Unit Plan Template: Discrimination Aural/Oral

Traditional Classroom LSAs: Pattern Vocabularies

 Pre-designated succession of aural/rhythm patterns

o Must be 3-5 pitches if tonal
o Must be considered a full metered measure if rhythm
 3 day timeframe
o First day is purely exposition to the pattern
o Second day is a review of the pattern and/or introducing new patterns in the rotation
o Third day is a final review of the pattern
o This 3 day structure is an initial test for time-frame unit planning.
 May need to increase or decrease number of days depending on the average
music aptitude of the class and the difficulty of the patterns.
 Maximum of 5 min. of classroom instruction
o May be as many as 10 distinct patterns
 CANNOT exceed a total of 10 distinct patterns within whatever Tonal or Rhythm
Learning Sequence
 Ex. No more than 10 distinct patterns in Ionian
 Ex. No more than 10 distinct patterns that are in a Simple meter with
divided beat.
 May have other pattern amounts that are in different
modes/meters/divisions
o This is including a preparatory sequence
 Tonal preparatory sequences
 Ex. Ionian
o “So-La-So-Fa-Mi-Re-Ti1’-Do
 Ex. Lydian
o “Do-Re1-Do-Ti-La-So-Mi-Fa
o Do not implement both tonal and rhythm patterns in the same class day.
 One week may be a tonal week
 One week may be a rhythm week
o Teacher performs pattern and signifies if a single student will perform solo or if the
entire class will perform as an ensemble
 Procedure must be taught on the first day
 o For Tonal only, each pitch in a pattern must have a brief moment of silence in between
each pitch
 As if each pitch is subtly and lightly lifted.
 This is to encourage and mandate proper audiation of the pitch before the
student(s) perform them back
 If this space is not included, the student may rely on finding the next
pitch with a different mental process
o Singing and thinking the pitch in their head vs. singing a pitch
and sliding/glissando into the next pitch until they satisfy their
memorial retention of the pitch
o One is forcing the student to reproduce the sound aurally
before phonation
o The other is allowing the student an opportunity to “cop out” of
the skill of correctly audiating the pitch and finding pitch
relationships for accurate singing instead
o Throughout the entire unit time frame, it is encouraged that each student must have
had an opportunity to perform the patterns in question solo before that pattern may be
transferred to another comprehensive objective.
 At least 75%-80% of students MUST demonstrate mastery of a pattern before
moving to another comprehensive objective

Traditional Classroom LSAs: Repertoire/Songs/Chants

 Whole-Parts-Whole method is the preferred method of teaching repertoire/songs/chants

o First stage is introduction to the entirety of the piece
 This gives students initial exposure to a meter