Meet the Instrument Families: Strings, Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion

SubstitutePlans.com
Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir)
SP-MUS-004 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
Meet the Instrument Families: Strings,
Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion
Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir) · Grades 6-8 · 45 minutes
Time needed
45 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student).
Technology
None.
Student
independence
High. Silent reading, then individual work.
Copies to make
One 2-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils, Worksheet, Colored pencils (optional)
Goal for today: Students will sort common instruments into the string, woodwind, brass and percussion families and
explain how each family makes sound.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ Optional: put out colored pencils so students can color-code the four families in the sorting table.
☐ Write on the board: STRINGS, WOODWINDS, BRASS, PERCUSSION.
☐ Keep the answer key on your desk. No music knowledge is needed.
Say this to start
Today you will learn how musicians group instruments into four families. The family does not depend on the color or
the material. It depends on how the instrument makes its sound. Read the passage, sort the instruments, and then
answer the questions. Everything you need is in the reading.
Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance. Hand out the worksheet and read the
four family names from the board.
Look over the worksheet.
5–15
Ask students to read the passage silently and underline
how each family makes its sound.
Read and underline.
15–25
Tell students to complete the Sorting Table. Partners may
check quietly.
Write the family name beside each
instrument.
25–38
Tell students to answer questions 1–9 on their own.
Answer the multiple-choice, fill-in and
true/false questions.
38–42
Tell students to complete question 10, the short answer.
Write two or three sentences.
42–45
Read the sorting answers aloud from the key. Collect
worksheets in a stack.
Check their sort and hand in the worksheet.

SubstitutePlans.com
Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir)
SP-MUS-004 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 3
If things go wrong
• If students say they have not seen the instruments before, tell them the passage names every one and says
how it makes sound.
• If a student asks about a piano or guitar, tell them those are not on the worksheet and make a good early
finisher question.
• If a student finishes early, ask them to reread the passage and check the sorting table, then use the early
finisher list.
• If the room is noisy, switch to silent work for five minutes.
Early finishers
• Draw a quick sketch of the instrument you would most like to play and write which family it belongs to.
• Write one question about a family that a classmate could answer using the passage.
Support and challenge
• Support: Let students color the four family names on the board in four colors and use the same colors in the
sorting table.
• Challenge: Decide where a piano or an electric guitar belongs. Write your reason using how it makes sound.
Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: