Lesson Planning Form for Accessible Instruction Calvin College Education Program

Teacher Ashley Meyers

Date 4/6/16

Grade 9th-12th

Subject/ Topic/ Theme Appalachian Folk Music Intro

I. Objectives
How does this lesson connect to the unit plan?
This lesson provides an introduction to Appalachia, its prominent features, folk music, and the Coon Creek Girls (who popularized Banjo Pickin Girl in the
1940s). This will be a launching point for the rest of the unit.
cognitiveR U Ap An E C*

Learners will be able to:

Identify where Appalachia is geographically as well as prominent industries in the area and broad immigration trends
in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Describe prominent features of Appalachian folk music including vocal ornamentation and common instruments
Accurately and artistically sing the first verse of Banjo Pickin Girl
Self-evaluate interest in specific aspects of the material as well as questions or concerns about the unit.

physical
development

U
A
Ap/C
A/E

socioemotional

X
X

Common Core standards (or GLCEs if not available in Common Core) addressed:
- MU:Pr4.3.E.IIIa Demonstrate how understanding the style, genre, and context of a varied repertoire
of music informs prepared and improvised performances as well as performers technical skill to
connect with the audience.
- MU:Cn11.0.T.IIIa Demonstrate understanding of relationships between music and the other arts,
other disciplines, varied contexts, and daily life.
- MU:Pr5.3.E.IIIa Develop, apply, and refine appropriate rehearsal strategies to address individual
and ensemble challenges in a varied repertoire of music.
- MU:Pr6.1.E.IIa Demonstrate mastery of the technical demands and an understanding of expressive
qualities of the music in prepared and improvised performances of a varied repertoire representing
diverse cultures, styles, genres, and historical periods.
- MU:Re7.2.E.8a Describe how understanding context and the way the elements of music are
manipulated inform the response to music.
(Note: Write as many as needed. Indicate taxonomy levels and connections to applicable national or state standards. If an objective applies to particular learners
write the name(s) of the learner(s) to whom it applies.)
*remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create

II. Before you start

Identify prerequisite
knowledge and skills.

Some basic idea of Appalachian geography and American folksongs would be ideal, but not required.
Pre-assessment (for learning): Students get into groups and discuss where they think Appalachia is and any wordassociations they may have with it.

Outline assessment
activities
(applicable to this lesson)

Formative (for learning): Students are asked mention something surprising about they learned about Lily May
Ledfords life based on the short video they watched. They are also asked to share about historical events they know
about that happened during her life (history tie-in).
Students complete exit slips after this class period. Two of the questions are to self-evaluate what may be difficult
about this piece/unit. The student may also ask any questions they might have.
Formative (as learning):
Summative (of learning): On the exit slips, students are supposed to write one thing that they learned.

What barriers might

this lesson present?
What will it take
neurodevelopmentally,
experientially,
emotionally, etc., for
your students to do this
lesson?
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Provide Multiple Means of

Representation
Provide options for perceptionmaking information perceptible

Provide Multiple Means of Action

and Expression
Provide options for physical actionincrease options for interaction

Visual students can see written

information and pictures on the
PowerPoint. They also get to watch a
brief video about Lily May Ledford.
Students have the score of Banjo
Pickin Girl, which can help them as

During the last big chunk of the

lesson, the students get to put they just
learned into action by singing Banjo
Pickin Girl. They can experiment
with different vocal tones and
inflections. They also (hopefully)

Provide Multiple Means of

Engagement
Provide options for recruiting
interest- choice, relevance, value,
authenticity, minimize threats

they learn the piece.

Aural students listen to a clip of the
Coon Creek Girls singing Banjo
Pickin Girl. There are also a few
snippets on Lily May Ledford
performing on the short feature about
her life. They students can also listen
to each other as they sing Banjo
Pickin Girl.
Kinesthetic after the students have
learned about some Appalachian
styles, they are able to put them into
practice by working on Banjo
Pickin Girl themselves.
Provide options for language,
mathematical expressions, and
symbols- clarify & connect language

The traditionally notated music

that the students use to learn
Banjo Pickin Girl combines
both language and symbols.

Provide options for comprehensionactivate, apply & highlight

Students have multiple

opportunities to apply or evaluate
what theyre learning. For
example, before learning the
definition of musicology the
class would list folksongs that
they knew and try to categorize
them in some way. So even before
they learned about musicology
they were engaging in the
discipline in some small way.
Materials-what
materials (books,
handouts, etc) do you
need for this lesson and
are they ready to use?
How will your
classroom be set up for
this lesson?
III. The Plan
Time
3
min

1
min
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Components
Motivation
(opening/
introduction/
engagement)
Development
(the largest
component or

have a much better idea of the

background of the piece.

Provide options for expression and

communication- increase medium of
expression

Provide options for sustaining effort

and persistence- optimize challenge,
collaboration, mastery-oriented
feedback

For several parts of the lesson

students are able to voice their
opinion (e.g. things they found
interesting about Lily May
Ledford or musical aspects they
noticed about the Coon Creek
Girls recording of Banjo Pickin
Girl). Other times, the class
discusses questions in small
groups then shared their thoughts
with the rest of the class later.

For some parts of the lesson, the

students are asked to confer or
discuss with their peers, then
share their ideas with the group.
For example, at the beginning of
the lesson the students talk about
where they think Appalachia is
and some words they associate
with Appalachia.

Provide options for executive

functions- coordinate short & long
term goals, monitor progress, and
modify strategies

Provide options for self-regulationexpectations, personal skills and

strategies, self-assessment &
reflection

At the end of the lesson, the

students write an exit slip where
they talk about what they
learned, what interested them
about the lesson, and any
questions they have (e.g. what
they want to know more about,
what might be challenging for
them, clarification questions,
etc.).

PowerPoint Presentation:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1EkIvNWsh2oQGZGZ60yIOQh82m6BWnY_iYTLEY2xgLfQ/edit
Clip about Lily May Ledfords life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aduo71buiFA
Blank paper for students to write exit slips
Projector with sound
The classroom should be set up in normal choir formation so that the class can work on singing at the end.
The students should also be able to see the projector for the PowerPoint presentation and video clips.

Describe teacher activities

AND
student activities
for each component of the lesson. Include important higher order thinking questions and/or prompts.
Give students the prompt: Where do you think
Have students divide into groups of 3-4 and answer
Appalachia is geographically? Identify three main
this prompt collectively. The students should be
things that come to mind when you think of
ready to share their responses with the class.
Appalachia. The teacher should circulate to help any
students who might be stuck.
On PowerPoint presentation, show students a map of
Student compare their guesses of where Appalachia
Appalachia.
was with the map.

4-5
min

Ask students to share their word associations about

Appalachia with the group. The teacher should help
students unpack the ideas and assumptions behind
their word choices.

Students share their word associations. They may

also discuss why these words came to mind. Ideally,
the students will begin to examine the culture
baggage behind their words.

2
min

Present the next few slides explaining some

information about Appalachia to the students.

Students listen and may take notes about Appalachia.

Give students the definition of a folksong and ask

them to think of any folksongs they know. Write
these songs on a master list on the board. Once this
list is complete, ask students to arrange/categorize
this list in some way to illustrate part of the field of
musicology. Tell students that musicologists would
have similarly compiled and categorized folksongs
they found in Appalachia.

Student brainstorm to come up with folksongs that

they know. After students have completed this list,
they can collectively try to arrange/categorize the
songs on their list.

Introduce the students to Lily May Ledford. Share

basic facts about her life. Ask students if they know
about anything that was happening in the world in
1917 (the year she was born)? 1930s (when she was
on Chicagos Barn Dance)? 1944 (when Banjo
Pickin Girl was released)? Ask students if any of
them play a stringed instrument as well.

Listen to information about Lily May Ledford. Share

any historical events that they know about that
happened during Ledfords lifetime. Students could
also raise their hands if they play any string
instruments since Ledford was also a string player.

Play short video about Ledford. Before playing the

video, tell students that this is a short clip about
Ledford and ask them to think of one interesting or
surprising thing about her life and be prepared to
share their thought with the class after the video.

Watch video and think of one interesting or

surprising thing they learned about Ledfords life.
Raise hands and share these thoughts with the class
after the video is played.

2
min

Play a short clip of Banjo Pickin Girl as recorded

by the Coon Creek Girls (dont play a whole video,
just enough to give the choir an idea of the song).
Again, before playing the song ask the choir to listen
or distinctive features about the vocals and/or
instrumentation. After the video is played, ask
students to describe the vocal style. Also ask students
if they noticed any connections between this song
and other styles of music they have heard.

Listen to Banjo Pickin Girl. Describe noticeable

elements of vocal style. Connect this with other
modern styles or artists.

1
min

Conclude PowerPoint by summarizing what

information was covered and mentioning how
Appalachian folk music is still influential today in
modern genres such as folk, blue grass, and country.

Listen to conclusion. Consider why Appalachian folk

music is important.

15
min

Rehearse part of Banjo Pickin Girl. Start with the

first verse (since it is in unison) and have students
sight-read the melody. Tell students markings as
necessary. Also, try to capture some of the style of
the piece, even in the first few runs (dont wait until
after the piece is learned to add in style). Once the
piece gets to multiple parts, try singing this with all
the parts, then isolate each part and layer in. Try to
learn through verse 2 (top of pg. 6, measure 21)
Ask students to write exit slips with the following:
1. Thing you learned during the lesson today.
2. One thing you want to know more about.
3. One thing that you think could be
challenging about the music.
Answers should be in complete sentences.

Students sight-read the melody and work through as

much of the song as they can get through in 15 min.
The choir may sing all together, or this could include
some part-by-part work too.

5
min

2
min

5
min

5
min

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main body of
the lesson)

Closure
(conclusion,
culmination,
wrap-up)

Students must answer the three questions on their

exit slip in order to be able to leave the classroom.

Your reflection about the lesson, including evidence(s) of student learning and engagement, as well as ideas for improvement for
next time. (Write this after teaching the lesson, if you had a chance to teach it. If you did not teach this lesson, focus on the process of
preparing the lesson.)
A few weeks ago, I essentially got to teach much of this lesson to my class. I was not personally responsible for rehearing them during
the last bit of class, but I did get go through the PowerPoint Presentation I made for them. However, I tweaked the lesson a bit based on
feedback I got from my classroom visit and also because I wanted the lesson to be more interactive than the teacher simply lecturing
about Appalachian folk music. As much as possible, I tried to give students opportunities to explore and discover rather than simply
being spoon-fed information. Hopefully, this also helped to make this lesson more of a dialogue rather than a monologue. Finally, I
added the exit slips at the end because I thought it would be a short, helpful way to assess what students had learned from the lesson as
well as where they wanted the unit to go. If I were teaching this unit in real life, I would probably try to be flexible with what I include
in the unit based on some of the students questions or comments in their exit slips.

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