Students will demonstrate their understanding of rate and pitch by determining their character’s typical rate and pitch, and a moment where that rate and pitch could change.
Materials Needed:
Long form tongue twister
Hook:
Bell ringer question: Do you typically talk fast or slow? Do speak in a high or low voice?
Vocabulary: Tempo and Pitch (don’t have them define them yet)
Rate Activity
Tell the students that you have another tongue twister for them, and you want to see who can read it the fastest. Practice the tongue twister once together before you turn it over to the competition. Challenge the students to use good diction and projection during the competition. Give the student who can say it the fastest a prize.
Tongue Twister: When a doctor doctors a doctor, does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as the doctor being doctored wants to be doctored or does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as he wants to doctor?
Then have a competition to see who can another tongue twister the slowest. The catch though is that they have to be speaking the entire time. Challenge them to use good breath support so that they can say one words per breath if need be. Again, award the student who can say the tongue twister the slowest with something.
Tongue Twister: She sells seashells by the seashore.
Rate Discussion
Tell the students that how fast or slow something is said is referred to as “rate”. Have the students define rate in their bell ringer notebook.
How might the rate that we say something show character?
What type of people speak at a fast rate? What type of people speak at a slow rate?
What about your character in your podcast; what rate do they speak at?
What about situations outside of this class; when do you speak in a fast rate and when do you speak at a slow rate?
Pitch Activity
Have the students do a vocal siren. On a “Ooooo”, start at the lowest note you can, then gradually slide up into the highest note you can, and then gradually slide back down to the lowest note. Do this two or three times.
Pitch discussion
Tell the students that how high or low something is said is called pitch. Have the students define pitch in their bell ringer notebook.
How might the pitch that we say something show character?
What type of people speak at a high pitch? What type of people speak at a low pitch?
What about your character in your podcast; what pitch do they speak at?
What about situations outside of this class; when do you speak in a high pitch and when do you speak at a low pitch?
Work on Pitch and Rate in their podcasts
Have the students get together with their podcast groups. As a group, have them determine the pitches and rates that each of their characters uses generally. Then have them discuss moments in their podcast that their character could change their rate or pitch. (like, character speaking faster because they are excited, or character speaking lower because they are being sarcastic). As a group, have them write down each of their characters and the rate/pitch they generally use, and at least one moment per character where the rate/pitch changes and why. They’ll turn this paper in. (Or you could make a worksheet for them to answer these questions on).
Work on Podcasts
Give the students time to work on their podcasts. Have them individually create a goal to accomplish by the end of the class. Maybe they are in charge of the commercials, so they can use this time to script them out, or they are in charge of coming up with interview questions for the guest star. Do they need to script out their podcast? Each student should come up with something concrete that they can finish by the end of class. If you notice that students are off task, start handing out rewards to students who are working effectively to motivate the off-task students to work.
Assessment:
Students can be assessed on their paper that says the rate/pitch that their character speaks in, plus a moment where the rate/pitch changes.
