MUED 380 Leadership Portfolio Project - Unit Design Sears 1

Shhh! By Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross:

A first grade unit on understanding dynamics and how they can be used in context
of a story.

Annalise Sears
MUED 380: Music in Elementary School
Fall 2017
MUED 380 Leadership Portfolio Project - Unit Design Sears 2

Context Statement:

The students in this Fulks Run Elementary School are willing to be engaged in music as

they have a love for expressing themselves. The school is located in a rural area, in Rockingham

County. The student to teacher ratio in classrooms is twelve to one. This is incredible,

considering that the average ratio of teachers to students in a public elementary school in the

United States is sixteen to one. Fulks Run Elementary school is a relatively small school with less

than two hundred students attending. The average public elementary school in the United

States has around 532 students attending. This makes Fulks run elementary school around 36%

of the size of the average American public elementary school. The students are composed of

students with families comprised of the middle class; however, over half of the students who

attend Fulks Run Elementary School are from low income families. Academically, the students

test below the state average on a standardized testing. This indicates that this school might not

be performing at the appropriate grade level. 92% of students are white. Despite the qualities

that might categorize Fulks Run Elementary School as below national or state averages, the

students attitudes and willingness to be apart of music making, allows them to be successful to

express themselves.
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Transfer Goals

These are a few, large, long-term goals that all your other goals feed into. These goals are broad and help
students related knowledges and skills into outside of the class contexts. For help forming Transfer Goals see:
Students will be able to apply beats and patterns that can help to express themselves through music.
Students will understand the ways that they can bring peace into this noisy world.
Students can use their knowledge of music to the context of an artistic work as a way of self expression
and a way by which to be creative and exemplify an artistic representation of peace.

Acquisition Goals

Students will know . . . (knowledges) Students will be skilled at . . . (skills)

VA Standards of Learning VA Standards of Learning
1.15 The student will demonstrate 1.4 The student will play a variety of
manners and teamwork that contribute to pitched and unpitched instruments alone
success in the music classroom. and with others, including
1.17 The student will describe personal 2. playing expressively with
ideas and emotions evoked by music. appropriate dynamics and tempo;
National Core Arts Standards 4. using proper playing
Anchor Standard #2: Organize and develop artistic techniques.
ideas for work. 1.5 The student will perform rhythmic
Anchor Standard #3: Refine and complete artistic patterns that include quarter notes, paired
work.
eighth notes, and quarter rests, using
instruments, body percussion, and voice.
1.7 The student will demonstrate melodic
rhythm, using instruments, body
percussion, and voice.
1.8 The student will respond to music with
movement, including
6. dramatizing songs,
stories, and poems.
1.9 The student will create music by
3. improvising to enhance
stories, songs, and
poems; and
4. composing simple
rhythmic patterns, using
traditional or
nontraditional notation.
MUED 380 Leadership Portfolio Project - Unit Design Sears 4

Theme

This theme discusses the social aspects of how we can create and respect piece in the world. Through reading
and discussing this book, students will learn how to express this juxtaposition of peace in a musical context. This
unit will go through teaching the meaning of different dynamics and rhythms in order to express the contrasting
ideas in this book.

Overview of Unit

I. *Students will read Shhh! By Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross. The instructor will
introduce to them the activity. Students will be asked to discuss all of the sounds that
are described in the book. Using the onomatopoeic words, students will be asked to
repeat them.
II. *Instructor will list all of the sounds on the first page of the book. Students will be
assigned descriptive words and pick instruments to imitate these sounds. Students will
be asked to come up with a rhythm using bang, clang, ding, pitter-patter, chatter.
And will be asked to choose instruments that go with this rhythm.
III. Students will be assigned groups, each group will be assigned a rhythm according to
their words. The students will share what they learn with the rest of the class.
A. Rumble, grumble, thump, bump, mumble
B. Boo hoo, moo, quack, howl, bow- wow, meow, twitter woo
C. Tap, snip, drip, plip, clap
D. Plop, clip, clop. Buzz, brum, bring
E. Zoom, vroom, aka-aka, boom
IV. *Students will improvise what they think sounds like peace on their pitched percussion
instruments. The class will practice with their groups what they learned. The class will
put together their music for the book Shhh! by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross.
V. Instructor will teach the students to improve to imitate the peace page in the book. The
students will perform the entire book, and discuss its meaning with the real world.

* Asterisk indicates days with complete experience designs in this document.

 MUED 380 Leadership Portfolio Project - Unit Design Sears 5

Experience Design for Day #1

Overview

Students will read Shhh! By Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross. The instructor will introduce to them the activity.
Students will be asked to discuss all of the sounds that are described in the book. Using the onomatopoeic
words, students will be asked to repeat them.

I Can Statements (learning goals)

I can begin to organize and develop artistic ideas for work. (National Core Arts Standards #2)
I can understand the meaning of Shhh! And being to talk about what it means to me.
I can understand the difference between Forte and Piano.

Materials

The book Shhh! By Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross

Colored pencils and paper

Detailed Process

Time Required
3 mins 1) Instructor will read the book Shhh!

2) Instructor will ask the students, if they have every felt loud, angry, or busy.

3) Can you make a sound with your body that makes you feel this way?

4) What words can you use to describe this sound? Instructor will call on students to
tell them what they thought it sounded like.

5) In music this is called Forte, can you say Forte?

6) Show me your Forte sounds with your body one more time

7) Instructor will ask the students if they have ever felt peaceful, quiet, or calm before.

8) Can you make a sound with your body that makes you feel this way?

9) What words can you use to describe this sound? Instructor will call on students to
tell them what they thought it sounded like.

10) In music this is called Piano, can you say Piano?

11) Students will be given colored crayons and paper and be asked to draw something
that means Forte and something that means Piano to them.
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Assessments

Students Assessment on Engagement Grade (on a Scale of 1-5)

Student stayed well engaged throughout reading 1 2 3 4 5

the book.

Student was active in discussion and activity 1 2 3 4 5

involving expression of forte and piano

Students picture reflected that they understand 1 2 3 4 5

forte and piano.
.

Extensions:

In the following days, the class will grow off of this theme. As for extending the content discussed today, the
class can continue to develop understanding forte and piano through a variety of activities. An extension of
the picture might include to discuss with a neighbor what you drew. Another idea might be go around in a
circle and each student would share their loud or soft sound and the class might guess what it is. The
students can teach the rest of the class their sound and we can all learn them together.

Adaptations

Size A slide show of the picture book can be displayed on a projector as the instructor is
reading it. Students may be provided with their own copy of the book if needed or
requested.

Color Signs can be used to represent piano or forte

Pacing The class can go back and read certain sections of the book if the students need more
time with the story or message of the book

Modality The students may wish to listen to an audio recording of the book as I show the pictures.

Include any visual aids or manipulatives here.

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Experience Design for Day #2

Overview

Instructor will list all of the sounds on the first page of the book. Students will be assigned groups and
descriptive words. Participants will pick instruments to imitate these sounds. Students will be asked to come
up with a rhythm using Zoom aka-aka boom. And will be asked to choose instruments that go with this
rhythm.

I Can Statements (learning goals)

1.15 The student will demonstrate manners and teamwork that contribute to success in the music classroom.
1.17 The student will describe personal ideas and emotions evoked by music.

Materials

The picture book Shhh!

Paper and pencil

Detailed Process

Time Required
3 mins

1) Instructor will read the page before the story about peace in the book. The text
reads Zoom aka-aka boom

2) The instructor will keep a steady beat and model some quarter note and eighth
note rhythms with the text Zoom aka-aka boom. Keeping a steady beat, students
will echo the instructor.

3) Keeping the steady beat, the students come up with their own rhythm using hand
motions.

4) Students will be asked to speak it and place the rhythm in different parts of their
body.

5) Students will be divided into groups to come up with rhythms that make sense to
them.

6) Instructor will walk between each group, recording their rhythm so they can
remember it for continuing the project.
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Assessments

Student Participation Categories Grade (1-5)

Stayed engaged while repeating the rhythms 1 2 3 4 5

Student presented a confident rhythm to the rest of 1 2 3 4 5

the class.

The student worked well in a group 1 2 3 4 5

.

Extensions:

If there is time, the class may move onto introducing this activity with instruments. The teacher may ask the
students to notate some of the rhythms they created in a way that makes sense to them. This might help
them to understand the rhythms that they created in an easier way.

Adaptations

Size The picture in the book may be displayed on the projector

Color The rhythms can be noted and shown to the students with colored paper

Pacing The instructor can repeat the rhythms as many times as students may need

Modality The instructor addresses both an aural and kinesthetic modality through the rhythm circle
in the beginning.

Include any visual aids or manipulatives here.

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Experience Design for Day # V

Overview

Students will improvise what they think sounds like peace on their pitched percussion instruments. The class
will practice with their groups what they learned. The class will put together their music for the book Shhh! by
Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross.

I Can Statements (learning goals)

Virginia Standard 1.17 The student will describe personal ideas and emotions evoked by music.
Virginia Standard 1.9 The student will create music by
3. improvising to enhance stories, songs, and poems;
National Core Arts Anchor Standard #2: Organize and develop artistic ideas for work.
National Core Arts Anchor Standard #3: Refine and complete artistic work.

Materials

The picture book Shhh!

Pitched percussion instruments; glockenspiel, xylophone, triangles

Detailed Process

Time Required
3 mins 1) Students will divide into groups and review their assigned rhythm for their group.

2) Students will read and practice running through the book up until the peace page.

3) With their instruments, the students will be asked to play anything they want at a
forte dynamic level.

4) Students will be asked to play anything they want at a piano dynamic level.

5) At this quiet level, students will be asked to play something that represents peace
to them.

6) Students will play their parts of their song at forte and then their new, improvised
part as forte.

7) Groups will share with the class.

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Assessments

.
Performance Assessment Grade (1-5)

Student remembers their rhythm 1 2 3 4 5

Student correctly plays piano to represent peace 1 2 3 4 5

Student works well with group members 1 2 3 4 5

Extensions:

The students might need to rotate within their groups so that everyone can use the instruments. The
students might be asked to act the rhythms and different parts of the story with movements in order to
accommodate for the lack of instruments.

Adaptations

Size The students can use any size instrument that works for them

Color The colors in the book help to express the feeling expressed in the music

Pacing The instructor can take as much or as little time as a student may need.

Modality The instructor explores visual modality through the book, kinesthetic through playing
instruments and through movement, and speaks the rhythms when they are not playing.

Include any visual aids or manipulatives here.