why they picked different interpretations of spring for the music

Reflection: