Number of Units for the School Year (please list below; adjust table as needed) Please put the Unit you will plan below in bold type. Assume that you will see students once a week for 40 minutes.
NUMBER OF WEEKS TOPIC/THEME
1 Social Contract 2 Posture and breathing 4 Staff 3 Solfege and Takadimi 3 Measure signatures 2 8th and 16th notes/rhythms 2 Balance 4 Diction 5 Melody and Harmony 2 Staccato vs. Lagato 6 Major vs. Minor
(should equal 34 weeks)
Chosen Unit Topic/Theme:
Try to balance the pillars of the National Core Arts Standards: Create/Perform/Respond/Connect Adjust table as needed DAY TOPIC OF THE DAY REPERTOIRE/ACTIVITIES SAMPLE ASSESEMENT (INCLUDE SKILLS & CONCEPTS) STRATEGIES 1 Discovering Melody - Teacher will introduce melody as a Informal assessment during - An exploration of the meaning new vocabulary word. Students will think/pair/share of melody EDSS 450N Elementary Unit Plan Template
- Students will recognize their discuss what they know about
ability to pull out the melody of melody. a song. - Students will write the definition and/or draw a picture of Melody in their personal glossary. - Teacher will show and play examples of melody (Mary Had a Little Lamb, Row Row Row your Boat, and Amazing Grace) - Students will listen to pieces of music and then think/pair/share about what they thought the melody was (Good Night a Russian Song, Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling, and Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus) 2 Harmony, the other pitched element. - Warm ups will include chordal Informal - Exploration of the meaning of singing (group 1 on Do, 2 on Mi, Check understanding through Harmony. and 3 on So [to start) Class discussion - Students will gain an - Introduce Harmony as a new Check ability to tune by walking understanding of the vocabulary word. Students will around during partner activity. importance of harmony. discuss what they know about - Students will work on their melody. Formal ability to tune to others in - Students will write down the Check understanding through harmonic intervals definition and/or draw a picture of exit slip. harmony in glossary. - Students will sing Row Row Row Your Boat as a round and will think pair share about where they think harmony occurred. (Will also do EDSS 450N Elementary Unit Plan Template
with with their piece Good Night a
Russian Song) - Students will partner up and sing towards each other taking turns changing notes. e.g. both will start on ‘Do’ (middle C) and student 1 will move to another note (‘So’ for instance) and then student 2 will move to a new note (maybe ‘Re’). - Ask for volunteers to share. - Students will write exit slip with 2 things they learned about harmony and one more thing of their choice on the topic. 3 Putting them together - Teacher will play an improvised Informal - Students will learn about chord melody over a I – V – I progression Check for understanding with and non-chord tones - Teacher will ask students to listen Think/pair/share - Students will explore the as they play a D or F with a C chord Formal sounds of chord and non-chord and compare it to a C E or G played Check for understanding with tones with the C chord. whiteboard answers - Students will practice with - Ask students to think/pair/share Exit slips improvisation about what they heard. - Show the difference of a chord tones and a non-chord tones on the staff and on a picture of a keyboard. - Show a G chord on the staff and ask students to write one of the 3 chord tones on their small whiteboards and show it when they have it. EDSS 450N Elementary Unit Plan Template
- Have students explore the sounds
with a new partner at the keyboard (1 person plays a C chord while the tries out other notes) - Exit slip: What was your favorite key to play with C, or combination of keys? (students can write or draw a picture of a keyboard to show their answer) What kind of feeling did it give you? 4 Writing - Teacher will share (without names) Informal - Students will solidify their some of the exit slip combinations Teacher will check groups understanding of chord and (played on the piano) and how it understanding while walking non-chord tones through made people feel. around as they are working. writing. - Class will discuss if they feel the Formal - Students will explore different same or something different and Checking highlighted lines and harmonic sounds. why those connections exist. spaces on staff. - Students will practice - Teacher will display example of Checking melody (and any composition and teamwork. written melody. changed harmonies). - Using their knowledge from the previous lesson, students be put in groups of 4 and will have to create their own 4 bar diatonic melody (1 bar each) over a I – IV – V – 1 progression (or they can create their own harmony if they wish. - Students will highlight the lines and/or spaces with chord tones in their specific measure. - Teacher will assist groups with writing process. EDSS 450N Elementary Unit Plan Template
5 The Results - Students will sing through their Informal
- Students will reflect on their, written melody on solfege twice Through questions about and others, work. (two chances) as the teacher plays interesting choices. the harmony and the music is Through comments about the projected. writing process. - Students will also share 1 thing Through comments about other they learned or observed in the group’s pieces. process. - Rest of Class will write 1 positive thing they liked about the performer’s composition (and be specific with measure numbers when applicable)