Encourage tinkering with ideas, relationships, connections. Set up situations where students have to find information not readily available in school texts. Provide opportunity for students to design open-ended explorations of the concept. Provide multiple options so students can plan a unique "proof" of learning.

Students choose projects

Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of instrument families by choosing one of the activities below.

Activity: Students may have the option of (1) choosing a favorite instrument and writing a research paper, including description, history, relationship in appropriate family, method of playing, sound (timbre), etc. of that instrument; (2) giving an accurate presentation of an instrument: how it is played, how it produces its sound, and how it fits in its respective family. Student must be able to demonstrate by playing the instruments themselves. Quality of playing will not affect student’s assessment, although it would be an added bonus; (3) making a poster/banner that pictures the different instruments named and organized into families with a description of how each family is unique; (4) giving a quality performance on an instrument, suitable to the student’s ability and pre-approved by the teacher. Performances should be memorized, unless teacher permits otherwise.

Assessment: Successful completion of aforementioned tasks