Impact on Student Learning Project

Lesson Plan #1
1/31/21 - 6th Grade Band

1. Objectives
a. Students will complete “Note and Rhythm Identification Pre Assessment” for
Impact on Student Learning Project
b. Students will improve consistency at matching pitch
c. Students will learn “F Stretches Warmup” without using music
d. Students will begin working on “Of a Distant Galaxy” and play through beginning
to measure 15.
2. Materials
a. Handouts for “Note and Rhythm Identification Pre Assessment”
b. “Of a Distant Galaxy” score and parts
c. “Of a Distant Galaxy” recording
3. Procedures
a. Explain to them that this will be something we will be working on over the next
few classes and that it will not be for a grade.
i. For the first part, simply write down the name of the note below it.
ii. For the second part, write out how you would count it below the rhythms.
Demonstrate an example on the screen, and make sure they know to put
parentheses around the rest counts.
b. Work on objective b.
i. Explain that you will play a note on the trombone and they will sing it back
to you.
1. Have them do it as one group and eventually split them into
smaller groups.
2. If they are doing well, play a note, have them sing it, then play a
bunch of random notes, and ask them to sing the original note
3. If needed, ask a student to play a note of their choosing, and the
class will sing it back.
4. At the end of the exercise, ask them why that is important.
a. “For us to create the best sound possible with our
instruments, we must be able to identify pitches in our
head. IF YOU CAN SING IT, YOU CAN PLAY IT”
c. Work on objective c.
i. Play F stretches for them following the half note, half note, dotted half
pattern (it does not have to be strictly in time).
1. Ask everyone to play their concert F and then play their concert E.
a. Flutes and low brass E, trumpets and clarinets F#, Alto
Saxes C#.
2. Teach fingerings for E natural. Ask Mrs. Brown to assist.
 3. Once they know how to play a concert E, ask them to alternate
slowly between F and E
4. Do the same with Eb, D, C#, etc.
ii. Do not spend longer than 15 minutes on this OR until they start losing
focus
d. Work on objective D
i. Listen through “Of a Distant Galaxy”
1. Ask what they like about it.
a. “What does it make you think of?”
2. Start at the beginning with percussion and count their part with
them through measure 4.
a. Have everyone clap their part with them
b. Write rhythm up on the board if needed
3. Work on measures 1-3 for winds
a. Have percussion play their first measure, then demonstrate
playing different parts (flute, alto sax, baritone, tuba, etc.)
b. Ask what those parts have in common
i. “They’re the same, it’s in unison”
1. Explain what unison means
c. Teach them the first three notes out of rhythm
i. Slowly start playing the rhythm
4. Repeat process for measures 4-7
a. Still in unison!
5. Guide percussion (and entire class if they aren’t engaged) through
measures 4-7.
6. Ensemble plays measures 8-9
a. It’s different! Ask who doesn’t have what they played in
measures 2-3 (clarinets, saxes, and low brass).
b. Have those different parts play
i. “It creates harmony. It would be really boring if we
played in unison all the time”
7. Ask percussion to play through measures 8-15
8. Winds will slowly play through measures 10-11 while I cue each
note change.
a. Gradually play it in time, even if it is slow.
9. Ensemble plays measures 10-15.
10. Ensemble plays from the beginning to measure 15.
4. Assessment
a. Class successfully understands instructions and turns in handouts for pre
assessment.
b. Informally assess groups’ ability to match pitch while singing, and observe how
far they progress into the exercise.
c. Observe how far the group gets into F stretches warmup.
 d. Informally assess groups’ ability to sight read a new piece of music and how they
behave while learning a new piece.

Lesson Plan 2
2/2/21 - 6th Grade Band

1. Objectives
a. Students will improve at identifying notes on the staff
b. Students will warm up by doing a call and response
c. Students will learn all of F Stretches
d. Students will read through exercises 10, 11, 25, and 26
2. Materials
a. Whiteboard
b. F stretches handout
c. Essential Elements book
3. Procedures
a. Improve at identifying notes on the staff
i. Review staff acronyms
1. Treble Clef - Every Good Boy Does Fine, FACE
2. Bass Clef - Good Burgers Deserve Fries Always, All Cows Eat
Grass
ii. Review what lines and spaces are
iii. Explain how to find notes on ledger lines
1. Find a note you do know and count down
2. Go up or down 7 lines/spaces for an octave
b. Warm up by doing a call and response
i. Do this with a metronome on
ii. Play a 2 measure phrase on any note and have them respond
iii. Vary styles of articulation
1. Short, long, angry, happy, etc.
c. Learn F stretches
i. Label F as note 1, E as note 2, Eb as note 3, etc.
ii. Find those fingerings in your fingering chart
iii. Play through it slowly
d. Read through exercises 10, 11, 25, and 26
i. For exercise 10, explain that we want to get away from writing note
names and learn to read the music, just like what we did at the beginning
of class.
ii. For exercise 11, explain that this is the same as 10, but play without
writing the note names.
iii. For exercise 25, try just practicing the fingerings first, without playing the
notes. After that, try singing it while doing the fingerings. Then try to play
through it slowly.
 iv. For exercise 26, ask them to write in the bar lines and begin working on
the piece. I will come around and check on their bar lines while they all
work on it. Once they are all done being checked, ask the group to play
through it.
1. Tell them to not play anything other than exercise 26.
4. Assessment
a. Informally assess their success by asking individual students what the notes are
b. Informally assess their ability to respond by listening to them in smaller groups.
c. Ask each section to play F stretches with you
d. Informally assess the last objective by walking around while teaching to hear
individuals

Lesson Plan 3
2/7/21 - 6th Grade Band

1. Objective
a. Students will review note identification and work on rhythm study
b. Students will complete breathing exercises
c. Students will work on F stretches
d. Students will receive Let it Be, Twist and Shout, and Hey Jude, as well as listen
to them
2. Materials
a. Whiteboard
b. F stretches warmup
c. Let it Be, Twist and Shout, and Hey Jude
3. Procedures
a. Students will review note identification and work on rhythm study
i. Quickly review note identification for treble and bass clef
ii. Show subdivisions from whole note to sixteenth note
iii. Explain what 4/4 means and how it relates to 4 beats being in a measure
1. Rests still take up 1 beat
iv. Review using rhythm randomizer and go around the room calling on
individuals for answers
b. Students will complete breathing exercises
i. Introduce breathing gym
1. Paper airplane
2. Darts
3. Bow and arrow
c. Students will work on F stretches
i. Label the sheet music with F being note 1, E is note 2, Eb is note 3, etc.
ii. Finger through f stretches while singing along
iii. Play through F stretches
d. Students will receive Let it Be, Twist and Shout, and Hey Jude, as well as listen
to them
 i. Make sure each student has a copy of these pieces
ii. Discuss the change in concert theme and the history of the beatles
iii. Listen to original and arrangement
4. Assessment
a. Informally assess note identification and rhythm study by asking specific students
for answers
b. Informally assess students during breathing gym exercises by observing their
participation and sound of breath
c. Informally assess students’ success with “F stretches” by listening and asking
students to rate themselves
d. Assess students first read through of Let it Be, Twist and Shout, and Hey Jude by
their ability to follow along with recording. Evaluate what needs the most priority
to be worked on next time

Lesson Plan 4
1. Objectives
a. Students will complete post assessment for Note Identification and Rhythm Study
2. Objectives
a. Students will review the instructions for the post assessment for Note
Identification and Rhythm Study
b. Students will complete assessment and turn it in to the teacher upon completion.
3. Assessment
a. Formally assess student’s understanding of note identification and rhythm over
the course of the past three lessons.

Link to Pre and Post Assessments

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13bdbX4VkqcfdvNqGA8rY8sfZD0DQFu13/view?usp=shari
ng

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jpcUsSwEB_b37EbeYVQGw1Ughe-PMQSI/view?usp=shar
ing

Summary and Reflection

I chose to focus my learning project on basic note identification and rhythms. When I
started this student teaching placement, I wanted to find out what my students knew so I could
help them progress while I was here. This was made to assess the students’ ability to identify
notes on the staff, as well as begin learning about ledger lines. The rhythm identification focused
on students counting out rhythms and knowing how to subdivide and identify rests. Upon initial
completion, many students struggled with notes on the ledger line, while some students
struggled to identify any note at all. The section for rhythm also showed how many students did
not understand how to count out rhythms or even how many beats were in a measure. I used
this information to plan the next three lessons, as shown above. I made sure to isolate an entire
lesson at the beginning of class to work on reading notes on ledger lines, as this was a
significant challenge for them. Teaching rhythm mostly consisted of repetition with sight reading
and calling on students that I know did not understand. Through both of these subjects, I made
sure to informally assess the students as much as possible with having them give themselves
scores based on how they did. By the time they completed the post assessment and I graded
them, the majority of the kids who did well the first time fixed their small mistakes. For the most
part, the students who struggled showed improvement in reading notes on the ledger lines, as
well as identifying rests. Subdividing and writing out rhythms still need more improvement to
show evidence that they learned something, but a fair amount of students still gave more
consistency in their answers, specifically with how many beats were in a measure. From
analyzing their assessments, I believe that the next course of action is to go over their post
assessments individually with the students, because many of them are not aware of their
misunderstanding. Overall, I was very pleased with the shown improvement after a few lessons.