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Understanding by Design Lesson, 7.31.12

Lesson Topic: Rhythmic Relationships

Grade: 6th

Curricular Context/Overview:Students have been making use of rhythmic phonemes (ta, ti) and clapping.

Students will translate this knowledge into standard notation. We will introduce theconcept and use of time signatures (4/4, 3/4).

STAGE 1: DESIRED RESULSTS

Understandings/Goals:

Notation allows us to represent complex relationships with simple symbols.

Notation and meter are systems of organization. Such organizational systemscan influence and inform the creative process.

Composition is a process of constant revision.

Essential Questions:

How would music be different without notation? Without time signatures?

In what ways is understanding rhythm related to mathematics?

Can you imagine ways that rhythm/meter might be represented differently?

Students Will Know

The connection between Ta & quarter notes, Ti & eighth notes.

Meaning of 4/4 and 3/4.

The standard notation for quarter and eighth notes.

Students Will Be Able To

Compose their own rhythms consisting of quarter notes and eighth notes

Take aural dictation of rhythmic examples

Explain the proportional relationship between quarter notes and eighth notes,

and their relationship to 4/4 and 3/4 time signatures

STEP 2: ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE

GOAL Create a 30 bar rhythmic composition. This composition will be editedevery time a new rhythmic value is learned. In this way students will better

understand the relationship of all rhythmic values to one another

ROLE Students will assume the role of a composer/performer, beat-maker, rock-star or any other school appropriate alter-ego with which to express their musicalideas.

AUDIENCE The class as a whole will be the audience for thecomposer/performer/student

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SITUATION We will turn the classroom into a performance venue, with posters,concert programs, etc Students may dress for their performance as well.

PERFORMANCE The composition itself, the concert performance of their piece,participation in transforming the classroom will all count as performance.

STANDARDS - 25.A.1c Music: Identify differences in elements and expressivequalities (e.g., fast and slow tempo; loud and soft dynamics; high and lowpitch/direction; long and short duration; same and different form, tone color ortimbre, and beat).

25.A.2c Music: Identify elements and expres sive qualities such as tone color,harmony, melody, form (rondo, theme and variation), rhythm/meter and dynamicsin a variety of musical styles.

25.A.3c Music: Identify and describe changes in elements and expressivequalities (e.g., crescendo, ritardando, fermata, meter, sforzando).

STAGE 3: LEARNING PLAN

WHERE, WHY, WHAT: Lesson will start as 30 bars of quarter notes. Students willturn some quarter notes into eights, then sixteenths, triplets, and rests, based ontheir aesthetic preferences, developed through trial and error. There will be manyopportunities to practice smaller chunks of this in the early stages of the unit.

HOOK: Creating a composer identity will engage students by allowing them to roleplay. Students can imagine themselves as revered artists whose work isimportant.

EXPERIENCE, EXPLORE, EQUIP: Students will have opportunities to perform theircompositions in progress in focus groups of 3-4 students. The progressive nature

of the assignment will encourage them to consider Enduring Understandings andEssential Questions pertaining to how notation influences creativity, and theproportional relationship of rhythmic subdivisions.

RETHINK/REVISE: I will model the use of new rhythm values as they areintroduced, allowing students to scaffold knowledge of rhythm, helping themrethink their understanding. Essentially, students will be constantly revising theircompositions, which correlates to my Enduring Understandings.

EVALUATE: Focus groups from EXPLORE section provide time for students to self-evaluate and peer critique. Students will provide a short written reflection uponthe completion of the project.

TAILOR: Choice of musical persona, design of physical space, and freedom tochoose from different mediums of performance all will allow the student to tailorthe lesson to their own learning styles.