Rhythmic Literacy Unit - Francesca LaRosa · Rhythmic Literacy Unit ... Vocabulary List ......

Rhythmic Literacy Unit Student Teaching LAMP Project 2016

7th

Grade, Period 6

Center Grove Middle School Central

Student Teacher: Francesca C. LaRosa

Cooperating Teacher: Mr. Dan Andersen

Unit Duration: April 5th

-April 18th,

2016

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Table of Contents:

Overall Project Purpose…………………………………………Page 3

National Standards for Music Education………………………..Pages 3-4

Unit Objectives……………………………………………….....Pages 4-6

Vocabulary List………………………………………………....Page 6

Unit Timeline…………………………………………………...Page 7

Lesson Plans…………………………………………………….Pages 8-30

Supplemental Materials…………………………………………Pages 31-52

Student Assessment Tools (Pre-Test and Post-Tests) & Rubrics Pages 53-66

Technology……………………………………………………...Page 67

Differentiations /Accommodations……………………………...Pages 67-68

Standard Graphs…………………………………………………Pages 69-71

Pre-Test/Post-Test Graphs………………………………………Pages 72-77

Unit Narrative……………………………………………………Pages 78-82

Assessment Narrative……………………………………………Pages 82-84

Instructional Narrative…………………………………………..Pages 84-87

Result/Interpretation Narrative………………………………….Pages 87-91

Final Statement………………………………………………….Pages 91-92

Project Rubric……………………………………………………Pages 93-96

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Overall Purpose of Project

The main premise of implementing this project in a middle school choral classroom was

to help increase seventh grade students awareness of the overall importance of rhythm and its

relationship to music in and outside of the classroom (NS10). Throughout this unit, students

learned how to read sixteenth note rhythmic patterns, as well as how to identify articulation and

tempo markings in music. Further, I taught the students how to use error detection with rhythm.

This enhanced their cognitive abilities in reading music and also helped the students audiate the

rhythms correctly while reading along with a spoken musical passage. This allowed me to apply

the National Standard 6, which is “listening and evaluating music and music performances.”

Throughout the course of the unit, I emphasized the importance of rhythmic dictation with the

students to check their aural understanding of the rhythms taught in class. The entire unit was

focused on the fifth National Standard of Music Education, which is centered around “reading

and notating music.” Other standards used in this unit were National Standard 4, with our

composition of our own rhythms in measures of 4/4 time. Students grew in their abilities to

recognize sixteenth note patterns and learned how to speak these patterns, how to write these

patterns, and how to compose these patterns on their own. I had the students record themselves

on their iPads speaking the sixteenth note rhythms on Takadimi before and after the unit to show

their progress and development both individually and as an ensemble over time. This project

provided students with the necessary skills to understand rhythm in a variety of perspectives to

understand the art of music in an entirely new way.

National Standards for Music Education

PRIMARY STANDARDS:

-National Standard #4: Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.

A. Students will learn how to compose one measure of 4/4 time. All of the beats must add

to four counts. They must write more than two notes, and they are not allowed to

write one whole note. In this unit, they will learn how to write and fill in the

note heads of quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes. They will also

learn how to notate quarter rests. Their measures may be any rhythms of their

choice under the specified guidelines.

-National Standard #5: Reading and notating music.

A. Students will learn how to accurately read Level 4A rhythm patterns of Dr. Don P.

Ester’s Sound Connections and how to read the sixteenth note patterns correctly

using Takadimi syllables.

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B. Students will read a measure of 4A rhythms on the board, and while the instructor

reads the rhythms, students will read and analyze the notes that are

mispronounced by the instructor

C. Students will notate the rhythms as spoken by the instructor and will learn how to

dictate the rhythms of one measure of 4/4 time with the appropriate Takadimi

rhythms. They will then read the rhythms together as an ensemble.

D. Students will learn what accent, staccato, and fermata markings look like and will

learn how to notate them in music. Students will also read these markings in the

Sound Connections exercises and will accurately articulate them.

-National Standard #6: Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.

A. Students will listen to sixteenth note patterns given by the instructor and will echo-

translate these patterns to the correct Takadimi syllables.

B. Students will also use listening in this unit in regards to error detection. Students will

be able to accurately find which rhythms the instructor mispronounces to test their

knowledge of Takadimi syllables and their knowledge of rhythms.

C. Students will use listening skills in dictation. They must listen to the rhythms and be

able to dictate them in one measure of 4/4 time.

D. Students will listen to songs with different tempo markings and be able to label these

songs as either Presto or Largo. They will be able to define these terms as well

SECONDARY STANDARDS:

-National Standard #7: Evaluating music and music performances.

A. Students will listen to famous works of music to determine the tempo of each piece.

The pieces will either be in presto or largo tempos, and these exercises will assist

in rhythmic identification. Students will discuss these works as a class and aspects

of the musical eras.

Unit Objectives

- Students will record themselves singing Takadimi rhythm patterns on their iPads for data

purposes. The instructor will grade these recordings using the rubric created.

- Students will write quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes and will draw the

rhythm tree on the board to visually show the division of the beat (NS5)

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- Students will speak Level 4A Rhythm Patterns of Takadimi both on rhythm cards and on

the projector screen. The instructor will call on individual students to read the exercises

to assess their syllable and rhythmic accuracy. (NS6)

- Students will listen and echo back Takadimi patterns correctly as indicated by the

instructor (NS5)

- Students will listen to the instructor demonstrate a phrase with a ritardando and will

speak musical phrases correctly with a ritardando to show their understanding of this

term (NS6)

- Students will listen to the instructor demonstrate an accelerando and its effect on a

musical line. Students will then speak rhythms themselves with an accelerando to show

their understanding of this term (NS6)

- Students will demonstrate their own understanding of ritardandos and accelerandos by

incorporating these rhythmic terms while reading Takadimi exercises on the board (NS5).

- Students will use movement and body language to visually show the instructor their

understanding of these terms with the correct movements for the terms (kinesthetic

learning; informal assessment).

- Students will listen to the instructor demonstrate staccato notes, accent notes, and

fermatas to understand these terms and their effect on music. Then students will read and

speak the exercises on the board with these articulation marks to show their

understanding of the terms while the instructor checks their accuracy (NS6).

- Students will perform lines with staccato notes, accent marks, and fermatas.

- Students will label notes with accent marks, staccato markings, and a fermatas once they

learn what they look like and how to draw them. (NS5)

- Students will use kinesthetic movement to help with labeling a staccato, accent, and

fermata to show the instructor their understanding of the terms visually.

- Students will dictate one measure of rhythms on Takadimi on their iPads, and the

instructor will check their work (NS5)

- Students will read the rhythms on Takadimi they notated as they write their responses on

the board. The instructor will check the students’ Takadimi syllables (NS5)

- Students will echo-translate rhythms, identify the rhythms, and match the correct rhythms

with the correct rhythm cards (NS5, NS6)

- Students will write quarter rests in their dictation practice exercises on their iPads. The


- Students will listen to, describe, and speak exercises with different types of tempo

markings (Largo and Presto) (NS6)

- Students will recite the definition of a time signature and what the portions of the fraction

represent.

- Students will compose their own rhythms in a measure of 4/4 time following the

instructor’s guidelines (NS4)

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- Students will listen to Mozart’s Symphony No. 5 in D Major and determine the correct

term to describe the tempo. Students will define this tempo (NS6)

-Students will listen to Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 Op. 37 and determine the correct


- Students will give the formal definitions of staccato, accent, and fermata, show them

kinesthetically, and perform them correctly in the Takadimi exercises (NS5)

- Students will use error detection to point out which rhythms the instructor mispronounced

(NS5, NS6)

Vocabulary List

Time Signature: a musical term generally expressed as a fraction with the denominator defining

the beat as a division of a whole note and the numerator giving the number of beats in

each bar.

Staccato: A musical articulation term used to signify notes that are short and detached and are

abruptly disconnected.

Accent: A musical articulation used to play a note louder or with a harder attack to give it more

emphasis than the surrounding notes. This marking may appear on notes of any duration.

Fermata: The sustaining of a note, chord, or rest for a duration longer than the indicated time

value, with the length of the extension at the performer or director’s discretion.

Ritardando: A musical term for a gradual decrease in tempo.

Accelerando: A musical term for a gradual increase in tempo.

Audiation: A term coined by Gordon to referring to “listening to, recalling, performing,

interpreting, creating, improvising, reading, or writing music.” The process refers to an

internal realization and comprehension, or the sensation of an individual hearing or

feeling sound when it is not physically present.

Dictation: The art of putting aural rhythms and pitches into writing to enhance a students’

overall musical understanding and cognitive learning.

Tempo: the timing or speed at which a musical work is played.

Largo: A slow tempo in music.

Presto: A very fast and quick-paced tempo in music.

Error Detection: The process of finding fault in either rhythm or pitches of a selected musical

phrase.

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Unit Timeline

Day 0 (April 5th

) Unit Written Pre-test

Day 1 (April 6th

) Pre-Test Recording; Introduction to Takadimi syllables of sixteenth note

rhythms

Day 2 (April 7th

) Teach Sixteenth Notes (Learn about the terms ritardando and accelerando)

Day 3 (April 8th

) Learn and define the terms of staccato, accent, and fermata

Day 4 (April 11th

) Rhythmic Identification Game; Practice Dictation

Day 5 (April 12th

) Learn tempo terminology (presto / largo), Rhythmic Identification Game,

Practice Dictation

Day 6 (April 13th

) Define time signature; practice composition and dictation

Day 7 (April 14th

) Review tempo markings, practice error detection, and vocabulary review.

Day 8 (April 15th

) Review, Board Races

Day 9 (April 18th

) Written test over terms; Post-Test Recording, Student Feedback

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Individual Lesson Plans

Francesca LaRosa


CT: Mr. Dan Andersen

Day 1: April 6, 2016- Introduction to Takadimi Sixteenth Note Rhythms

Behavioral Objectives

- Students will record themselves singing Takadimi rhythm patterns on their iPads for data

purposes. The instructor will grade these recordings using the rubric created.

- Students will write quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes and will draw the

rhythm tree on the board to visually show the division of the beat (NS5)

- Students will speak Level 4A Rhythm Patterns of Takadimi syllables both on rhythm

cards and on the projector screen. The instructor will call on individual students to read

the exercises to assess their knowledge and understanding based on their accuracy. (NS6)

- Students will listen and echo back Takadimi patterns as indicated by the instructor (NS5)

Materials

-Rhythm Cards

-Overhead Projector

-Sound Connections by Dr. Don P. Ester (Level 4A)

-White board / marker

Procedure

- Begin the class period by asking the students what they thought about the pre-test and

what tripped them up the day before. Then, have them record themselves performing this

measure on their iPads. (This is to finish up the pre-test. They will have mastered this

rhythm after the unit, but as of right now, they will be struggling with these patterns).

-Have the students submit their recordings to Canvas for your grading purposes.

-Then, draw a rhythm tree on the whiteboard that looks like the diagram below. Talk students

through the Takadimi syllables of each rhythm that they already know (Quarter notes, eighth

notes, and half notes ).

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-Explain to the students how and why the words of the sixteenth pattern are written as “Ta-ka-di-

mi” from the break down of the eight note. Have the students echo this pattern.

-Then, have the students echo back the rhythms from the rhythm cards, including the new

Takadimi rhythms.

-Once students have mastered this new pattern, have them apply it to the Sound Connections

exercises on the board, which are 4A 1 and 2.

-Ask the students what kind of notes they learned today and if they can remember the new

syllables (We learned sixteenth notes, and the syllables are Ta-ka-di-mi).

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Francesca LaRosa



Day 2: April 7, 2016- Sixteenth Note Rhythms, Ritardando, and Accelerando




to assess their knowledge and understanding based on their accuracy. (NS6)


- Students will listen to the instructor demonstrate a ritardando and its effect on music and

speak rhythms themselves with a ritardando to show their understanding of this term

(NS6)

- Students will listen to the instructor demonstrate an accelerando and its effect on a

musical line. Students will then speak rhythms themselves with an accelerando to show

their understanding of this term (NS6)

- Students will demonstrate their own understanding of ritardandos and accelerandos by

incorporating this rhythmic terms while reading Takadimi exercises on the board.

- Students will use movement and body language to visually show the instructor their

understanding of these terms (Kinesthetic learning; informal assessment).


fermatas to understand their effect on music. Then students will read and speak the

exercises on the board with these articulation marks to show their understanding of the

terms (NS6).

- Students will perform lines with staccato notes, accent marks, and fermatas

- Students will label notes with accent marks, staccato markings, and a fermata once they


- Students will use kinesthetic movement to help with labeling a staccato, accent, and

fermata. The instructor will assess if their movements match the musical marking.

Materials

-Rhythm Cards

-Overhead Projector



Procedure

-Begin the class period by asking students what they felt about the pre-test and the pre-test

recording. Discuss what they already knew and what they would like to learn over this unit.

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-Have the students echo rhythmic patterns of sixteenth note patterns. Once students are

comfortable with this, speak the rhythms on a neutral syllable “pa” and have the students echo-

translate these rhythms.

-Then, write the word ritardando on the board. The instructor will say the word out loud and will

have the students repeat it back. Then, the instructor will ask the students if any of them know

what this term means.

-The instructor will then speak a few rhythms of Takadimi rhythms, informing the students that

she will be performing a ritardando at the end of the phrase.

-After the students listen to this, the instructor will ask them what they now think a ritardando is.

They should have answers like, “You slowed down at the end. A ritardando must mean to slow

down.”

-The instructor will give the students the formal definition of a ritardando: a gradual decrease in

tempo. The instructor will then say, “What is the definition of a ritardando again?” (A gradual

decrease in tempo).

-The instructor will then write other ways that the word ritardando can be written in music, such

as rit. or ritard. These all mean ritardando.

-The instructor will then write the word accelerando on the board. The instructor will say the

word and then will ask the students to say this word together as a class. The instructor will ask if

any of the students know what this word means.

-The instructor will then speak a few rhythms of Takadimi rhythms, informing the students that

she will be performing an accelerando at the end of the musical phrase.

-After the students listen to this, the instructor will ask them what they now think an accelerando

is. They should have answers like, “You sped up at the end. An accelerando must mean to speed

up.”

-The instructor will give the students the formal definition of an accelerando: a gradual increase

in tempo. The instructor will then say, “What is the definition of an accelerando again?” (A

gradual increase in tempo).

-The instructor will then write out other ways that the word accelerando can be written in music,

such as accel. or acc. These all mean accelerando.

-The students will then move on to music literacy. The students will read the Takadimi syllables

on the rhythmic cards the instructor created. The students will then read from the overhead

projector number 3 of 4A of Sound Connections. They will read this all the way through on

Takadimi, and the instructor will point out any mistakes they have made in either rhythms or

Takadimi syllables.

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-This time, the instructor will write the word rit. at the end of example 3 for the students and will

ask the students to perform this exercise one more time with a ritardando at the end. Then, the

instructor will ask for the students to visually show this ritardando somehow using their bodies

(whether it be slow motion or visually show how the music is slowing down).

-Then, students will read exercise 4 of 4A on the overhead projector. They will read this all the

way through on Takadimi, and the instructor will point out any mistakes they have made in

either rhythms or Takadimi syllables.

-This time, the instructor will write the word accel. at the end of example 4 for the students and

will ask the students to perform this exercise one more time with an accelerando at the end.

Then, the instructor will ask for the students to visually show this accelerando somehow using

their bodies (Whether it be walking quickly to the beat or whatever they see fit).

-The instructor will then review these two terms. The instructor will ask the students, “What did

we learn today? What is the definition of a ritardando? What is the definition of an

accelerando?”

-The instructor will wrap up the lesson and will then move on to literature.

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Francesca LaRosa



Day 3: April 8, 2016- Sixteenth Note Rhythms, Staccato, Accent, and Fermata




to assess their knowledge and understanding. (NS6)



fermatas to understand their effect on music. Then students will read and speak the

exercises on the board with these articulation marks to show their understanding of the

terms (NS6).

- Students will perform lines with staccato notes, accent marks, and fermatas and the

instructor will assess their accuracy of the terms.

- Students will label notes with accent marks, staccato markings, and a fermata once they


Materials

-Rhythm Cards

-Overhead Projector



Procedure

-The instructor will begin class by having the students echo back sixteenth note patterns. “Ta

ta…. Ta-di Ta. Ta Ta-di. Ta-di Ta-di. Ta Ta-ka-di-mi. Ta-ka-di-mi- Ta.Ta-ka-di-mi Ta-ka-di-mi.

Ta-ka-di-mi Ta-di. Ta-di-Ta-ka-di-mi. Taaaa.”

-Then, the instructor will have the students echo-translate these patterns on Takadimi while the

instructor says the rhythms on a neutral syllable “pa.”

-The instructor will then write the word staccato on the board. The instructor will ask the

students if any of them know what this word means.

-The instructor will then refer back to the vocal warm-ups that they did before class. One of them

was “Ha-ha-ha-ha, Ho-ho-ho-ho, Hee-hee-hee-hee.” It can be seen in the example below.

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-The instructor will sing it for the students again. She will ask the students what they notice

about these notes. “Are they all connected? Can someone raise their hand and the sound of these

notes to me?”

-The instructor will inform the students that the notes in this exercise are staccato notes. The

instructor will ask the students to repeat the term “staccato” as a class. She will then give them

the formal definition: short and detached.

-The instructor will then refer back to the vocal warm-ups that they did before class again. One

of them was “Ahhhh” (DRMFSFMRD). It can be seen in the example below.

-The instructor will perform this warm-up again for the students and to have them listen if they

hear any note stick out when she does it. They should all say yes. She will then ask them which

solfege syllable of the warm-up stuck out.

-The instructor will then write the word accent on the board. She will then draw the exercise on

the board and will circle the accent mark.

-The instructor will then ask the class what they think the definition of the word accent is.

-The instructor will then give the students the formal definition of the word accent: a musical

marking that adds stress or emphasis to a note.

-The instructor will then say, “What is the definition of an accent mark again?” The class will

say the definition together as a class.

-The instructor will then write the word fermata on the board. The instructor will ask the students

if any of them know what this word means. She will then draw a picture of a fermata on the

board and will ask if any of them have seen this marking before. She will ask them what they did

in the music when they saw this marking.

-The instructor will then give the formal definition of the word fermata to the class: a

prolongation at the discretion of the performer of a musical note, chord, or rest beyond its given

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value (otherwise described as a symbol over a note to be held as long as the musician or director

indicates).

-The instructor will then draw each of these musical symbols on the board. She will then give

them kinesthetic ways of remembering each note (For a staccato note, the students will draw a

dot in the air. For an accent mark, the students will give a peace sign in the air. For the fermata,

the students will draw a rainbow in the air with their hands and put a dot in the middle of it with

their hands).

-The instructor will then move to the overhead projector and the students will read Rhythmic

Exercise 4A #5 together as an ensemble using the correct Takadimi syllables. The instructor will

correct students if they mispronounce a rhythm or Takadimi syllable.

-The instructor will then have students read two measures at a time, and the instructor will

randomly draw staccato markings, accent markings, and fermatas in this exercise. The students

will practice reading these exercises with these articulation markings.

-The instructor will review all terms taught for the day. “What did we learn today? What are the

definitions of these terms? Show me with your hands what these terms look like.”

-The instructor will then move on to the literature for the day.

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Francesca LaRosa



Day 4: April 11, 2016- Sixteenth Note Rhythms, Rhythm Identification, Practicing Dictation












Materials

-Rhythm Cards

-Overhead Projector



-iPads for students, with the apps Canvas and Notability

-Rhythm cards of staccato notes, half notes, quarter notes, quarter rests, eighth notes, half note

dots, and sixteenth note for the rhythm game

Procedure

-The instructor will begin class by taking attendance. Then, the instructor will start by having the

students echo basic Level 4 rhythm patterns. She will begin with the rhythms below.

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-The students will then echo-translate these rhythms on Takadimi while the teacher gives them

the neutral syllable “pa.”

-The instructor will then hand six students rhythm cards. They will be the “cardholders.” Each

student will have a group of cards of different rhythms. One student will hold a set of quarter

note cards, while another holds eighth note cards, another holds sixteenth note cards, another

holds half note cards, another holds half note dot cards, and another holds quarter rest cards.

These “cardholders” will stand at the front of the room.

-Then, the instructor will ask for four volunteers. The instructor will have them stand in a row,

and the instructor will count off by 4. The instructor will have student 1 be beat 1, student 2 be

beat 2, student 3 be beat 3, and student 4 be beat 4.

-The instructor will speak the measure below on “pa.” For every beat, she will point to the

student with the assigned beat while she speaks the rhythms on “pa.” Each volunteer will walk

over to the “cardholders” and will pick out their assigned rhythm that the instructor gave them.

-The volunteers will find their rhythms and will walk back to their assigned spot in line. The

class will then check their work and will read the chosen rhythms on Takadimi. The instructor

will ask the class, “Students, are they correct? If not, which beat is incorrect? Let’s try it again

and see if we can get the correct rhythm this time.”

-The students will continue playing this rhythm game until they are used to choosing the

assigned visual rhythms that correspond with the echo-translated rhythms. Once they can

correctly choose the correct rhythms and see how the echo-translated rhythms visually look, they

can move to dictation.

-The instructor will have the students open up their Canvas application on their iPads. They will

go to “Files” and will download the “Let’s Practice Dictation PDF.” They will then upload this

document into the Notability application so that they can write on this document on their iPads.

-The instructor will then have the students practice writing notes. She will have them practice

drawing four quarter notes, then two eighth notes, then four sixteenth notes. She will remind

them to make sure to fill in their noteheads.

-Once students can comfortably draw these notes, she will have them practice dictation. She will

speak a measure on “pa” and the students will have to notate this rhythm on the board with the

correct Takadimi rhythms.

-The instructor will write on the board how to successfully try dictation. She will write on the

board

1) Repeat

2) Translate

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3) Visualize

4) Draw

5) Read

-The instructor will have the students repeat the phrase back on “pa.” They will do this twice.

Once students feel comfortable with that, the instructor will have them echo-translate this phrase

on Takadimi.

-Then, the instructor will have the students speak the phrase on Takadimi with their eyes closed

so that they can visualize this rhythms.

-The students will then go to the first practice exercise in the worksheet and will write down the

measure on Takadimi.

-The students will then read it back on Takadimi. The instructor will have the students come up

to the board and write down what they think the correct notation of these rhythms are. The class

will then read their peers’ work on Takadimi to see if they are correct.

-The instructor will repeat this exercise three or four times until students feel comfortable with

these rhythms and notating them. The examples to be notated can be seen below.

-The instructor will wrap up and ask the students what they learned today. They will be asked to

review the steps of dictation and how to go about doing it after hearing rhythms.

-The instructor will then move on to literature for the day.

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Francesca LaRosa



Day 5: April 12, 2016- Sixteenth Note Rhythms, Tempo, Rhythmic Identification, Dictation












- Students will write quarter rests in their dictation practice exercises on their iPads. The


- Students will listen to, describe, and speak exercises with different types of tempo

markings (Largo and Presto) (NS6)

Materials

-Rhythm Cards

-Overhead Projector




-Rhythm cards of staccato notes, half notes, quarter notes, quarter rests, eighth notes, half note

dots, and sixteenth note for the rhythm game

Procedure

-Begin the class period with attendance. While taking attendance, ask the students if they know

what the word “tempo” is and if they can define it.

-Give the students the formal definition by telling them that tempo is the “speed or pace of the

music.” Then, ask the class, “So, what is the definition of tempo?” (The speed or pace of the

music).

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-Write the word “Largo” on the board. Ask the students if they know what the word means.

Remind students what tempo is, and then tell the students that you are going to read this measure

at a Largo tempo.

-Now, ask the students what Largo means. They should respond with, “Largo is a very slow

tempo.”

-Write the word “Presto” on the board. Ask the students if they know what the word means. Tell

the students that you are going to read the same measure at a Presto tempo. Now, ask the

students what Presto means. They should respond with, “Presto is a very fast , quick-paced

tempo.”

-Move to the rhythmic exercises on the overhead projector. Open up Sound Connections to 4A

#9. Have the students read this exercise at a Largo tempo.

-Then, have the students read the exercise at a Presto tempo. Ask students again what the

definitions are for tempo, Presto, and Largo.

--The instructor will then hand six students rhythm cards to be the “cardholders” again. Students

will play the rhythm game from the day before to practice rhythmic echo-translating and

rhythmic identification. The instructor will speak these rhythms and the students have to pick

their assigned cards:

-The students will read the rhythms on the cards held by their peers and check if their rhythms

match what the instructor spoke.

-Once students have mastered this, they will move on to dictation. They will open up their iPads

and revert back their Notability apps. They will move to practice exercise #5.

-The students will then practice dictation while the instructor recites on measure of 4/4 time on

“pa.” The instructor will speak this measure:

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-The students will practice the process of dictation from the day before. They will first echo back

the measure on “pa.” Then, the students will echo-translate the measure. Then, students will

close their eyes while they speak the Takadimi and visualize the measure. From there, the

students will practice writing the measure on the line provided in the worksheet. Finally, students

will volunteer to put their measures on the board. The class will read their peer’s work on

Takadimi and check for accuracy.

-The students will practice another dictation exercise of the following measure and will follow

the same procedure. This time students will practice drawing quarter rests. The instructor will

draw one on the board and the students will learn how to draw them together as a class. They

will then dictate the measure below:

-Students will review tempo markings and will then move on to their sectional rehearsals.

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Francesca LaRosa



Day 6: April 13, 2016- Sixteenth Note Rhythms, Time Signatures, Composition, Dictation








- Students will recite the definition of a time signature and what the portions of the fraction

represent.

- Students will compose their own rhythms in a measure of 4/4 time following the

instructor’s guidelines (NS4)

- Students will dictate one measure of rhythms on Takadimi in the dictation worksheet on

their iPads and the instructor will informally check their work (NS5)

Materials

-Rhythm Cards

-Overhead Projector




Procedure

-After attendance, the instructor will start with having the class echo rhythm patterns on

Takadimi. The students will also read these rhythms from the rhythm cards as well of the

rhythms below:

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-The instructor will then move to the overhead projector, where the students will read 4A #10

from Sound Connections on Takadimi.

-The instructor will then move to the board where she will draw this:

4/4 __________________________________________________________________________

-She will circle the time signature and ask the students if they know what this is called. She will

inform them that this is the time signature. She will inform the students that the numerator

indicates how many beats per measure and the denominator indicates which note gets the beat.

-In 4/4 time, there are four notes per measure, and the quarter note gets the beat. She will then

remind them of what they saw on their pre-test. They were asked to compose one measure of 4/4

time with the following guidelines (The guidelines will be written on the board):

-Compose your own rhythm that will fit in one measure of 4/4 time.

Hints: Make sure that all of the durations add up to four counts.

-No, you cannot write one whole note.

-You must write more than two notes.

-You may use rests.

-The instructor will practice by writing her own measure that will consist of the following:

24

-She will then write under each beat and ask the class, “So, students: how many beats does a

quarter note get?” (1). She will write the number 1 under the quarter note. She will then ask,

“How many beats do two eighth notes get?” (1). She will write the number 1 under the eighth

notes. She will then ask, “How many beats does one half note get?” (2). She will then ask the

students: add these together: 1 + 1 + 2. Does this equal 4? Check all the requirements to make

sure that this works!

-Now, have the students open up their iPads to the practice dictation exercise. Have them

compose their own measure of 4/4 time in Practice Exercise #6. Have them turn around their

iPads and walk around the room to check their progress. Have one student volunteer to write

their measure on the board. Run through the math of each response with the class and check the

requirements.

-Have the students try to compose another measure of 4/4 time in Practice Exercise #7. Have

them check their work and discuss their response with their neighbor.

-Finally, have the students try more dictation practice exercises to prepare for their exam. The

instructor will speak the rhythm below on “pa” while the class practices dictating the rhythm in

Practice Exercise #8. A volunteer will come up to the board and will write down their response.

The class and the instructor will check their work.

-The instructor will wrap up and will ask the students what a time signature is. They will then

review the guidelines of composing one measure for their exam. The instructor will ask the class

if they have any questions. Then the instructor will move on to the students’ repertoire for the

day.

25


Francesca LaRosa



Day 7: April 14, 2016- Sixteenth Note Rhythms, Tempo, Vocab Review, Error Detection












- Students will listen to Mozart’s Symphony No. 5 in D Major and determine the correct


-Students will listen to Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 Op. 37 and determine the correct


- Students will give the formal definitions of staccato, accent, and fermata, show them

kinesthetically, and perform them correctly in the Takadimi exercises (NS5)


(NS5, NS6)

Materials

-Rhythm Cards

-Overhead Projector



Procedure

-While taking attendance, the instructor will have the students listen to Mozart’s Symphony No. 5

in D Major. She will ask them to listen to the tempo of the piece and give the term to describe

the tempo. She will then ask them to define what that tempo marking means.

-First, the students will be asked, “What is a tempo?” (The speed or pace of the music). Then,

“What is the tempo of this piece?” (The should respond with Presto). The instructor will then ask

them what Presto means (a fast-paced tempo).

26

-The students will then listen to Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 Op. 37. She will ask them what

term describes the tempo of this piece and what the definition is of this term.

-They should respond with the fact that this piece has a Largo tempo, which means slow tempo.

-The students will then look at the terms written on the board: staccato, accent, and fermata. The

students will be asked, “What does staccato mean?” (Short and detached). “What does it look

like?” (.) They will then be asked, “What is an accent?” (It adds stress or emphasis to the beat).

“What does it look like?” (>). Finally, “What is a fermata?” (It sustains the note for as long as

the musician or instructor indicates). “What does it look like? ( )

-The students will then echo and echo-translate rhythmic patterns done by the instructor of

sixteenth note rhythms. The instructor will also have the students read the sixteenth note rhythm

cards as a class on Takadimi to practice with the exercises on the overhead.

-The instructor will then move to the overhead projector where they will practice #4A 11 of

Sound Connections. The instructor will write in these articulation markings into the exercises to

practice performing staccatos, accents, and fermatas.

-The students will then move their eyes to the board. On the board, the instructor has drawn three

measures of 4/4 time as follows. The first one looks like this:

-The instructor will inform the students that she is going to mispronounce one beat. She will ask

the students to show on their hands the beat that the instructor mispronounces. She will then

speak the measure as follows: “Ta-da-ki-mi (rest) Ta-di Ta.” “Class, which beat did I

mispronounce?” She will then perform the exercise again. The class should respond with #1. She

will ask the class how to properly pronounce this rhythm. She will then have the class read the

measure correctly as a class.

-The instructor will then move on to the second measure. She will run the same procedure with

this measure:

27

-In this measure, she will only hold the half note for one beat instead of two. She will ask the

class which measure she mispronounced. She will then ask the class to read it correctly on

Takadimi.

-The instructor will then ask the class move on to the third measure. She will run the same

procedure with this measure:

-The instructor will read the first three beats correctly on Takadimi, but she will pronounce the

fourth beat as a dotted quarter note and then an eighth note. This is still pronounced “Ta….di”,

but the rhythm is completely different than “Ta-di.” She will ask the class to identify the rhythm

she mispronounced. She will then have the ensemble read the measure as a class.

-The instructor will wrap up the lesson by informing the students that they will be reviewing all

terms and items tomorrow in class for the test on Monday. She will ask the students if they have

any questions and will then move on to repertoire for the day.

28


Francesca LaRosa



Day 8: April 15, 2016- Sixteenth Note Rhythms, Review













(NS5, NS6)

- Students will dictate rhythms as given by the instructor on their iPads and the instructor

will check their work, both on the iPads and on the board (NS5)

- Students will define the terms staccato, ritardando, accelerando, presto, largo, tempo,

time signature, accent, and fermata with board races.

Materials

-Rhythm Cards

-Overhead Projector



-iPads and Notability and Canvas applications

Procedure

-The instructor will begin by echoing and echo-translating Level 4A rhythm patterns as an

ensemble and with rhythm cards.

-The students will read #10 of Sound Connections as an ensemble.

-The students will play the rhythm game by having cardholders and four students choose the

rhythms as spoken by the instructor. The rhythm spoken by the instructor is found below:

29

-The students will choose the appropriate cards and will then read the cards chosen as a class.

-When the instructor reads this, she will hold the rest for two rests instead of one. She will ask

the class which one she mispronounced. She will ask what specifically was wrong with #2. How

many beats did the instructor hold the rests? (Listen again if they missed it the first time).

-The students will then practice dictation on their iPads. The instructor will give notecards to the

students who are struggling with dictation. They will match the rhythms that the instructor spoke

with the correct notecards. This is the exact same as the rhythm game, but it helps the students

who are unable to write the rhythms on their own.

-The students will then practice dictation on their iPads in the Let’s Practice Dictation

Worksheet. They will dictate the following rhythm and turn their iPads around to show the

instructor their work.

-The class will then have board races over the terms covered for their exam. The board race

questions will be as follows:

1) 2-part question: Draw a staccato. What does staccato mean?

Staccato means short and detached.

2) 2-part question: write the word ritardando and what does it mean?

A ritardando is a gradual decrease in tempo.

3) What is the term for the musical marking expressed by a fraction before a measure where the

top number refers to the number of beats per measure and the bottom number refers to which

note gets the beat? (Time signature).

4) Draw an accent below a note. What does it mean?

� An accent adds stress or emphasis to a note.

5) Write the word accelerando correctly. What does it mean?

An accelerando refers to a gradual decrease in tempo.

30

6) Draw a fermata. What does it mean?

A fermata sustains a note at the director or musician’s discretion.

7) What does the word tempo mean?

Tempo is the speed or pace of the music.

If time, do the lightning round with the students:

Dictate this rhythm:

Ask the students if they have any questions for the exam on Monday. Make sure that they feel

comfortable about the test and all of the terms.

31

Supplemental Materials

Let’s Practice Dictation! Worksheet

Name______________________________ Class Period_______________ Date___________________

Draw four quarter notes on the line below. Make sure you fill in your noteheads.

4/4 __________________________________________________________________________

Draw two eighth notes tied together on the line below. Make sure you fill in your noteheads.

4/4 __________________________________________________________________________

Draw four sixteenth notes tied together on the line below. Make sure you fill in your noteheads.

4/4 __________________________________________________________________________

Write out the rhythm as given by the instructor on the line below. Make sure you fill in your noteheads.

4/4 __________________________________________________________________________

Practice Exercises

1)

4/4 __________________________________________________________________________

32

2)

4/4 __________________________________________________________________________

3)

4/4 __________________________________________________________________________

4)

4/4 __________________________________________________________________________

5)

4/4 __________________________________________________________________________

6)

4/4 __________________________________________________________________________

7)

4/4 __________________________________________________________________________

8)

4/4 __________________________________________________________________________

33

Let’s Practice Dictation! Worksheet

(Teacher Answer Key)

Name______________________________ Class Period_______________ Date___________________

Draw four quarter notes on the line below. Make sure you fill in your noteheads.

Draw two eighth notes tied together on the line below. Make sure you fill in your noteheads.

Draw four sixteenth notes tied together on the line below. Make sure you fill in your noteheads.

Write out the rhythm as given by the instructor on the line below. Make sure you fill in your noteheads.

34

Practice Exercises

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

35

7)

8)

36

Rhythmic Identification Cards for Rhythmic Identification Game

42

Rhythmic Literacy Practice Cards

Accommodation Notecards for Students with Special Needs

(For Post-Test)

52

Student Feedback Form

1) Please write what you enjoyed during this unit:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

2) Please write down what you disliked during this unit:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3) Please write anything that Miss LaRosa did that helped you understand something:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4) Please write anything Miss LaRosa could have done to help you understand better:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

5) Did you feel prepared for the test? If not, what could Miss LaRosa have done differently?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

53

Assessment Tools and Rubrics

Pre-Test Recording Rubric Specific Description of the task: Students as a class will sight-read and record their performance of the

exercise 4A10 from Dr. Don P. Ester’s Sound Connections. Each student will be assessed on their ability

to maintain a steady tempo, execute rhythmic accuracy, syllable accuracy, and their overall articulation /

clarity. Total Points Possible: 16 Points

Rhythmic Example for Assessment:

Student Name _______________________ Student Total __________________

Unsatisfactory

(Less than 2)

Basic

(2)

Proficient

(3)

Distinguished

(4)

Steady Tempo

The student is

unable to maintain a

steady tempo. The

tempo of the

exercise is

completely

unrecognizable.

The student keeps

a steady tempo and

each beat is

definitely

recognizable. The

beat is kept fairly

decently but a few

errors occur

throughout.

The student makes

minor errors when

keeping a steady beat

and has mostly

accurate tempo. The

performance is near

perfect, with very

little errors at all.

Even when a mistake

is made, the student

continues to read on

in the exercise to

keep the beat moving.

The student keeps a

steady beat

perfectly and

accurately

throughout the

piece. The student

never waivers from

the tempo.

Rhythmic

Accuracy

The student is

unable to articulate

any of the rhythms

of the exercise

correctly, if any at

all.

The student

articulates many of

the rhythms

correctly. The

student makes a

few errors in

regards to rhythm.

The student makes

minor errors when

articulating the

rhythms of the

exercise. The

performance is near

perfect, but there are

minor errors.

The student speaks

every rhythm of the

excerpt perfectly.

54

Syllable

Accuracy

The student is

unable to speak any

of the rhythms of

the exercise

correctly on the

correct Takadimi

syllables, if any at

all.

The student

articulates many of

the Takadimi

syllables correctly.

The student makes

a few errors in

regard to Takadimi

syllable

identification and

classification.

The student makes

minor errors when

articulating the

Takadimi syllables of

the exercise. The

performance is near

perfect, but not quite.

The students speaks

every rhythm of the

excerpt correctly on

the assigned

Takadimi syllables.

Articulation /

Clarity

The student is not

understandable at

all. Either the

microphone was not

held close enough

to his mouth or he

cannot be

understood. The

rhythms and

syllables are

completely

unrecognizable.

The student speaks

the rhythms and

Takadimi syllables

throughout the

excerpt, but there

are a few times

when he is difficult

to hear or

understand.

The students’

performance is near

perfect, and he is able

to be heard

throughout the

recording. However,

there are less than a

few instances where

he is difficult to

understand.

The student speaks

clearly and

enunciates every

rhythm and syllable

perfectly for the

instructor to

understand.

. .

Additional Teacher Notes:

55

Tell Me What You Know! (Rhythmic Unit Pre-Test)

Name___________________________ Date________________ Class Period___________

Fill in the Blank:

1.) A musical term for a gradual decrease in tempo is ________________________.

2.) A musical term for a gradual increase in tempo is ________________________.

Multiple Choice:

3.) A musical term that is generally expressed with a fraction (Hint: the bottom number gives

the number of beats per measure and the numerator indicates which note gets the beat).

A) Time Signature C) Meter

B) Key Signature D) Division of the Beat

Short Answer:

4.) What is a staccato marking? Write its definition and draw a picture of what it looks like.

Definition:_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Drawing:

5.) What is an accent? Write its definition and draw a picture of what it looks like.

Definition:__________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Drawing:

6.) What is a fermata? Write its definition and draw a picture of what it looks like.

Definition:_____________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Drawing:

56

8.) Compose your own rhythm that will fit in one measure of 4/4 time.




-You may use rests.

4/4___________________________________________________________________________

Listening Pre-Test

Error Detection:

1.) Please circle the number of the beat that is mispronounced by the instructor:



57

Dictate the rhythm as given by the instructor:

4/4___________________________________________________________________________

5.) Tempo Listening Exercise: Which specific tempo marking starts off the piece? Please

describe what this tempo marking means.

58

Tell Me What You Know! (Rhythmic Unit Pre-Test)

Teacher Version Answer Key


Fill in the Blank:

4.) A musical term for a gradual decrease in tempo is _______ritardando______ (1 Point)

5.) A musical term for a gradual increase in tempo is ______accelerando_______(1Point).

Multiple Choice:



C) Time Signature (1 point) C) Meter

D) Key Signature D) Division of the Beat

Short Answer:


(4 points: two points for correct definition; two points for correct drawing).

Definition:__The word staccato means short and detached

Drawing:

5.) What is an accent? Write its definition and draw a picture of what it looks like. (4 points: two

points for correct definition; two points for correct drawing).

Definition:_An accent is a marking that adds stress or emphasis to the note._

Drawing:

6.) What is a fermata? Write its definition and draw a picture of what it looks like. (4 points: 2


Definition: A fermata is a marking that holds out the duration of a note for the length as

chosen by the director or musician.

59


(4 points: 2 points for having durations add up to 4 counts; 2 points for writing more than

two notes).




-You may use rests.

These answers could be any combination of things, as long as the notes add up to four

beats. A few examples of possible student answers are shown below.

Listening Pre-Test

Error Detection:

9.) Please circle the number of the beat that is mispronounced by the instructor: (2 points)

In this exercise, I said, “Ta-da-ki-mi” instead of “Ta-ka-di-mi” for #1.


In this exercise, I held the rest for two beats instead of one for #3.

60


For this exercise, I spoke instead of for #1. Yes, both have the Takadimi

syllables of Ta-di, but the second one is rhythmically correct in the measure. This question is

worth two points. #1 must be circled to receive two points.

12. Dictate the rhythm as given by the instructor: (4 points)

All answers should be dictated like the example above. I spoke, “Ta Tadi Takadimi Ta” on

the neutral syllable pa and they filled out the dictation. Four points are given for this

correct answer. Each correct beat is worth one point.

13) Tempo Listening Exercise: Which specific tempo marking starts off the piece? Please

describe what this tempo marking means.(4 points)

The tempo marking of this piece is presto. Its definition is a very quick, fast-paced. The

musicians were playing the piece extremely quickly. In order to get full credit for this

answer, students will get two points for having the words “quick, rapid, or fast.” They will

get another two points for the word “presto.”

Total points: 33 points

61

Tell Me What You Know! (Rhythmic Unit Post-Test)


Fill in the Blank:

7.) A musical term for a gradual decrease in tempo is ________________________.

8.) A musical term for a gradual increase in tempo is ________________________.

Multiple Choice:



E) Time Signature C) Meter

F) Key Signature D) Division of the Beat

Short Answer:


Definition:_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Drawing:

5.) What is an accent? Write its definition and draw a picture of what it looks like.

Definition:__________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Drawing:

6.) What is a fermata? Write its definition and draw a picture of what it looks like.

Definition:_____________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Drawing:

62





-You may use rests.

4/4___________________________________________________________________________

Listening Post-Test

Error Detection:




63

Dictate the rhythm as given by the instructor:

4/4___________________________________________________________________________

5.) Tempo Listening Exercise: Which specific tempo marking starts off the piece? Please

describe what this tempo marking means.

64

Tell Me What You Know! (Rhythmic Unit Post-Test)

Teacher Version Answer Key


Fill in the Blank:

10.) A musical term for a gradual decrease in tempo is ____ritardando_ (1 Point)

11.) A musical term for a gradual increase in tempo is___accelerando___(1Point).

Multiple Choice:

12.) A musical term that is generally expressed with a fraction (Hint: the bottom

number gives the number of beats per measure and the numerator indicates which note

gets the beat).

G) Time Signature (1 point) C) Meter

H) Key Signature D) Division of the Beat

Short Answer:


(4 points: two points for correct definition; two points for correct drawing).

Definition:__The word staccato means short and detached

Drawing:

5.) What is an accent? Write its definition and draw a picture of what it looks like. (4 points: two


Definition:_An accent is a marking that adds stress or emphasis to the note._

Drawing:

6.) What is a fermata? Write its definition and draw a picture of what it looks like. (4 points: 2


65

Definition: A fermata is a marking that holds out the duration of a note for the length as

chosen by the director or musician.


(4 points: 2 points for having durations add up to 4 counts; 2 points for writing more than

two notes).




-You may use rests.

These answers could be any combination of things, as long as the notes add up to four

beats. A few examples of possible student answers are shown below.

Listening Post-Test

Error Detection:


In this exercise, I said, “Ta-da-ki-mi” instead of “Ta-ka-di-mi” for #1.


66

In this exercise, I held the rest for two beats instead of one for #3.


For this exercise, I spoke instead of for #1. Yes, both have the Takadimi

syllables of Ta-di, but the second one is rhythmically correct in the measure. This question is

worth two points. #1 must be circled to receive two points.

12. Dictate the rhythm as given by the instructor: (4 points)

All answers should be dictated like the example above. I spoke, “Ta Tadi Takadimi Ta” on

the neutral syllable pa and they filled out the dictation. Four points are given for this

correct answer. Each correct beat is worth one point.

13) Tempo Listening Exercise: Which specific tempo marking starts off the piece? Please

describe what this tempo marking means.(4 points)

The tempo marking of this piece is presto. Its definition is a very quick, fast-paced. The

musicians were playing the piece extremely quickly. In order to get full credit for this

answer, students will get two points for having the words “quick, rapid, or fast.” They will

get another two points for the word “presto.” Total points on Post-Test: 33 points

67

Technology

For this project, I used technology in a wide variety of ways.First, I wanted to execute

two different pre-tests: one written pre-test to test the students knowledge of the terms of the

unit; and one oral pre-test to assess students’ abilities to speak sixteenth note rhythms on

Takadimi with rhythmic and syllable accuracy, with articulation and clarity, and with a steady

beat. I implemented these tests with all of my seventh grade students, and I knew that it would

take weeks to listen to each individual student perform the rhythmic exercise on Takadimi from

Sound Connections in a practice room for me. During my student teaching experience, my

cooperating teachers and I learned to use the iPad devices to our advantage: we have the students

read the rhythmic example together as a class while each student holds up his iPad and records

his voice on the device. The students then submitted the recording to the course assignment

through the Canvas application on their iPads. I then listened to each of these recordings on my

computer and gave each student an individual grade based on the pre-test recording rubric. I had

the students perform the same action when I administered the post-test recording after the unit

was over.

In the middle of the unit, I uploaded a PDF to the Canvas application on the students’

iPads. This PDF was titled “Let’s Practice Dictation Worksheet.” Instead of printing out 160

pieces of paper, I had the students upload this PDF from Canvas and uploaded it into the

Notability application so that they could write on the worksheet itself on their iPads. Throughout

the unit, the students opened up their iPads to practice dictation on their own. They were then

able to access these PDFS from home to practice on their own. I was amazed that my students

use their iPads more in their fine arts courses at Center Grove Middle School Central than in any

other course in school. Our department has found many uses for the students’ iPad devices, and I

was very excited that I was able to use the iPad as a positive form of both technology and

communication with the students. I also was able to use our overhead projector screen to display

the rhythmic examples from Sound Connections on the board. This allowed for all of the students

in the room to read the exercises as a class, and they were able to see each specific note, beat,

and measure I was pointing to on the board.

Differentiations / Accommodations

When I first administered the pre-test, I originally made a unit schedule assuming that I

would need to spend a lot of time on music composition and error detection. I knew that students

had been learning from Dr. Don P. Ester’s Sound Connections, but they had not had a lot of

experience in composition. I originally planned to teach and practice composition and error

detection every day during this unit in some form. However, after looking at the data from the

pre-tests, many students did really well with composition. They actually struggled more with

dictation and notating. I decided to change my original plan and spend more time on dictation

and notation. I also was very surprised that students struggled a lot with the vocabulary of this

68

unit on the pre-test. I decided to implement the vocabuarly every single day in my unit plan, and

I had the students learn two terms every day, while reviewing the previous terms every day in

class. I knew that the constant review of the terms would help the students to remember their

meaning and definitions. I drew pictures on the board for students of the vocabulary, such as

symbols of staccato, accent, and fermata symbols. This would help with the visual learners. I

also played these markings in the warm-ups and vocally demonstrated each term to help with the

aural learners. I wrote these markings in their literacy exercises to give more visual

representation of these terms. Finally, I showed kinesthetic motions for each vocabulary term to

help the kinesthetic learners learn each term. I went over these terms every day in class, hoping

that the extra review of the vocabulary and practice of dictation would help the students perform

well on their post-test. The students that paid attention in class every day did remarkably well on

the test. However, the students who misbehaved on a consistent basis and failed to pay attention

did not perform well on the post-test. I tried to do everything in my power to help the students

improve in their knowledge and skills tested at the end of the unit.

In terms of accommodations, I asked Dan for the names of the students with special

needs. I have been trying to pay attention to these students to see how they are doing in grasping

the material for the unit. Many of them seemed to be doing well with the terms because the

kinesthetic movements for the vocabulary terms allowed me to visually see if they knew what

these terms looked like. I noticed that many of them were struggling with the dictation. When I

did the rhythmic identification with the cards in front of class, they were able to pick out the

rhythms that I was saying aloud. However, they were not able to write the dictation very well.

During the post-test, I created small rhythm cards on notecards for the students. I spoke the

rhythms on “pa,” and they had to pick the corresponding note card of the correct rhythm. They

each did very well with this, and I was glad that the rhythm game helped them with the rhythmic

identification for the test. I substituted the rhythmic dictation for these students with rhythmic

identification. I also pulled the students aside and read portions aloud to them during the post-test

to speak through what I was looking for in terms of answers on the exam. This helped some of

them to verbally execute their knowledge on the exam. However, others still struggled to

understand what I meant by a few terms. Every special needs student was excellent at the

rhythmic identification and error detection. The vocabulary was still a struggle for them, and I

think that during the unit I could have done something more for them to help them learn the

definitions.

69

Standard Graphs

72

Pre-Test / Post-Test Graphs

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Pre-Test Grade

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Pre-Test Vs. Post-Test Written Test Scores (Side by Side)

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Pre-Test Recording Test Score

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76

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Unit Narrative

STANDARDS ADDRESSED

PRIMARY STANDARDS IN UNIT:

-National Standard #4: Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.

A. Students will learn how to compose one measure of 4/4 time. All of the beats must add

to four counts. They must write more than two notes, and they are not allowed to

write one whole note. In this unit, they will learn how to write and fill in the

note heads of quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes. They will also

learn how to notate quarter rests. Their measures may be any rhythms of their

choice under the specified guidelines.

-National Standard #5: Reading and notating music.

A. Students will learn how to accurately read Level 4A rhythm patterns of Dr. Don P.

Ester’s Sound Connections and how to read the sixteenth note patterns correctly

using Takadimi syllables.

B. Students will read a measure of 4A rhythms on the board, and while the instructor

reads the rhythms, students will read and analyze the notes that are

mispronounced by the instructor

C. Students will notate the rhythms as spoken by the instructor and will learn how to

dictate the rhythms of one measure of 4/4 time with the appropriate Takadimi

rhythms. They will then read the rhythms together as an ensemble.

D. Students will learn what accent, staccato, and fermata markings look like and will

learn how to notate them in music. Students will also read these markings in the

Sound Connections exercises and will accurately articulate them.

-National Standard #6: Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.

A. Students will listen to sixteenth note patterns given by the instructor and will echo-

translate these patterns to the correct Takadimi syllables.

B. Students will also use listening in this unit in regards to error detection. Students will

be able to accurately find which rhythms the instructor mispronounces to test their

knowledge of Takadimi syllables and their knowledge of rhythms.

C. Students will use listening skills in dictation. They must listen to the rhythms and be

able to dictate them in one measure of 4/4 time.

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D. Students will listen to songs with different tempo markings and be able to label these

songs as either Presto or Largo. They will be able to define these terms as well

SECONDARY STANDARDS IN UNIT:

-National Standard #7: Evaluating music and music performances.

A. Students will listen to famous works of music to determine the tempo of each piece.

The pieces will either be in presto or largo tempos, and these exercises will assist

in rhythmic identification. Students will discuss these works as a class and aspects

of the musical eras.

ABILITY LEVEL ACCOMMODATIONS

When I first decided to implement this project with seventh grade students, I knew going

into the project that this grade included a large number of special needs students in both fifth and

sixth period. I decided to administer the pre-test to test their ability levels and see first-hand what

they were going to need help with. Since students across the board did not perform well on the

pre-test, I knew that this was not a good indication as to each student’s overall ability level.

Some things that I did notice on the pre-test were that many students needed more time. I knew

that when I administered the post-test, I would need to dedicate an entire class period to taking

the test. The majority of students took about fifteen minutes to take the pre-test, but many needed

about twenty-five minutes. I also put into consideration that students took the pre-test was

without learning about any of the material on the test. I knew that the process of documenting

what the students actually learned for the post-test would take the students more time.

When I approached Mr. Andersen about this topic and asked him who all of our special

needs students were in seventh grade, he gave me a list of the students who would need

accommodations and modifications for the post-tests. I found that five students in seventh grade

needed more time when taking tests. One student had hearing problems, and four students would

need accommodations for the test. The students who needed extra time either had forms of

anxiety or true behavioral problems. A few students in particular did not sit still well, and I knew

that this would distract other students when taking the test. I made arrangements for this student

to take his test in another room during the exam. For the student with hearing problems, I was

thrilled to have a unit that used a lot of kinesthetic movements and written dictation. These

motions and exercises allowed me to see first-hand if students were understanding and / or

hearing material. I could then pull students aside during the unit and explain items more

thoroughly.

In order to assist with dictation, I decided to first teach students rhythmic identification. I

used rhythm cards in the classroom to play a “game” with the students. I spoke rhythms for the

students on “pa” and they had to distinguish if I was saying quarter notes, half notes, eighth

notes, or sixteenth notes. Then, they matched my neutral syllable rhythms to the actual rhythm

80

cards and then read the cards in order as a class on Takadimi. This assessed the skills of echoing,

echo-translation, rhythmic identification, and reading and notating. I made sure that all of my

special needs students could accurately identify the rhythms used in the exercises. I did this by

volunteering all kinds of students for the rhythm game to see first-hand if they identified the

accurate rhythms. I also walked around the room and helped each student with their dictation to

visually see if they were comprehending the material spoken in class. Four of my students still

could not write down the rhythms. For the post-test, I called the four students into another room

for the dictation exercise and had them do rhythmic identification of this measure with matching

the rhythms they heard to the notecards of quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes. This

helped the students to show me visually what they heard in their minds and gave me a chance to

assess their understanding of material. Surprisingly, many of these students who I assumed

would need help on the pre-test already had the rhythm figured out for the dictation before we

even did rhythmic identification. Two of these students wrote down the rhythm absolutely

correctly. The additional practice with these students truly paid off, and I was pleased to see

them working diligently both in class during the unit and on the post-test. Four of these students

also needed questions read aloud to them for the post-test, and I was happy to make these

accommodations for them before they turned in their tests. Many of them still struggled with the

vocabulary on the post-test, and I think that I could have made the students a list of terms for the

unit. Other students had the abilities to write down these terms as notes, but many of these

special needs students have trouble sitting still and writing. I could have made them a list of the

terms and definitions. I am not sure if this would have helped them, but in the future, I will make

sure that students that have trouble writing down their thoughts have a form of preparing for an

exam in their own way.

AUTHENTIC SKILL DEVELOPMENT

This unit primarily focused on students growing in the skills of composition, dictation,

reading, notating, and listening. When we teach students in a choral classroom, we not only want

them to be better singers, but we want them to be able to make music on their own as well. In

order to do this, we must not only teach them the notes on the pages of their music, but we must

also give them a skill-set to use on their own outside of the classroom. Ball State University has

taught me how to incorporate solfege and Takadimi into my lesson plans so I can teach my

students how to become literate musicians. I am very fortunate to be placed in program during

my student teaching experience that strongly advocates these tools as well. A key component of

learning music is the art of learning rhythms. I wanted for my students to be able to read

sixteenth note rhythms, hear sixteenth note rhythms, notate sixteenth note rhythms, dictate

sixteenth note rhythms, and compose these rhythms on their own. The art of dictation is a

critical-thinking skill that is crucial to musical learning. It allows our students to have the

abilities to hear music and write it down on paper for their own use or for others to use and read

as well. Composition takes all of the skills learned in music theory and allows students to think

critically about music to write their own. These skills allow students to dive deeper into the

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music and to look at music from a new perspective. I taught students the tools about how many

beats are in each measure of 4/4 time and how to compose rhythmic measures that fit within this

criteria. The processes of rhythmic identification, echo-translation, and dictation force students to

connect with previously learned rhythms and how they fit together in a musical line. These skills

can be taken beyond the classroom and truly enhance a child’s listening, reading, and composing

skills.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

� Terms: I wrote out the terms daily on the board and went over each term and its

definition. I knew that this would help the visual learners. I also drew each of these terms

on the board for the students to visually see what they looked like. I also marked the

terms in their sight-reading exercises to practice reading music with these items to

vocally learn how to produce these articulation markings and feel what they sound like.

� Kinesthetic motions for each term: I came up with a movement for each term so that I

could visually see from every student (in a silent manner) what each term looked like.

This gave them gestures that allowed them to use their bodies to remember each term. I

knew that this would help the kinesthetic learners with the vocabulary.

� Verbal cues: I spoke each term to the students for everyone to orally hear each term and

its definition every day.

� Audio clips / discussion: I found audio clips of pieces that were in the tempos of Largo

and Presto. We listened to these throughout the unit to help students aurally hear changes

in tempo.

� Rhythmic Identification Game: I created cards for “cardholders,” consisting of quarter

notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, half notes, and quarter rests. Then, I spoke one

measure of 4/4 time and had the students choose which rhythms I spoke on “pa.”

Students had to be able to hear the rhythm correctly and choose the corresponding rhythm

card to the beat. This gave a visual representation of students’ understanding.

� Dictation worksheet: I created a practice dictation worksheet for students to practice

drawing quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes. On this worksheet, we practiced

dictating measures of 4/4 time as spoken by the instructor. I also had the students

compose their own measures of 4/4 time following specific guidelines.

� Rubrics: I created a rubric for the students for the post-test recording. This allowed the

students the opportunity to learn about the expectations for the assignment to see how

their efforts in terms of articulation, keeping a steady beat, and rhythmic and Takadimi

syllable accuracy could affect their grade.

TECHNOLOGIES USED

I had the students use the application of Canvas on their iPads to record their pre-test and

post-test recordings for the unit. I graded each of these recordings on my computer, and the use

of the iPads saved hours of class time since I could have all of the students record their example

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at once instead of calling in students individually into the practice rooms. I also used the

computer to play different audio recordings of tempos for the students to compare and contrast

presto and largo tempos. I used the overhead projector to display rhythmic examples from Dr.

Don P. Ester’s Sound Connections on the screen for the students. I also uploaded a PDF of my

Practice Dictation Worksheet to Canvas and students uploaded this to Notability to write on the

document and practice dictation and composition for the unit.

Assessment Narrative

STUDENT ACCOMMODATIONS

When I first decided to implement this project with seventh grade students, I knew going

into the project that this grade included a large number of special needs students in both fifth and

sixth period. I decided to administer the pre-test to test their ability levels and see first-hand what

they were going to need help with. Since students across the board did not perform well on the

pre-test, I knew that this was not a good indication as to each student’s overall ability level.

Some things that I did notice on the pre-test were that many students needed more time. I knew

that when I administered the post-test, I would need to dedicate an entire class period to taking

the test. The majority of students took about fifteen minutes to take the pre-test, but many needed

about twenty-five minutes. This was without knowing all of the answers. I knew that the process

of documenting what they knew for the post-test would take the students more time.

When I approached Mr. Andersen about this topic and asked him who all of our special

needs students were in seventh grade, he gave me a list of the students who would need

accommodations and modifications throughout the unit. I found that five students in seventh

grade needed more time when taking tests. One student had hearing problems, and four students

would need accommodations for the test. The students who needed extra time either had forms of

anxiety or true behavioral problems. A few students in particular do not sit still well, and I knew

that this would distract other students when taking the test. I made arrangements for this student

to take his test in another room during the exam. For the student with hearing problems, I was

thrilled to have a unit that used a lot of kinesthetic movements and written dictation. These

motions and exercises allowed me to see first-hand if students were understanding and / or

hearing material. I could then pull students aside during the unit and explain items more

thoroughly.

In order to assist with dictation, I decided to first teach students rhythmic identification. I

used rhythm cards in the classroom to play a “game” with the students. I would speak rhythms

for the students on “pa” and they had to distinguish if I was saying quarter notes, half notes,

eighth notes, or sixteenth notes. Then, they matched my neutral syllable rhythms to the actual

rhythm cards and then read the cards in order as a class on Takadimi. This assessed the skills of

echoing, echo-translation, rhythmic identification, and reading and notating. I made sure that all

of my special needs students could accurately identify the rhythms used in the exercises. I did

83

this by volunteering all kinds of students for the rhythm game to see first-hand if they identified

the accurate rhythms. I also walked around the room and helped each student with their dictation

to visually see if they were comprehending the material spoken in class. Four of my students still

could not write down the rhythms. For the post-test, I called the four students into another room

for the dictation exercise and had them do rhythmic identification of this measure with matching

the rhythms they heard to the notecards of quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes. This

helped the students to show me visually what they heard in their minds and gave me a chance to

assess their understanding of material. Surprisingly, many of these students who I assumed

would need help on the pre-test already had the rhythm figured out for the dictation before we

even did rhythmic identification. Two of these students wrote down the rhythm absolutely

correctly. The additional practice with these students truly paid off, and I was pleased to see

them working diligently both in class during the unit and on the post-test. Four of these students

also needed questions read aloud to them for the post-test, and I was happy to make these

accommodations for them before they turned in their tests. Many of them still struggled with the

vocabulary on the post-test, and I think that I could have made the students a list of terms for the

unit. Other students had the abilities to write down these terms as notes, but many of these

special needs students have trouble sitting still and writing. I could have made them a list of the

terms and definitions. I am not sure if this would have helped them, but in the future, I will make

sure that students that have trouble writing down their thoughts have a form of preparing for an

exam in their own way.

TYPES OF ASSESSMENT

I used a lot of different kinds of assessment in my creation of this unit curriculum plan. In

terms of informal assessment, I was constantly assessing students’ knowledge and understanding

of material. I tested students informally over the terms by calling on the students about each

term’s definition. I also wrote these terms on the board and reviewed by having the students

write the terms and definitions on the board as well. I also asked students to show me

kinesthetically on a daily basis the vocabulary terms visually with their body movements. This

allowed me to see each student’s personal understanding if they knew what the terms looked

like. This would help them draw the symbols on their test. I also had them practice dictation

every day, and I had the students turn their iPads around to show me their work. I was able to

check each student’s work and guide them to the correct answer if they were incorrect. I also

used my rhythmic identification game as a form of informal assessment. I had the students go up

in front of the class and choose the corresponding cards of the rhythms I spoke on a neutral

syllable. This allowed me to check their understanding.

I created two types of formal assessments for this unit. I created the post-test recording

and recording rubric. This allowed me to test their skills of speaking the rhythms of exercise 10

of unit 4A of Dr. Don Ester’s Sound Connections. This spoken test allowed me to check each

students’ skills of reading and speaking sixteenth note rhythms and patterns correctly. This was a

skills test, and due to the rubric, I was able to test their knowledge and abilities to speak and read

84

with articulation, a steady beat, and rhythmic and syllable accuracy. I also created a written pre-

test and post-test to test students knowledge on vocabulary of the unit. I also tested their abilites

to point out incorrect notes in the error detection, as well as dictation, composition, and listening

exercises on the test. These written and skills tests allowed me to check each student’s overall

comprehension and abilities learned from the unit.

Instructional Narrative

PRESENTATION OF DIRECTIONS

For this instructional process, I began each lesson by starting with syllable echoing and

echo-translation. I then moved to the sixteenth note cards that I made for the unit, and then

moved to the overhead projector to have the students read the assigned exercises for each day. In

terms of the vocabulary, I wrote the term on the board and asked if anyone knew what this term

meant. Then, I presented the defintion and asked the students to aurally recite the definition.

Then I wrote the definition on the board, and then I drew the picture of each term. I then showed

the students kinesthetic motions for each term to help them remember the terms and definitions

in different ways. In terms of the dictation, I started by introducing rhythmic identification. I

began first with echoing and echo-translation of sixteenth note rhythms. Then, I had students

hold the rhythm cards as the cardholders. I instructed four students to choose the corresponding

cards of the rhythms I spoke on “pa,” and then I checked their work. We read these together as a

class. I then moved on to dictation and had the students open the dictation worksheet file on

Canvas and then uploaded it to Notability. I read the instructions to the students, and I also had

students read some of the directions of the questions. They first wrote four quarter notes, then

two eighth notes, then four sixteenth notes. I then had students practice dictation of a measure of

4/4 time and then had the students write these on the board. I went through the process of

dictation by writing the process of dictation on the board. I wrote these instructions on the board:

1) Repeat 2) Translate 3) Visualize 4) Write 5) Read. I went through the process and asked for

the students to repeat the exercise on “pa.” Then, I asked them to echo-translate the measure to

Takadimi. I then had students close their eyes and visualize what this would look like. I then had

students write down the rhythms, and then I asked the students to read their responses on

Takadimi to check their work. We went thorugh this process every day. I also read the

instructions and wrote them on the board for composition. I read these directions aloud to the

students and had the students read them as well. Every time that I had a student write their

response on the board, we reverted back to the instructions to make sure that each student’s

response corresponded with the expectations of the assignment. When presenting the pre and

post-tests, I first started the tests with the listening portions, such as the error detection, dictation,

and tempo examples. I then walked them through the rest of the test, explaining the

differentiation of questions, such as multiple choice, fill in the blank, and short answer. I also had

the students fill out a student feedback form on the back side of the post-test. In terms of the pre

and post-test recordings, I uploaded the assignment to Canvas. Then, I had the students sign in to

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Canvas, and then had them click on “assignments,” “Recording for Post-Test” “Submission,”

“Turn In,” and “Record Audio.” This process took them through the steps to get them to record

their excerpts. Then, I had them turn this in. Directions for the entire unit were given aurally and

also visually on the board and in the documents used for the unit.

HOW STANDARDS RELATE TO UNIT

The primary national standards that I used for the unit included National Standards 4, 5,

and 6. National Standard 4 refers to “composing and arranging music within specified

guideliens.” I used this standard throughout the unit as I taught the process of composing one

measure of 4/4 time to the students. I gave specified guidelines to the students, instructing them

that all of their beats must add to four counts. I also informed them that they must write more

than two notes, and they are not allowed to write a whole note. In this unit, they learned how to

write and fill in the note heads of quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes. They also

learned how to notate quarter rests. Their measures consisted of any rhythms of their choice. The

process of composition in music is extremely important to teach to our students because it allows

students to have an outlet to express themselves. Teaching the students music is one thing, but

we must teach them how to create music on their own to keep the magic of music alive.

I also incorporated National Standard 5, which refers to “reading and notating music.” In

this unit, students learned how to accurately read Level 4A rhythm patterns of Sound

Connections and how to read the sixteenth note patterns in the exercises. They also read a

measure of 4A rhythms on the board, and while the instructor read the rhythms, the students read

and analyzed the notes that were mispronounced by the instructor to help with the process of

error detection. Students also notated the rhythms as spoken by the instructor and learned how to

dictate the rhythms of one measure of 4/4 time with the appropriate Takadimi rhythm syllables.

They read the rhythms together as an ensemble. Students also learned how to read the

articulation markings of accent, staccato, and fermata markings both on the board and in the

exercises learned in class. They learned how to notate them in the music as well. Students also

read these markings in Sound Connections and accurately articulated them. During the rhythm

identification game, students also had to read the rhythms on the cards as a class on Takadimi to

check the work of their peers. The entire unit was focused on reading and notating rhythms on

their own so students could be able to apply these skills to other musical pieces they learn

outside of the classroom. Rhythm is a key component of music, and learning these skills will

help to develop each student’s overall level of musicianship.

The final primary standard that I used in this unit was National Standard 6, which focused

on “listening to, analyzing, and describing music.” In this unit, students listened to sixteenth note

patterns given by the instructor and echo-translated these patters to the correct Takadimi

syllables. Students also used listening in this unit in regards to error detection. Students were

asked to find which rhythms the instructor mispronounced to test their knowledge of rhythms

and Takadimi syllables. Students also used listening skills in their process of dictation. They

86

listened to the rhythms as spoken by the instructor and were asked to dictate them in one

measure of 4/4 time. Finally, students listened to songs with different tempo markings and were

asked to label the tempos of the pieces as Presto or Largo. They were asked to define these terms

as well. This also touched on the secondary standard addressed in the unit, which was National

Standard 7. This standard focuses on “evaluating music and music performances.” Students

listened to famous works of music to determine the tempo of each piece. The pieces were either

presto or largo, and these exercises assisted in rhythmic identification. We talked about the

pieces that we listened to and touched on the composers of Mozart and Shostakovich to discuss

tempo and musical genre.

STUDENT DIFFERENCES

During the instruction of this unit, I tried to accommodate each student’s basic style of

learning. I taught most of the information aurally and visually on the board to the students. I

spoke the terms, and the students repeated them back to me. I also presented how the term

sounded and then asked students how this term could be defined. I then gave them the formal

definition and wrote it on the board. I then had students repeat the definition as a class. I gave

kinesthetic motions for every term, and we reviewed these every day as a class. I also drew these

symbols on the board to help with the visual learners. I wrote each of these symbols in the

spoken exercises of the day. I also had the students echo and echo-translate spoken rhythms, and

then I called on volunteers for the rhythmic identification game. Having the cards displayed in

front of class truly helped the visual learners. It also accommodated to the special needs students

who were unable to practice dictation. I also had the students try writing down these rhythms

themselves in the dication worksheets. I tried to get as many different senses involved in the

process. I wanted students to hear the rhythms, speak the rhythms see the rhythms, feel the

rhythms, and show all of the terms with body movement and visual applications. All of the

informal assessment allowed me to see if each individual student was comprehending the

material taught in class.

REAL-LIFE APPLICATIONS

This entire unit was focused on rhythmic literacy. I wanted to enhance student’s reading

ability of reading sixteenth note rhythms. I wanted them to learn the terms and definitions of

rhythms, rhythmic articulation, and tempos. I also had them learn dictation and composition to

practice notating the rhythms learned in class. I knew that if I could teach them how to read

rhythms in class, they would be able to read these rhythms outside of class as well. I want my

students to be able to read music, notate music, and compose their own music to be better overall

musicians. Our main goal as music educators is to make our students independent musicians so

that they can read, perform, and create music on their own. Based on the graphs, students truly

improved in their music literacy at the end of the unit, and I was excited that I could help with

that process after completion of this project.

87

CRITERIA AND EXPLANATION

During the duration of this unit, students were expected to learn rhythmic terminology of

the words ritardando, accelerando, fermata, accent, tempo, time signature, staccato, presto, and

largo. They were quizzed over these terms, and I wrote these terms on the board every day,

reminding students that they needed to master these terms for the post-test. Students were also

expected to master the art of composition, dictation, and error detection. I gave each student the

ground rules and criteria for each of these items. For example, for composition, I gave specific

guidelines to the students to compose one measure of 4/4 time, where all of their notes added up

to four beats. They were instructed to write more than two notes, they were not allowed to use

whole notes, and they could use rests. These guidelines were placed on the board and in the

directions. In regards to dictation, I informed students of the specific rhythms that I would

choose from for the exam. We first practiced rhythmic identification and then practiced writing

these rhythms. Students were expected to write down the appropriate rhythms, with all of their

noteheads filled in. Their notes must match the neutral syllables indicated by the instructor, and

they were given the process to repeat, translate, visualize, write, and read their rhythms that they

wrote down. Students practiced error detection in class and were asked to choose the rhythm the

instructor mispronounced. Students were also expected to correctly pronouce sixteenth note

patterns in the exercises on the board. They would be assessed through the post-test recording on

the following criteria: rhythmic and syllable accuracy, keeping a steady beat, and articulation.

They were informed about each of these guidelines when the pre-test was presented. Throughout

the unit, I informed the students about the areas that I was looking for improvement and growth

in each of the categories assessed. I reminded the students of the material to study for the exam

daily.

Result / Interpretation Narrative

STUDENT PRE-TEST PERFORMANCE

As expected, students performed extremely poorly on the pre-test. The pre-test consisted

of mainly fill-in-the-blank questions for the rhythmic terminology. Since this material had not

been covered before, I anticipated to see very poor grades on this exam. Since the students had

never performed error detection, composition, or dictation, I knew that these portions of the test

would be extremely low. Surprisingly, students performed fairly well on the error detection, and

almost all of the students failed the rest of the test. Since students practice Sound Connections

everyday, they were able to figure out if a rest was held too long or when the eighth note was

mispronounced. As expected though, many of the students did not know the answer to the

sixteenth note rhythm in the error detection since this had not been covered yet in class. I

assumed that students would perform decently on the composition since we are constantly asking

them, “How many beats does a quarter note get? How many beats does an eighth note get?” I

assumed that they would be able to write a measure of 4/4 time. However, more than half of the

88

students did not know how to compose one measure. I also found that many students were able

to dictate many of the rhythms on their own for the dictation, but the majority of students did not

perform well. The students that had musical background knowledge performed remarkably well

on the test. The highest score on the pre-test was a 31/33, and she has been studying piano

privately since she was four years old. However, the average grade on the pre-test was 41%, and

I was hoping that this grade could increase by a decent amount on the post-test after I had taught

all of the material.

CHANGES MADE

I had originally planned to go over error detection every day for this unit, knowing that

the students had never practiced this exercise in class. However, after I saw the results on the

pre-test, I realized that I was going to need to spend more time on terms and less time on error

detection. I also realized that I needed to practice dictation and composition frequently

throughout the unit. I changed my unit plan itinerary and decided to go over two terms of

vocabulary a day (and to review the terms on a consistent basis in multiple forms). I also decided

to practice composition and dictation daily with the students. I left all of the questions the same

on the pre-test and post-test, but I did change the process in which I presented the information.

STUDENT PERFORMANCE ON OVERALL PROJECT

Based on my graph information, there was a lot of progress performed in every National

Standard. Throughout the unit, we learned about vocabulary, composition, error detection, and

dictation. We spent time in every category everyday, and I had the students perform practice

exercises in each of these categories. In terms of their overall performance, I was incredibly

impressed with their growth in National Standard 4. During the pre-test, I had 40 students

receive a 100% on their composition portion of the test. However, I told the students if they did

not know an answer to leave it blank. 35 students left this answer blank, and the average in this

category on the pre-test was a 53%. However, on the post-test, 64 students out of the 75 scored

100% of these questions correctly, where 9 received 75% and 2 students received 50% for the

composition portion of the post-test exam. This made the average in standard 4 on the post-test a

96%. This shows a lot of improvement across the board. Throughout the unit, I had students

coming up to the board to compose measures of rhythms. I was incredibly impressed by the

progress and growth through this portion both on the board and in their worksheets completed in

class.

In terms of National Standard 5, only 2 students received a 100% on the pre-test in this

category of the exam. The average on the pre-test in this standard was a 58%, and the lowest

grade was a 25%. On the Post-Test, 65 out of the 75 students received a 100% in this standard,; 4

received a 90%; 3 received an 80%; and 3 received a 50%. This made the average on the post-

test in Standard 5 to be a 97%. This shows a lot of growth in this standard. I had students reading

rhythms on Takadimi on the board on a daily basis, and they really grew as a class in the

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category of reading and notating rhythms, both on the board and in the process of dictation. In

terms of National Standard 6, only one student received a 100% in this category of the pre-test

exam of listening and analyzing music. 22 students received an 80% on the pre-test in this

standard; 41 received a 60%; 7 received a 40%; and 4 received a 20%. The average in Standard 6

of the Pre-Test Exam was a 62%. However, on the post-test, 43 students received a 100% in this

standard. 4 students received a 93%; 9 received an 86%; 12 received a 71%; 3 received a 64%;

and 2 students received a 50%. The average in standard 6 on the post-test was a 90%. I am

beyond thrilled by this progress that the students made as an ensemble and individually

throughout the course of the project in each of these three National Standards.

STUDENT POST-TEST PERFORMANCE

The highest grade on the overall written pre-test of the exam was a 94%, and as stated

earlier, this student had been studying piano since the age of four. Only fifteen students scored

over a 50% on the written pre-test. The average score on this exam was a 41%. However, scores

improved dramatically on the post-test. 22 students received a 100%; 5 received a 97%; 5

received a 94%; 4 received a 91%; 6 received an 88%; 4 received an 85%; and 3 received an

82%. This shows that 49 of my 75 students scored over 80% on the exam! On the pre-test, only

15 students scored above a 50%. These scores dramatically improved. The rest of the scores

were under 80%, with the lowest grade being a 52% on the written post-test exam. Only four

students were below 60% on the exam, and I was thrilled by these results. The average on the

written post-test was an 86%, and I wish that these scores would have been higher. Many

students missed the vocabulary questions, and they were upset that they did not have a study

guide. However, they could have written down these terms every day when we went over them

in class. Many of the students who did not score well on the written exam did not pay attention in

class and talked to their neighbors while I was presenting material. Had the students all taken

notes and studied for the exam, I am very certain that these scores would have been much higher.

In terms of the pre-test and post-test recordings, these averages went up dramatically as

well. The lowest grade on the pre-test recording was a 25%. Only ten students scored below 50%

on the pre-test recording. The highest score on the pre-test recording was a 94%, scored by one

of our students. 26 students scored higher than 80% on the pre-test recording, but the average on

the pre-test recording was a 69%. However, the lowest score on the post-test recording was a

50% (scored by one of our special needs students). The other students scored very highly on this

portion of the exam. The lowest score from the rest of the students was an 84%. 50 students

received a 100% percent on the post-test recording exam! I was thrilled! We went over these

rhythms every day, and so many students mastered these Takadimi syllables and rhythms! 19

students scored a 94%; 1 student scored a 93%; 4 students scored an 88%; and 1 student scored

an 84%. I am so excited and proud of these students and the progress that they made in their

psychomotor skill-set of reading rhythms. Practice makes permanent, and I was glad that I got to

aid in the process of helping the seventh grade students read rhythms more accurately and

precisely.

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STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF INSTRUCTION

During this unit, I felt that I grew a lot as an educator. I had never administered a pre-test

and a post-test before, so creating a parallel test was definitely a new experience for me. I first

started by thinking through what concepts I could test the students over in regards to rhythm. I

tried to keep student needs into account, and I wanted to teach them concepts of rhythm that they

did not have much experience in to enhance their music literacy and overall musicianship. I tried

to teach the unit in a wide variety of styles to account for student learning differences. I tried to

accommodate to visual, aural, and kinesthetic learners. I also tried to accommodate to students

with special needs to give them modifications to the post-test. I felt that I paced out the unit

fairly well, and I reviewed material consistently to help with student learning. I tried to be

patient through the process, and I tried to have everything graded in a timely manner.

I felt that I had a lot of weaknesses during this process as well. Many students in their

evaluations said that they wish that they would have had a worksheet to have all of their terms in

one location. I had the hopes that students would be taking notes throughout the unit, but many

did not. Having a worksheet or study guide could have guided their studying even more. I tried

my hardest to cater to all of the students’ needs and to consistently inform them about what was

on the post-test to help with studying. However, many of them felt that this was not enough. I

also felt that I used a lot of class time to teach this unit. I repeated vocabulary every single day,

and many advanced students became frustrated in the process. I was informed on their

evaluations that they became bored because they knew the definitions like the back of their

hands. Other students needed more time to process the information. It is definitely a challenge as

a teacher to find a balance as to how much time to go over material. I should have assigned

work to practice at home and learn terms and defintions instead of spending so much time in

class. I also could have accommodated to more of the students with special needs. They

defintiely needed a sheet with a guided list of the terms because many of them are unable to take

notes in class due to the fact that they do not write very well and because many of them do not sit

still. I could have been a lot better in my accommodations to their specific needs. Giving the test

on a Monday was also a challenge for the students because many of the students forgot about the

terrms and defintions after the long weekend. I could have been more accommodating, but this

was the day that worked the best in our schedule to administer the test.

SUMMARY OF STUDENT FEEDBACK FORM

I attached a student feedback form on the back of the post-test for students to fill out after

they took their test. I wanted to hear from the students first-hand what they liked and disliked

about the unit. I also wanted to hear what I presented to the students that helped them learn

material, and I wanted to know if I could have done anything differently to better help the

students. Many of the students commented that they enjoyed the rhythmic identification game.

They felt that this was an exciting way to get them engaged, and they really felt that this helped

them with dictation. Students also stated that they felt a lot more comfortable with dictation after

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the unit. Other aspects of the unit that students liked were the kinesthetic movements for the

vocabulary terms to help them remember what each term looked like. They said that these were

really helpful and allowed the vocabulary to resonate more effectively with them. In terms of

items that they disliked, I read a wide variety of responses. Many students stated that I needed to

go over material at a slower pace because they felt I moved through the unit too quickly. Others

were bored and felt that I moved through the unit too slowly. A majority of the students felt that I

should have included a list of the vocabulary terms with their definitions so they could study

them on their own. My hope was that when I wrote the vocabulary and definitions on the board,

the students would take notes with me. When I see a teacher writing something on the board, I

have an instant inclination to write this down somewhere. Many students wanted a study guide

for the exam, but I reviewed the material everyday. Since I did a lot of the review orally, I should

have included something tangible for the visual learners to best help them prepare for the exam.

All in all, I did my best in executing this unit, and I learned many new aspects of how I can

better help students learn new material in the future.

Final Statement

I strongly believe that music literacy is one of the most important concepts that we as

music educators can teach our students. Students need to be able to read pitches and rhythms in

order to fully conceptualize the music given to them. Rhythmic literacy is an essential skill that

all students should learn to truly appreciate and comprehend music on a deeper level. This is

why I feel that this project relates to students of all ages. When I am a music educator in the

field, I plan to teach students all aspects of music, including rhythmic literacy. I want to teach my

students to read all different kinds of rhythms, including quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth

notes, and more. This unit gave me a foundation to work off of when teaching literacy. I

definitely need to become comfortable with teaching musical vocabulary to my students. This

was a key factor of this unit. Further, I will be teaching my students the art of error detection and

dictation so that they can further their understanding of literacy and notate the pitches and

rhythms that they hear in music. One of the highest forms of student musical understanding is

composition because it takes students’ music theory knowledge to an entirely new level.

Composition forces students to take the basic foundation of learning music and to make it their

own. I want to make my students better at reading literacy so they can become musically literate.

I plan to use Takadimi and solfege in my classroom some day. I believe that it is

incredibly important to be able to assess their knowledge of rhythms, and one of the best forms

that I can do that is to record them speaking rhythms and to evaluate their abilities with the rubric

I have created for this unit. I also hope to test their understanding of how rhythms fit within

measures of 4/4 time by assessing them through aspects of composition, error detection, and

dictation. This allows me to have a written form of their understanding on paper, and this can

help them to mentally process and put forth their thoughts on to paper. I plan to test my students

knowledge of Takadimi and solfege on a frequent basis, where we will do dictation both for

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pitches and rhythms. Eventually, I want to have my students practice melodic dictation so that

they are given the tools to compose and arrange music on their own. I absolutely love to write

music, and I am so thankful for the tools that my teachers have given me in music theory so that

I can write and transcribe music on my own. I hope to teach my students to do the same.

I believe that there is a lot of value in this project. Students should be familiar with

musical terminology, especially since these terms are found frequently in the music. If students

can define musical markings, they will better be able to comprehend these symbols when they

read them in the scores. I find so much value in allowing my students to be musically literate. I

could spend my time teaching choir simply teaching students the notes and pitches of specific

repertoire that we study. However, if I only did that, I would be preventing students from

reaching their full musical potential. What is the point of music if we only teach students songs?

They will only be able to sing the songs sung in class, but they will not be able to transfer that

knowledge to other pieces of music on their own. Here at Center Grove, we want our students to

learn how to read pitches, rhythms, and the piano keyboard. This will allow them to take a piece

of music and plunk out their parts on the piano when they graduate from our department. These

skills are incredibly valuable to the student’s overall musicianship. Dictation, error detection, and

composition are tools that push students a step further in creating and understanding music on

their own.

I find this unit valuable to myself as well because I am helping students in their own

process of literacy. This is absolutely fulfilling as their instructor because I feel called to share

music with others. I not only want to make music with my students, but I also want to give my

students the knowledge that has been passed down to me. The beauty of music is that is has been

passed down for centuries, and music educators continue to expand upon new forms of learning

through multiple different processes. We attend conferences and do whatever we can to deepen

our musical knowledge. We do not do this for ourselves; we want to deeper our musical learning

and understanding to share it with our students. This project allowed me to dive deeper into the

aspects of teaching music to students, and grading their final tests and seeing the growth that the

students made in their overall understanding of rhythms was extremely rewarding. I want to

make them better musicians, and I hope that through this process of teaching this unit, students

were able to dive deeper into the music that they study and create.

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Project Rubric

Unsatisfactory

Basic

Proficient

Distinguished

Incorporation of

National

Standards

During the unit, no

standards were

addressed in the

completion of the

project. The

student teacher did

not attempt to

incorporate any

national standards

to connect student

learning to what is

expected for music

education on the

national level.

The instructor

incorporated one

national standard

into the execution

of the unit.

The instructor

incorporated two

quality national

standards into the

unit curriculum plan,

but did not include

any secondary

standards into the

instruction of the

unit.

The instructor

incorporated at

least two quality

national standards

into the unit

curriculum plan.

The instructor also

incorporated

secondary

standards to further

student

understanding.

Instructional

Effectiveness

Students did not

show any growth

or improvement

after the unit plan

was implemented.

Their knowledge

of rhythmic

literacy was not

altered in their

written or skills

test of the unit in

any way.

Students showed

some growth in

their musical

understanding

from the pre-test

to the post-test.

However, the

terminology and

skills learned did

not resonate with

the students after

the unit was over.

Students showed

improvement from

the pre-test to the

post-test. Their

scores proved to the

instructor that they

gained a greater

understanding of the

unit of rhythmic

literacy.

Student test scores

showed

tremendous growth

and improvement

from the pre-test to

the post-test.

Students achieved

mastery in all

categories, and the

concepts fully

resonated with all

students after the

unit was over.

Planning and

Preparation

The instructor did

not put forth any

amount of planning

for each day-to-day

lesson.

Lesson plans were

created for each

day-to-day

activity, but each

plan was written to

fulfill the bare

minimum

requirements.

The instructor put

forth a significant

amount of planning

for each lesson.

Each lesson plan is

detailed with

standards and

objectives. Goals are

adjusted each week

to accommodate to

student needs.

The instructor

implements lesson

plans at a mastery

level, where lesson

plans show

tremendous

amounts of

planning. There is

an extensive

amount of

standards and

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objectives, and the

instructor accounts

for short-term and

long-term goals

when creating the

lesson plans well in

advance.

Accommodations

for students with

special needs

The instructor does

not accommodate

to any student with

special needs

throughout the

course of the unit.

The instructor

accounts for

student needs and

differences for the

assessments.

Throughout the

course of the unit,

many students

with special needs

feel that they are

improving, but

minimal

accommodations

are made.

The instructor

accounts for student

needs and

differences

throughout the

course of the unit.

Each student with

special needs shows

growth and

improvement at a

proficient level.

Lesson plans show

detail of

accommodations to

all students with

special needs.

The instructor

accounts for

student needs and

differences

throughout the

course of the unit.

The instructor

creates thorough

accommodations

for the students on

the assessments,

and each student

feels that he can

achieve mastery of

the expectations

given by the

instructor.

Quality of

Assessments

The instructor did

not give any

assessments to

students

throughout the

course of the unit.

The instructor

implemented

formal

assessments at the

end of the unit to

show

understanding and

growth.

The instructor

implemented both

formal and informal

assessments to the

students to assist in

student

comprehension.

The instructor

implemented

multiple forms of

formal and

informal

assessment

throughout the unit

to check all student

understanding and

comprehension to

assist with student

mastery of

concepts and skills.

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SELF-ASSESSMENT FROM RUBRIC CRITERIA Based on the rubric above, I would assess myself:

� Incorporation of National Standards: DISTINGUISHED

I ranked myself as distinguished in this category because I incorporated three national standards

into this unit curriculum. I wanted to assist students in their abilities of composition (NS4),

reading and notating sixteenth note rhythms (NS5), and listening and evaluating music (NS6). I

also incorporated secondary standards into this project as well, such as evaluating music and

music performances of the pieces listened to in class (NS7). We went through informal and

formal assessments that assisted students in growth in each of these standards on a daily basis to

allow the students to achieve mastery in each of these categories. I felt that there was a

tremendous amount of growth shown by all students in these standards in comparing the pre-test

and post-test graphs.

� Instructional Effectiveness: PROFICIENT

I ranked myself as proficient in this category. Based on the results of the pre-test and post-test

scores, students definitely showed a tremendous amount of growth. However, many students still

performed poorly on the post-test. This was due to lack of student cooperation. Many of the

students who did not perform well were either not paying attention or did not take notes

throughout the unit. As their instructor, this is very disappointing. However, I should have tried

to reign in their cooperation with my own classroom management tactics throughout the unit. I

should have held students more accountable for their actions and tried to guide them through the

process of taking notes to allow notes to resonate with them. There was a lot of growth and

improvement in regards to test scores, but I wish the results would have been higher. I taught

them to the best of my abilities, but I could have provided more opportunities to take notes and

sort out difficult vocabulary.

� Planning and Preparation: PROFICIENT

I ranked myself as proficient in this category of planning and preparation. My lesson plans were

thorough and extensive throughout the unit, but I would change my plans by the week to

accommodate for student needs. I tried to write out an overall plan of long-term and short-term

goals, but I adjusted my lesson plans each week by what the students needed. My objectives also

needed to be modified to be observable and measurable.

� Accommodations for students with special needs: PROFICIENT -

I ranked myself as proficient- for this category because I tried to account for students with

special needs. I assessed students formally and informally throughout the unit, and I tried to keep

my eye on the students that I knew needed more attention in the process. The informal

assessments done in class allowed me to see first-hand the students who were struggling. This

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allowed me to guide them patiently through the process. However, many of them struggled with

terminology, and I could have created notecards or worksheets to help them remember the terms.

Many of them could not write well, and I felt that the lack of materials to guide them through the

process of memorizing terms hindered them from performing their best. Students still showed a

tremendous amount of improvement from the pre-test to the post-test score. I was incredibly

proud of the students for mastering the art of dictation by the end of the unit. This was so

exciting! However, they still struggled with vocabulary and terminology, and I could have

guided them through this process or created an easier format on the test for them than fill-in-the-

blank on these portions. During the test, I did not have them write down their answers for these

terms. I asked them verbally for the definitions and wrote down what they told me. However,

they still struggled comprehending these terms.

� Quality of Assessments: DISTINGUISHED-

I ranked myself as distinguished- for this category because I assessed the students informally

every single day over their knowledge and understanding of the concepts of dictation,

composition, and error detection. I also gave formal assessments of skills and knowledge for the

pre-test and post-tests. I tried to do multiple levels of assessments with the students by playing

the rhythm games and writing the dictation and compositions both on the board and in the

worksheet. I assessed the students of the terms verbally and visually every day with body

movements. However, I could have assessed them on the terms with a small quiz throughout the

week and given them a worksheet or homework assignment to practice studying the terms on

their own as well.

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