hs work sample

Work Sample Megan McGee

Undergraduate in Bachelor of Music Education Fall 2015

Greeley Central High SchoolDistrict 6-Public Schools

Greeley, ColoradoCooperating Teacher: Richard Green

UNC Supervisor: Jill Burgett

Section I: Planning Process

Topic Map

Unit Outline

Music Literacy through Sight Reading

2

Improvements & growth in Music Literacy

Sight Reading

Learning the major scale

through Solfege

Learning key signatures through the circle of fifths

Use of the Practice Room

Circle of fifths testing in class

Individual testing and tracking of progress

Learning basic musical concepts just as note names, values, & rhythms

Practicing musical concepts through sight singing

Individual practice with sight reading

Unit Objectives: To increase music literacy through sight reading and become proficient

in at least levels 1 and 2 on the practice room website which will continue to help them

grow as a class in their musicianship.

Learning the basics of sight reading

Solfege

o Learning the solfege syllables and Curwin hand signs

o Various warm-ups that include solfege and learning all of the syllables in

many different formats

Use solfege when learning repertoire and having the students continue to

try and figure out the solfege on their own

Basic Musical Concepts

o Watching level 1 video on thepracticroom.net on sight reading an basic

concepts such as clefs, staves, and note names.

o Practicing sight reading examples on level 1 in the class room on

thepracticeroom.net.

o Individual practice and grading on thepracticeroom.net.

~ Initial Sight Reading Quiz (Pre-Test) ~

Continuing the basics of Sight Reading while applying to real music & making

thepracticeroom.net part of the daily learning activities

The circle of fifths and how to find “do”

o Circle of fifths lecture in class with practice

o Applying circle of fifths to finding key signatures

o Writing out key signatures

3

o Using the circle of fifths to understand how to find “do” and apply it in

examples from thepracticeroom.net

The Practice Room

o Be able to understand these concepts on their own and as an ensemble

10 examples of level 1 sight reading on thepracticerom.net on

their own – graded by me

Continued daily practice in class

o Note name identification

o Practice key signature identification

~ Circle of Fifths Test ~

On to Level 2 on thepracticeroom.net

Level 2 sight reading practice

o Watch Level 2 sight reading video in class

o Continued work in class on level 2

o Continued homework including thepracticeroom.net such as Level 2

Rhythm videos & examples of sight reading done individually

Other included theory work

o Explanation of triads and how you can distinguish them using solfege

syllables

~ Sight singing Quiz (Post-test) ~

Description of Content

4

I chose to focus my work sample on music literacy through sight reading. The

system I am evaluating is one that is being introduced and implemented just this year in

high schools in District 6. The idea presented is that sight reading will create better

musical literacy in all students-vocalists or instrumentalists- and it is one of the best ways

to improve musicianship in a student. It develops their ear training, visual identification,

key signature, and scale identification all at the same time. To test this process I set up a

sight reading plan for the students based upon a website called: thepracticeroom.net. It is

a website filled with sight reading examples, instructional videos, real music examples,

and even all-state audition level work. The website itself is very user friendly for the

students and for the teacher. As the teacher, I can log on and see what every student has

been working on, how long they worked on it, etc. and grade accordingly.

I did sight reading examples in class from the website every day and watched

some of the instructional videos in class. Additionally, by using this particular site, I

could also have the students practice at home and monitor how much work they had each

done from my own account. Since they were a beginning choir, most of them had very

little musical experience to date, which is why I selected these particular students for my

sample group, although all the choirs of all levels were using the same site. I like and

agree with the idea that musical literacy can best be learned through sight reading and I

wanted to focus on this and on the value and validity of this particular website as a tool

when helping the students with their growth and musicianship.

Section II: Description of the Setting

5

The Weld County School District 6 provides a learning environment for more

than 21,000 students through 25 district schools, 6 charter schools, and an online

academy, all around the Greeley and Evans area. Greeley Central High School is a public

school located in the center of Greeley. Greeley Central High School has an enrollment

of approximately 1400 students with an average class size of 250 students. It is a 4-year

high school including grades 9-12 as well as the only arts magnet program in the district.

The students are in school from 7:15 until 3:15 every day with up to 8 classes a day. On

Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, the students have eight 50 minute class periods and on

Wednesdays and Thursdays they have four 100 minute block periods.

The school is extremely diverse. The minority enrollment in the school is 68 %-

mainly Hispanic, 57% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and there is a 71%

graduation rate, all of which are above the state average.

The music room at Greeley Central High School is a fairly standard sized music

classroom. The classroom is shared with the choir classes as well as the orchestra classes.

There are approximately 30 chairs with collapsible desks instead of risers which is a

down side for the choir students but ideal for other classes such as AP music theory and

music history, and still manageable for orchestra. There are a few bass and cello racks

around the room for the orchestra students as well as a few large cabinets with guitars and

choir robes. There also is a white board and a piano at the front of the room. There choir

room connects to the band room through three separate smaller storage areas. The first is

used as a shared office space for the choir director, orchestra director, and band director,

though the orchestra director is only there for the first part of each day. The second space

is used for sound equipment of varying kinds from microphones to sound systems for the

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school. The third is a music library with a wide variety of band, choral, and orchestral

repertoire, while the last is a storage unit.

For this work sample I chose one choir to work with extensively; the Concert

Choir/Beginning Choir. There were 20 female students and 7 male. The general

demographics of the classroom match with that of the rest of the school. There were 11

Caucasian students and 16 minority students mainly those of Latino descent. There are 7

English Language Learners in the class and most of them are listed as fully proficient in

English. There are 3 female students enrolled in AVID and 1 male with special medical

needs.

Section III: Colorado Academic Standards, Goals, & Objectives

7

National Music Standards Addressed in this Lesson

1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.5. Reading and notating music.8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

New Colorado K-12 Model Content Standards for Music Addressed in this Lesson

1. Expression of Music

1 Present music expressively using appropriate technology

2 Demonstrate informed participation in music-making activities

3. Aesthetic Valuation of Music

1 Discernment of musical elements

2 Classification by genre, style, historical period, or culture

Section IV: Lesson Plans with Supporting Materials

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Each day in Concert Choir was planned out according to the same structure and

time table. The general layout for each day, for the selected choir, is seen below:

Concert Choir

Monday, Tuesday, Friday Date:

Lesson Objective:

1:30-1:31- stretch-hum singing

1:31-1:32- siren/sound effect warm-ups including articulation & vowel exercises

1:32-1:34- a singing & vocalizing warm-up (va, va, sing ee, sing ay, sing ah, etc)

1:34-1:37- more complex warm-up (round, chordal warm-ups) scales, flexibility

1:37-1:42- sight reading

1:42-1:50- starting repertoire/review from last class

1:50-2:03- hardest rep section starting with a review and then getting into new material

2:03-2:11- review/sing through of rep that’s more stable-working musicianship & artistry

2:11-217- even more stable rep & working memorization

2:17-2:20- announcements/reflections

Wednesday (altered block period day) Date:

Lesson Objective:

1:35-1:36- stretch, hum routine

1:36-1:37- breathing – working breath support & diaphragmatic breathing

1:37-1:39- siren/sound effect warm-ups including articulation & vowel exercises

1:39-1:43- a singing & vocalizing warm-up (va, va, sing ee, sing ay, sing ah, etc)

1:43-1:48- more complex warm-up/ scales/ intervals

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1:48- 1:56- sight reading

1:56-2:09- review of less complex rep & pushing into new material

2:09-2:35- hardest rep section

2:35-2:55- sectional rehearsals/ training/ sight singing tests

2:55-3:05- review/sing through more stable rep-working musicianship & artistry

3:05-3:12- memorization

3:12-3:15- announcements/reflections

The sight reading challenges I presented varied from day to day and rather than

having a few long lesson plans based around the subject of sight reading, I instead taught

them in small chunks every day. Therefore, the above listed lesson plan is just a general

idea of our lessons, and my specific sight-reading work that I did with the students fell in

different time slots depending the day. Therefore, most lesson plans are similar and

consistent only really varying with the different levels of the website.

Lesson Plan 1:

Teacher Name: Megan McGee

Date: August 19 & 21

Unit Title: Sight Reading with the Practice Room

Grade Level(s) for the Lesson: Concert Choir (Beginning Choir)

National Music Standards addressed in this Lesson: stated previously in work sample

New Colorado K-12 Model Content Standards for Music: stated previously in work

sample

10

Rationale for the Lesson: As most of the students are new to music and choir, they will

not have much of a foundation in musical elements or music theory. Therefore, it is

important to start them off with a basic understanding of solfege, Curwin hand signs, etc.

Instructional Goal of the Lesson: The students will have a grasp on general music

concepts that they can then use to start reading through their repertoire and develop a

better understanding of how to read their music.

Content/Instructional Process:

Getting Attention of the Students : Start playing warm-ups for the students on the

piano immediately so they are automatically warming up and stop talking because

of the piano playing.

Activity 1: A variety of warm-ups and vocal exercises. The warm-ups will take up

the first few sections of the general lesson plan listed above. Time slot 1:30-1:37

on M,T,F, and 1:35-1:48 on W)

Transition 1: Have the students direct their attention to the chart at the front of the

room with all of the solfege syllables listed. I will go over the syllables with them

along with the Curwin hand signs to match. Then I will have them practice a few

different exercises involving the solfege they just learned.

Activity 2: I will use the Curwin hand signs and have the students follow me on

solfege. I will pick random hand signs and they will have to follow me with their

voices. This way they will start to associate the hand signs with the proper pitch

and be able to better identify the different pitches in the scale. (This will occur

during the sight reading section of the time table)

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Transition 2: I will introduce a piece of real music that they will work with all

semester. I will give them their starting pitches and the solfege syllable they on

which they begin.

Activity 3: I will talk the students through the first few lines of their music using

the solfege terminology they have just learned. This way they can apply their

knowledge. (This will fall during the first repertoire section in the time chart.)

Guided Practice/Formative Assessment: During Activity 3 I will call on various students

to evaluate and see if they understand the concepts discussed. I also will evaluate the

responses and accuracy I get during Activity 2. This way I have two options during the

class period to test how my students are doing. This provides the opportunity to test them

as a class and individually.

Re-Teaching Strategy: If the students struggle with these activities I can go back and

introduce the same concepts on piano instead of relying mainly on singing

demonstrations. I can also follow along with the solfege chart more explicitly for the

students who benefit more from visual aids. I can put some real examples on the board as

well so they can envision what the solfege looks like in actual music and how it is

applicable.

Independent Practice: I will encourage the students to continue practicing these concepts

on their own for the time being. I will also suggest they look at their music outside of

class and see if they can start figuring things out on their own. Eventually, they will start

using thepracticeroom.net as their individual practice.

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Summative Assessment: My summative assessment is their level of performance during

class. I will see the level they are at and be able to prepare for the next class appropriately

based on their comprehension level in class.

Closure: After practice and instruction with the newly learned material, I will continue to

introduce their new music for the semester and encourage them to apply what they

learned. I will continue this with a new piece in each time slot until the class is over.

Materials Used in the Lesson

Piano

Solfege chart

Laptop

Projector

Music for students

Resources Needed for the Lesson

thepracticeroom.com

Reflection: The information was brand new to the students but they were able to pick up

on the major scale fairly easily. They will definitely continue to need lots of practice but

they had a productive start. By the end of class they seemed relatively comfortable with

the basic major scale and the order of the solfege syllables though most of them were still

using the chart at the front of the classroom.

Lesson Plan 2:


Date: August 24, 2015

13





sample

Rationale for the Lesson: Sight singing is an efficient way to test their new knowledge of

solfege. Additionally, I will be introducing new information like note values, types, etc.

will further their music literacy and better their sight singing abilities.

Instructional Goal of the Lesson: The goal of the lesson is to give the students an

understanding of basic concepts such as measures, bar lines, clefs, and the staff, and then

have them successfully sight read a simple exercise pulled from level 1 of

thepracticeroom.net.


Getting the Attention of the Students: Start playing warm-ups for the students on

the piano immediately so they are automatically warming up and stop talking

because of the piano playing.

Activity 1: A variety of warm-ups and vocal exercises. The warm-ups will take up

the first few sections of the general lesson plan listed above. Time slot 1:30-1:37

on M,T,F, and 1:35-1:48 on W)

Transition 1: I will allow the students to sit quietly while I pull up

thepracticeroom.net and put it on the projector so all the students can see.

Activity 2: I will pull up the first instructional video on the site for them to watch.

This video touches on elements including the treble clef, bass clef, measures, bar

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lines, and double bar lines. They can get a quick overview of what music looks

like on the staff and how it can be interpreted. This will occur during the sight

reading section of the lesson plan.

Transition 2: Pass around a sheet where everyone can write down their email

information.

Activity 3: While the students are writing down their information, I will describe

to them how website works. I will later use their email information to create

accounts for all of the students. I will teach them how to navigate the site, how to

log in, watch videos, and other important website details. Then I will pull up an

example of level 1 sight reading on the website. Level 1 is very basic; everything

is in stepwise motion, nothing goes above the solfege syllable “sol,” it is all in

either 3/4 or 4/4 time, and there is even an option to have the solfege written in

underneath the example if needed. I will work through a few examples of level 1

as a class. This will occur during the first section of repertoire on the lesson plan

time table in place of starting a new piece of music during that time as this will

need more time and dedication.

Transition 3: I will assign them their homework on the website; 10 examples of

level 1 sight reading.

Guided Practice/Formative Assessment: As the students are going through the level 1

examples on the board I will walk around and see how they are doing as a class. I will

work through a few examples so that they are presented with different challenges. I will

call on various students before we work through the examples as well to ask about certain

notes, clefs, and other information they just learned.

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Re-Teaching Strategy: The students will naturally struggle with these concepts at first, as

it is brand new information. Therefore, I will continue with lots of practice of these

concepts and will go over them every day in class to reiterate them. If the students still

are not grasping the concepts I will describe it to them on the board in more interactive

ways – having them come up to the board, working through things as a class, etc - and in

general using more examples in addition to the video.

Independent Practice: The independent practice is in the homework that I assigned to

them. I will be able to check their accounts, what they were working on, and how long

they worked.

Summative Assessment: I will be able to assess of performance during class. I will see

the level they are at and be able to prepare for the next class appropriately. I also will be

able to log in and check on their homework and who has been practicing.

Closure: I will continue to work repertoire with the students after they have gone through

their sight reading lesson for the day. I will continue to ask questions about what they’ve

learned as we work through their other pieces. This will continue this until class is

finished.


Piano

Solfege chart

Laptop

Projector

Music for students


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thepracticeroom.com

Reflection: The students had an appropriate amount of difficulty with the exercise but are

showing great signs of improvement. They did well with the examples they were given

after some practice. The transition to real music was difficult for them but that will

improve with continued practice.

Lesson Plan 3


Dates: September 16





sample

Rationale for the Lesson: Learning the circle of fifths is crucial in their understanding of

music. This will improve their general musicianship and improve their sight reading

abilities during class.

Instructional Goal of the Lesson: The goal of the lesson is to make sure the students learn

and understand the circle of fifths and what it means in music. They should learn the

circle of fifths, how to find “do” from the circle, and be able to write key and understand

key signatures.


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Getting the Attention of the Students: Start playing warm-ups for the students

on the piano immediately so they are automatically warming up and stop

talking because of the piano playing. This will take up the warm-up section of

the time table.

Activity 1: We will run through a few examples of level 1 sight reading

examples on thepracticeroom.net.

Transition 1: I will have the students pull out a blank sheet of paper,

preferably staff paper, and if they do not have any I will provide it for them.

Activity 2: I will lecture on the circle of fifths. I will write it on the board,

describe what it means in music, how to identify keys, and how to identify

“do.”

Transition 2: I will have the students copy down the circle of fifths from the

board.

Activity 3: I will continue to describe how to use the circle of fifths to write

out key signatures and in which order to put the sharps and flats. I will

demonstrate a few for them and then I will have them take time to write out all

the key signatures for all of the keys in the circle of fifths.

Alternate Activity 3: For most students this task is doable but I know that

some students are still struggling with even more basic concepts. So I will ask

students that are still confused on things like note names/identification to

come up to the board. While other students are working on the key signature

assignment alone, the other students will come up and work in a small group

with me. They will then have the option to do the assignment after class

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instead of during class because the assignment will be due the next day. These

activities will occur throughout the entire class period different than the

normal schedule we use in class.

Guided Practice/Formative Assessment: The students will have the rest of class to work

on this and ask me questions. During this time I will be walking around the room,

checking on how each student is doing, and identifying their struggles and how to best

help them.

Re-Teaching Strategy: Though I will be teaching this concept in a lecture format, I will

be walking around afterwards and hopefully will be able to answer any questions the

students have and that time will provide for any re-teaching that needs to be done.

However, if the class as a whole is still struggling I will go back and take more time with

each section drawing it all out on the board and spending more time writing up examples.

I can also work through the assignment as a class and have the students answer questions

aloud instead of having them work individually on the assignment.

Independent Practice: The students will be doing lots of independent practice while

working on the assignment. They are allowed to talk to their neighbor if needed but for

the most part the assignment should be done individually. Also, if they do not finish they

will be taking it home to work on it individually.

Summative Assessment: The students will turn in their assignment at the beginning of the

next class and I will grade their assignment.

Closure: I will allow the students to have the rest of class to work on their circles and

their key signatures.


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Piano

Solfege chart

Laptop

Projector

Staff paper

White board

Markers


thepracticeroom.com

Reflection: At first this lesson was particularly difficult for the students. However, after

walking around individually with them and working one on one with them they were able

to work their way through the assignment. They had to take it very slowly but by the end

of the class period almost all of the students had finished the majority of the assignment.

Having some students come up to the board and work with them individually helped a

great deal. It gave me ample time to work with those students that were struggling and it

was challenging enough for the students did understand. It was a great lesson to work

with the students alone and get to know at what level each of them is on. They turned in

their papers to me the next day and the majority had vast improvements and were able to

identify the importance of the circle of fifths in sight reading.

Lesson Plan 4


Dates: October 5

20





sample

Rationale for the Lesson: The students have moved along well through all of level 1 on

thepracticeroom.net during class. They are grasping the concepts presented to them and

are moving through level 1 without any difficulty. Therefore, I am moving on to level 2

examples. The students will learn new musical concepts to and we will apply them to

level 2 sight reading.

Instructional Goal of the Lesson: The students will be able to read through some level 2

examples on thepracticeroom.net and we will discuss any new concepts that arise such as

rests, different rhythms, etc. We will talk about the things they don’t recognize and work

through them as a class so that by the end of their sight reading session they will be able

to handle and work through more challenging sight reading examples.


Getting Attention of the Students: I will immediately start playing piano to get

the students attention and they can begin warm-ups.

Activity 1: I will run through a variety of warm-ups and vocal exercises with

them. The warm-ups will take up the first few sections of the general lesson

plan listed above. Time slot 1:30-1:37 on M,T,F, and 1:35-1:48 on W)

Transition 1: I will allow the students to sit quietly while I pull up

thepracticeroom.net and put it on the projector so all the students can see.

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Activity 2: I will pull up a sight reading example from level 2 on the Practice

Room. I will give the students an opportunity to read through the example

together as a class after giving them “do” and their starting pitch. It is likely

they will struggle since there will be concepts we have not covered yet in

class. The main difference in level 1 and level 2 is the difficulty of the rhythm

and new rhythm concepts like quarter rests, half rests, and whole rests.

Transition 2: I will give the students time to ask about new things they see in

the example-specifically rhythm related- and we will discuss them as a class

and what each one means.

Activity 3: I will have the students attempt another read through with the new

knowledge we have just learned together. We will work through the example

slowly and repeatedly until they feel comfortable with the new concepts.

Activity 1 & 2 will occur during the sight reading section and the first section

that’s usually dedicated to repertoire on the time sheet provided.

Guided Practice/Formative Assessment: I will be able to assess them as a whole and see

how they are doing with the level 2 concepts. They also will have time to ask question

and analyze the new material. This way I will be able to know what they are struggling

with and what things I need to give more practice and attention.

Re-Teaching Strategy: The students will have lots of time to practice over the next few

weeks and discuss tings with which they are having particular difficulty. I will have

ample time to go over issues they come upon. Also, their homework is to watch the level

2 rhythm video on thepracticeroom.net which will go over it in a different format.

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Independent Practice: Their homework is to watch the level 2 rhythm video as stated in

the re-teaching strategy. They also are assigned to practice 10 rhythm examples from

level 2. This way they can become comfortable with the rhythm concepts and apply them

to the level 2 sight reading when they are in class.

Summative Assessment: I will be able to assess the students based on the homework that

is due by October 9-the Friday after our new concepts are introduced in class. I will be

able to log in to their accounts and track their progress online.

Closure: We will move along from sight reading and the rest of the class time will be

focused on repertoire.


Piano

Solfege chart

Laptop

Projector

Staff paper

White board

Markers


thepracticeroom.com

Reflection: The students did well on the level 2 example on the Practice Room. There

were only a few major differences between the two levels and most of them were just

related to rhythm. After we discussed the new note values, rests, etc, the students did well

with the sight reading. They are progressing very well and very quickly.

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Lesson Plan 5


Dates: October 26





sample

Rationale for the Lesson: I will be able to assess the students’ growth over the course of

the last 8 weeks.

Instructional Goal of the Lesson: The goal is for the students to review the concepts we

have been going over in class and then to test their understanding with the hope that they

will make vast improvements in their scores due to the constant work we have done so far

in the semester.


Getting Attention of the Students: I will immediately start playing piano to get

the students attention and they can begin warm-ups.

Activity 1: The students will run through a few warm-ups and vocalize at the

start of class. This will take up the warm-up sections on the time sheet.

Transition 1: I will pull up thepracticeroom.net on the projector.

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Activity 2: The students will run through some sight reading examples on

level 2 in order for them to have a small review before I test them. This will

occur during the sight reading portion of the time table.

Transition 2: Students will pull out their music and start working on their

repertoire.

Activity 3: The students will work on their repertoire with my cooperating

teacher and I will pull them all into the office one at a time to test their sight

reading ability. I will pull up an example from level 1 on the Practice Room.

The example I will use will be a different example from their original test but

still from the same level. This way I can see their improvement. I will not only

have them sing through the example but the students will need to be able to

identify the key signature and “do.”

Guided Practice/Formative Assessment: I will get some one on one time with each

student which will allow me to evaluate each student and their progress.

Re-Teaching Strategy: Unnecessary in this instance. They have tested in a few different

ways now and they need the different types of testing.

Independent Practice: They will continue to practice on their own and have assignments

on the practice room.

Summative Assessment: I will be able to log their progress and compare to their previous

scores from earlier in the semester.

Closure: I will take each student individually and when each student is done I will take

over the teaching of repertoire in the main classroom for the rest of the period.


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Piano

Solfege chart

Laptop

Projector

Staff paper

Record log for grading

White board

Markers


thepracticeroom.com

Reflection: The students have made a lot of progress and were very willing to work with

me. Some of them were a little uncomfortable under the pressure of standing on their own

however; most of them did really well.

~

The following is the plan I created with my cooperating teacher for the students to follow

and all of the assignments for thepracticeroom.net. The calendars were used for all of the

choirs but the highlighted sections are the assignments for Concert Choir which is the

choir I am using for this work sample.

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August 2015

◄ July 2015 ~ August 2015 ~ Sep 2015 ►

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19First Day of School

20 21 22

23 24 BV: 10 examples Level 1 sight readingChamber: 10 examples level 3 sight readingCC: 10 examples Level 1 sight reading

25 26 27 28 29

30 31 Notes:

September 2015

◄ August 2015 ~ September 2015 ~ Oct 2015 ►

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat1 2 3 4 5

27

http://www.wincalendar.com/September-Calendar/September-2015-Calendar.html

http://www.wincalendar.com/July-Calendar/July-2015-Calendar.html

◄ August 2015 ~ September 2015 ~ Oct 2015 ►

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat6 7 8 9 CC:SS Quiz

1on Level 110 11 12

13 14 15 16 CC: Theory Review: Circle of Fifths and writing all key signatures

17 BV: Theory Review: Circle of Fifths and writing all key signatures

18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 AP Theory: music theory.net 25 Major Key signatures in 1 minBV: PR 10 examples level 1&2Chamber: PR 10 examples rhythm level 3CC: 10 examples rhythm level 1

26

27 28 AP Theory: musictheory.net 25 minor/1 minute& PR minor keys 10 ex lev.1

29 30 CC: Circle of fifths test

Notes:

October 2015

◄ September 2015 ~ October 2015 ~ Nov 2015 ►

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat1 CC: musictheory.net Major Key Sig. 20/1min

2AP Theory:PR Rhythm 10 ex. Lev.1& (theory.net) Intervals aural 25 visual 20

3

28

http://www.wincalendar.com/November-Calendar/November-2015-Calendar.html



http://www.wincalendar.com/October-Calendar/October-2015-Calendar.html

http://www.wincalendar.com/August-Calendar/August-2015-Calendar.html

◄ September 2015 ~ October 2015 ~ Nov 2015 ►

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat4 5AP Theory:

musictheory.net Intervals: 20 visual/1 min & 25 aural/1 min

6 7 8 9AP Theory: Triads 20/1 min-aural& PR Rhythm lev.4 watch video and do 10 examplesBV: PR: Rhythm lev.2 watch video & do 10 examplesChamber: PR level 4 rhythm. Watch video & 10 examplesCC: PR lev.2 rhythm video and 10 examples

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11 12 13 14CC: M,m,+,dim triad explanations (theory lecture in class)

15 16 AP Theory: Triad ID visual 25/1 min(theory.net)BV:key sig id 25/1min (theory.net)Chamber: Maj Key ID 25/1minCC: key sig id 25/1min (theory.net)

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18 19 20 21 22CHOIR CONCERT

23 24

25 26CC: Sight singing quiz

27 28 29 30 AP Theory: SS L4 PR 10 ex.BV: Rhythm L3 PR 10ex &watch videoChamber: SS L4 PR 10exCC: SS L2 PR 10ex

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29

Section V: Pre & Post-Assessment

Students’ Pre-Assessment Grades

The test is out of 10 points and would be examples from the same level on

thepracticroom.net. The goal is for them for their grade to improve from the first test to

the second. They will have opportunities to practice in between the tests as well that I

will be able to monitor and track who is practicing and if it contributes to their scores.

Student Name Pre-Assessment GradeTaken 09/09/2015

Acosta Flores,Angelo S 2.5

Aguilar,Jamie N 5

Archuleta-McGrath,Aleena 0

Barraza Bonilla,Evelyn 7.5

Bengford,Arienna K 5

Campbell,Jackson T 10

Canterbury,Kathryn R 10

Diaz,Mario S 7.5

Dixon,Christian G 10

Emery,Aaron W 5

Granado,Lorenzo P 10

Hernandez,Anastasia M 2.5

Hoffman,David J 0

Lamica,Tamika C 7.5

Magruder,Brian D 5

Morales,Ariel E 2.5

30

Plastow,Heather N 7.5

Reeves,Hailey A 0

Rodriguez,Brenda V 2.5

Rodriquez,Dallis T 0

Salazar,Ramona D 0

Schlecht, Charlene 10

Secord, Sydney R 7.5

Severson, Gwynevere E 0

Sheets, Hattie W 10

Tucker, Josie 0

Vasquez, Diana A 0

Wampler, Meghan E 10

Students’ Post-Assessment Grades

Student Name Post-Assessment GradeTaken 10/27/2015

Acosta Flores,Angelo S 8

Aguilar,Jamie N X

Archuleta-McGrath,Aleena 3

Barraza Bonilla,Evelyn 5

Bengford,Arienna K 10

Campbell,Jackson T 10

31

Canterbury,Kathryn R 10

Diaz,Mario S 3

Dixon,Christian G 10

Emery,Aaron W 5

Granado,Lorenzo P 10

Hernandez,Anastasia M 8

Hoffman,David J 10

Lamica,Tamika C 7.5

Magruder,Brian D 10

Morales,Ariel E 8

Plastow,Heather N 10

Reeves,Hailey A 5

Rodriguez,Brenda V 2

Rodriquez,Dallis T 1

Salazar,Ramona D 0

Schlecht, Charlene 5

Secord, Sydney R 9

Severson, Gwynevere E 3

Sheets, Hattie W 10

Tucker, Josie 6

Vasquez, Diana A 6

Wampler, Meghan E 10

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All Grades at a Glance

(Includes all the weekly Practice Room grades as well as the tests to see progress)

Student Name Sight Singing Pre-Test Grades (out of 10)

Practice Room Check #1 (out of 10)


Test on the Circle of Fifths (out of 20)


Sight Singing Post Test Grades (out of 10)

Acosta

Flores,Angelo S

2.5 0 0 12 0 8

Aguilar,Jamie N 5 0 0 17 0

0

Archuleta-

McGrath,Aleena

0 0 0 0 0 3

Barraza

Bonilla,Evelyn

7.5 0 0 15 0 5

Bengford,Arienna K 5 0 2 18 0 10

Campbell,Jackson T 10 0 10 19 10 10

Canterbury,Kathryn

R

10 0 10 X 10 10

Diaz,Mario S 7.5 4 1 19 1 3

Dixon,Christian G 10 0 0 20 0 10

Emery,Aaron W 5 7 10 5 0 5

Granado,Lorenzo P 10 10 10 20 10 10

Hernandez,Anastasia 2.5 0 0 16 0 8

33

M

Hoffman,David J 0 0 0 20 0 10

Lamica,Tamika C 7.5 10 10 15 10 7.5

Magruder,Brian D 5 3 8 12 10 10

Morales,Ariel E 2.5 0 10 14 0 8

Plastow,Heather N 7.5 10 10 13 0 10

Reeves,Hailey A 0 0 0 2 0 5

Rodriguez,Brenda V 2.5 0 0 13 0 2

Rodriquez,Dallis T 0 0 0 6 0 1

Salazar,Ramona D 0 0 0 X 0 0

Schlecht, Charlene 10 0 10 11 10 5

Secord, Sydney R 7.5 9 0 18 0 9

Severson,

Gwynevere E

0 0 0 8 0 3

Sheets, Hattie W 10 10 10 19 10 10

Tucker, Josie 0 10 0 12 0 6

Vasquez, Diana A 0 10 0 4 0 6

Wampler, Meghan E 10 10 10 14 10 10

X: an “X” is indicated if the students were absent or if they were unable to do the assignment due to late adds/withdraws from the class, etc.

34

Section VI: Analysis of Pre & Post-Assessment

Pre-Assessment Analysis

Most of the students in my test group were very ready and willing to learn. They

all came from different backgrounds in music and so some students started out on their

pre-test knowing absolutely nothing while others were already very competent in music.

There was definitely a wide spread of variations but as a class the students all started on

the same level and together their musicianship made definite improvements.

There were six students I chose to look at in depth because I think they showed

the most growth and they were the ideal candidates for this grading process. The students

I chose – Arienna Bengford, Anastasia Hernandez, Arial Morales, Josie Tucker, Diana

Vasquez, and Brian Magruder – were all beginning musicians. The goal of this test was

to see how much progress a student could make in their musical literacy and so I thought

it best to use students who had little or no prior experience in music to test the efficiency

of the website and of my teaching. All of the students in the above group received scores

of 5 out of 10 or lower to begin: two students received 0s out of 10, two received 2.5 out

of 10, and 2 received 5 out of 10.

In the beginning of the semesters the students were working very hard and were

absorbing a lot of information. The practice room was really helping the students

particularly with in-class activities such as daily examples and regular lesson videos. The

troublesome part of the unit was getting the students to do the individual homework on

the website at home. A lot of students forgot, were unsure of the assignment because they

had not written it down, had computer problems, etc and were not very dedicated to the

35

individual practice aspect. This was when I altered my plan and created the formal

calendars that are listed above. I posted it on their school website with the whole month

done in advance for them. Originally I had tried having sporadic homework assignments

due through the practice room but found out it worked much better to regulate their

assignments and have one due every Friday at the same time. After this the students

showed improvement in their online assignments.

If the practice room alongside my teaching is effective then the students should

see improvements from their original grades by the end of my time with them. They have

ample opportunities to practice in class and outside of class on the website. Another goal

is to get all of the students on the same level of musicianship. Some students come in to

this choir knowing nothing while others have higher music knowledge. Their

achievement will grow as a class as they bridge the gap and grow together as musicians.

A huge benefit I saw to using the practice was room was precisely to fill that gap. The

students who have good sight reading skills to begin with will have an easy way to

practice while those that are struggling will have an opportunity to study and learn on

their own and then neither kind of student will hold the other one back. Plus it forces

them to be self-disciplined and take their musicianship seriously.

Post-Assessment Analysis

There was a lot of variation in the post-assessment data although the results

turned out very well for such a short period of time. Sight reading is an element of music

that takes a lot of time to master and these students made a lot of progress in just a few

short weeks. For the most part, the students all improved by a significant amount in the

36

time they were given. There were a few students that fell backward in their grading but

upon more observation, they were directly correlated to their other poor grades in class

and in other homework assignments such as the practice room and their circle of fifths

test. The students that already had great scores to start out with because of previous

musical backgrounds continued to stay at a similar score most likely because they are still

on the earlier levels of the website. After the students progress into higher levels in class,

those that tested well early on will still encounter a challenge.

The following is a graph of the results of the pre and post-tests:

Archulet

a-McG

rath

,Alee

na

Bengfo

rd,A

rienna K

Canter

bury,K

athry

n R

Dixon,Chris

tian G

Granad

o,Lorenzo

P

Hoffman

,Dav

id J

Magru

der,B

rian D

Plasto

w,Hea

ther

N

Rodriguez

,Bre

nda V

Salaz

ar,Ram

ona D

Seco

rd, S

ydney R

Shee

ts, H

attie

W

Vasquez

, Dian

a A0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Pre-Test Results 2.5 5Post-Test Results 8 X

As seen in the chart, the post-test scores indicated in red are almost always above

the pre-test scores in blue. The leaps are not necessarily consistent since some students

37

had vast improvements while some were only marginal but aside from a few outliers

there is apparent progress.

These next charts demonstrate the six students that I looked at in depth to better

determine the effectiveness of the study. The first chart looks specifically at the pre

versus post-test scores while the second chart includes the practice room and circle of

fifths scores.

Bengfo

rd,A

rienna K

Hernan

dez,A

nastas

ia M

Magru

der,B

rian D

Morales

,Arie

l E

Tucker

, Josie

Vasquez

, Dian

a A0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Pre-Test ScorePost-Test Scores

Pre-T

est S

core

Post-Tes

t Sco

res

Practi

ce R

oom Chec

k 2

Circle

of Fift

hs Tes

t

Practi

ce R

oom Chec

k 3

Post-Tes

t Sco

re0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Bengford,Arienna K

Hernandez,Anastasia M

Magruder,Brian D

Morales,Ariel E

Tucker, Josie

Vasquez, Diana A

38

The two charts show very different things. Chart #1 demonstrates that all students

made very clear progress and all at approximately the same rate. Chart #2 however, looks

much more sporadic. The students made a definite progress from pre-test to post-test but

there were a lot of inconsistencies in between. There is obvious benefit in teaching music

literacy through sight reading and using the practice room was a really great tool that

allowed students that had very little previous music knowledge to make vast

improvements. However, after examining the second chart, it looks as if the in class

practice was much more effective than the individual homework on the site. There were

initially a lot of inconsistencies with students remembering to actually do their homework

which was part of the problem. The students got better over time once a better routine

was created for them but it makes it difficult to test the efficiency of the practice room

itself. I think the students just needed more time to develop the habit of doing online

homework for choir since it is not something they were used to.

However, we were using the practice room every single day in class for

educational videos, learning help, sight reading examples, practice, etc. and the in class

portion seemed to be extremely effective. It was a great tool to use in class and I think the

students just need more time to develop that after school routine in order for the

individual homework to be really beneficial. Another thing I might have done if this trend

had continued was instead to have individual time in class to work on these assignments.

The students have access to a tech lab next door and during the day on Wednesdays when

they have 100 minutes in choir I may have just had them spend time in the tech lab in

sections while having sectionals in class. The program and its incorporation into the

39

district is still a new idea but I think it is definitely a great resource but the routine could

use some critiquing and re-evaluation.

Section VII: Reflective Essay

I learned a lot through this process about the process of introducing new concepts

to students, my own teaching style, importance of routine, the students themselves, and

so much more. I realized that introducing a new program to the students was much more

difficult that I had planned for. Setting up the program was fairly easy but it was hard to

motivate students to do the after school work included. The amount of students that did

their practice room check assignments was sporadic. It took a few assignments before

they settled in and started regularly doing the assignments. There is always a period of

time to ease into a new concept but they struggled with this one. I think my own

presentation of the website and the importance of the assignment could have been more

firm and which would have helped. I think it also would have helped if I had created the

calendars from the beginning instead of just writing the assignments on the board and

telling the students in class. After there was more of a routine the students responded

better and started doing the online work more consistently. For future concepts and

planning like this I have learned that I need to have a better organizational strategy so the

students will know what is expected from them.

I was forced to quickly learn how to deal with students from different levels of

musicianship as well which was a hard task to accomplish. I had to figure out how to find

the right balance in lesson planning and lectures so that it was not too challenging for

those who had never studied music before but it also provided challenging opportunities

40

for students that had a fair background in music. It was a balance I had to learn

throughout all of the choirs but this group in particular since it was the beginning group.

I discovered how essential planning is with these students as well. Planning is

important in any group but with a beginning group you are most likely one of their only

sources of music knowledge to date. They may have had some experience but maybe

nothing concrete or that requires music literacy and it was up to me to get them up to

speed and figure out the best order in which to teach various aspects of music. Do you

teach rhythm first? Solfege? Note names? What do you start with? These were all

questions I had to really think about, make mistakes with, and revise. I utilized the idea of

music literacy through sight reading and having a tool like the practice room helped focus

my planning and allowed me to take the students through one step at a time and in a

smooth and linear fashion. I would absolutely use this at my own school even if just for

the in class benefits.

I learned that revisions and adjustments are absolutely necessary and crucial in a

planning process. My process started out a lot differently than it ended and I had to make

a lot of alterations along the way but every mistake or modification made it better. I think

that is essential in any kind of teaching environment. You have to adjust to what your

students need and to their learning styles if you want to be effective and respected with

your students.

Most importantly I think, I learned a lot about my students. I learned how they

work individually and the various work ethics and techniques that students have in a

classroom and the different ways of dealing with each one. We spent a lot of time

practice solfege, circle of fifths, etc and I spent a lot of individual time with each student

41

which was extremely effective when assessing where the students are at in their learning,

how they think, and it is always important for building relationships. Seeing how each

student processed things was exceedingly helpful in planning future lessons because I

could see common patterns in mistakes, questions, and comprehension. In the way I liked

the practice room as well because I could see who was practicing on their own and if

their struggles in class were a lack of understanding or of practice. I could furthermore

take the information about them individually and look out for things like that in their

work as a group. I could put struggling singers next to ones that were thriving. I could sit

shy musicians next to confident ones. I could better figure out how to make them respond

as a group by my own personal relationships with them and my creating an environment

that was more accommodating to their needs.

Overall, this was a great learning opportunity. I learned how to better plan and

organize things for myself and my students, I created relationships with my students that

furthered their learning and my understanding of their needs, and I also found a great new

program that I would use in my own classroom. I saw an amount of growth in the

students’ musicianship that exceeded my expectations and because of that we became a

better choir and a more cohesive unit.

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Section VIII: References

Websites:

thepracticeroom.net

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hs work sample

Documents