Inquiry—based lesson plans

Submitted to Deidre Baird In partial fulfillment of the requirements for

EMUS202

Submitted by: Devon StolzDate Submitted: April 6th 2011

Short Introduction to my inquiry based lessons

My intended grade level for these lessons is grade 7. The focus is on PLACE. I decided that the emphasis for these lessons should be on the Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan’s indigenous cultural map. The inquiry based lesson format is something that is entirely new to me. Throughout my entire k-12 education in Saskatchewan’s public schools, I never encountered this format. This is both upsetting and alluring. As a new generation Teacher, it is my aspiration to create exciting and different lessons for my students. I feel like Inquiry-based learning is definitely a step in the right direction.

These lessons were designed with cross-curriculum connections in mind. As evident in my planning documents- these connections are very important to me. I consider myself to be a lover of the arts, but I also strive to connect art to all subjects. As a student I experienced minimal dance, drama and music throughout my education. This is because my high school did not offer these subjects. However, I believe that this is a poor excuse. Incorporating the arts into science, math and social studies lessons make learning these lessons much more appealing to a greater variety of students. It also makes the lessons much more interesting. As a pre-service teacher I have recognized this and strive to achieve the highest standard of education in all of my lesson planning.

The following three lesson plans were all created around this question:

What is the relationship between Saskatchewan Ecology & Climate in Saskatchewan First Nations Art, Music and Dance?

I chose this question because the answer is so subjective. Also this question covers a wide variety of topics. Woven within this question are idea’s for Social studies, Music, Visual Art, Dance, Drama and Science. These cross-subject connections make learning so much more enjoyable and rewarding. Ideally more class time could be given than just three 50 minute sessions. But I realize that as an arts education student the possibility of doing iterant work is very likely. Thus, this assignment is an excellent precursor to planning for this specific kind of work. As a student I believe that I would have loved the lessons that I created. I’ve designed them for students who thrive in a creative classroom and simply love to learn about all subjects.

Lesson Plan #1First Nation Flute Building and Musical Skill Development

Grade Level & Conceptual Focus: Grade Seven- Focus is on PLACE

Key Inquiry Question: What is the relationship between Saskatchewan Ecology & Climate in Saskatchewan First Nations Art, Music and Dance?

Arts Education Components: Creative Productive, Cultural Historical, Critical Responsive

Common Essential Learnings: Communication, Numeracy, Technological Literacy, Independent Learning

Outcomes & Indicators:1. Sing and play accurately and expressively, and improvise

individually and in groups, with voice and instruments2. Maintain melodic and harmonic parts.3. Analyze ways of using the elements of music expressively in

own compositions and other music.4. Describe how music is a unique means of communication and

recognize the importance of musical expression in various world locales.

5. Investigate ways that the elements of music are used expressively in different places of the world and apply this understanding to own work.

Description of Lesson: Using the resources from www.soundswemake.com (attached documents) Students, with aid from Teacher will construct their own PVC First Nations Flute. This flute will then be used as an explorative tool in playing First Nation folk songs. Although these song’s may not be from the specific cultural makeup of Saskatchewan first nations, the musical skill and ability that they require is still key. After a teacher directed lesson about proper fingering and playing technique students will reflect on the process of creating their flute, as well as reflection on first nation music.

Set: Students will arrive to class and find PVC tubes (Or already built flutes- depending on Teacher.. personally I would buy a class set- The ABS plastic is Medical grade and can be sanitized in dishwasher- unfortunately students cannot keep their flute if class set is used) If building flutes- The teacher will lead planning and execution of flute building.

Development: After every student has a flute the teacher will then hand out proper fingering chart. The class will then have experimentation time with their flutes. Hopefully students will have already accomplished playing Recorders in grade 4-5-6, if so the flute/fingering/embouchure will not be entirely new.

After students have been given ample time to explore and play with their new instrument the Teacher will guide a simple activity of follow the leader. The teacher demonstrates notes and the class follows. Eventually when feeling confident in the class- the teacher will begin to play full songs. The class will may follow entirely by ear or at this point the teacher may hand out music that accompanies the flute.

Some songs to try with the class include:1. Twinkle Twinkle Little star2. Zuni Sunrise3. Lonesome Flute Song4. Lakota Courting Song5. Kiowa Love Song

All music played should reflect First Nations culture, regardless of whether or not that song is from that particular region. This is not a clumping of all cultures, but rather an exploration of different musical styles from within indigenous culture.

Closure: Students will write a short reflection to be handed in to the teacher. This reflection should be guided by the instructor to include the following:

1. General feelings of creating/playing the flute

2. Why First Nations/Folk Music is of unique3. Why would first nations use flutes for

music?4. What would traditional flutes be made

from?5. General connections that they can already

infer about ecology and First Nations Art

Assessment: Students will be assed on the following:

1. Willingness to participate 2. Good use of Class time3. Technical/Musical Skills- is the student

willing to practice and take lesson seriously?

4. Comprehension of musical elements, ability to display this understanding

5. Ability to play assigned songs & follow the leader

6. Answers to Questions in written reflection

Materials: ABS or PVC Plastic tube, Sandpaper, Drill, Ruler, Marker, Kokopelli clip, Pencil & Paper, Tape

Resources: All resources necessary for this lesson are attached:

1. “Native American Flute Builders Kit- soundswemake.com

2. Flute fingering chart3. Flute music for Twinkle Twinkle little Star,

Zuni Sunrise, Lonesome Flute Song, Lakota Counting song, Kiowa Love Song

Traditional Chipewyan (Dene) Flute

First Nations PVC or ABS Flute

Lesson Plan #2Saskatchewan Ecology- Tree’s and Regional Music

Grade Level & Conceptual Focus: Grade Seven- Focus is on PLACE

Key Inquiry Questions: What is the relationship between Saskatchewan Ecology & Climate in Saskatchewan First Nations Art, Music and Dance?

Arts Education Components: Cultural Historical, Critical Responsive

Common Essential Learnings: Communication, Literacy, Critical & Creative Thinking,

Outcomes & Indicators: 1. Describe the use of the elements using

appropriate terminology2. Pose questions about sound to guide inquiry

into the expressive and symbolic use of sound and silence.

3. Investigate music from various places of the world, and analyze relationships among the instrument, the use of sound and place of origin.

Description of Lesson: Students will gain a firm understanding of the unique Saskatchewan Ecoregions and Cultural Make-up of Saskatchewan. Students will combine cross- curriculum connections to understand Saskatchewan social studies/ music and science to a greater degree. The lesson wraps with a fun game of Jeopardy, rather than a test.

Set: Present the class with this scenario:

Suppose the entire class was picked up by an alien spacecraft, taken for a intergalactic journey and dropped off in the middle of a forest in Saskatchewan…. In this forest you can hear a faint music coming from the distance. Could you be able to piece the species of tree’s and different types of first nations music to a region of Saskatchewan?

Development: The Teacher will familiarize students with the 11 Ecoregions of Saskatchewan. This can be done by projecting the Ecoregion map included in the resources of this lesson plan. Next the teacher should spark discussion between the students about who has been to the most Ecoregions. Ask these students if they noticed any differences between the geographical locations of Saskatchewan. Why are some area’s more developed than others?

Next the teacher should familiarize students with the indigenous tribes that originally inhabited Saskatchewan

1. The Assiniboine2. The Chipewyan (Dene)3. The Plains Cree4. The Dakota Sioux5. The Gros Ventre

6. The OjibwayThis can be done by a discussion about the unique treaties and first nation band offices across the province. The map included within the resources section for this lesson plan has the geographical locations of treaties coloured. This is a resource to place primary locations of first nation tribes. The teacher may layer clear overheads of the Ecoregions/ Tribe maps. For visual learners.

Next the teacher and students will research the unique musical styles of the six major Saskatchewan tribes. Some key questions to ask students:

1. What musical styles are most prominent within this tribe.

2. What is distinct about this tribe’s music? How could you tell it apart from other musical styling’s?

3. Are there specific instruments or methods to create music that are heavily used? Ex.. Is voice a major part in the Dene music? Are drums important to Cree music?

4. What is unique to this music in comparison to popular music? Is anything similar?

Closure: After the Teacher feels as though students have gathered a firm grasp on the Ecoregions and distinct musical styling’s & geographical locations of the tribes of Saskatchewan; he/she can quiz the students in a Jeopardy style show down. The class should be separated into two teams. Every member of both teams is required to pick a question. The questions could be as simple as a picture of a spruce tree and a quick musical accompaniment or as difficult as:

“In this region of Saskatchewan you are likely to hear heavy drums and percussion instruments, with little vocals… as well as a dominant presence of Birch, Spruce and Pine trees”

Answer: Churchill River Upland Region/ Dene Music

A game such as jeopardy is an excellent way to gage which students excelled at this activity, and which struggled. It is also an excellent way to test students without the formal conventions of a sit-down exam. Students who face exam anxiety will do much better in a activity like EcoRegion/Culutral Music Jeopardy.

Assessment:Students will be assed on the following:

1. Ability to understand/remember the EcoRegion map/ Treaty map.. and make specific/meaningful connections

2. Ability to listen critically to music forms and conventions: listen for specific instruments

3. Participation and ability to answer correctly in Jeopardy closure.

4. Ability to describe musical elements

Materials: Projector for Musical/Ecology Jeopardy. Clear Overheads with Ecoregion and Tribe Maps. Class handouts of each maps.

Resources: Variety of First Nations traditional cultural music

Dark Green: Treaty 8 – Pink: Treaty 10- Red: Treaty 6- Light Green: Treaty 4- Orange: Treaty 5- Blue: Treaty 2

Lesson #3

Strengthening Music Vocabulary/ Creating Dance

Grade Level & Conceptual Focus: Grade Seven- Focus is on PLACE

Key Inquiry Questions: What is the relationship between Saskatchewan Ecology & Climate in Saskatchewan First Nations Art, Music and Dance?

Arts Education Components: Critical Responsive, Cultural Historical, Creative Productive

Common Essential Learnings: Communication, Numeracy, Critical & Creative Thinking, Independent learning, Personal & Social Values & Skills.

Outcomes & Indicators:1. Use inquiry in dance to extend understanding of

place (e.g., examine historical relationships of people to the land in Saskatchewan

2. Use the dance-making process to explore the central questions and ideas

3. Keep a record of dance phrases using invented and/or traditional notation symbols, and video where possible, to explore, record, and reconstruct movements.

4. Reflect, analyze, and make connections between the original topic or inquiry question and subsequent dance/music explorations.

5. Explore and determine appropriate sound sources, forms and processes for creating music expressions.

6. Distinguish among diverse voice types, styles, and forms of vocal expression.

7. Demonstrate imaginative use of world rhythms in own sound compositions.

Description of Lesson: Students will closely examine Buffy Saint Marie - Qu Appelle Valley Saskatchewan using the music reflection sheet attached. This document asks specific questions about the musical elements of a specific piece. Students must examine the song closely to give meaningful answers. In the second part of the lesson students will work in small groups and use their music reflection sheet to aide in the building of a unique dance. Students successfully complete all of the steps in the Dance-making process, creating a dance that correlates directly to the musical elements in the song. At the end of the process the class will share their work and complete a class discussion.

Set: As students arrive for class the teacher should have Qu Appelle Valley Saskatchewan playing as loud as possible on repeat. As class begins turn the

music down and direct the class into a opening discussion about the Qu Appelle Valley, asking questions such as these:

1. What significance does the Qu Appelle Valley have for you as a resident of Saskatchewan and the province of Saskatchewan as a whole?

2. Do you think that the Qu Appelle Valley has had a significant effect on Saskatchewan Art and music? Are you aware of any art/music?

3. Have you ever thought of the Qu Appelle Valley as a source of artistic inspiration and creativity? Why or why not?

Development: After the preliminary discussion has concluded Students will be given the Musical Element Listening Guide. This is a blank sheet that asks specific questions about the Buffy St. Marie- Qu Appelle Valley Saskatchewan song. Encourage students to fill out their sheet as extensively as possible. Having a sheet that is thorough and concise will aid in the second part of the lesson. Students can listen to the song as many times as is necessary.

For the second part of this lesson students will divide into groups of 3-4. These groups will use the Dance-making process found in the grade 7 dance curriculum. The dance will be created to accompany Buffy St. Marie- Qu Appelle Valley Saskatchewan. It must employ creative bodily movement, as well as demonstrate the understanding of musical elements, found in the Musical Element Listening Guide. The dance can be no shorter than 1 minute and can begin at any part during the song. Students will use the Dance making step process.

1. Step One: Starting Points- starting with a theme/ idea or movement. This step has partially been achieved- Since the dance has a central theme. Students may look for a more abstract idea or theme.

Ex: The dance may be about the animals of Qu Appelle Valley or the movement of the river- etc.

2. Step Two: Brainstorming- If the starting point has been established students may now begin to elaborate and create a web of idea’s for the dance. This step may also be done primarily through movement. Instead of sitting and talking about dance- bodily experimentation may be used

3. Step Three: Finding the movements for Exploration- At this point of dance making students focus on creating concept maps of Body, Space and Dynamics. What parts of the body are being used and when. How does the dance compliment the music? Can we get a sense of the music through the dance?

4. Step Four: Taking Stock- Students at this point will focus on the concept maps and exploration of the dance. In this step the primary focus is achieving the learning objects. Which are outlined in the grading rubric.

5. Step Five: Structure: The dance is past the exploration and into the development stage. Sequencing becomes important as well as any story that the dance may be telling. For this particular dance the focus is primarily on the correlation of the dance and the music. Does the Dance mirror the music’s strong sense of place?

*Usually Dance educators try to use music sparingly. As a strong emphasis on music can lead to structured movements without personal creative rhythm and an overlook of the elements of creative dance. Since this lesson is a cross-curriculum lesson the Music plays a vital role and is of the utmost importance.

Closure: Students will present their work to the class. And close with a reflective circle about each particular dance and the unique stories told in each. Students will discuss their inspiration from Saskatchewan Landscape and Buffy St. Marie. Hopefully students will have gained increased music understanding and terminology use as well as increased dance understanding.

Assessment: Students will be assed on the following

1. Class participation/ Use of Class time2. Thoroughness and attention to detail

displayed in the answers of Musical Element Listening Sheet

3. Evaluation of Dance will be done on attached grading rubic

Materials: Dance Studio or Large open space. CD Player

Resources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVH-x4szOEI - Buffy St. Marie- Qu Appelle Valley Saskatchewan. Also available on ITUNES or 1976 Vinyl Album Sweet America

Musical Element Listening SheetPlease fill in the answers to the best of your ability. The answers to these

questions will be used in creating a creative dance.

What is this song about? -________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What instruments are used in this song?-________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Explain the Dynamics of this song- are there crescendo’s/ decrescendo’s?-________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is the Tone Colour of this song? Is it dark, brilliant, bright, mellow, rich? Explain your choice- ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When Listening to this song do you picture a specific scene or movement? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Rhythm is the flow of music through time.. describe the beat in Qu Appelle Valley Saskatchewan. How could this musical trait be translated into dance? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Musical Element Listening Sheet Continued….

What Tempo indication can be seen in the beginning of this piece? How could this Tempo indication be translated into Dance?Largo-very slow, grave- very slow, solemn, adagio –slow, andante- moderately slow, a walking

pace, moderato- moderate, allegretto -moderately fastAllegro –fast, vivace- lively, presto- very fast, prestissimo- as fast as possible

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Describe the Melody of this song:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Describe the Harmony of this song:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Is the texture of this song Homophonic, Polyphonic, Monophonic? How could the use canon be used in your Dance to demonstrate which texture this song is?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are you excited to create a creative and innovative dance to this piece?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rubric for Lesson #3 Creative DanceD C B A

Beginning Satisfactory Proficient Excellent MARK

Effort Participates only with strong encouragement.

Is easily distracted and finds it

Participates in dance.

Frequent reminders are needed to maintain focus on

Participates in dance with a positive attitude.

Needs to be reminded to focus

Participates in dance with enthusiasm, and encourages others to participate.

difficult to maintain focus. May distract others.

the dance. at times. Can stay focused

and follows instruction well.

Is consistently focused and on task and encourages others to remain focussed.

Level and Space Uses little of the space possible for movements.

Student movement experiences only one level.

Uses some of the space provided.

Movement is limited to only two levels.

Attempts to use most of the space provided.

At times uses varied levels within their movement experience.

Uses all space provided, vertically as well as horizontally.

Uses all levels within their exploration of movement.

Use of Musical Knowledge within the Dance

Musical knowledge is not apparent in the dance composition.

Unclear use of one or two symbolic musical elements within dance compositions

Attempts various demonstrations of musical knowledge

Basic symbolic musical elements are included in their dance composition.

Extensive us of musical knowledge in their movement.

Incorporates plenty of symbolic musical elements in their dance composition.

Creativity and Interpretation

Uses common and stereotypical patterns borrowed from others.

Uses familiar patterns and movements.

Re-uses a simple pattern borrowed from others or media.

Adapts some options from others in their movement

Goes beyond the familiar to take a small risk.

Movements repeat limited common patterns and themes.

Explores a variety of creative options.

Takes some risks in their exploration.

Movements show unusual patterns and fair variety.

Explores numerous creative options.

Willing to take risks in their exploration.

Movements are highly original and carried out well.

Movements highlight the music in an interesting way.

COMMENTS: TOTAL