Summary

In this activity, students will participate in a bluegrass version of bingo to review the knowledge they have gained about bluegrass instruments.

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• explain the history and relevance of the following instruments in bluegrass music: fiddle, guitar, dobro, banjo, mandolin and stand-up bass
• define the following words as they relate to bluegrass music: syncopated, acoustic, slide and fret
• identify the defining characteristics of each bluegrass instrument

Time: 1–2 periods

Background

The essays for this week provide information about the main instruments used in classic bluegrass music: the fiddle, the banjo, the mandolin, the guitar, the stand-up bass and, more recently, the dobro. All of these instruments are acoustic and stringed instruments. The essays provide information about the characteristics of and history surrounding each instrument, helping students to understand how each instrument has contributed to the unique sound of bluegrass music.

Teacher's Notes

In order for this activity to be successful, it is important that students first thoroughly read the content material provided in the essays. One way to accomplish this is to have students work together at computers to read the material, asking each other questions and quizzing each other to ensure comprehension. Additionally, you can review the content material as a class using some of the group discussion questions below:

1. How is each instrument used in a unique way in bluegrass, as compared to the way it is played in other kinds of music?
2. Which instrument do you feel has the hardest sound to get used to? Why?
3. Which instrument would you most like to play if you were going to be in a bluegrass band? Explain.
4. If you were to add a new instrument to bluegrass, which instrument would it be? Why? (Students can invent their own instruments here, as well.)

Vocabulary

Acoustic, banjo, dobro, fiddle, fret, guitar, mandolin, slide, stand-up bass, syncopated

Materials

Copies of B-A-N-J-O Gameboard (1 per student) (provided), B-A-N-J-O Clues (provided), place markers to cover blanks on gameboards, crayons or pens

Procedure

1. Motivate students to carefully read and gather information from the Week 3 online essays by telling them that their knowledge of bluegrass instruments will be tested in the form of a bluegrass bingo game at the end of the lesson.
2. After students read the essays, pass out blank B-A-N-J-O Gameboards to each student.
3. Instruct students to follow the directions at the top of their gameboard, using the provided word list to randomly fill in the blanks on their gameboards.
4. When done, have students place one “free” marker on the graphic at the center of the board. Next, begin reading the clues (but not the answers!) aloud to the class. In the beginning, have students raise their hands if they know the answer to the clue and confirm the answer for the whole class. Students should then cover the correct answer space on their gameboards.
5. To make the game more challenging, you can choose not to review the answers out loud and have students try to answer the questions independently.
6. The game is won when one student covers five answers in a row.

Extend the Experience

• To extend the game and the learning experience, you can play a “blackout” game where students need to cover the whole board to win.
• Challenge students to add words and clues to the B-A-N-J-O game by using content from previous weeks. You can repeat this activity later in the unit using some of the student-made additions.