Review and Assessment in December

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Season 1 | Episode 42

Show Notes

Let’s look at some ways to review and refresh December.


 
 


Today we’ll talk about creating a December review project for your elementary general classroom. This is my process but I believe it can be flexible and adaptable to your specific classroom needs.

Teacher Readiness:

December Review Projects

This is my process for constructing review projects. These are all inside The Planning Binder and I’m putting them up as individual projects so that you can purchase them if you’re not a Planning Binder member, but I’m also sharing how I think about putting these together so that you can create your own if you want.

We’ll take stock of what we’ve learned in terms of musical concepts. Then we’ll think about all the ways we’ve actualized those concepts through songs, games, and activities. The real fun begins when we think about how students might transfer that knowledge to a new situation and apply their understanding through improvisation, arranging, and composing. Last, we’ll talk about how we might use the data to plan for next semester.

Looking Back to Go Forward

  • What have we taught?

Songs, Games, and Activities

Transfer Knowledge

New Song

  • All new repertoire inside The Planning Binder for these projects

  • It’s not necessarily something you must do, but it gives us more information because of the transfer of knowledge from known material to unknown material

Stand-Alone vs Based on a Book

  • Younger grades vs Older grades

  • Older grades are instrumental, younger grades are songs based on a book theme

  • Song Creation:

    • What is the musical purpose? What musical concepts will this review? Where does it fit in the curriculum? Where does it lead?

    • 2nd Grade Snow Globe Song Example

    • 4th / 5th Grade Snow Storm Piece Example

    • Start with a musical purpose, then add skills

Improvisation and Arranging

  • This is where we get a lot of information!

  • 2nd Grade:

    • Sing and play the game

    • Arranging rhythmic building blocks

      • swirling, pitter patter, slow falling, falling down, cold

    • Improvise a melody to the rhythmic building blocks using the pitches from the song

    • In order to do this, students need conscious knowledge of the pitches in the song: sol la sol mi, and low, or do.

    • This goes back to the purpose of the project. You might choose to do free improvisation.

  • 4th / 5th Grade:

    • Arrange rhythmic building blocks using syncopation

    • Add a melody in la-based minor and notate on the five-line staff

      • Transfer from graphic notation, letter names, or solfege to the five-line staff.

        • Two topics for another time: Students come up with their melody first and write it down second. We don’t start with notation. We start with a musical idea. Second, students are not required to write their ideas in standard Western notation, and especially not right away. There are many ways to write a melody. Students can choose the visual representation that works for them, and then move to the five-line staff.

      • The purpose is review! How do students do with the transfer from graphic notation to the five-line staff? What if they’re not making that transition? This is assessment data.

  • Sharing in rondo form or with another student group

Outside the Music Walls

  • Sharing final videos with school community through Seesaw or the school website

    • Written permission of administration and guardians

  • Share with classroom teacher

    • Communicate ahead of time for the teacher to come a few minutes early

Review, Self-Assessment, and Next Semester Planning

  • Slides with all our songs, and a map of musical concepts and musical skills

  • Having a document of what you’ve taught and what you know needs to be reviewed can be helpful here.

  • Students choose their favorite activities to close out the classes in December

    • This gives them choice in the activities and it opens the conversation about what types of musical experiences they want to have

  • Self-Assessment:

    • Concepts and skill maps

    • “I Can……”

  • Next Semester Planning:

    • These were my favorite things: __________________

    • If I were the music teacher, here are the musical things we would do: ______________

Wrapping Up and Moving Forward: Creating Your December Review Projects:

  • Bare-Bones: List of songs and concepts. Students choose their favorites have a choice-day. Wrap it up with a team meeting about next semester

  • Extension: Use previously-learned songs to review concepts, but add a B section or other invitation for students to arrange and improvise.

  • Winter Magic: The most involved. Choose a book and create an original song based off the concepts your students are working on. Find a way to showcase their original musical ideas (using improvisation and arranging or composition), and share them outside the classroom.