treni


 * **Title of Lesson** |||| Introduction to Instrumental Music || **Grade Level** |||| fourth ||
 * **Curriculum Area** |||| Instrumental Music || **Time Frame** |||| 6 lessons (over the course of six weeks) ||
 * **Developed By** |||||||||| Tiffany Treni ||
 * ** Identify Desired Results (Stage 1) ** ||
 * ** Content Standards ** ||
 * 1.2.4 ; 1.2.6 ; 1.3.4 ; 1.3.6 Students will learn how to get a good sound on their instrument. Students will memorize the first five fingerings. Students will learn how to read the lines and the spaces of the music staff. Students will learn how to follow the music measure by measure. Students will learn quarter, half, whole notes and rests and be able to identify them as well as play them. Students will learn how to combine the concepts during their lessons and will mater the skills with at home practice.

||
 * ** Understandings ** |||||| ** Essential Question(s) ** ||
 * ** Overarching Understanding ** |||| ** Overarching ** || **Topical** ||
 * Combining the correct fingering / slide position with the notation.

Memorization of the counts for quarter, half, whole notes and rests.

Combining the counts with the notation.

Ability to play with the proper sound when performing. |||| What are examples of the proper way to practice at home?

How is practicing your instrument similar or different from a sport or gym practice?

How might your partner feel about you critiquing them in a disrespectful way?

How is playing a piece of music on an instrument similar or different to singing a piece of music?

How does getting a good sound relate to you personally?

How are my views about learning something new shaped by previous experience? || How is the music staff connected to the fingerings?

How might a mnemonic device help us remember the lines and spaces of the staff?

How can I best show my partner how to play a fingering?

How might mastering the fingering switches help us play our song?

What are my strengths and weaknesses in reading the notes?

What are different points of view about how to get a good sound? ||
 * ** Related Misconceptions ** ||
 * Students tend to mix up the fingerings that are designated to a given note.

Students tend to misread the notes and in the beginning often mix up lines and spaces.

Students forget the values of the notes (quarter, half, whole).

Students may not be switching their fingers fast enough to play the song in the correct tempo.

Students may forget to play with the good sound when they are putting all the other pieces together. || Students will know… |||||| ** Skills ** Students will be able to… || What makes a good sound / What a good sound sounds like. What a measure is and how many beats are in a measure in 4/4 time. How to work productively in pairs. How to self-assess How to critique and teach a fellow student. |||||| Get a good sound on their instrument (embouchure). Play the first five fingerings. Play with the correct sound (embouchure). Read the lines and the spaces of the staff. Read quarter, half, whole, notes and rests. Match the note with the correct fingering/ slide position. || Step 2: Students will write notes to go with the rhythm that they composed and will be limited to writing with the first five fingerings learned. Songs will be eight measures in length and must include all five of the fingerings, as well as quarter, half, whole notes and rests. Step 3: The students will pair up and look over and edit their partner’s song, and offer a critique for the composer. Step 4: The edited song will be practiced and then performed in class by both the partner and the composer. A performance includes playing with the best possible sound (correct embouchure). || Students will compose a short four-measure rhythm and will clap this rhythm for the class. This rhythm can be used as part of their eight measure rhythm for their original song Students will perform the five-note scale on half notes, quarter notes, and whole notes. ||
 * |||| * || *  ||
 * ** Knowledge **
 * How to practice at home and in school.
 * ** Assessment Evidence (Stage 2) ** ||
 * ** Performance Task Description ** ||
 * **Goal** |||||||||| Getting a good sound (embouchure). Application and comprehension of the notes and rests. Application and comprehension of the lines and the spaces. Application and comprehension of the corresponding fingerings. Ability to incorporate all of the goals together into one fluid performance on the instrument. ||
 * **Role** |||||||||| Composer ||
 * **Audience** |||||||||| Members of the lesson group, teacher ||
 * **Situation** |||||||||| In December the fourth grade will be giving a performance for the parents, teachers, and younger grades at the Winter Concert. You are the composer and will write and perform the songs for the winter concert with your classmates. ||
 * **Product/Performance** |||||||||| Step 1: Students will compose a rhythm using quarter, half, and whole notes and rests. This rhythm will be eight measures in length. A partner will edit and critique the rhythm.
 * **Standards** |||||||||| 1.2.4 ; 1.2.6 ; 1.3.4 ; 1.3.6 ||
 * ** Other Evidence ** ||
 * Students will create their own mnemonic device for the lines and the spaces of the staff.
 * ** Learning Plan (Stage 3) ** ||
 * ** Where are your students headed? Where have they been? How will you make sure the students know where they are going?** |||||||| This is an introductory unit for instrumental music. Prior to this the students have limited knowledge on the concepts and none have experience playing their instruments. The students will be building upon all the concepts that are learned in this first unit. These concepts are the foundation and will continue to be used throughout their musical career. Because of this the foundation is extremely important. Students will learn additional fingerings, different rhythms (notes and rests), musical terms, and the Bb Concert Scale later in the year. As they learn more concepts they will be able to play more intricate music. ||
 * **How will you hook students at the beginning of the unit?** |||||||| Students are permitted to choose the instrument that they will play. Self-motivation and ownership are ways to hook the students. There will be a demonstration on their chosen instrument so that the students are able to hear how it sounds when played correctly. (Teacher modeling, peer modeling, CD or DVD) The students will have the opportunity to play their first sound and will learn how to play ‘Hot Cross Buns’ by ear at their first lesson. Once they can play their first song they are hooked and more willing to learn music theory. ||
 * **What events will help students experience and explore the big idea and questions in the unit? How will you equip them with needed skills and knowledge?** |||||||| The students will work in a small lesson group and will have the opportunity to perform individually every step of the way. Students will not just perform for the teacher and the class, but will partner up and perform for peers. Students will have the opportunity to teach while they learn and will be asked to critique and model throughout the six weeks. This sharing of skills is exploratory and is a form of peer modeling.

During the week the students will be asked to practice their skills at home. Because this happens away from school it is very important that the students demonstrate their understanding of good practice. One of the ways that this is assessed is the students will demonstrate how they practice at home by working independently for an entire lesson. This way I will be able to observe the way they practice and can offer feedback and guidance on how to improve their practice skills. Practicing at home is the most important component of the instrumental program.

On of the biggest skills taught in this unit is teaching the students how to self-assess, self-motivate, and how to work productively in pairs. Students will take part in role-play of what to do and what not to do. Students will also receive individual feedback on their work in pairs throughout the unit. ||
 * **How will you cause students to reflect and rethink? How will you guide them in rehearsing, revising, and refining their work?** |||||||| Students will be editing their own work and the work of their partner. By critiquing and editing not only their own performance but also a fellow student, they will be encouraged to improve their own performance/work.

Students will be motivated because they will be working with a fellow student and will also be performing the compositions.

Students will be asked to explain and model the way that they practice at home.

The students are asked to practice specific concepts. These concepts build upon each other. If a concept is not mastered they will not be able to proceed to the next.

The students will work in pairs on each concept that is learned, checking for understanding. Students will critique other student’s progress. ||
 * **How will you help students to exhibit and self-evaluate their growing skills, knowledge, and understanding throughout the unit?** |||||||| Students will work together in groups to teach and assist other students on the concepts learned in class. They will constantly be demonstrating their knowledge whether it be performing in the lesson group or in pairs.

Students will edit and critique their own performances. ||
 * **How will you tailor and otherwise personalize the learning plan to optimize the engagement and effectiveness of ALL students, without compromising the goals of the unit?** |||||||| Students will have the opportunity to partner up with all of the students in the class. During this small group activity the teacher will have more of an opportunity to assess and assist the students needs. Students are engaged when they are working with a partner. ||
 * **How will you organize and sequence the learning activities to optimize the engagement and achievement of ALL students?** |||||||| Students will be taught the concept for the lesson. Students will partner up and work on the concept. Students will perform or explain the concept at the end of the class. At the start of the next class the students will review the concepts from the previous lessons. Then the new concept will be introduced. At the end of the lesson concepts will be reviewed. ||

From: Wiggins, Grant and J. Mc Tighe. (1998). //__Understanding by Design__//, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development ISBN # 0-87120-313-8 (ppk)

//How was it creating this lesson? //  I enjoyed creating this lesson because it allowed me to see all of the things that I am teaching the students. If someone asked me what I taught, I would say instrumental music. After completing this assignment I am aware of the all the other skills that I am teaching. Students in my class learn how to collaborate and teach each other. Students learn how to self-assess and self-motivate. Students learn how to use their ears and listen in ways they have never listened before. Students in my learn how to work as a team and be a contributing member of the team.

//What difficulties did you encounter? //  At first I was a little confused of the difference between the overarching and the topical essential questions. I started to fill out the sections out of order and then I got turned around. On the second try I started at the top of the template and worked my way down. That seemed to put me on the right track. One thing that I wish I had done was complete this assignment the weekend after the in person class.

Another difficulty that I had was trying to incorporate too many skills into one unit. This template allows me to see how much material can be covered over the six week time frame. I think the end result is a manageable goal for the students and for myself.

//Did you like the format? //  The format is helpful because it allows me to see the different components that need to be taught to reach the goal of the unit. Sometimes when I am lesson planning from week to week I forget to teach a concept and have to go out of order. This is not usually a problem, but I think the organization and sequencing will support good classroom management. Also it is beneficial for the students to learn the concepts in a sequential order. This template will keep me on track.

//What are additional questions you now have? //  I feel that this method is a wonderful tool for lesson planning. I did struggle with coming up with additional assessments for my class. My students do a great deal of performing and that is typically the way that I assess their progress. I think the composition project is also a strong assessment. Aside from the handful that I have listed in the plan, I had some trouble developing and brainstorming a wide variety of assessments. I am not sure if I need an assessment for every single lesson in the unit. If the students are performing the skill then perhaps that takes the place of a formal assessment?

Nice job, Tiffany! Your unit looks very thorough and fun for students. I have noticed from my own experience as a child, and being a teacher, that students are very interested in playing an instrument in the beginning and most drop it within a year. You appear to have a good handle on keeping kids engaged and enjoying a musical instrument.  I loved your plan about having students model how they practice independently at home. We often take for granted that students know how to do something on their own. I might have actually practiced my clarinet at home had someone shown me what to do. Great idea!  I noticed in your essential questions that students would gain the ability to show their partner how to do fingerings. I have found it is always difficult to teach students how to critique other students without making it a hurtful or useless activity. How would you go about doing that in a lesson? It’s important that students do not waste precious time in class being hurtful to peers, or being overly nice and missing out on the opportunity to critique objectively.  <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman';">I too felt the same way about finding the UbD plan a useful way to tone down the amount of concepts put into one unit. It was a useful way to see that sometimes I try to cover too much material, and never go in depth on the bigger issues.

From, Courtney Mellinkoff