I. Curricular Framework

Concept:

Value

Essential Question:

Why is it important to understand note value in music?

Bridge:

Note Value Metaphor

Content:

Meter and Meter Signature in Music

Outcomes:

II. Standards Aligned

III. Instruction and Assessment

1. Connect: Connecting to the Concept Experientially

Objective: To help students experience note value (counts) with their bodies (4/4 meter, 4 beats in a measure, and a quarter note gets one count.)

Activity: Use of aural and kinetic senses. 1. Students stand at their desks. 2. Teacher shows large visual icons representing whole note, half note, quarter note and eighth note. Teacher shows each of these icons, one at a time, while demonstrating teacher-created body movements for each. (try these: arms open w-i-i-i-d-e for whole note, while saying "tra-a-a-in"; right arm up and down, left arm up and down for two half notes, while saying "ho-ot, ho-ot!"; arms folded in front of tummy and pressing inward four times for four repeated quarter notes, while saying "chug, chug, chug, chug"; and hands slapping tops of legs in time for eight repeated eighth notes, while saying, "click-clack, click-clack, click-clack, click-clack".) 3. Teacher keeps steady beat with hand drum while calling out the icons for all children to do. 4. Have the class remain standing. Divide the children into two sections. 5. Assign group one a note value. Assign group two a different note value. 6. Bring the groups in one at a time with the hand drum keeping a steady beat. 7. When both groups are going, give one group a new note value. 8. After they are established again, give the second group a new note value. 9. Now divide the class into three sections and repeat the above procedure. 10. When the three sections have been mastered, divide the class into four parts. The group in the first section = whole notes The group in the second section = half notes The group in the third section = quarter notes The group in the fourth section = eighth notes 11. Begin with group one, bringing in groups two, three, and four one at a time. 12. After they master this, have students switch to the note value of the group to their left. Whole notes switch to half notes. Half notes switch to quarter notes. Quarter notes switch to eighth notes. Eighth notes switch to whole notes. 13. Switch until groups return to original parts. This is a difficult concept. It must be approached in the above progression in order to succeed.

Assessment: Ability of the groups to master the switching

2. Attend: Attending to the Connection

Objective: To examine the experience just completed.

Activity: Lead the group in a discussion of the following questions: How many counts did you feel for one saying of "Train"? (4) How many of those counts did you feel an accent on? (1) In the same space of time, how many "hoots" did you say? (2) How many accents did you feel then? (2) Was this an easy or difficult pattern for you to do? (This is the hardest pattern to feel, the one the students get mixed up most.) What kind of beat did you hear from the drum when you said "Chug Chug"? (Steady beat.) What kind of beat did "Chug Chug" keep in relation to the other patterns? (The same beat.) If you said "Click Clack Click Clack Click Clack Click Clack," how many times did you patsch (slap your legs)? (8) Which was the slowest pattern? Which was the fastest pattern? Which pattern kept the steady beat?

Assessment: Quality of children's answers.

Assessment, Phase One, Level of Engagement, Fascination:

3. Image: Creating a Mental Picture

Objective: To deal with the subdivision of note value metaphorically.

Activity: Create a"Maisy the Daisy" flannel-board or poster board Graphic Display (a simple smiling "daisy" face surrounded by eight removable petals). Maisy is a daisy in the wind. The wind gusts hit her in sets of four. (Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.) Let's clap once for Maisy, and then once for each petal Maisy loses when the wind blows [remove each petal as the wind blows]. The longer Maisy is in the wind, the more petals she loses. Do you see how the whole daisy breaks down into eight smaller petals? Do you also see how those eight smaller petals together equal the whole daisy?

Assessment: Quality of children's responses.

Assessment, Phase Two, Seeing the Big Picture:

4. Inform: Receiving Facts & Knowledge

Objective: To reteach and reinforce the basic concepts.

Activity: Explanation of meter signature. "The top number tells you how many counts there are in a measure, and the bottom number tells you what kind of note gets one count." Note review: whole note = whole measure, etc. Using felt board return to basic concepts. Put note value symbols in combinations of notes on felt board. "How many counts have I put in this measure? How many should be there?" "What kinds of notes could you use to fill in the missing counts?" Have children come up and put symbols on the board.

Assessment: Quality and accuracy of children's responses.

Assessment, Phase Three, Success with Acquiring Knowledge:

5. Practice: Developing Skills

Objective: To practice the concepts.

Activity: Teacher beats out various combinations by clapping. Children write the patterns down in musical notation on music graph paper. Various worksheets: For example, some combining fractions and note values. Directions: Fill in the blanks with notes of proper value by figuring out what the sum of the problem is in 4/4 meter. Figure by using mathematics, answer by using musical notes. Later worksheets could deal with other meters, and more complex notation. Many good music texts contain additional exercises for this concept. Students must constantly keep in mind how many beats in a measure, and what kind of note gets one count.

Assessment: Quality and accuracy of worksheets.

Assessment, Phase Four, Success with Acquiring Skills:

6. Extend: Extending Learning to the Outside World

Objective: To make their own meter compositions using the taught concepts.

Activity: Put the children into groups of four. Have them create their own texts (related word series) to fit the previously given rhythms.

Assessment: Quality of texts.

7. Refine: Refining the Extension

Objective: To transfer their own rhythm texts into musical notation. To compose their own eight measure rhythmic composition.

Activity: Students are asked to write their own rhythmic compositions using 4/4 meter, and whole, half, quarter, and eighth notes. Additional activities (optional): Write lyrics. Do art pictures of chant meanings or art depictions of text/beat feeling.

Assessment: Teacher checks to see if proper counts are in each measure.

8. Perform: Creative Manifestation of Material Learned

Objective: To share their own meter compositions with each other. To get additional practice in the concepts.

Activity: Children break into groups of four. They pass their compositions to the child on their right. Each gets a turn to clap out (better if one drum is available to each group of four) the compositions. Keep rotating until all compositions have been done.

Assessment: Participation and cooperation. Note: Possibilities for next lesson(s): Teacher reviews student compositions, chooses one or two which will work particularly well, select students to be "performers." Move on to more complicated notation, or introduce melodic concepts which may be applied to their previous rhythmic compositions. This is a perfect lead into a spiral on composing melodies and lyrics combining poetry with music.

Assessment, Phase Five,Performance, Creative Use of Material Learned: