5thgradeClassPieceCompositionUnit

Studentswillapplytheconceptstheyhavelearnedin5thgradetothecreationofaclasspiece
thatportraysasmallorlargecreature.Studentswillbeabletoexplainanddefendhowthe
musicaldecisionstheymadecontributetothecharacterofthesongandthecreatureitportrays.

Inthefirstclass,theteacherwillflipacointodeterminewhethertheclasswillchoosesmallor
largecreature.Thestudentswillsuggestideasforthecreaturetheywanttowriteasongabout
andvoteasaclasstodecide.Thestudentswillresearchthecreaturetheydecideon.

Inthe2ndclassstudentswilldeterminefourappropriateelementsofthecreaturetoguidethe
creationoflyrics.Forexample,whatitlookslike,whatitsoundslike,whereitlives,andwhatit
does.Studentswillbedividedintofourgroupsandeachgroupwillbeassignedoneofthese
elementstowriteabout.Groupswillwritetwolinesoflyricsdescribingtheirelementofthe
creature.

Inthe3rdclass,groupswilldetermineandwriteoutarhythmfortheirtwolinesoflyrics.Intotal
theyshouldhave16beatsofrhythm,two8beatphrases.Thegroupswillspeaktheirlyricsin
rhythmfortherestoftheclass.Afterhearingeachgroup,theclasswilldecideinwhatorderthey
wanttoorganizethelyricstheycreated.Theywilldetermineaformforthepiece,whetherornot
theywantasectionorsectionstorepeat,whichsectionisthemostimportant,etc.
Inthe4thclass,thestudentswillanalyzetheircompletedlyricsanddecidehowtheywantto
continuewiththesong.Theycouldaddamelody,bodymotions,accompaniment,orany
combinationofthethree.Atthispoint,furtherinstructionwilldependonwhatelementstheclass
choosestoadd.Theclassshouldexperimentandidentifywhatelementswouldmosteffectively
contributetothecharacteristicsofthecreaturetheyaredescribing.Iftheyarecreatingamelody
oraccompaniment,theyshoulddetermineifaminorormajormodeisappropriate,and/orwhat
instrumentsandtimbrestheycouldincorporatetocontributetotheportrayalofthecharacter.A
melodyorbodymotionscouldbecreatedsimilarlytothelyrics,byhavingstudentsdivideinto
groupsagaintocreatetheseelementsfortheirtwolinesofthepiece,thenperformingtheir
creationsfortheclassandopeningupthefinalcreationfordiscussionanddebate.

Inlaterclasses,studentswillfinalizetheelementsofthepiece,andanalyzehowallthe
elementsworktogethertoaccuratelyportraytheircreature.Ifcertainelementsdontcontribute
effectivelytothisportrayal,theclasswilldiscusshowtheycouldberefined.Classeswillthen
practicetheirpiecesandperformthematthespringconcert.

Studentswillbeassessedaspartoftheirgroupsandonegradewillbeassignedforthewhole
groupusingthefollowingrubric.Theteacherwillexplainbeforeeachstepoftheactivitywhat
theyarelookingforfromeachgroup:aproduct,evidence,andparticipation.Theteacherwill
assessthroughtheperformanceofthegroupscontributionstotheclasspieceandaskingthe
groupstodefendandexplaintheirdecisionsaftereachperformance.

Criteria Scale
4:BeyondExpectations
3:MeetsExpectations
2:NeedsImprovement
1:Doesnotmeetexpectations
0:Notattempted
Product
Thegroupappropriatelycompletedtheircreation.The
lyricsconformtotwophrasesandequal16beats,usea
varietyofrhythmsthatareappropriateforthewords,and
accuratelydescribethecharacteristicsofthecreature.
Themelodyand/orbodymotionsarevariedandthought
outwell,andcontributetothedescriptionofthecreature.

43210
Evidence
Thegroupcanexplain,usingmusicalconcepts,how
theircreationcontributestotheeffectofthepieceand
thefeelingofasong.

43210
Participation
Allstudentsareactivelyengagedandcontributingto
thegroupscreation.

43210