Wrap music
Year level
Lower Primary to Upper Primary with extension activities listed at end of lesson plan.
Lesson description
Musical instruments are made from a variety of reused materials.
In this lesson students will become aware that:
 musical instruments can be created by reusing everyday materials such as empty
containers and tins
 reusing materials saves waste from going in landfill, saves resources and saves
money
Curriculum links
Foundation to Year 2
Use materials, components, tools, equipment and techniques to safely make designed
solutions (Design & Technologies - ACTDEP007)
Foundation to Year 2
Explore needs or opportunities for designing, and the technologies needed to realise
designed solutions (Design & Technologies - ACTDEP005)
Year 1
People use science in their daily lives, including when caring for their environment and living
things (Science - ACSHE022)
Year 2
Different materials can be combined, including by mixing, for a particular purpose (Science ACSSU031)
Year 4
The sustainable management of waste from production and consumption (Geography ACHGK025)
Years 5 and 6
Investigate characteristics and properties of a range of materials, systems, components,
tools and equipment and evaluate the impact of their use (Design & Technologies - ACTDEK023)
Towards Zero Waste Strategy: Brisbane City Council
Materials




Variety of unwanted containers with lids such as plastic bottles, yoghurt containers,
ice cream containers, coffee and chocolate drink tins, glass bottles.
Variety of materials to place inside containers to make shakers such as small stones,
macaroni, screws, nuts, seeds, pasta, sand, rice, leaves or tea
Items to use as drum sticks such as wooden spoons, sticks or cardboard tubes
Paint and other materials for decoration
Procedure
1. Discuss the musical instruments that could be made out of unwanted items and how
these items could be made.
2. Students work individually or in groups to make a variety of different instruments
Drums:
Simple drums can be made from chocolate drink tins, yoghurt tubs, ice cream
containers, plastic buckets or biscuit tins. Wooden spoons, sticks, cardboard tubes,
plastic cutlery of paint brushes can be used for drumsticks.
Rattles and shakers
Simple rattles and shakers can be made by placing a handful of dry materials in any
plastic or metal container with a lid. The noise will change depending on what
materials are added, for very soft sounds add sugar or tea leaves or breadcrumbs.
For soft sounds try rice or sand; and loud harsh sounds can be obtained by adding
metal bolts, gravel bottle tops or bean seeds. Decorate shakers with paint, stickers
and ribbons.
Bottle xylophone
A bottle xylophone can be made from eight identical glass bottles. Place bottles in a
row and fill each bottle with a little more water than the one before. Using an electric
tuner, guitar or piano add or remove water from the first bottle until it makes a ‘C’
sound when struck with a drumstick. Fill the last bottle with a large amount of water
until it makes a ‘C’ note an octave below the first. Adjust the water in the other
bottles until they are tuned to the other six notes of the octave. The end result is a
simple xylophone with the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C.
Extension Activities

Think of other instruments that you can use from discarded materials such as a
rubbish bin drum, a tambourine or a didgeridoo.

Hold a concert using percussion instruments to accompany the music.
Towards Zero Waste Strategy: Brisbane City Council