Review and Assessment in 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:
Know your capacity. Save these ideas for the spring and watch a movie if you need to.
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
Make a list
This is also a great list to have for a substitute teacher!
Episode 10: How Many Songs Should I Teach Each Grade Per Month?
Episode 18: Choosing Repertoire for the 2021 - 2022 School Year
Episode 38: Espresso Shot: Concept-Based Teaching and Synco-pa Songs
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.
