Orff Composition Project

Imagine every one of your upper elementary students composing and performing their own original song. This 4-8 lesson project gives them a step-by-step process to get there: students write a 16-beat rhythm using quarter notes, quarter rests, eighth notes, half notes, half rests, and sixteenth notes, match it with original lyrics, then transfer it to a melody played on mallet instruments in C pentatonic. This process is the result of four years of trial and error in my own classroom. The 13 scaffolded steps mean students make real creative decisions at every stage — and the included rubric makes assessment painless.

What's included:
- Notes to the Teacher
- Kid-friendly vocabulary cards (Composition, Improvisation, Lyrics, Steady Beat, Rhythm, Melody)
- 13 step-by-step direction slides
- Rhythm composition worksheet
- Notation diagram
- Melody composition worksheet
- 50-point assessment rubric