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Student Teacher: Frederick Volz

Class: General Music Grade: 5 Date: 10/7/16

Time: 2:20PM 3:00PM

Central Focus: Rhythm

National Standards:
Content Standard 2: Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied
repertoire of music
Content Standard 5: Reading and notating music
Content Standard 7: Evaluating music and music performances

Student Learning Goals (Objectives):

Students will perform in small percussion ensembles to Day-O, focusing on their
steady rhythm, steady beat, and balance.

Students will provide feedback to the performing ensembles and will self-assess their
own performances.

Students will apply feedback from their peers and from the teacher to their
performances to improve.

Prior Academic Knowledge & Conceptions: The students performed a syncopated

rhythm found in the response of a call & response of Day-O vocally and through
movements. Many students recognize half, quarter, and eighth notes as well as quarter
rests and their durations.

The students created a class composition on the enoBoard and participated in a guided
practice session of speaking and clapping the first two rhythms. Then, they created
their own compositions and taught their rhythms to the other students in their small
groups.

The students designated leaders for their small groups that would count-off and provide
the tempo for their performances. Each group had individual practice time to refine
their performances and received feedback and thoughts for improvement from the
teacher. The students were also asked to self-assess their informal performances and
think about balance, steady beat, and overall togetherness.

Common Errors & Misconceptions: The student leaders will often count-off in a
different tempo than they intended the group to play. The groups rhythmic integrity
may collapse if there is a lack of a strong student leader in the ensemble. The student
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leader has to count-off and play their rhythm confidently so the group can get a better
sense of the tempo and stay together.

Materials:
Day-O backing track found in Making Music: Grade 5, CD 1-28
Four-Beat Rhythm Composition Worksheet
Music Stand
Pencils
Non-pitched percussion instruments: Tambourines, Hand Drums, Sand Blocks, Maracas
Performance Evaluation Sheet
Essential Questions:
How do I clap a new rhythm correctly the first time I see it?
How do I maintain a steady rhythm against different rhythms?
How can I check my work and reflect on my own performance?
How do I provide feedback that is constructive without hurting others feelings?

Instruction & Procedures:

Introduction / Warm-Up Routine:
1. The students enter the classroom and sit on their assigned carpet spots. The
teacher will have a seating chart with the students names on their corresponding
spots. The teacher will sing, Sing with me (do re mi), and the students will echo
sing. The teacher will sing each students name to the melodic pattern do re mi,
fa mi re, sol mi do, with an occasional do sol or sol mi to add additional comments
and humor the students will echo sing.
2. The teacher will sing the instructions, please stand tall, the students will stand
up in their spots. The teacher will remind the students about singing posture and
expectations such as feet slightly apart, arms at your sides, standing up straight,
and smiling. The teacher will sing the Hello Song while playing a piano
accompaniment and the students will echo sing. Once the Hello Song is
completed, the teacher will alternate between A and B on the piano, where the
students will move until the note stop, where the students will freeze. After a
concluding major chord, the teacher will instruct the students to please sit
down.
Lesson Launch / Hook:
1. The teacher will display a pre-made composition with all four rhythms filled in
and with rhythm syllables written below each line. The teacher will play the
backing track to Day-O! and will ask the students to clap the steady beat. Then
the class will speak some of the rhythms on the board using rhythm syllables to
Day-O! The teacher will instruct the students to perform their compositions to
the beat of Day-O! after a short period of practice.
2. The students will receive their compositions and will practice in their groups for
about 7 minutes. Each student group will designate a group leader that will count
in the group.
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Informal Assessment: The teacher will circulate around the room and will observe
how the group leader counts in the group. Is the count-off in tempo and
strong/confident? If not the teacher will model what a strong count-off looks like.
3. The teacher will flicker the lights and instruct the students to return their
instruments to their designated bins in the front of the room and find their carpet
spots.

Lesson Procedure:
1. Each student will receive a pencil and a performance evaluation sheet, which will
ask the students to evaluate each group on a scale from 1-3 on their balance,
steady beat, and rhythm. On the reverse side of the sheet, the students have
space to evaluate their own performance. The teacher will also have a
performance evaluation sheet, which will be given to each group with written
feedback.
2. The teacher will ask for any group that wants to volunteer to perform first. That
group will come to the front of the room and will perform their rhythm
composition to Day-O for about 30 seconds. While the group is performing, the
audience members will sing the response to Day-O so they can participate in the
performance. After the performance, the audience will applaud and the teacher
will ask for feedback from the students watching the performance. The teacher
will ask for some aspects of the performance that went well and what the
performers could improve on. The teacher will also provide feedback to the group
on aspects of the performance they did well and could improve on.
3. Once the performers have received feedback, they will apply the feedback to their
performance immediately. After the second, shortened performance, the teacher
will ask the class if they improved or if there is more to think about. The
expectation is not perfection, but improvement and constructive criticism.
4. Steps 2 and 3 will be repeated until all groups have performed. Once all of the
groups have performed, each student will fill out the Self-Assessment section of
their sheet which asks what they believed to be their groups strengths, what they
could improve on, and what they learned from the overall experience of moving
rhythmically, composing music, performing for others, and receiving feedback.

Differentiation (Planned Support): The teacher will demonstrate for the class what a
strong count-off would look like to Day-O! and how a strong group leader can help the
entire group. If the group performance is very far off from the recording, the teacher
may clap to get the group back on track.

Accommodations for Special Learners

504/IEPs- Student with heightened anxiety level: Positive reinforcement for

performance, praise student for working so well with their group, monitor feedback
given by students to ensure it is positive
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Student with speech or language impairment: Slow pacing of speaking when

explaining rhythm syllables, work through composition with student a few times before
they try on their own, playing with student during composition if they are struggling

Special Learners- Students in need of extra support: Write in rhythm syllables to

your composition, speak them quietly while you play, clapping beat during performance
if students fall out of sync
Students in need of extra challenge: Lead your group (counting in, providing steady
beat), provide constructive feedback to your group and help those that are struggling,
play rhythm confidently so others in group follow
Student with selective mutism: Allow student to perform their composition/answer
questions with a peer helper

Closure: The students will reflect on what they learned from the experience of moving
rhythmically, creating compositions, performing them for their peers, and receiving
feedback on their performance evaluation sheet. While the students are lined up, the
teacher will ask for volunteers to share their responses of what they learned from the
experience.

Language: Function: Students will perform their compositions for their peers and
receive feedback which they will apply immediately after a small discussion of how to
improve. The students will later self-assess their performances.

Content Specific Vocabulary: Rhythm syllables (ta, ti-ti, rest), tambourine, maraca,
sand block, hand drum, percussion, half note, quarter note, eighth note, quarter rest,
repeat sign, 4/4, composition, feedback

Assessments Used:

Informal- Informal Assessment: The teacher will circulate around the room and will
observe how the group leader counts in the group. Is the count-off in tempo and
strong/confident? If not the teacher will model what a strong count-off looks like.

Self-Assessment: The students will reflect on their own performance in the self-
assessment section of their performance evaluation sheet which will be turned in to
the teacher at the end of class.
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Formal- Performance Assessment: Each group that performs will be assessed by

their peers as well as the teacher on a performance evaluation sheet. The sheet has the
scorer rate the group on a scale from 1 (lowest) 3 (highest) on balance (can you hear
everybody playing?), steady beat (is the group with Day-O?), and steady rhythm (is
the group together, playing with each other?). Each category on the sheet has a rubric
specifying what each number from 1-3 represents. Below the numerical scoring section
is a space for written feedback, which the students in the audience will have the option
to share. The audience should write performance strengths as well as areas for
improvement.

Individual Performance Assessment: The teacher will also complete an individual

performance assessment, focusing on the same categories as the group assessment
(steady beat, steady rhythm, balance). The teacher will circle a number from 1(lowest)
3(highest) based on a rubric specifying the requirements to receive a 1-3. At the bottom
of the sheet, the teacher will provide individualized feedback on strengths and areas for
improvement, which the students will receive during the next lesson.

Accommodations for Assessments- With all students, the score should come after
they have a chance to apply the feedback that they receive from their peers and from
the teacher. All student performance should improve afterwards.

Students in need of extra support will be given the option to play a friends rhythm so
they can have extra security.

For the student with the speech and language impairment, the student can perform
with a friend, or with the teacher if they prefer.

For the student with heightened anxiety, the teacher will give positive reinforcement for
the performance and will focus on positive feedback focusing on group strengths and
less focus on weaknesses. Singling out individuals for improvement is to be absolutely
avoided for all groups during class discussion as to prevent additional anxiety.

Possible Research / Theory:

Vygotsky Social Development Theory

Social interaction with a more knowledgeable other (MKO) aids individual development.
The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) distance between a students ability to
perform a task under adult guidance and/or with peer collaboration and the students
ability solving the problem independently.