Instrument Families Orchestra Unit Elementary Music Curriculum Lesson Activity

Elementary music teachers—ready to make teaching instrument families simple and stress-free? This Instrument Family Unit has everything you need to introduce, review, and reinforce the instrument families—strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion—with your students.

Whether you're focusing on musical instruments in general or diving deeper into the instruments of the orchestra, this unit is packed with interactive lessons, activities, and assessments that will keep your students excited to learn.

This Instrument Family Unit is also part of the Elementary Music Curriculum Bundle—a complete yearlong resource full of ready-to-go lessons and activities that make music planning easy. If you're looking for a full-year solution, the bundle might be a perfect fit!

Here’s what’s included:

• Google Slides lesson presentations
• Easy-to-follow lesson plans
• Teacher notes
• Hands-on manipulatives
• Worksheets
• Interactive games
• Flipbook
• Assessment
• Centers for review

Not sure where to start with teaching instrument families? The ready-to-use Google Slides lessons walk students through each family—strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion—while focusing on how each family produces sound. Students will get to know the characteristics and unique qualities of each group of musical instruments through clear visuals and interactive activities.

Each lesson plan follows the Student Directed Learning model created by Rachel Zollinger (MusicFromB2Z), designed to keep students working independently while staying engaged and focused on the main concepts.

You’ll also get manipulatives that help students sort, classify, and practice identifying instruments of the orchestra in a hands-on way—perfect for whole group lessons, small groups, centers, or early finisher activities.

Instead of boring worksheets, this unit includes engaging, themed worksheets that help students review instrument families, sound production, and musical characteristics in a way that's easy to understand and fun to complete.

One of the highlights of this unit is the Instrument Family Flipbook—an interactive project where students record what they've learned about each family. It's a great tool for reinforcing key information and can be used for review, informal assessment, or even a quick hallway display.

You’ll also find interactive games and station activities that give students extra practice identifying and describing musical instruments by family. These activities are perfect for review days, sub plans, or just giving students a fresh way to apply what they've learned.