Unit Plan

Lesson 1: Presentation
Objectives- Students will reflect on what has been introduced and discuss what their opinions are
on the piece.
Sequence-
1. Do the presentation. (~20 minutes)
2. Ask what the students will expect from the unit, and have them discuss. (5 minutes)
Activity- At the end of class, have them write down one thing they expect from learning the
piece, three things they were interested in within the active listening portion, and whether or not
they liked the piece. (5 minutes)
Assessment- Take note of student participation, and read through their write-ups before the next
class meeting. (Informal)

Lesson 2: Overview of Keys and Hard Rhythms
Objectives- Students will sightread passages with hard rhythms from the piece proficiently
within the designated keys of the piece.
Sequence-
1. Go over the three scales that are associated with the keys of the piece- F major, A major,
and Db major. (5 minutes)
2. Look at rhythms that are included in the piece and may be hard for the students to grasp.
(5 minutes)
Activity- Each person will write an eight measure passage in the specified keys utilizing two of
the rhythms studied and pass them forward. (8 minutes)
Assessment- The teacher will redistribute randomly the samples composed by the students, and
each student will sightread the assigned passage written by their peer. (12 minutes; Informal)

Lesson 3: Melody and Fragmentation
Objectives- Students will identify melodic fragments (and from which melodies) from preset
passages of the score and excerpts from recordings of the piece.
Sequence-
1. Ask students to sing the two melodies associated with the piece. (2 minutes)
2. Have the students look at their parts and find when they have the melody. Circle only one
measure from that segment and make note of what key the measure is in. (2 minutes)
3. Pick one key, and all those who chose a segment from that key will stand. While the rest
of the band plays the underlying chord, each student standing will play their measure
with one measure between each student. Do so with each key. (5 minutes)
4. Explain how composers will do a variation of that same concept within the music to
create auditory interest and give examples from other pieces of music. (6 minutes)
Activity- Listening to the whole of the piece, the students will raise their hands when they hear
melodic fragmentation. (7 minutes)
Assessment- Each student will receive a copy of a page or two of the score, and they must
highlight any melodic fragmentation they find along with an indication of which melody from
which the fragment was taken. This will be turned in for a grade. (8 minutes; Formal)

Lesson 4: Melody and Ornamentation
Objectives- Students will improvise ornamentation on a pre-composed melody.
Sequence-
1. Listen to the recording of the flute solo from the piece by The College of Wooster. Then
listen to the North Texas recording. (3 minutes)
2. Compare and contrast. (2 minutes)
3. Explain the use of ornamentation in music and play a couple of examples. (3 minutes)
4. Talk about the history of ornamentation, especially in Baroque music. (3 minutes)
5. Explain the theory behind ornamentation and when it is appropriate. (4 minutes)
Activity- The students will receive a simple, pre-composed melody and will have the opportunity
to play through it and ornament it how they wish. (8 minutes)
Assessment- Going around the room, the students will play their ornamented melodies. (7
minutes; Informal)

Lesson 5: Ostinato
Objectives- Students will compose an ostinato for a certain section of the piece comparable to
the ostinati already written.
Sequence-
1. Play through the piece. (7 minutes)
2. Isolate the flute, clarinet, and percussion ostinati and play through them. (5 minutes)
3. Ask the students and have them discuss why for such a lyrical piece, fast technical and
rhythmic lines are so important. (5 minutes)
4. Have students discuss what other experience they have with ostinato and what types of
music they think the concept applies most to. (3 minutes)
Activity- Listen to several jazz and pop songs that have strong bass lines, and have the students
identify any ostinato. (5 minutes)
Assessment- Have them compose a 4 measure ostinato in a specific key. (5 minutes) Collect the
students compositions of ostinato, and look over them to make sure the concept is grasped.
(Informal)

Lesson 6: History of Be Thou My Vision/Slane
Objectives- Students will read excerpts of historical context pertaining to the hymn in the piece
and will write a brief summary of the concepts they learned incorporating musical examples
from the piece. This lesson is a precursor to the next two lessons.
Sequence-
1. Directed Reading Thinking Activity with several excerpts of historical context pertaining
to the melodic source material of the piece. (15 minutes)
2. Explain the write-up, and answer any questions, which there most likely will be. Allow
for some discussion. (5 minutes)
Activity & Assessment- Using their acquired knowledge of the piece, have them associate their
existing knowledge of the musical content and find any correlations they can. Have them write
their expectations of the historys relationship to the music. (10 minutes; Formal)

Lesson 7: Text Painting with Be Thou My Vision
Objectives- Students will analyze the text of the lyrics specifically in conjunction with the
associated melody.
Sequence-
1. Pass out lyrics to Be Thou My Vision. (1 minute)
2. Explain how much music with lyrics is written to demonstrate certain aspects of the
music. (3 minutes)
3. Play examples from pop music- Jay Seans Down, One Directions Same Mistakes, etc.
Have the students guess what words are being demonstrated by the lyrics. (7 minutes)
4. Play examples from German lieder and Schoenbergs Pierrot Lunaire, and explain what
the lyrics mean and how the music suggests the meaning. (7 minutes)
5. Explain that lyrics can also represent music; such would be the case with the hymn. (2
minutes)
Activity- Have a short discussion on other examples of text painting the students may have come
across. (3 minutes)
Assessment- The students will identify one or two examples of text painting when considering
the lyrics of Be Thou My Vision to the melody of Slane. This will be turned in for a grade.
(7 minutes; Formal)

Lesson 8: Tone Poem with Slane
Objectives- Students will evaluate what musical elements represent the history and context of the
melody.
Sequence-
1. Have students recall information about Slane and its history. (5 minutes)
2. Explain program music and tone poem. (3 minutes)
3. Play Smetanas Moldau. (5 minutes)
4. Discuss how the piece mimics a river in sound. (4 minutes)
Activity- Listen to Slane specifically, and given the known history of the tune, have the
students write what about the melody reflects the event it was written to demonstrate. (8 minutes)
Assessment- Collect their write-ups, and discuss the conclusions they reached. (5 minutes;
Informal)

Lesson 9: Tone Color/Dedication
Objectives- Students will classify the different sounds as specific colors and create a color map
of the piece.
Sequence-
1. Read the program notes and the dedication to the students. (3 minutes)
2. Explain tone color and give a little background on synesthesia. (5 minutes)
3. Discuss how you dont have to be synesthetic to have experiences with sensing color
outside of sight. (5 minutes)
4. Play sound samples and have the students assign a color to them. (3 minutes)
5. Discuss the use of words like bright or dark in reference to timbre. (2 minutes)
Activity- As the students listen to the piece, have them assign colors to the music and create a
map that stands as a visual for what they hear. (7 minutes)
Assessment- Have them pass in their color maps and have each student say what color was their
most used. (3 minutes; Formal) With knowledge of the dedication, discuss how color and
expression within the piece represents what the music was written to portray. (5 minutes;
Informal)

Lesson 10: Review and Final Project
Objectives- Students will assess all elements of the music in a final paper highlighting the most
interesting concepts they learned and what they took away from the experience of playing the
piece.
Sequence-
1. Pre-requisite: Have the first read through of the piece recorded. Listen to the original
read through of the piece. (10 minutes)
2. Listen to the final performance of the piece. (7 minutes)
3. Review the concepts learned over the course of the unit. See what the students remember.
(5 minutes)
4. Explain the final paper. (4 minutes)
Activity- Have the students quickly write what about the unit they liked and disliked. Take these
notes and make sure to read them for future reference.
Assessment- Students will write a review of the unit, including what they learned about the
piece, why the concepts they learned helped with their performance, and if learning about the
piece changed their original perception and liking for the piece. (Formal)