Sarah Labrie

CPME Lesson Plan

April 2014
Grade Level: 8th
Patter Songs: Green Eggs and Ham
Plan:

Behavioral Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will be

able to define and perform a patter song with a success rate of

80%.
Cognitive Objective: A student in 8th grade general music will be
able to apply this knowledge of patter songs to compose their
own patter song using the text of Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and

Ham.
Experiential Objective: All 8th grade general music students will
attend a performance of Seussical the Musical to listen to that

particular version of Green Eggs and Ham.

Constructivist Objective: The students in 8th grade general music
will realize the importance, influence, and relation of text to
music.

Focusing Question:

In what ways will the students bring their own thoughts and
personalities to this lesson through their own lyrics in the form of
a patter song?

Assessment:

Formative (to monitor student learning): Students will be asked

to do a think, pair, share about what they know about patter
songs and how text is related to music. During the "think" stage,
the teacher tells students to ponder a question or problem. This
helps students control the urge to impulsively shout out the first
answer that comes to mind. Next, individuals are paired up and

discuss their answer or solution to the problem. During this

steps students may wish to revise or alter their original ideas.
Finally, students are called upon to share with the rest of the
class. This step will be performed at the beginning and end of

this lesson.
Summative (to evaluate student learning): The final assessment
of this unit will involve the students creating their own patter

song, with lyrics of their own choosing.

Integrative (optimizing the balance between formative and
summative): Exit Slips will be used to help get an
understanding of where students are with the concept by the end
of the first day. Exit Slips are written responses to questions the
teacher poses at the end of a lesson or a class to assess student
understanding of key concepts. They should take no more than 5
minutes to complete and are taken up as students leave the
classroom. The teacher can quickly determine which students
have it, which ones need a little help, and which ones are going
to require much more instruction on the concept.

Materials:

IPads, or some sort of technology with Garageband

Media player for final compositions
Recording devices: mics, XLR cables, etc.

Partner:

For homework the night before this lesson, students will find a
song they like that has an example of a lot of words being
spoken or sung quickly. See if they can find a song where there is
one note per syllable. This will engage them in actively listening
for this characteristic of music. Once they find a song that fits
into this category, they will post it to the class discussion board
so we can share a few examples in class. This gives the teacher a
chance to see what the students are listening to, as well as
whether or not they understand what theyre listening for.

Present:

Read Green Eggs and Ham to the class.

What are some elements of literature you noticed in the story?

(looking for alliteration, consonance, assonance etc.)

Play the version of Green Eggs and Ham as sung in Seussical
the Musical.

Define patter song as characterized by a moderately fast to

very fast tempo with a rapid succession of rhythmic patterns in
which each syllable of text corresponds to one note (there are
few or no melismatic passages). It is a staple of comic opera,
especially Gilbert and Sullivan, but it has also been used
in musicals and other situations. The lyric of a patter song
generally features tongue-twisting rhyming text,
with alliterative words and other consonant or vowel sounds that
are intended to be entertaining to listen to at rapid speed, and
the musical accompaniment is lightly orchestrated and fairly
simple, to emphasize the text.

Show a couple other examples of patter songs from opera,

musical theater, etc.

Personalize:

Students will use the information they have gathered about

patter songs to create a whole class composition based on the
text of Green Eggs and Ham, using Orff instruments as
accompaniment/ostinato. This can have a melody, it can be a
rap, or any type of composition the students decide on, as long
as it stays within the parameters of patter songs.

At the end of this unit, students will use garage band to create
their own accompaniment/ostinato, and record themselves either
speaking or singing a patter song with text of their choice. They
can make up the text, or are free to choose text from another

poem or story as long as it contains elements of alliteration,

assonance, consonance, etc.
Perform:

The Orff patter song composition will be performed at the end of

class that day with no formal audience. It can also be used and
performed in the monthly school assembly called community
celebration. This is an opportunity for each grade level to
present their artistic achievements, whether it is visual or
performing arts.

Once the students individual compositions are complete, they

will be shared in class and proudly presented on the class
website for their peers to view.

Process:

Reflect on the work students have done and assess the relevance
of this lesson to their lives. Has this helped the students to
become more aware of the importance of text in music? Will they
be more active music listeners after this lesson? How will this
help them in the future?