LESSON PLAN

Student Teacher: Joseph Giammona

Class: General Music Grade: 5th Grade Date: February 7 2017 Time: 10:45 - 11:25

Central Focus:
The students will use their knowledge of standard musical notation and prior knowledge of
music to create and present a composition using elements that they have learned in class. They
will write out the Winslow-Dallin Counting System below their compositions.

New York State Learning Standards:

Standard 1: Creating, Performing and Participating in the Arts

Students will actively engage in the processes that constitute creation and performance in the
arts (dance, music, theatre, and visual arts) and participate in various roles in the arts.

Standard 2: Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources

Students will be knowledgeable about and make use of the materials and resources available
for participation in the arts in various roles.

National Standards:

Creating

MU:Cr1.1.5b
Generate musical ideas (such as rhythms, melodies, and accompaniment patterns) within
specific related tonalities, meters, and simple chord changes.

MU:Cr2.1.5b Use standard and/or iconic notation and/or recording technology to document
personal rhythmic, melodic, and two-chord harmonic musical ideas.

MU:Cr3.1.5a
Evaluate, refine, and document revisions to personal music, applying teacher- provided and
collaboratively- developed criteria and feedback, and explain rationale for changes.

Student Learning Goals (Objectives):

Students will:
Demonstrate their understanding of how to count rhythm by using the Winslow-Dallin
Counting System through various methods of assessments during activities.
Demonstrate what type of notes create a beat and how many beats fit in a given
measure for a time signature that gives the beat to the half note and to the quarter note.

Prior Academic Knowledge & Conceptions: The students have prior knowledge of music
notation and symbols. They have a basic understanding of how to count quarter notes, quarter
rest, eighth notes, eighth rest, and sixteenth notes by using the Winslow-Dallin Counting
System. They also understand that a quarter note receives a full beat however they do not
understand that the time signature identifies what note value receives the beat.

Common Errors & Misconceptions: Student may incorrectly notate some of the symbols used
for rhythm. This may include forgetting to fill in the note head for a quarter note or note showing
the correct amount of beams for an eighth note or a sixteenth note. Students may also
inaccurately rewrite their rhythm that gives the beat to a quarter note to giving the beat to the
half note. Students may also mix up writing a rhythm for a time signature that gives the beat to
the half note with a time signature that gives the beat to the quarter note.

Materials: Handouts, Manuscript Paper, Chalkboard, and Chalk.

Essential Questions:
How do we create rhythm with three, four, and five beats in a measure?
How do we know if we have a rhythm that makes one beat?
How do we create a full beat if the time signature or meter has a four or a two on the
bottom?

Instruction & Procedures:

1. What note gets the beat?(10 Minutes)
a. On the board I will have the ten different variations of what can go in a quarter
note that we discovered yesterday when there is a 4 on the bottom of a time
signature. I will ask the students Someone raise your hand and tell me what I
have on the board. I will try to have the student explain to me that we have beats
that go into a time signature with a four on the bottom.
b. On the other side of the board I will write a 4/4 time signature and then below it I
will write 4/2 The time signature on top should be very familiar to us. What note
receives a full beat when we see the time signature on top? (Quarter note) Now
when we see a time signature with a 2 on the bottom, we now have a half note
receiving a full beat.
c. I will write a measure of just quarter notes in 4/4, then I will have the students
count it for me and then we will clap it. I will then write a measure of just half
notes in 4/2, then I will count the rhythm out on the board. I will then clap the top
and bottom rhythm for the student while counting. (Both times should be
identical.) I will ask the students to tell me what they noticed about the two
rhythms that we performed.
d. I will then erase the first beat of the 4/4 measure and write two eighth notes. I will
ask one of the students to tell me how I would count the first beat. I will then
erase the first beat of the 4/2 measure and ask the students, what two notes
should I use in the first beat in order to make the 4/2 relative to the 4/4.
i. If the students get stumped I will use the pizza pies as a reference for
them. If we split a quarter note in half, then we have two eighth notes.
But if I split a half note in half I am left with. The students should respond
with two quarter notes.
e. I will then remove another quarter note and replace it with a quarter rest on the
fourth beat of the 4/4. I will then have the students tell me what note I should put
in the fourth beat of the 4/2 measure. I will then ask the students if they have any
questions. If not I will break up the students into similar groups to complete a
worksheet that has them rewrite 4/4 rhythms in 4/2 rhythms and vice versa.
 2. Group work. (20 Minutes)
a. I will then break up the students into separate groups around the room where
they will be able to help each other with their work.
b. Students will receive their own worksheet where they will have to rewrite rhythm
in 4/4 and 3/4 into rhythm that is 4/2 and 3/2 respectively. This will test their
knowledge that they have developed in the previous lesson by knowing what
notes create a full beat according to the bottom number of the time signature.

Closure: (10 Minutes)

The students will have a chance to come up to the board and show what they have
created. This gives the class a chance to help evaluate mistakes that the students may
come across.

Differentiation (Planned Support):

Students will have their own handout to fill in while they are working in partners. This give me a
chance to walk around the classroom and provide help the individual with their work and thought
process. There will be a chart provided for the students that shows how to create a beat that is
given to a quarter note into a beat that is given to a half note.

Accommodations for-
504/IEPs- There are no students with IEPs or a 504.

Special Learners-
Students that are not exposed to music outside of the classroom will be paired with a student
that is. This way the student with more experience will be able to assist the student that is not as
exposed to music. I will be able to walk around the room and assist groups or individuals that
are having trouble.

Language Function:
Apply the concept of rhythm and what makes a beat for a given time signature..
Creating rhythm with the right amount of beats in a given measure.

Content Specific Vocabulary:

Time Signature

Assessments Used:
Informal-
1a: This question will let me know if they have the knowledge of what notes go into a beat when
the time signature has a four on the bottom.. However, their answer does not tell me that they
understand the function of a time signature.

1c: This will test the students knowledge of being able to count out a beat without using boxes
that have been assisting them in the past.

Closure: I will be able to see how each student can write out a beat for the new time signature.
This will also provide me the opportunity to see how well they are able to count since they will
have to put their rhythm on a certain beat.
Formal-
2b: Each student will have their own worksheet to fill out. This way I can see how each student
is notating their rhythms. There is also a section on the bottom that allows me to assess how the
students are doing with counting the different rhythms that they are creating. The students also
have an opportunity to create their rhythm and circle each beat that they create. I will be able to
see if the students understand what notes create a beat and how many beats will go in a
measure according to the time signature that they are given.

Possible Research / Theory:

The groups that are assigned will consist of at least one high achieving student that will act as a
model for the other students. The high achieving students are then able to do what the high
achieving student is doing and understand the concept of creating a full beat. This idea is
supported by Banduras Social Learning Theory.1

1
McLeod, S. (2011). Bandura - Social Learning Theory. Retrieved February 3, 2017, from
http://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html

Name: ________________________________ Class: ________________

Rewrite the rhythm on the left for the new time signature on the right while counting out the
rhythm for both measures. Make sure you have the right amount of beats per
measure and that the notes you have are enough to complete a full beat.

1)






2)

3)

Name: ________________________________ Class: ________________

below.
Write your own composition bellow. Box each beat that you write. Each measure should have
four boxes. When you finish count your rhythm on the bottom!!