Want your students to learn about the string instruments? Here are a few lesson planning ideas that will get your students inspired about stringed instruments.
firstly, compare the sizes of violins and violas with other objects of different sizes Show or speak pairs of objects, and have the students indicate the relative size relationships with the words “violin” (for small) and “viola” (for large). For example, “elephant, mouse” would be “viola, violin” and “bicycle, airplane” would be “violin, viola” This will help students remember the relative dimensions of the instruments, which may be a little tricky to remember.
You can make a home made diddly bow (a basic blues instrument with one string) by stretching some kind of instrument string or wire on a wooden plank. Insert objects beneath the string at either end to elevate the string and increase its tension. Use the diddly bow to explore the effects of string tension and string length (press down on the string with a finger to effectively shorten the string. Higher sounds are created by greater string tension and shorter strings
The music lesson plans from the fun music company contain many more ideas for teaching about these instruments
