Art of Teaching Music IV:

Choral Rehearsal Unit Plan Template

Title of Piece: Canticle of the Sun

Origin/Composer/Arr.: Amy Beach Text Origin/Author: Saint Francis of Assisi

Conductor’s Name: David Westawski Ensemble Name: West-Windsor Plainsboro High School South
Choir

Ensemble Description1

Describe the ensemble, their musical strengths, their musical interests, and areas for improvement.
Recognizing the intersectionality of identity, identify exceptional learners, students with IEP/504 plans,
ELL, and specific cultural groups.

- What do your students know? Consider all forms of musical knowledge.

The students come from a diverse background of musical knowledge and experience, as this choir is a
combination of the multiple choirs of West-Windsor Plainsboro High School South. This includes their
freshman choir, their upperclassmen choir, and their auditioned choir. All of the students have learned
through their choir experiences at the high school many of the fundamentals of learning choir music,
including (most importantly) many of the skills needed to learn music on their own.

- What can they do? Consider vocal technique, audiation, reading skills, interpretation skills, and
performance skills.

The students of the choir all know how to use solfege and how to write in their own solfege, with some
guidance (ie. with help finding the keys of the piece). They also have many of the basic necessary skills
needed for musical learning and performing. This includes reading printed music, practicing music on
their own, They know performance etiquette, performance standards, and many other musical skills such
as audition of intervals using solfege and individual musical interpretation.

- What are they learning to do? Consider vocal technique, audiation, reading skills, interpretation skills,
and performance skills.

They are still learning to use proper singing techniques. This includes getting a proper breath, alexander
method techniques, and most importantly proper tone production. Many of the students, especially the
tenors and basses of the choir, are still learning how to use registers other than their chest voice, and often
cannot properly sing the higher notes of their register. The choir is also still always learning more musical
skills and building off of the foundation of skills they already have, but the big learning curve for the
choir is proper tone production.

1
Adapted from edTPA K-12 Performing Arts Assessment Handbook, © 2018 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior
University
- Personal, cultural, and community assets: What do you know about your students’…

- everyday experiences?

The students from WWPS come from a plethora of diverse backgrounds, but generally the students come
from middle-class backgrounds and live through many of the experiences that that entails. They go to
school 5 days a week, in which they have a rotating schedule of class periods encompassing a wide array
of classes. The students are very autonomous, as they have a free period at least once a day where they are
free to work on whatever they would like, and are able to go to most teachers' classrooms to get specified
help. They work hard and have fun in their free time, often joining one of the school's many
extracurricular groups or watching/participating in the many sports teams.

- cultural and language backgrounds and practices?

The students of the choir come from a very wide range of cultural backgrounds. There are students who
practice different religions, including many students who come from Christian, Jewish, and
Islamic/Muslim backgrounds. They also come from many different ethnic backgrounds, as the school has
a large mixed population of caucasian, Indian, African-American, and Asian students, among others.
Many of the students in the choir identify as LGBT+, with the choir having a wide array of sexualities and
identities, all of which are accepted and respected.

- musical/artistic interests?

The students of the choir have a lot of varied musical interests. Unsurprisingly, all of the students have a
big interest in choral and classical music, but besides that, the students also enjoy a lot of modern pop
music. A lot of the choir also has a huge interest in musical theatre, as many of the students in the choir
also take part in the musical theatre productions each year. Alongside that, many of the students take part
in the student-run a Cappella groups that exist at their school.

- non-musical interests?

All of the students of the choir take part in many of the extracurricular activities that are offered at the
school. Many, if not all of the extracurricular groups are fully student run, so many of the students are in
executive-level positions. They also enjoy playing in and watching the many sports available at the
school.

Identify at least three students or subgroups of students who may require differentiation strategies or
support (ex. students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners, struggling readers,
underperforming students, or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students.) These
subgroups will be tracked throughout the planning and assessment process. Describe these student’s
particular learning needs.

Student/subgroup 1: Underperformers
Like in any music program, there are a few students who are struggling to keep up with the level of the
choir. Many of these students have very weak pitch accuracy/are “tone deaf”, or have weaker reading
skills, and most, if not all of this subgroup have a hard time working on their music outside of class.
Whether this be a work ethic issue or an at-home environment issue, it is an issue nonetheless. These
students need extra help, extra attention, and especially extra encouragement, as many of them feel
downtrodden at the fact that they are not at the same level as the rest of the choir. They particularly need
extra help outside of the choir class, so be sure you strongly encourage them to come in during their free
periods/after school in order to get the extra help they need. Alongside that, be sure to encourage them to
work on their music everyday outside of class/school, to ensure they are motivated to grow their
musicianship outside of class.

Student/subgroup 2: Musically-Gifted Students

Many of the students, especially the ones in the auditioned honor choir, are incredibly musically gifted
and are often ahead of the rest of the choir in terms of musical skills. Because of this, some of the students
of this subgroup tend to not try as hard as they can, and would rather coast on their innate musical abilities
than work to grow their musical skills even more. This subgroup needs extra encouragement to continue
their musical studies, music that has a wide variety of levels and difficulty, and encouragement to work on
other musical activities outside of school, in order to make sure that they feel adequate challenged in the
classroom.

Student/subgroup 3: Students with Special Needs

As with any classroom, the choir has multiple students who have special needs when it comes to their
education. These students include students with ADHD, Autism, and physical ailments requiring the use
of a wheelchair. For the students with ADHD and Autism, each lesson plan must be built around their
needs as well as the needs of all the other students, to ensure that every student has a fair experience. In
this case, that could mean something as simple as giving the students as a whole multiple different
choices for physical and musical activities, such as patting if clapping is too loud or difficult for them.
Each student is different, and the lesson plans should be built around their IEPs and their individual needs,
which will change with each class.

Musical Analysis 2

BROAD DESCRIPTION

In “The Canticle of the Sun,” Amy Beach sets a text by St. Francis of Assisi. The poet gives honor and
blessing to "my Lord God with all His creatures": the heavenly bodies, air, water, and fire. He praises the
earth, then to humanity, praising those who love and forgive. Even the death of the body is praised, for the
second death has no power over those who walk in the will of God. An SATB chorus, SMTB solo voices,
and orchestra are interwoven in a symphonic style in a twenty-two-minute cantata-style piece. Although
somewhat rooted in Romantic tonal traditions, this piece also embodies Amy Beach’s very specific style
of Impressionist composition.

GENRE
Choral, Orchestral, “Master Work”, Impressionist

MUSICAL ELEMENTS

Form
- Cantata

2
Adapted from Shaping Sound Musicians by Patricia O’Toole, © 2003 GIA Publications.
 Melody
- The melodic line jumps around to multiple different parts, with multiple fugal sections in the
music
- The melody is also very interesting and difficult. Atonal is not the word to describe it, but Beach
has the melody move in a very impressionistic way, often leading to points that one would not
expect if listening to a piece by Bach, for example.

Harmony
- This piece has some incredibly difficult harmonic lines and textures. The lines jump from key to
key, with every voice part having a lot of accidentals throughout the piece
- The harmony will then bounce from these sections of fast, moving lines with accidentals to big,
loud block chords.

Rhythm
- The piece is very rhythmic, but not in a way that feels forced/unnatural. Many of the faster
sections, especially the fugal sections, have some difficult rhythms, but nothing incredibly
difficult, generally nothing crazier than fast eighth notes and tied eighth note rhythms

Timbre
- The timbre of the piece also jumps from sections of dark, moody timbres to bright, loud timbres.
- Generally speaking, the piece tends to stray towards a brighter sound, as the text is mainly talking
about praise.

Texture
- Similar to the harmony, the texture of the piece is incredibly complex, with chords ringing out
that harmonically are not “natural”, but in fact are masterworks of counterpoint and impressionist
composing

Dynamics
- This piece has a very wide range of dynamics, spanning from pianissimo to fortissimo. The piece
generally stays closer to forte, again because it is a song of praise.
- There is also a wide range of dynamic markings in the piece, from huge crescendos and
decrescendos to smaller messo di voces

HEART

- At the heart of this piece is the idea of praise, Praising the earth, the elements, the lord and all of
its creatures.

WHAT MAKES THIS PIECE WORTH PERFORMING

- It is a masterpiece composed by Amy Beach, an amazing female composer whose work does not
get performed enough.
- Performing a piece by Amy Beach/female composers in general is always worth doing, as not
enough female composers are highlighted for their amazing choral works. This also gives models
for female musicians who might not get to experience many models such as Beach
- The piece is incredibly challenging especially for a high school level choir. It is not
unachieveable, far from it, but it will be a proper challenge for all levels of the student-body,
which is incredibly rewarding and engaging for the students as a whole
THINGS YOU COULD TEACH WITH THIS SELECTION

- Accessing higher registers with good tone

- Dynamics and more complex dynamic markings
- The use of accidentals in music/more complex solfege
- Changing of keys in music without a time signature change
- The concept of Fugue as a whole
- Performing with an orchestra and the challenges that come with it
- At home practice techniques, as the piece requires at home practice
- Harmonic Analysis skills

MARK IN THE SCORE (Insert marked score here):

*See Marked Score at the end of this document*

*Parts of the score will not be there, as I only included the sections with the choir, aka no parts with just
soloists, as the soloists will be hired musicians*

Learning Goals (Objectives), Assessment Strategies, and Standards 3

Considering the class description and musical analysis above, create specific learning goals for the
ensemble. As you craft your goals, consider the following:

● What do you want your students to learn?

● What are the important understandings and core concepts you want students to develop
within the learning segment?

Then develop at least one formative and one summative assessment strategy for each objective. Indicate
whether the assessment is teacher-centered or student-centered (peer or self assessment).

Finally, create teaching strategies that will enable learners to reach your goals.

Example.

Behavioral Objective

By the end of the week, students in the 8th grade choir will sing m. 1-16 of “Hit ‘em up a
tune” while reading from the score with correct pitches, rhythms, and text, at a 90%
individual success rate.. 

Formative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

Students will sing m. 1-16 for each other during class and offer
constructive feedback on pitch, rhythm, and text pronunciation.

3
Adapted from Planning Instruction in Music by Frank Abrahams and Ryan John, © 2015 GIA Publications.
 Summative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer
Students will submit a recording of themselves singing m. 1-16. The
student and teacher will each complete a rubric to  assess pitch,
rhythm, and text accuracy.

Teaching Strategies:
Students will encounter tonal and rhythm pattern training exercises. Students will improvise in the
tonal and rhythmic language of the piece. Students will think-pair-share to connect tonal and
rhythmic patterns to musical notation. Students will echo the teacher’s pronunciation of the text.

BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES: What learners will be able to do 4

Objective #1 – Behavioral:

A high school SATB choir will be able to accurately perform the song “Canticle of the Sun” from
measure 187 to measure 197 with accurate pitches with a success rate of at least 80%

Formative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

Students will sing m.187-197 for each other during class and offer
constructive feedback on pitch, rhythm, and text pronunciation.

Summative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

Students will submit a recording of themselves singing m.187-197.
The student and teacher will each complete a rubric to assess pitch,
rhythm, and text accuracy.

Teaching Strategies: The teacher can use tonal and rhythmic pattern exercises, in order to help the
students learn the difficult pitches and rhythms of this fugal section. The use of solfege is heavily
suggested, as many of the students rely on solfege in general, and this section has a lot of accidentals

Objective #2 – Behavioral:

4
Behavioral objectives must include five components: 1. Context of learning, 2. Who will do the learning, 3. What
learners will do, 4. Conditions of learning, and 5. Performance criteria.
 A high school SATB choir will be able to accurately perform the song “Canticle of the Sun” from
measure 197 to measure 207 with accurate pitches with a success rate of at least 80%

Formative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

Students will sing m.197-207 for each other during class and offer
constructive feedback on pitch, rhythm, and text pronunciation.

Summative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

Students will submit a recording of themselves singing m.197-207.
The student and teacher will each complete a rubric to assess pitch,
rhythm, and text accuracy.

Teaching Strategies: The teacher can build off of the tonal and rhythmic pattern exercises of
objective #1. The use of solfege is still heavily encouraged, as this section is mainly chordal, and the
although there are a lot of accidentals, the choir will find knowing where their note is in the chord to
be helpful

Objective #3 - Behavioral 

A high school SATB choir will be able to accurately perform the song “Canticle of the Sun” from
measure 187 to measure 207 with accurate pitches with a success rate of at least 80%

Formative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

Students will sing m.187-207 for each other during class and offer
constructive feedback on pitch, rhythm, and text pronunciation.

Summative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

Students will submit a recording of themselves singing m.187-207.
The teacher alone will complete a rubric to assess pitch, rhythm, and
text accuracy.

Teaching Strategies:
This combination of the two sections of the earlier objectives will be the final grade for this section of
the piece. At this point both sections should be sufficiently ready, so the teacher should mainly focus
on the transition between the two sections, giving helpful tips for the transition if needed.

COGNITIVE OBJECTIVES: What learners will understand

 Objective #1 - Cognitive

Students will be able to understand and explain the importance of Amy Beach, her life, her
compositional style, and her compositions with a success rate of 80%

Formative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

Students will talk to a peer about Beach’s compositions to a peer, and
offer constructive feedback on the ideas presented to them

Summative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

Students will prepare a presentation on a specific part of Amy Beach
as a composer. The teacher will complete a rubric to assess the
understanding of the student.

Teaching Strategies:
Have a conversation with the students about Amy Beach and her life. You (the teacher) must be as
close to an expert as you can get beforehand, so that you can be the one the students go to with
questions. Prepare to have multiple time slots for just talking and explaining Amy Beach’s life,
musical style, etc.

Objective #2 - Cognitive

The students will understand and be able to explain the harmonic analysis of the piece “The Canticle
of the Sun” by Amy Beach with a success rate of 80%

Formative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

The students will have an in class, socratic seminar style talk with their
peers as a group, in which they will offer feedback to the harmonic
analyses of their peers

Summative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

Each student will prepare a presentation or paper detailing the
harmonic analysis of a specific section of the piece. The teacher will
grade said presentation based on the knowledge and understanding
of the student with a rubric

Teaching Strategies:
The teacher can help by being available for discussion during and after class to help the students with
their understanding of the score. The teacher must be an expert in the score ahead of time, in order to
fully answer any question with confidence.

EXPERIENTIAL OBJECTIVES: What learners will encounter

Objective #1 - Experiential 

Students will encounter the challenges of performing with a live, large orchestra for the first time, and
will be able to explain what challenges they experienced with a success rate of 80%

Formative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

After their first rehearsal with the orchestra, students will turn and talk
with a peer about the challenges they personally encountered when
singing with the orchestra. They will then offer suggestions as to help
with their peers' challenges.

Summative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

After the performance, the students will all write down what they
experienced when performing with an orchestra. The teacher will
collect all of these experiences and give the students a grade based
on a rubric.

Teaching Strategies:
Prepare the students ahead of time for what challenges they might face, so that they are not shocked
when it comes time to rehearse with the orchestra. This might entail practicing with the choir certain
aspects of performing that they might not be used to, such as watching a conductor from much farther
away, or perhaps practicing the piece with a recording of the orchestra

Objective #2 - Experiential

The students will experience many new challenges that are part of the process of learning a piece as
difficult as Amy Beach’s “the Canticle of the Sun”, and will be able to thoroughly explain the new
difficulties they encountered with a success rate of 80%

Formative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

After their first read-through of the piece, students will turn and talk with
a peer about the challenges they personally encountered or believe they
will encounter when singing “the Canticle of the Sun”. They will then
offer suggestions as to help with their peers' challenges.

Summative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

After the performance, the students will all write down what they
experienced when performing a difficult piece such as Amy Beach’s
“the Canticle of the Sun”. The teacher will collect all of these
experiences and give the students a grade based on a rubric.

Teaching Strategies:
Prepare the students ahead of time for what challenges they might face, so that they are not shocked
when it comes to the many difficulties within this piece. This might entail practicing using more
complex solfege, or working on harmonic analysis of other difficult pieces before working on this
one.
CONSTRUCTIVIST OBJECTIVES: How learners’ perspectives will change

Objective #1 - Constructivist

Students’ will be able to explain how their perspectives changed around the idea of classical music by
female composers with a success rate of 80%

Formative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

Before preparing Amy Beach’s “the Canticle of the Sun”, students will
turn and talk with a peer about the classical music they’ve performed (or
the lack thereof) by female composers, and will discuss why they think
they don’t perform as many works by female composers generally

Summative assessment:  Teacher  Self  Peer

After the performance of the piece, students will write a short essay,
in which they will explain how their own perspectives have changed
through the process of learning new music. The teacher will grade
these essays using a rubric

Teaching Strategies:
The teacher must lead a two way discussion on the use of compositions by female composers and
why it is not as common as it should be. This very well could and should lead to a discussion on
women's rights as a whole, in which the teacher will help answer any questions regarding why things
are the way they are and how the students can change that.

STANDARDS

This lesson plan aligns with the following standards (National, State, or other):

-MU:Pr6.1.E.8a Demonstrate attention to technical accuracy and expressive qualities in

prepared and improvised performances of a varied repertoire of music representing diverse
cultures and styles.

-MU:Re8.1.E.Ia Explain and support interpretations of the expressive intent and meaning of
musical works, citing as evidence the treatment of the elements of music, contexts, (when
appropriate) the setting of the text, and personal research.

-MU:Pr4.2.E.IIIa Examine, evaluate, and critique, using music reading skills where appropriate, how
the structure and context impact and inform prepared and improvised performances.

-MU:Re7.1.E.IIIa Use research and personallydeveloped criteria to justify choices made when
selecting music, citing knowledge of the music, and individual and ensemble purpose and context.
 Essential/Focusing Questions5

Using your learning goals as guidelines, frame the unit in terms of three or more essential questions.

1. What are some of the challenges that come with learning very difficult music?

2. Who is Amy Beach? Why is her work important, and why isn’t she more well known?

3. How can a high school choir program be more inclusive and accepting to composers who come
from different backgrounds?

SAMPLE LESSON PLAN 1: INTRODUCTORY LESSON

Rehearsal Plan Template

Date: April 1, 2022

Class: WWP-S High School Choir
Teacher: Mr. David Westawski
Title of Piece: “Canticle of the Sun” by Amy Beach

Central Focus of the Lesson: Listening to and Understanding the piece as a whole

Objective(s): The students will listen to “the Canticle of the Sun” by Amy Beach, and will take notes
while listening, marking down anything they think might be challenged. They will be explain what
challenges they foresee in preparing for this piece, with a success rate of 80%

Essential/Focusing Question: What are some of the challenges that come with learning very difficult
music?

Materials: Printed out music for all the students, speakers, a laptop/phone to play the music

Procedure: Timing: 30 minutes

1. The teacher will pass out the music to the students, and will give a brief explanation of the piece

2. The teacher will explain that the class will listen to the entirety of the piece, and will be asked
afterwards to explain what they think will be difficult to learn

3. The teacher will then play the song “the Canticle of the Sun” by Amy Beach through the speakers

5
See Understanding By Design, Grant Wiggins and Jay McTigh, © 2005 Assn. for Supervision & Curriculum Development
4. While the song is playing, the teacher will observe the students, ensuring that they are listening and
taking notes

5. After the song is done, the teacher will call on the students to describe what challenges they personally
foresee in the piece

Differentiation/Support Strategies:
For those students with issues with loud, auditory sounds, the teacher can adapt by instead having each
student individually listen to the song through headphones on their individual school laptops. That way,
each student can control their own volume level.

Assessment strategies: While the students are listening and taking notes, the teacher will give the
students a participation grade based on whether or not they are actively listening to the music and
following along in their scores. Afterwards, the teacher will give the students a grade for their responses
when called on, using a rubric.

SAMPLE LESSON PLAN 2: PATTERN TRAINING LESSON PLAN

Rehearsal Plan Template

Date: 11 April 2022

Class: WWP-S High School Choir
Teacher: Mr. David Westawski
Title of Piece: “Canticle of the Sun” by Amy Beach

Central Focus of the Lesson: Rehearsing a difficult section in simple steps

Objective(s):
Students will be able to accurately perform the song “Canticle of the Sun” from measure 187 to measure
207 with accurate pitches and rhythms with a success rate of at least 80%

Students will be able to explain why doing rhythmic pattern exercises before singing a rhythm is helpful
in the learning process, with a success rate of at least 80%

Essential/Focusing Question: What are some of the challenges that come with learning very difficult
music?

Materials: Printed out scores for the students, a piano, rhythmic patterns either to be projected onto or
written onto a wall/chalkboard in the classroom.

Procedure: Timing: 30 minutes

1. The teacher will have the students in their seats, tap the “big beat” with their heels and tapping the
“smaller beat” on their lap/chest. The students will use the teacher as a model

2. The teacher will then project the rhythmic patterns onto the board, and with the beat in the body at two
levels, the teacher will perform the first rhythmic pattern on Gordon syllables for the students, having the
students repeat the patterns back to them.

3.The teacher will perform step 2 for each rhythmic pattern, repeating patterns as necessary until all of
them are at an adequate success rate

4.The teacher will then have the students take out their music, and start working on m. 187-207, asking
the class if they notice any returning patterns from the rhythmic patterns they just completed

5.Have the students sing through the section, while helping by playing their parts on the piano. Stop and
rehearse certain sections as necessary

6.After learning that part of the music, have the students write down if they thought the rhythmic patterns
in the beginning were helpful for the learning process as a whole, and why or why not?

Differentiation/Support Strategies:
In the case of students who are in wheelchairs/are not physically capable to tap the beat in their heels, the
teacher should adapt and tell the class that as long as they can tap or pat both the big and small beats
somewhere on their body, that is all that matters. The student in the wheelchair could pat the big beat in
one hand and the smaller beats in the other.

Assessment strategies: As the students are performing the section of the piece, the teacher can be
mentally assessing the success of each student. Afterwards, the teacher can grade the students
performance and understanding of the rhythms using a rubric.

SAMPLE LESSON PLAN 3: STUDENT-CENTERED REHEARSAL

Rehearsal Plan Template

Date: 23 April 2022

Class: WWP-S High School Choir
Teacher: Mr. David Westawski
Title of Piece: “Canticle of the Sun” by Amy Beach

Central Focus of the Lesson: The students will teach themselves

Objective(s):
Students will be able to accurately perform the song “Canticle of the Sun” from measure 187 to measure
207 with accurate pitches and rhythms from memory with a success rate of at least 80%

Essential/Focusing Question:What are some of the challenges that come with learning very difficult
music?

Materials: A piano, printed out scores of the music

Procedure: Timing: 45 min

1.The teacher will explain to the students that they will have 10 minutes to work in sectionals outside the
classroom, I order to run any part of the section in the music they are unsure of

2. While the students are in their sectionals, the teacher will walk around and observe the students,
providing feedback

3. After 10 minutes, the teacher will call in one section of singers (sopranos, altos, tenors, or basses) in
order to run whatever parts they need help with still. Each section will get 10 minutes of help with the
teacher, and the other sections will continue to work on their own outside the classroom

4. After each section has had their time with the teacher, the teacher will call back in all the students.
Then the court as a whole will sing m.187-207 memorized

5. The teacher will then assess the students memorization of the piece using the provided rubric

Differentiation/Support Strategies:
For those students who struggle with learning music or have IEPs, the teacher can, in their observation of
the sectionals, ensure that each student is getting the instruction they specifically need

Assessment strategies: After hearing the choir perform the section memorized, the teacher will grade the
students memorization based on a rubric

SAMPLE LESSON PLAN 4: CONNECTION LESSON

Rehearsal Plan Template

Date: 25 April 2022

Class: WWP-S High School Choir
Teacher: Mr. David Westawski
Title of Piece: “Canticle of the Sun” by Amy Beach

Central Focus of the Lesson: connecting the music we learned to the history and importance of the piece

Objective(s):
Students will be able to understand and explain the importance of Amy Beach, her life, her compositional
style, and her compositions with a success rate of 80%

Students’ will be able to explain how their perspectives changed around the idea of classical music by
female composers with a success rate of 80%

Essential/Focusing Question:
Who is Amy Beach? Why is her work important, and why isn’t she more well known?
How can a high school choir program be more inclusive and accepting to composers who come from
different backgrounds?

Materials:
School laptops for the stufents

Procedure: Timing: 45 min

1. The teacher will give a casual presentation of the life of Amy Beach, in which they will answer any
questions the class may have on the life of the composer

2. After the brief overview, the teacher will have the class move into a circle, in order to discuss the life of
Amy Beach and the importance of doing music by female composers

3. In this circle, the teacher will help lead and shape the discussion solely by asking questions to the
group, in which the students will talk and debate what they think the answer is and why. The teacher
should ask questions that leads the group into a conversation about female composers as a whole, the
importance of women's rights and the problematic reality of classical music’s history

4. During this discussion, the teacher can answer any questions that the students may not know from their
own knowledge, and will also be observing how much each student participated in the discussion

5. After the discussion, the teacher will ask the students to write a brief reflection on the music, the
importance of it, and it’s connection to women’s rights.

6. The teacher will grade these reflections based on the provided rubric

Differentiation/Support Strategies:
If certain students have issues with speaking and discussing ideas in a peer-to-peer environment, have
them just listen to the discussion happening around them, and then rather than grade their participation,
focus on the paper/reflection they write.
Assessment strategies:
The student will give the student a “grade” based on how much they thought they contributed to the
discussion, and the teacher will grade the reflection based on the rubric provided.

Planning Commentary6

Choose one of your sample lesson plans and use it to answer the following questions: Lesson plan #3

Describe and justify why your strategies are appropriate to students’ prior academic learning.

This lesson plan is incredibly appropriate for the students’ prior academic learning, as this lesson focuses
on the students teaching themselves and working on what they each need to work on. The students have
done sectionals without the help of a teacher many many times, always to great results, and this specific
lesson focuses on drawing out how each student learns individually.

Describe and justify why learning tasks are appropriate to students’ personal, cultural, and community
assets. Describe how you will connect to students’ personal, cultural, and community assets.

The learning tasks in this lesson are definitely appropriate for each student’s personal and cultural assets,
as this is a student-centered teaching approach. Each student’s assets will be able to fully be realized
through the process of learning the music on their own, and helping their fellow section learn the music in
the ways that best help them. I as a teacher will connect to these learning assets through the sectional
rehearsal with the teacher, as during it, the students will still be the ones deciding what parts of the music
they need the most help with. This will lead to the students still learning the music in a peer-to-peer way,
but with the help of the teacher if needed.

Describe common student errors, weaknesses, or misunderstandings within your content focus and how
you will address them

Certain students may not be the ones to lead a sectional rehearsal or find sectional rehearsals helpful, as
they prefer the help of the entire choir rather than working alone in groups. For these students, the
sectional rehearsal with the teacher will be key, as the teacher can still provide the guidance that that
student needs while also allowing their peers to still lead the discussion. Another issue that may arise is if
given not enough music to work on, the students may end up using the time available for sectionals to not
do work/do other work. The best way to avoid this is to remind the students that this is something they
need to work on, and to monitor the sectionals from a distance.

How is the teaching you propose supported by research and theory about how students learn? Cite
specific thinkers and their theories (Ex. Dewey, constructivism, learning styles, Music Learning Theory,
critical pedagogy, etc.)
6
Adapted from edTPA K-12 Performing Arts Assessment Handbook, © 2018 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior
University
This lesson is built around the idea of “student-centered learning”, which personally is supported by the
concepts built upon in Critical Pedagogy and Constructivism. In relation to critical pedagogy, this lesson
is all about connecting to the students’ world, allowing them to work on what they personally need to
work on, rather than assuming what they need to learn and going from there. It starts with what the
students themselves know already and builds off of that, keeping them in the zone of proximal
development for much longer than other lessons. This connects further to critical pedagogy, as the section
rehearsal with the teacher allows both the students to teach and the teacher to learn, a skill that is
highlighted often within critical pedagogy. This lesson also relates to constructivist learning, as it allows
the students to build on their own knowledge, and ask questions to the teacher regarding the music during
their sectional time with the teacher. This allows the students to make connections to their prior
knowledge and experience, and come to understandings about the music that were not simply told to
them.

Explain how the design of your lesson addresses the specific needs of students from your three identified
subgroups and/or provide additional strategies for these students:

Subgroup 1: Underperformers
This lesson gives the struggling students time to work on specifically what they need to work on, which
will be helpful for those who are behind and struggling to keep up. The help from their peers on their
music will also help keep them motivated. Then through the sectional time with the teacher, the teacher
can help shape the rehearsal with what the “underperformers” need to catch up, ensuring that each section
is at the same level by the end of the rehearsal. Offering extra time before class or after class to get help
from the teacher would be very beneficial for these students in this lesson.

Subgroup 2: Musically-gifted students

This lesson is incredibly helpful for those musically-gifted unmotivated students, as it allows them to take
on the extra challenge of teaching their peers. This leads to the group as a whole attaining the same level
of musicianship that the musically gifted students have, making the student-centered approach helpful for
all. For further help, the teacher can give this subgroup specific jobs or roles to keep them motivated.

Subgroup 3: students with special needs

The student-centered approach for this lesson was built on the idea that each student would be able to
work on what they need to personally work on in whatever way works best for them, and I believe this
approach is incredibly helpful for those students with special needs, as it allows them to go at their own
pace and do what works best for them as an individual. The sectional rehearsal may in reality not allow
them to work in their own way, so additionally the teacher could allow the students to work truly alone if
that is what they prefer. Similarly, during the sectionals, the teacher, while monitoring the students, can
help shape each sectional so that everybody, including the students with special needs, gets the education
they personally need.