PerformingArts

Task1:PlanningCommentary

TASK1:PLANNINGCOMMENTARY
Respondtothepromptsbelow(
no more than 9 singlespaced pages, including prompts)
bytypingyourresponseswithinthe
brackets.Donotdeleteoraltertheprompts.Pagesexceedingthemaximumwillnotbescored.

1. CentralFocus
a. Describethecentralfocusandpurposeforthecontentyouwillteachinthelearning
segment.
[Thecentralfocusofthislearningsegmentistoexplorethewaysinwhichmusicisused
toenhancestorytellingonscreenandstage.]
b. Giventhecentralfocus,describehowthestandardsandlearningobjectiveswithin
yourlearningsegmentaddresscreating,performing,orrespondingto
music/dance/theaterbyapplying

artisticskills(e.g.,selfexpression,creativity,exploration/improvisation)
knowledge(e.g.,tools/instruments,technicalproficiencies,processes,elements,
organizationalprinciples)

contextualunderstandings(e.g.,social,cultural,historical,global,personal
reflection)

NationalArtsStandards:
SpecificStudentObjectives
AnchorStandards:
Studentswilldescribetheaffect
7.Studentswillperceiveandanalyzeartistic
(feelingoremotion)ofapieceof
work.
music.
8.Studentswillinterpretintentandmeaning
Studentswilldescribetheaffect
inartisticwork.
(feelingoremotion)ofasceneina
10.Studentswillsynthesizeandrelate
movieclip.
knowledgeandpersonalexperiencesto
Studentswilldescribethe
makeart.
relationshipbetweenthemusicused,
11.Studentswillrelateartisticideasand
anditsroleinenhancingthe
workswithsocietal,culturalandhistorical
movieclip.
contexttodeepenunderstanding.
Studentswillbeabletoexplainhow
genericlivemusicwasappliedto
silentfilmsbyanorganist,orsmall
orchestra.
Studentswillbeabletoexplainhow
musicwaseventuallycomposedwith
cinematicspecificityinmind.
Studentswillbeabletoidentifya
leitmotifandexplainwhatitstands
for.
Studentswillcompareandcontrast
thewaysinwhichmusicisusedin
musicaltheater,tohowitisinfilm.
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PerformingArts
Task1:PlanningCommentary

Studentswilltakeastoryand
enhanceitbydecidingwhereand
howtoaddmusic.

[Studentswillusepreviousculturalandcontextualunderstandingsofmusictoinformtheir
interpretationofmusicinthislesson.Skillspreviouslydevelopedinthisclasstodescribe
musicwillbeusedintodeepenunderstandings.Inlessonsthatbuildoffofoneanother,
studentsbeginbyreactingandrespondingtomusicandfilm,andendbyapplyingnew
understandingstomakedecisionsabouttheuseofmusicassoundtrack.]
c. Explainhowyourplansbuildoneachothertohelpstudentsincreating,performing,or
respondingtomusic/dance/theaterandin
makingconnections
toartisticskills,
knowledge,andcontextualunderstandings.
[Throughoutthelearningsegmentstudentswilldevelopintheirabilitytointerpretand
analyzemusicasitplaysaroleintheenhancementofstorytellinginvisualmedia.
Throughtheinterpretationofcontrastingmovieclipsandclassdiscussion,studentswill
firstdevelopintheirabilitytodescribemusicandvideoseparately.Studentswillusetheir
owndescriptionstobegintointerprettherelationshipbetweenmusicandvideoasitis
usedinmovies.Inthesecondlesson,studentswilldeepentheirunderstandingofthis
relationshipwithahistoricalcomparisonoftheuseofgenericmoviemusicbyanorganist
orchamberensembleoversilentfilms,tothemodernuseofcinematicspecificity.Inthe
finallesson,studentswillapplytheirknowledgeandnewunderstandingsbydecidinghow
tousemusictoenhanceafairytale.Theywillthenhaveprogressedfromsimple
descriptioninthefirstlesson,tosynthesisandapplicationinthethirdlesson.]
2. KnowledgeofStudentstoInformTeaching
Foreachofthepromptsbelow(2ab),describewhatyouknowabout
your
students
with
respecttothecentralfocus
ofthelearningsegment.
Considerthevarietyoflearnersinyourclasswhomayrequiredifferentstrategies/support
(e.g.,studentswithIEPsor504plans,Englishlanguagelearners,strugglingreaders,
underperformingstudentsorthosewithgapsinacademicknowledge,and/orgifted
students).
a. Prioracademiclearningandprerequisiteskillsrelatedtothecentralfocus
Cite
evidenceofwhatstudentsknow,whattheycando,andwhattheyarestill
learningtodo.
[Inpriorlearningsegments,thesestudentshavedonelotsofguidedlistening.Previous
lessonshavefocusedontheprogressionofAmericanmusicwithahistoricalcontext.
Althoughthecentralfocusofthesesegmentswasdifferentfromthislesson,thestudents
areabletolisten,analyze,anddescribemusicatabasiclevel.Studentsareusedto
placingmusicinahistoriccontext,forexamplelearningaboutprotestmusicinthe1970s.
Studentsarelearningtoanalyzemusiconadeeperlevel.Theyarealsolearningto
connectsuperficialunderstandingsofhowdifferentkindsofmusicsoundtoitsreception
byitsintendedaudience.Inthisclass,noneofthestudentsareinchoir,howevereach
studenthadpriorgeneralmusicclassesingradesk5.]
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PerformingArts
Task1:PlanningCommentary

b. Personal/cultural/communityassetsrelatedtothecentralfocus
Whatdoyouknow
aboutyourstudentseverydayexperiences,culturalbackgrounds,practices,
andinterests?
[AccordingtotheIllinoisAtAGlanceReportCard,ofthe615studentsatthisjuniorhigh
school,85%ofstudentsarewhite,8%ofstudentsarehispanic,2%ofstudentsareasian,
and3%ofstudentsaremultiracial.Thereisa96%attendancerate,withmobilityand
chronictruancyratesunder5%.

Thestudentsinthisclassarevariedinmusicalexperience.Somecomefrommusical
families,whileothersdont.Thisisarequiredcourseforall6thgradestudentsatthe
school,andisthelastrequiredmusiccoursethattheywilltakeinthek12district.
Participationindiscussionandclassactivitieshasrevealedstudentinterestinavarietyof
genres.AclearmajorityofstudentsinthisclassprefermusicintheTop40,whileafew
othersindicatedapreferenceforrock,alternative,orheavymetal.Inthisclass,none
publicallyadmittedtoapreferenceforcountrymusic.Atschool(ifnotathome)students
haveaccesstoschoolownedMacbookcomputersthattheycancheckoutatthelibrary.
Manyofthesestudentsparticipateinextracurricularactivities.]
3. SupportingStudentsPerformingArtsLearning
Respondtopromptsbelow(3ac).Tosupportyourjustifications,refertothe
instructionalmaterialsandlessonplansyouhaveincludedaspartofTask1.In
addition,
useprinciplesfromresearchand/ortheorytosupportyour
explanations
.
a. Justifyhowyourunderstandingofyourstudentsprioracademiclearningand
personal/cultural/communityassets(fromprompts2ababove)guidedyourchoiceor
adaptationoflearningtasksandmaterials.Beexplicitabouttheconnectionsbetween
thelearningtasksandstudentsprioracademiclearning,assets,andresearch/theory.
[Knowingthatthesestudentscomefromarangeofmusicalbackgroundsandinterests,it
isimportantthatIstartwithabasicandgeneralfocus.Theopeningwrittenactivityinthe
firstlessonservesasapretestofstudentunderstandingandapplicationofacademic
language.Thisinitialassessmentwillallowmetomorespecificallyguidethedevelopment
ofstudentunderstandingtothepreviousunderstandingsandmisconceptionsofeach
individual,andtheclassasawhole.Ithenamabletodesignthelearningsegment
throughbackwardsdesign,creatingthelessonmaterialsfromthestudentobjectivesthat
areestablishedfrommyworkingknowledgeofpreviousstudentunderstanding.This
processwasdescribedbyRalphTylerin1949.Thediscussionthataccompaniesthis
writtenactivityallowsstudentstoshareideaswithoneanother.Thisopeningguided
listeningsectionusesdiscussionandanalysisskillsthatIhaveobservedthestudents
developinginpreviouslearningsegments.]
b. Describeandjustifywhyyourinstructionalstrategiesandplannedsupportsare
appropriatefor
thewholeclass,individuals,and/orgroupsofstudentswith
specificlearningneeds
.

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PerformingArts
Task1:PlanningCommentary

ConsiderstudentswithIEPsor504plans,Englishlanguagelearners,struggling
readers,underperformingstudentsorthosewithgapsinacademicknowledge,and/or
giftedstudents.
[Therearetwostudentsinthisclasswhoqualifyasstrugglingreadersandwriters,and
anotherwhoqualifiesforspeechservices,howeverhiswrittenworkisproficient.Withthis
knowledge,IknewthatIwantedtoincorporatebothwrittenanddiscussionbasedlearning
tasksasreinforcementofthestudentobjectives.Forexample,intheopeningactivity,
studentswillwriteasynopsishypothesisafterwatchingtheopeningcredits(withmusic)of
amovie,andalsoprovideajustificationfortheiranswer.Thiswrittenworkwillserveasa
writtenartifact,howeverthiswillbeaccompaniedbydiscussionwhichwillallowstruggling
writerstoexpressthemselvesinamorefluentmanner.Similarly,thestudentwhohas
difficultieswithoralactivitieswillalsoprovidewrittenwork.Thisuseofparallelartifactswill
allowstudentswithindividuallearningneedstofullybenefitfromthelesson,whilealso
reinforcingconceptsfortheclassasawhole.

Inthesecondlesson,Iwantedtoincludematerialsthatwouldreinforcenotetakingskills
andsupporttheobjectivesofthelessonwithoutoverwhelmingstudentswithmorewritten
work.Idecidedtocreateanoptionthatwouldappealtoavarietyoflearners.While
listeningto4musicalexamples,studentswilltakenotestohelpthemrememberwhat
eachexampleislike.Thiswillallowthemtomoreeasilydecidewhichmusicalexamples
topairwithwhichmutedfilmclips.OptionAfornotetakingsimplygivesstructureto
writtennoteswherestudentsareaskedtowritewhateverwillhelpthemremembereach
song.Tomakethisoptionmoreaccessibletostrugglingwriters,Iincludedanideabankat
thebottomofthepage.OptionBfornotetakingprovidesamorevisualoption,withabox
foreachmusicalexample.Studentsareaskedtosketchordrawwhateverwillhelpthem
remembereachsong.I

feltthatincludingthisoptionfornotetakingwasimportant
becauseIfeltthatitisimportantthatnotetakingnotdistractthestudentfromactively
listeningbecausetheyareworriedaboutthewritingaspectofthetask.]
c. Describecommonstudenterrors,weaknesses,ormisunderstandingswithinyour
contentfocusandhowyouwilladdressthem.
[Onecommonstudentweaknessinmiddleschoolgeneralmusicisafailuretoconnect
conceptsthataretaughtinmusicclassintheabstract,tothereallifemusicthatthey
listentooutsideofschool.Toaddressthis,Iassignedthestudentshomeworkforthe
threedaysofthelessonsegment.Thestudentsaretowatchatleast30minutesofeither
tvoramovieandkeepalogofeachinstanceofmusicwhiletheywatch.Thepurposeof
thisassignmentisnotsomuchforassessmentasitistogetthestudentstobethinking
abouttheconceptswearediscussinginclassasitappliestothemintherealworld.]
4. SupportingPerformingArtsDevelopmentThroughLanguage
a. LanguageFunction.
Identify
one
languagefunctionessentialforstudentstolearnthe
performingartsknowledgewithinyourcentralfocus.Listedbelowaresomesample
languagefunctions.Youmaychooseoneoftheseoranothermoreappropriatefor
yourlearningsegment.
Analyze

Compare/contrast

Describe

Explain

Express

Identify

Interpret

Perform

Summarize

Synthesize

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PerformingArts
Task1:PlanningCommentary

[Studentswilldescribemusicaswellasvariousfilmclipsandimages.Theywillalso
describetheeffectofmusic(audio)ontheirperceptionofafilmclip(visual).]
b. Identifyakeylearningtaskfromyourplansthatprovidesstudentswithopportunitiesto
practiceusingthelanguagefunction.Identifythelessoninwhichthelearningtask
occurs.(Givelesson/daynumber.)
[Inlesson1,studentsareaskedto
describe
themusicinseveralmovieclips,aswellas
theoverallmoodofthevideoclip.Inthefirstlesson,thisisdone6timesinacoupleof
differentsettingsinbothindividualworkandgroupdiscussion.Thisrepetitionallows
studentstopracticedescribingusingacademiclanguage.Becausethisismostlydone
throughclassdiscussion,studentsareabletoabsorbteacherfeedbackontheirownwork
aswellasthatoftheirclassmates.]
c. AdditionalLanguageDemands.
Giventhelanguagefunctionandlearningtask
identifiedabove,describethefollowingassociatedlanguagedemands(writtenororal)
studentsneedtounderstandand/oruse:

Vocabularyand/orsymbols
Plus
atleastoneofthefollowing:
Syntax
Discourse
Considertherangeofstudentsunderstandingsofthelanguagefunctionandother
demandswhatdostudentsalreadyknow,whataretheystrugglingwith,and/orwhat
isnewtothem?
[Asthestudentsareaskedtodescribemusic,therewillbevocabularydemands.Iwill
guidethestudentsinusingvocabularybybrainstormingthingstolistenforwiththe
studentsontheboard.Aswedothis,Iwillreinforcepreviouslylearnedconceptsand
vocabulary,andprovidestudentswithnewvocabularyforconceptsthattheycanexplain,
butdonthavewordsforyet.Ianticipatethattexture,instrumentation,dynamics,and
affectwillcomeupindiscussion.Thiswillserveasafocusactivityformoreactive
listening.]
d. LanguageSupports.
Refertoyourlessonplansandinstructionalmaterialsas
neededinyourresponsetothepromptbelow.

Describetheinstructionalsupports(duringand/orpriortothelearningtask)that
helpstudentsunderstandandsuccessfullyusethelanguagefunctionand
additionallanguagedemandsidentifiedinprompts4ac.

[Inlesson2,studentsareaskedtotakenoteson4listeningselections.Theyare
essentially
describing
themusicintheirnotes.Tomakethistaskmoreaccessibleto
differentkindsoflearners,Ifirstdecidedtoimplementtwotypesofnotetaking.One
involveswrittendescriptionsofthemusic.Atthebottomofthisnotetakingsheet,I
includedawordbanktoserveasastartingplace.Thisboxincludesdescriptorssuchas
happy,sad,major,minor,instrumentation,etc.Tofurthersupportstudentsfor
whomanadditionalwrittenactivitywouldbecounterproductive,Ialsocreateda
visualmappingnotesheet.Studentswilldraworsketchtheirnotes,makingvisual
descriptorsoftheirnotes.Thesestudentswillgiveanoralexplanationoftheirmaps.This
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PerformingArts
Task1:PlanningCommentary

allowsthesestudentstofullyparticipateinthelearningtasks,whilestillfulfillingthe
languagedemandsinamannerthatsupportstheirlearning,ratherthansimplybeing
anotherbarrierbetweenthestudentandcomprehension.]
5. MonitoringStudentLearning
Inresponsetothepromptsbelow,refertotheassessmentsyouwillsubmitaspartofthe
materialsforTask1.
a. Describehowyourplannedformalandinformalassessmentswillprovidedirect
evidenceofstudentscreating,performing,orrespondingtomusic/dance/theaterby
applyingartisticskills,knowledge,and/orcontextualunderstandings
throughout
the
learningsegment.
[Icreatedtheassessmentssothattheywouldreflectthenaturalprogressionofthe
learningsegmentitself.Thefirstwrittenassessmentservesasapretestofthestudents
abilitytoexplaintherelationshipbetweenagivenmusicexampleandthestorythey
perceivefromthemovieclipitaccompanies.Thiswrittenassessmentispairedwith
discussioninwhichstudentssharetheirideasandjustifications.Thesecondassessment
istheYouaretheOrganistactivity.Thistaskassessesthestudentsabilitytoapplytheir
understandingofthematerialbypairingaprovidedmusicalexamplewithaprovided
mutedfilmclip,andmostimportantly,
explain

whytheymadethechoicetheydid.
Thefinal
assessment(decidinghowtousemusictoenhanceafairytale)assessesthestudents
understandingoftherelationshipbetweenmusicandstorytellingastheymustdecidehow
besttousemusictoenhanceagivenstory.Thefinalstepoftheprogressionhereisthat
themusicalexampleisnotprovidedforthestudent.Rather,thestudentmustsynthesize
newideastoenhancetheprovidedstory.]
b. Explainhowthedesignoradaptationofyourplannedassessmentsallowsstudents
withspecificneedstodemonstratetheirlearning.
Considerallstudents,includingstudentswithIEPsor504plans,Englishlanguage
learners,strugglingreaders,underperformingstudentsorthosewithgapsinacademic
knowledge,and/orgiftedstudents.
[Forthefirstassessment,thereisawrittenanddiscussionbasedcomponent.Thepurposeof
thisassessmentistogivemeanideaofstudentunderstandingatthebeginningofthe
learningsegment.Thisdualassessmentnotonlyreinforcesconceptsfortheclassasa
whole,butalsoallowsmetoassesstheunderstandingofstudentswhostrugglewithwritten
work,aswellasstudentswhoarereluctanttosharetheirideasinfrontofpeers.

Thesecondassessmentincludesaninformalnotetakingportion.Ihaveadaptedthis
writtenworktobeaccessibletostudentswhohavedifficultywithwrittenworksothatitisstill
helpfulasanotetakingtool,ratherthansimplyahindrance.

Thethirdassessmentiscompletedingroups.Thismeansthatallstudents(includingthose
whoarestrugglingreaders)willbenefitfromacollaborativeenvironment.]

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