Ps III Music 56 Unit 1 - Spirituals and Gospel - Peter Vooys

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Grade 6/5 Spirituals/Gospel Unit

Mr. Peter Vooys
St. Augustine Fine Arts School
January-February 2017
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Table of Contents:
1) Key Songs
Page 3
2) Key Question Page
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3) Rationale
Page 3
4) Unit Objective and List of Outcomes
Page 4
5) Technology and Accommodations
Page 7
6) Lesson Plans (Lessons 1-10)
Page 8
7) Unit Assessment Plan
Page 40
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Key Songs:
-This Little Light of Mine
-Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho
-Swing Low, Sweet Chariot/All Night, All Day
Key Question: How can we use music to both build musical skill and vocal
expressiveness, and build the faith of our students?
Rationale:
African American spirituals are a unique blend of work songs from the African-
American slaves of the United States, and the hymns of the Christian faith the
slaves adopted as their own. This unit can connect to the Grade 5 social studies unit
about newcomers to Alberta, as freed or escaped slaves and their descendants
came to settle here in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.
The passion, simple lyrics, deep concepts, and rhythmic interest of this genre
earmark it as a strong source of choral music for children. Spirituals are also a
strong influence on contemporary black gospel music, which is arguably the finest
contemporary musical genre, offering a blend of metrical and rhythmic diversity,
harmony, virtuosic vocal performances, the spiritual power of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, as expressed through lyrics, and the heartfelt spirit that can only come
through singing with conviction. It is my goal to bring the students to a level of
further expressing their faith through music, in a way that develops both musical
skill and passion for praise.
Chorally, we will be working on dynamics, understanding lyrics, communicating a
message, phrasing, breathing, and emotional engagement, and we will add
instrumental accompaniment and vocal percussion to further develop the students
musical understanding. This unit features an original arrangement of This Little of
Mine and an existing arrangement of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot/All Night, All Day
that each function as arrangements of two pieces sung at once, which builds on the
round/canon form. This Little Light of Mine also includes some very basic part
singing, and if the students perform to a high degree, part-singing may be further
pursued as part of this unit.
This is an optimal unit to explore the power of music in praise and worship, and to
embrace the CSSD value of permeating all curricular areas with the Catholic
perspective. I have included a variety of scripture references in this unit, all of which
center around music, and have been selected to give glory to God, and to support
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the development of the lifelong appreciation of music, its inherent aesthetic value
and its integral connection to praise and worship in the Church.
Unit objective: The students will perform several arrangements of traditional

spirituals and gospel songs. These arrangements will incorporate Orff instruments,
unison singing, part singing, and vocal percussion. The students will be asked to
create simple choreography for the songs, and it is my objective to have the
students perform one or more of these songs during a Hymn Sing period at St.
Augustine.
This unit includes the following outcomes (key specific learner outcomes are
bolded and in italics):
General Learner Outcomes
Through the elementary music program, students will develop:
-enjoyment of music
-awareness and appreciation of a variety of music, including music of the many
cultures represented in Canada
-insights into music through meaningful musical activities
-self-expression and creativity
-musical skills and knowledge.
Specific Learner Outcomes

Specific Learner Outcomes in Elementary Music are categorized into nine different
categories. These include Rhythm (R), Melody (M), Harmony (H), Form (F),
Expression (E), Listening (L), Moving (Mv), Singing(S), Playing Instruments (P),
Reading and Writing (RW), and Creating (C). These will be shown using the
abbreviations in parentheses. There are over 200 SLOs in the POS, so, unless
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otherwise requested, I will be listing relevant grade 5 and 6 outcomes at the

beginning of each lesson, with a handful of prior outcomes.
Key outcomes have been bolded and italicized.
This is not an exhaustive list of every outcome covered in this unit. I have chosen to
omit most of the grade 1-3 outcomes that are implicitly covered, although an
exhaustive list would be possible on request.
Please note also that some outcomes, for instance S.3.16-Sing with various
instrumental accompaniments are covered throughout the unit and not listed on
individual lesson plans, and each individual lesson plan focuses mainly on the grade
5 and 6 SLOs that are germane to the lesson.
R.2.6- Rhythm patterns can accompany melody.
R.2.7- Rhythm patterns are made up of the beat and divisions of the beat.
M.4.10- Melodies may be based on the C major scale.
M.5.11- Melodies may be based on the G and F major scales, and their related
minors.
M.5.12- A melody is changed when its rhythm is changed.
H.3.5- Two or more melodies can occur simultaneously; e.g., rounds, partner songs,
descants.
H.3.6- The I and V7 chords may be used to accompany melodies.
H.3.7- Pitched percussion instruments can be combined to make harmony.
H.4. 8- The IV and V chords are also used to accompany melodies.
H.4.9- Tuned instruments can combine to make harmony.
H.4.10- Melodies having the same harmonic structure may be combined; e.g.,
partner songs.
H.5.11- Voices with different pitch ranges can be combined to create harmony.
H.5.12-The notes of a chord may be performed to accompany a melody.
H.6.13-There is an ending point to a phrase (cadence).
H.6.14- Other chords may be used to accompany melody; e.g., E minor, E7
F.5.12- Repetition and contrast give unity and variety to form in music.
E.1.1- The beat in music may be fast or slow (tempo).
E.1.2- Music may be soft (p) or loud (f), dynamics.
E.1.3- Music may express our feelings.
E.1. 6- Music reflects our feelings about holidays, seasons, our country
and cultural heritage.
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E.1.7- The words of a song are very important to the understanding of the
song (text).
E.3.10- Changes in dynamics add to the effect of music.
E.5.15- New sounds may be created using instruments in new ways, by inventing
new instruments or by electronic methods.
E.6.16- The human voice, which has the potential of being used as an
expressive instrument, has different timbral qualities.
E.6.17- The lyrics (text) and meaning of a song may be enhanced by the
vocal interpretation as well as by its instrumental accompaniment.
E.6.18-Music has different styles; e.g., blues, jazz, rock, reggae, country and
western, classical.
L.1.7- Be aware of and enjoy seasonal, holiday and ethnic music.
L.3.13- Detect the contour (shape) of melody
L.4.19- Identify a tonic (keynote) chord.
L.4.21- Recognize music and some composers of other times, places and cultures.
L.4.24- Identify major and minor chords.
L.5. 27- Identify chord changes aurally.
L.5. 25- Identify the human voice categories: soprano, contralto, tenor, bass.
L.5.26- Match names, sounds and pictures of many instruments.
L.5. 25- Identify the human voice categories: soprano, contralto, tenor, bass.
L.5.26- Match names, sounds and pictures of many instruments.
MV.1.3- Respond to beat through action and simple body percussion.
MV.2.7- Improvise movements to poems, stories and songs.
MV.3.10-Perform rhythmic patterns in music.
MV.4.13- Use planned body movements to illustrate rhythmic and/or melodic
patterns.
MV.6. 15- Choreograph and perform a contemporary dance form; e.g., in the style of
videos, air bands.
S.3.13- Sing ostinato patterns with songs.
S.3.14- Sing two-part rounds and simple descants.
S.3.15- Continue vocal development: sing with expression and good
enunciation.
S.3.16- Sing with various instrumental accompaniments.
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S.3.18- Sing partner and nonsense songs.

S.4.19- Continue vocal development (legato and staccato).
S.4.21- Sing two- and three-part rounds, and descants.
S.4.24- Use solfa skills in reading music and sight singing.
S.5.26- Extend vocal development to include phrasing, enunciation and
expression.
S.6.27- Develop a repertoire of quality songs.
S.6.28- Sing songs written in a variety of scales.
P.1.2- Play a steady beat using rhythm instruments.
P.1.13- Demonstrate skills on as many as possible of the following instruments: Orff
Instruments
P.2.8- Play simple rhythm patterns (the beat and divisions of the beat).
P.2.9- Follow simple rhythm scores.
P.2.10-10- Play rhythmic and ostinato patterns to accompany songs
RW.3.19- Recognize 4/4 time signature
RW.5.33- Recognize the following chord progressions: I, IV, V and V7
RW.5.34- Recognize ties, slurs and accidentals
RW.6.36- Interpret the following symbols of dynamics and tempo: f, p, ff,
pp, mf, crescendo, diminuendo, fermata.
RW.6.37- Identify major and minor scales; e.g., C major and A minor.
RW.6.39- Understand the function of key signatures
Technology: We will be using video examples of great performances of our songs

for the students listening logs. I will also be creating a Mr. Vooys YouTube channel
featuring great examples of all the songs we perform, and other helpful and
enjoyable music resources for the students to access on their own. Any video I show
in class will also be posted to YouTube for optional review.
Accommodations: There are a large number of ELL students in this class. Care will
be taken to check for understanding of unfamiliar lyrics or terminology, and teacher
will speak clearly, and avoid overly loquacious written questions. There are a few
students on the autism spectrum, who are high functioning. There is also a student
with ADHD. Accommodations have been recommended for written work by their
homeroom teacher Miss MacPherson. Music class features minimal written work, but
if needed, extra time or use of a computer could be given to students with IPPs
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when writing their listening logs, and teacher will spend extra time explaining these
to students with ASD, if needed.
LESSON PLAN
General Information:
Teacher: Mr. Vooys Grade 5/6 Music Afro-American Spirituals Lesson 1 Jan ___,
2017/ 47 min
GLOs
-enjoyment of music
-musical skills and knowledge
SLOs
Specific Learner Outcomes in Elementary Music are categorized into
nine different categories. These include Rhythm (R), Melody (M),
Harmony (H), Form (F), Expression (E), Listening (L), Moving (Mv),
Singing(S), Playing Instruments (P), Reading and Writing (RW), and
Creating (C). These will be shown using the abbreviations in
parentheses. There are over 200 SLOs in the POS, so, unless otherwise
requested, I will be listing relevant grade 5 and 6 outcomes at the
beginning of each lesson, though earlier outcomes will also be covered.
If an earlier outcome is to be a focal point for a lesson, I will list it as
well.
-H.5.11. Voices with different pitch ranges can be combined to create harmony
-F.5.12. Repetition and contrast give unity and variety to form in music
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-S.5.26. Extend vocal development to include phrasing, enunciation and

expression.
Objective: Assessment: Students will be

TSW perform a previously learned formatively assessed through questioning,
piece for Mr. Vooys, and assess a focused on the fundamentals of choral
professional performance of one of performance.
our songs for the unit.
Key Questions: Accommodations: There are 11
How do we breathe properly in ELL students in this class. Teacher will
music? enunciate well, frequently check for
understanding, and will repeat/rephrase
What makes a good choral as necessary. There are two students on
performance? autism spectrum, who are high
functioning, but may require extra
attention. There is one student with
ADHD, who uses a computer for written
assignments, however, written work in my
music class is minimal, therefore no
accommodations should be needed.
Materials & Equipment:

Flipchart paper, white board, or Smart board,
Learning Resources:
Alberta Education Music 1-9 Program of Studies
Various online resources
PROCEDURE
Intro: Welcome, class! Today were going to start our unit on African-American
Spirituals. Its going to be a really neat opportunity to learn some great songs.
Lets start off in a circle, and well learn a new warmup games, and do an old one.
Music games: Show Us How You Get Down

Musical introductions
-Create a melody and introduce yourself and one of your hobbies. Ie:
My name is Mr. Vooys, and I like to write cool songs.
Orientation/Intro to Mr. Vooys: Who am I?
-Musical background
I write, sing, produce, and perform songs. I play guitar, bass, a little bit of piano,
some drums, I played tuba in junior high, and I also play several other
instruments. I love music, so Im thankful that Im able to be your student teacher
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for this next few months.
-Africa trip
I sang in a Christian choir for 5 years, called Harmony through Harmony. Weve
toured around Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. We even got to go to South
Africa for a month, where we got to learn a lot about African music, and sing and
perform with a lot of different people. I might even go back when Im done
teaching this year, so I can help teach some of the kids in Soweto about music.
When you practice music, God can take you a lot of really cool places, and I hope
that this semester I can share some of my love of music, and love of God with
you, and that I can help you with some of the sweet learning that you get to do
with Miss Yip (or Ms. Gamber)
-I love music in general, and Gospel music, and music as worship.

-Who goes to Church? What do you sing at Church?
When I was a little kid I loved to sing at Church, but when I got to be a little
younger than you, I started to dislike singing at Church. I didnt know why we did
it, and I mostly scowled a lot. I didnt understand at the time that we werent just
singing, that we were actually worshipping God, because Hes so awesome.
Heres a verse for you:
Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the
light of thy countenance (Psalms 89:15).
Can someone tell me what this verse means? Countenance means face, by the
way.
The verse means that we should make a joyful sound to the Lord, which can mean
singing and playing songs to Him. And when we do, we get to feel and experience
His love and power. Pretty awesome, eh? Lets start with a singing exercise, and
then Id like to hear one of your songs.
Technique/Skill focus: Breathing. I want to make sure you know how to

breathe, since were going to be doing some big songs this month thatll require
us to breathe well.
-Yawn w/ hand on belly

-Repeat w/out yawn.
-Exhale on 8 counts
-Exhale on 16 counts.
In most choir music, we sing four bar phrases, a phrase is like a musical sentence.
Ill demonstrate:
-Id like to talk to you about phrasing and breathing
-Id like to talk to you about phrasing (breathe) and breathing.
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Its awkward when we breathe in the middle of a sentence. Its the same way for
phrasing!
A four bar phrase means we take a big breath and sing for four bars without
inhaling, unless we really have to. Itll take some practice, but Ive heard about
how good you guys are, and I think well be able to build up to it!
-Could you show me one of your songs? Class demonstrates song, accompanied
by Miss Yip.
That was neat, thank you, I really enjoyed that! Id like us to have a listen to a
choir from South Africa today. Theyll be singing one of the songs well be singing.
-Listening exercise: This Little Light of Mine by the Soweto Gospel Choir
(YouTube)
That was awesome! Now these were adults who have been singing for their whole
lives, so I wont expect you to be that great, but it gives us a goal to shoot for,
and I think we can learn from them.
Whats so great about this performance?
-They knew what they were singing: the importance of the lyrics
-They moved together
-They breathed together
-They used dynamics
-They expressed their feelings in the song
-They sang in harmony
Were going to be working with all of these things in this unit!
Why is it good to listen to great performances?

-Because it gives us a goal to shoot for.
-Because it helps us assess our own skills, and find where we can improve.
-Closure: Starting tomorrow, were going to start learning some gospel songs and
spirituals, like the one we just listened to.
Spirituals are a kind of song that were written and sung by slaves in America over
150 years ago. Who can tell me where the slaves were from?
Yes, they were brought over from Africa, and they were treated very badly, and
forced to pick cotton, and do other tasks that made their owners wealthy. Having
slaves and supporting slavery was a sinful thing, and you can still see some of the
impact from that with some of the racism, and the protests in the United States. A
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lot of people still havent looked hard enough at their hearts and repented of the
sin of racism, which is so harmful. Slavery was sad and wrong, and was an
injustice. Who can tell me what injustice is?
Excellent, its when people treat each other unfairly. In this case, it was more than
unfair. The slaves got whipped or beaten if they didnt work fast enough. It would
have been a hard, hard life.
One of the practices that got the slaves through their hard lives was the praising
God and expressing their feelings to Him through music. The slaves combined
some of their African musical practices, and the work songs theyd sing while they
were working in the fields, with hymns they learned from the Church. This led to
the creation of a kind of song called Negro spirituals, which we now just call Afro-
American spirituals, or Spirituals. There are some great songs like Swing Low,
Sweet Chariot, that well be singing for the next few months as we learn more
about these great songs. A lot of great music today is also influenced by
Spirituals, and well listen to some of the best new Gospel music later on, and we
can see how Spirituals helped this music come to be.
One of the highlights of Spirituals and black Gospel music is how expressive it is.
You can feel what the singer is feeling. And thats one of our main goals over the
next month. Were going to work at becoming more musically expressive in our
singing, by singing Spirituals. Im really excited about it, and I hope you are, too!
Before we go, I have two questions for you:

-How long are most phrases in choral music?
-What dont we do in the middle of a phrase?
I like to end music class with a Bible verse about music, for you to think about, so
heres something to think about today. Well repeat our verse from earlier:
Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the
light of thy countenance (Psalms 89:15).
Have a great day, class!

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Habit to build: Start each new song with a discussion of the relevant musical
aspects of the song, based on first seeing the sheet music.
Questions: Whats the key signature of the song? It has one sharp. Can anyone tell
me what keys that could be? It could be in G major, or E minor. Well be able to tell
pretty quickly.
Whats the tempo of the song? 95 BPM, so that would be Andante in music lingo.
Are there any other directions the composer has written in (ie: playfully,
mournfully)? Joyfully. Alright, well that should help us know how to sing.
Are there any dynamics we need to watch for? Not this time? Well, we might add
some of our own later.
Play with chords on piano. Note the I, V, and V7 chords.
LESSON PLAN
2017/ 47 min
GLOs
-enjoyment of music
SLOs
requested, I will be listing the most relevant grade 5 and 6 outcomes at
the beginning of each lesson. If an earlier outcome is to be a focal point
for a lesson, I will list it as well.
expression.
-S.6.27- Develop a repertoire of quality songs.
-E.6.17- The lyrics (text) and meaning of a song may be enhanced by the vocal
interpretation as well as by its instrumental accompaniment.
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TSW perform This Little Light of formatively assessed through questioning,
Mine, applying dynamics, focused on the fundamentals of choral
understanding of the lyrics, and performance.
communication through singing.
-dynamics functioning, but may require extra
-understanding lyrics attention. There is one student with
-communicating a message/story ADHD, who uses a computer for written
assignments, however, written work in my
music class is minimal, therefore no
accommodations should be needed.

Flipchart paper, white board, or Smart board, piano
Learning Resources:
PROCEDURE
Music/name game: Teacher sings his name on pitch and sings how are you
____? to student on left on same pitch. Student repeats teachers pitch with I am
____, chooses new pitch, and repeats the question to student on their left.
Warmup/technique exercise: Do, Do-Re-Do, Do-Re-Mi-Re-Do, etc.

(Intervals/Solfege exercise)
Song: This Little Light of Mine. (Matthew 6:14-16)

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Habit to build: Start each new song with a discussion of the relevant musical
aspects of the song, based on first seeing the sheet music.
Questions: Whats the key signature of the song? It has one sharp. Can anyone tell
me what keys that could be? It could be in G major, or E minor. Well be able to tell
pretty quickly.
Whats the tempo of the song? 95 BPM, so that would be Andante in music lingo.
Are there any other directions the composer has written in (ie: playfully,
mournfully)? Joyfully. Alright, well that should help us know how to sing.
Are there any dynamics we need to watch for? Not this time? Well, we might add
some of our own later.
Play with chords on piano. Note the I, V, and V7 chords.
-After discussion, learn by rote. Teacher sings phrase 1, class repeats. Teacher
sings phrase 2, class repeats. Teacher sings phrases 1 and 2 together, class
repeats phrases 1 and 2 together, etc.
-Were going to be using four-bar phrasing for this song. Thats the most common
kind of phrasing in choral music. And it means were going to need to take a deep
yawning breath. Lets repeat our yawning breath from yesterday.
Work on 4-bar phrasing for entire song. Song may be memorized by the end of
the class. It is very simple.
So breathing properly is one of the main ways we can improve our singing.
Learning to breathe properly will take a while, so while we work on that, there are
some other things we can work on, too.
-Work on dynamics.
How do dynamics affect how we communicate a song?
Very good, it shows that the song is building to a point, and helps give the song
some drama and excitement. Lets play with our dynamics this time through.
-Work on lyrics.
Who can tell me what this song is about?
Excellent, its talking about letting your light shine. More specifically, its talking
about letting Jesus light shine through us! Its inspired by Matthew 6:14-16 (You
are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people
light a lamp, and hide it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives
light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before
people, that they may see your good deeds, and praise your Father, who is in
Heaven.)
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Jesus also says later I am the light of the world in John 5:8 and John 8:12. So
were the light of the world, because Jesus light shines through us.
How do understanding the lyrics affect how we communicate a song?
Excellent! So lets try it again, now that we understand the lyrics.
A lot of the time, were telling a story when we sing a song, and if we understand
what the song is about, we can communicate the story better. I want to share a
short story with you that will help you think of the meaning of this song:
-Story: This Little Light of Mine and EEOR hike (story about singing this song to
keep my spirits up, and scare away bears when I was lost coming down a
mountain in the dark a few years ago.
So now that youve heard a story that show how this song could be used to praise
God and feel better when youre sad or scared, lets imagine that were singing
this song to someone who really needs to be cheered up. Their life is not happy
right now, and they need to be reminded that theres a God who loves them.
Sing song again, focusing on communicating.
Did that feel different?
Excellent!
Closure:
Theres power in our praise. A lot of times, if I feel scared, or sad, and sometimes
when I feel really happy, I sing a song for God. This is one of the reasons why
were working on songs like This Little Light of Mine together.
These arent just classic songs, theyre expressions of praise to God that can
change our attitudes, and our lives! Many of the best composers and songwriters
are inspired by, and write their songs to praise God.
Lots of songs are beautiful, but the songs you hear on Virgin radio or CJAY 92
arent songs that praise God. God loves it when we praise him, which is why were
choosing to sing powerful songs like this one. Were going to keep singing this
song tomorrow, Ill have another crazy story for you about music and praise, Im
going to get you to do some choreography, and well have a look at a great
performances of our next song. Im going to ask you to notice whats so good
about the performance we watch, and well discuss how we can imitate some of
what the singer does do well! Have a great day, boys and girls!
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LESSON PLAN
2017/ 47 min
GLOs
-enjoyment of music
SLOs
expression.
-MV.4.13- Use planned body movements to illustrate rhythmic and/or melodic
patterns.
-MV.6.15- Choreograph and perform a contemporary dance form; e.g., in the style
of videos, air bands.

TSW create and perform simple formatively assessed through questioning,
choreography for This Little Light of focused on the fundamentals of choral
Mine. performance.
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-breathing functioning, but may require extra

-dynamics attention. There is one student with
-understanding lyrics ADHD, who uses a computer for written
-communicating a message/story assignments, however, written work in my
-movement and physical music class is minimal, therefore no
engagement accommodations should be needed.

Flipchart paper, white board, or Smart board, piano
Learning Resources:
PROCEDURE
Intro: All right, class. So you did some great work yesterday on learning This
Little Light of Mine. Today were going to keep working on this song, and were
going to get to create some actions for the song. First, lets play a game:
-Music game: Stella Ella Olla
-Warmup/technique exercise: One, One-two-one, one-two-three-two-one, etc.

(Intervals exercise)
-Song: Review This Little Light of Mine
Alright, singers, remind me of the four points weve worked on so far for
improving our singing performance.
-breathing
-dynamics
-understanding the lyrics
-communicating the message/story
Excellent! So we have a few more things we can work on today. One is movement.
Who can remind me of what the choir we watched was doing while they sang?
They were moving. Very good! So were going to do simple choreography for this
song.
Actions/choreo for This Little Light of Mine. Students get in groups of 5-6. Create
their own choreo (8-10 minutes). Groups perform for class (10 minutes. Class
makes decision about choreography. Time permitting, class works out choreo).
So yesterday, I shared a crazy story about how I sang this song, and God used it
to cheer me up, when I was scared. I have an even crazier story for you today. Its
right out of the Bible, and its the best example of the power of praise that I can
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find.
Bible story of St. Paul and Silas singing hymns

Acts 16: 16-32
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Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female
slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal
of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us,
shouting, These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the
way to be saved. 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so
annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, In the name of Jesus Christ
I command you to come out of her! At that moment the spirit left her.
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When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they
seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the
authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, These men
are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs
unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.
22
The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates
ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely
flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard
them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and
fastened their feet in the stocks.
25
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the
other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent
earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison
doors flew open, and everyones chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and
when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill
himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, Dont
harm yourself! We are all here!
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The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
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He then brought them out and asked, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
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They replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be savedyou and your
household. 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in
his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their
wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer
brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy
because he had come to believe in Godhe and his whole household.
Note: this is the longest passage of scripture well cover in Music class, but I
believe it will help the students understand the power and value of music in their
lives.
Closure:
Youve done some really nice work with This Little Light of Mine. This song has
been called an afro-american spiritual, but its not actually a song that slaves
sung. Its just become important to many African-American churches, as its a
great song, and some famous gospel singers have sung it.
Once, a few years ago, I visited Canadas oldest black Church, a Church called
20
First Baptist Church in Toronto. I went there mostly because I was curious to hear
how they did church music. There didnt end up being a service that night, but I
met a friendly and cool elderly man named Willie, who plays piano for the church.
We talked for a few minutes about music and worship, and he asked me what kind
of arrangement Id play for This Little Light of Mine. I wrote one, and were
going to be able to work more on this song in a few weeks when youve learned
the skills needed to do this arrangement!
Praise and worship are two of the best ways to use music, like weve been doing.
Who can remind me of what Paul and Silas were doing when their chains broke
off?
Yes! They were singing hymns to God. Pretty amazing! And what did this lead to?
It led to the jailer and his entire family coming to know Jesus!
I know people who dont like God, or dont believe in him, but sometimes, when
they hear a gospel song, or a hymn sung really beautifully, God touches their
hearts, and it makes them think about Him.
People have come to know Jesus because of songs theyve heard. True story.
Heres a Bible verse to think about today:

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful
unto him, and bless his name (Psalms 100:4)
LESSON PLAN
2017/ 47 min
GLOs
-enjoyment of music
SLOs
eleven different categories. These include Rhythm (R), Melody (M),
21
-F.5.12- Repetition and contrast give unity and variety to form in music
-S.4.22- Respond to changes in tempo, dynamics and mood while singing
-S.4.23- Develop musical interpretation: awareness of the meaning of a song
through its words (text).
-S.5.26- Extend vocal development to include phrasing, enunciation and
expression.
-E.6.16- The human voice, which has the potential of being used as an expressive
instrument, has different timbral qualities.
patterns (time-permitting)

TSW learn, refine and perform a formatively assessed through questioning,
version of Sing Low, Sweet Chariot. focused on the fundamentals of choral
performance.
TSW apply their learning of music
fundamentals to an excellent Students will be summatively assessed on
recorded version of Swing Low, their listening logs today.
Sweet Chariot.
What makes a good choral ELL students in this class. Teacher will
performance? enunciate well, frequently check for
-breathing understanding, and will repeat/rephrase
-dynamics as necessary. There are two students on
-understanding lyrics autism spectrum, who are high
-communicating a message/story functioning, but may require extra
-movement and physical attention. There is one student with
engagement ADHD, who uses a computer for written
-instrumental arrangement. assignments, however, written work in my
-Singing in tune, with harmony music class is minimal, therefore no
-Passion! accommodations should be needed.

Flipchart paper, white board, or Smart board, music playing device with speakers,
piano, listening log sheets for all students, pencils for all students
22
Learning Resources:
Orffestrations for Spirituals by Linda Forrest
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot by Etta James
PROCEDURE
Intro: Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. I loved what you did yesterday with your
choreography. That was a praise-worthy praise song WEre going to come back
to This Little Light in a few days. Today were going to learn about how some of
the slaves from the United States came to Canada, and were going to start
working on a song thats about the Underground Railroad, but also about a story
from the Bible.
Music game: Funky Chicken (with Left-Right-Left sung rather than shouted)
Warmup/technique exercise: Sing major scale on ma, mee, may
Distribute listening log 1 and pencils
Listening exercise: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot by Etta James
Were going to listen to this twice. Think about what weve learned so far, but also
consider the musical arrangement, and the harmony of the choir.
The first time, just listen, and think what makes this great?
The second time, fill out your listening log with some of your observations.
Collecting listening logs.
Background for song:

The song well been singing today is about the underground railroad, which
brought slaves to the Canada between 1840 and 1860. It wasnt actually a
railroad, but a group of people who were dedicated to freeing slaves. They used
train language as a secret code, so they wouldnt get found out by the
slavemasters. Homes that were safe for escaping slaves were called stations,
people who helped slaves get from station to station were called conductors,
many of them were Christians who knew that the slaves were being mistreated.
Fleeing slaves were called passengers or cargo. The Sweet Chariot referred
to in this song is partly a code for the underground railroad. Many slaves hoped
that the sweet chariot referred to in this song would free them. The river
Jordan referred to the Detroit River, which many fleeing slaves had to cross to
get to freedom in Canada.
The song were about to sing also refers to two different events in the Old
Testament. The first can be found in Joshua 3, where the Israelites finally cross
over the river Jordan into the Promised Land after wandering around the desert for
23
40 years. The second is from 2 Kings 2:11, and it describes the prophet Elijah
being taken up to heaven by a whirlwind, with flaming chariots and horses.
11
As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and
horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to
heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, My father! My father! The
chariots and horsemen of Israel!
So now that we know what the song is about, lets get singing!
Song: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Key: G Major
Tempo: 112-116
Dynamics: None marked. Well add our own. Start at mezzo-piano. Build to mezzo-
forte.
Lyrics: historical context, and Biblical context
Breathing: Four-bar phrasing. Take a breath at bar 12 before beginning of third
phrase.
Expression: Make some artistic choices later on this.
Communication: desire for peace and freedom
-Learn song by rote/repetition

-Work on dynamics: piano, mp, mf, forte
-Decide what were communicating
-Work on actions (time-permitting)
Closure:
So the song weve been singing was about the hope for escape through the
Underground Railroad. And at the same time, the song was also an expression of
feelings to God from the slaves who were hoping and praying for deliverance from
troubles, in both a physical and spiritual way, like the Israelites crossing the river
Jordan after wandering in the desert for decades, or Elijah being taken up to
Heaven after his very hard and often sorrowful life. Who can remind us of what
happened when Paul and Silas sang songs of worship when they were in jail?
Thats right, their chains broke off. Do you think the slaves were physically freed
from their captivity by singing praise songs?
Youre right, maybe some were, but Im pretty sure most of them werent, and
possible none were.
Singing songs to God doesnt always physically break chains, but I think the
example of Paul and Silas is really important. Because singing praise and worship
to God can break our chains spiritually. Do you understand what Im saying?
Pause for kids to respond
Like I said the other day, when Im sad, or scared, a lot of times Ill sing a song to
God, and then He reminds me that Hes in charge and that Hes watching over
24
me. So He uses the song to weaken and break my spiritual chains, which could be
fear, depression, or a bad attitude. So Im sure that God gave the slaves the
strength to endure their challenges, and He did it when they praised Him.
Who can tell me how they feel when they sing to God?
Various answers.
Awesome! Well, Im glad we get to keep singing to God. Heres our thought for the
day:
When we sing sacred songs to God, we come into His presence.
LESSON PLAN
2017/ 47 min
GLOs
-enjoyment of music
SLOs
-M.5.11- Melodies may be based on the G and F major scales, and their
related minors
-H.4.10- Melodies having the same harmonic structure may be combined; e.g.,
partner songs.
-S.4. 21- Sing two- and three-part rounds, and descants.
25

expression.
-S.6.28- Sing songs written in a variety of scales
patterns.
-P.1. 13- Demonstrate skills on as many as possible of the following instruments:
Orff Instruments (discuss with teacher mentor)

version of Sing Low, Sweet focused on the fundamentals of choral
Chariot/All Night, All Day, (possibly performance.
with keyboard instruments).

-Passion! accommodations should be needed. This
will be discussed with teacher mentor.
How can you learn to sing a round or
canon, and concentrate on your part
and not get mixed up?

piano,
Learning Resources:
26
PROCEDURE
Lesson 5: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot/All Night, All Day
Intro: Hello class! Welcome! Who can remind me what we worked on last class?
Excellent, we learned Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. Were going to sing that again,
and then were going to add another part to it that will make it more challenging,
but it will sound so cool! Lets start with a game.
Music Game: Funky Chicken (with basic harmony. Try it)
Warmup/technique exercise: 1, 1-2-1, 1-2-3-2-1, etc, with skipping (skip the 3,

then the 3 and 5)
Song: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot/All Night, All Day

Start by singing through Swing Low, Sweet Chariot to refresh students memory.
-This is actually a two-part chorus. Can someone tell me what that means? It
means that there will actually be two different parts to the song that will be sung
at the same time. This will be a lot harder than everyone singing the same song,
but you guys are great, and well start slow. Im pretty sure youll be able to do
this!
-Teach everyone the All Night, All Day part to the song by rote.
-Once the class is comfortable with both parts, play the piano part to All Night,
All Day while class sings Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. Have two or three students
with good concentration stand by piano and start singing All Night, All Day as
class sings Swing Low. As they get comfortable, add more students gradually.
Try separating group into Cannonballs (two separate circles of students singing
their parts). If they reach a high level, awesome! If not, this practice can continue
a few times per class for the next few classes.
-Note: Discuss with Miss Yip the idea of introducing the Orff instrument
arrangement at this point.
-Ultimate goal for this song: perform one round of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
followed by a round of both parts at once, with beatboxing for Hymn Sing or
assembly.
Closure: Very good, class! Weve been able to sing two different songs at once, in
a way that fits together beautifully. There are a few more things Id like for us to
do with this song, and were going to learn one of them tomorrow. Tomorrow, we
will learn about beatboxing and vocal percussion. Heres a Bible verse about
music to think about today:
27
Psalms 43:4 Then will I go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy: yes, on
the harp will I praise you, O God my God.
I also want you to think: what makes a song catchy? Its usually the chorus. Does
anyone ever get a song stuck in their head?
Think about the music you listen to, and the messages it contains. Are they
helpful or hurtful, and would you want them stuck in your head?
Have a great day, class, and thank you!
LESSON PLAN
2017/ 47 min
GLOs
-enjoyment of music
SLOs
expression.
-L.5. 25- Identify the human voice categories: soprano, contralto, tenor, bass
-L.5.26- Match names, sounds and pictures of many instruments.
28
-E.5.15- New sounds may be created using instruments in new ways, by inventing
new instruments or by electronic methods.
-MV.2 - Improvise movements to poems, stories and songs
-P.1.2- Play a steady beat using rhythm instruments.
-P.2.8- Play simple rhythm patterns (the beat and divisions of the beat)

TSW learn and practice vocal formatively assessed through questioning,
percussion techniques. focused on the fundamentals of choral
performance.
TSW apply their performance
knowledge to assessing a great Student listening logs will be completed
recording of Joshua Fought the and summatively assessed today.
Battle of Jericho.
-instrumental arrangement assignments, however, written work in my
-singing in tune, with harmony music class is minimal, therefore no
-passion! accommodations should be needed. This
How can you move your mouth to
make our vocal percussion sounds
correctly?
How can you practice vocal

percussion at home? This might be a
lot of fun!

piano, listening log sheets and pencils for every student.
29
Learning Resources:
Basic 8th note drum pattern demonstration video. Play from 1:19
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cNugCX02jA
Vocal percussion demonstration video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=PKrFZvbkVXQ
Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho recording by The Nathaniel Dett
Chorale
PROCEDURE
Lesson 6: Beatboxing, and Joshua introduction
Introduction:
Hello class! Who can tell me what we worked on yesterday?

Excellent! We worked on expanding Swing Low, Sweet Chariot to be two songs
at the same time. Thats a pretty big accomplishment. You deserve a pat on the
back. Now, because you handled that so well, I have a musical skill to teach you
today that youll think is pretty cool, if you dont already know how. Were going to
learn vocal percussion today. Can anyone tell me another word for vocal
percussion?
Beatboxing! Were going to learn to beatbox. Lets start with a familiar game!
Music game: Show Us How You Get Down
Warmup/technique exercise: Jaw (Pop-tarts), tongue (fishing line), and

facial (Lion Face-Lemon Face, Shake your face off into the bowl) stretches.
Listening: Rahzel or some other prodigious vocal percussionist.
On smart board: show pictures of drum kit. Point to the different parts of the drum
(bass, snare, hi-hat) that well be covering today. Show a brief example of actual
drums playing.
How to Beatbox:
Beatboxing is most often used in Hip Hop music. Its a way to make drum sounds
when you dont have any drums. A capella groups like Pentatonix also use
beatboxing! Beatboxing is sometimes called vocal percussion.
Boots n Cats n Boots n Catsgrow this into Bpph-tih-kkeh-tih beatbox

sound.
Bass- make puckering B sound, puffing out your cheeks for a moment and then
30
forcefully letting a bubble of air out. Your mouth acts as an echo chamber, which
makes the sound bigger and louder.
Make a little well with your hands, and pop the air out into the well. This will
make your vocal bass sound deeper and bigger.
Hi-hat- Curl your tongue a bit, and flatten the tip on the roof of your mouth, a little
bit behind your teeth. Make a tss sound. You should feel the air on your bottom
lip as it leaves your mouth.
Snare- Let your tongue stay at the bottom of your mouth. Let your jaw open and
make a kyeh sound from the back of your mouth.
The bass drum hits on beats 1 and 3. The snare drum hits on beats 2 and 4. The
hi-hat hits on the ands. If you had a drum set, the hi-hat could hit on every
eighth note, every sixteenth note, or other patterns. It helps keep the pulse of the
music going. For beatboxing, you can only make hi-hat sounds when youre not
making bass or snare drum sounds.
-Make a fill every 4 bars. A fill is when the drummer does something different with
the beat that helps break the song up and make it more interesting. This
can be different every time, or similar. Teacher demonstrates a few fills.
-Students form ensembles of 4-5. Work on beatboxing together (5 minutes)
-Teacher plays a capella song on stereo, asks student groups to beatbox to

rhythm. 1 student acts as timekeeper, counting 1 2 3 4, three students go for it.
They switch up every 8 bars, which teacher will signal. Teacher sings Swing Low
loudly. Students beatbox.
-So Id like to apply some of your beatboxing to This Little Light and Swing
Low. Theres one more song Id like you to learn first, tomorrow, and then well
move to putting it all together. Lets finish the class by listening to this great song.
Distribute listening log sheets and pencils.
-Listening: Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho
Listen to this piece twice. The first time ask yourself: What makes this
performance great? Think about everything weve talked about with choral
performance so far.
The second time, write down your observations.
Collect listening logs.
There were several different voice parts in this. Who can tell me what those voice
31
parts are?
What part sang really low?

-Bass
What part sang really high?
-Tenor
What parts were in between?
-Tenor and Alto
I dont think we have any basses in here yet, but those are the four voice parts in
an adult choir. I sing baritone naturally, which is in between bass and tenor, but I
usually have to sing tenor in choirs, because less men can sing tenor. In adult
choirs, men sing tenor and bass, and women sing alto and soprano.
Tenor and alto are usually harder to sing, because the sopranos usually sing the
melody, the basses usually sing the bass line, and the two inner voices have to
create the harmony. Alto is probably the hardest part. Yay altos!
Fun story: Ms. Gamber and I used to sing in the same choir in university, and shes
one of the only women I know who can sing tenor, and possibly even lower. Shes
really good!
Closure:
Thanks for your focus today, class! Beatboxing is a great way to make a beat
without any instruments. I would like to incorporate this into a few of the songs
weve already started to learn. Were also going to start learning Joshua
tomorrow. Before we leave, here are a few things to think about:
How many of you thought about the messages of the songs you listen to after last
class.
What did you figure out?
Its important to make wise choices about what we choose to listen to. Sometimes
what we listen to stays in our head for a long time. Sometimes for years!
To finish the class: heres my favourite chunk of text from the Bible about music
and praise. Were going to memorize this together, over the next few months.
Psalm 33:1-5
1Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise
him.2Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed
lyre.3Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.4For the word of the
Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.5The Lord loves righteousness
and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.
Have a great day, boys and girls!
32
LESSON PLAN
2017/ 47 min
GLOs
-enjoyment of music
SLOs
related minors
-H.3.6- The I and V7 chords may be used to accompany melodies.
-H.4. 8- The IV and V chords are also used to accompany melodies
-H.5.12-The notes of a chord may be performed to accompany a melody
-H.6.13-There is an ending point to a phrase (cadence).
expression.

vocal arrangement of Joshua Fought focused on the fundamentals of choral
33
the Battle of Jericho. performance.

Why do minor and major chords
sound different?
How do the I and V/V7 chords relate?

How about the IV chord? How does it
fit with the I and V/V7 chords?

piano,
Learning Resources:
Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho sheet music
PROCEDURE
Lesson 7: Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho
Intro: So yesterday we got to hear the song well be working on today. First, were
going to learn about the difference between major and minor scales, which will
help us understand one of the reasons why this song sounds so different from the
other two songs weve been working on.
Music game: Spam
Warmup/technique exercise: Sing minor scale, on ma, may, me.
Review: Beatboxing (2-3 minutes)
Song: Learn Joshua Fought (Joshua 6:1-27)

This song is in a minor key. Lets talk about minor keys for a minute.
34
-Teacher plays major scale on piano.

-Teacher plays minor scale on piano.
What sounds different between the two scales?
The main difference between major and minor scales is that both major and minor
scales have 5 whole steps and two half steps, but the half steps are in different
places in a minor scale. Heres what Im talking about.
Teacher plays major scale slowly, noting where the half steps are. Repeats with
minor scale. The placement of the half steps is what makes the minor scale sound
sad.
This will give our new song a different melodic and harmonic quality from the
other songs weve been working on, which are in major keys.
Bring up following elements:

Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho
Key: Em
Tempo: 108
Dynamics: Well add a lot. Start at mf.
Phrasing: 4 bar phrases
Lyrics: Biblical connection
Message: Fight for whats right!
-Learn song by rote

-Sing song with dynamic changes.
-Play chords to show implied harmony of piece. Point out I, IV, V, V7 chords. Point
out cadences at end of several phrases.
Closure: Great job today. We learned about minor scales and major scales, and
how they contribute to making songs that sound different from each other. To
finish today, I thought it would be a great idea to read you the story of Joshua and
the battle of Jericho. Its valuable to know about what youre singing about,
because this song is a story, and when you understand the story youre telling,
and the lyrics of the song youre singing, its much easier for you to sing
expressively and communicate.
Joshua 6: 1-4, 8-15, 20
Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one
came in.
2
Then the LORD said to Joshua, See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and
its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have
seven priests carry trumpets of rams horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the
city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the
trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army
will go up, everyone straight in.
8
When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the LORD
went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the LORDs covenant followed them. 9 The armed
35
guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this
time the trumpets were sounding. 10 But Joshua had commanded the army, Do not give a war cry, do
not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout! 11 So he had the
ark of the LORD carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the
night there.
12
Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. 13 The seven priests
carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the LORD and blowing the
trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, while
the trumpets kept sounding. 14 So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to
the camp. They did this for six days.
15
On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same
manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around, when the
priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, Shout! For the LORD has given you
the city!
20
When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a
loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.
And thats the power of music, and the power of praise. When the Israelites blew
their trumpets and shouted, the Lord acted, and the walls of a city came tumbling
down. Does this story remind you of the story of Paul and Silas, and how their
singing to God broke their chains? This story is a little different, but theres a
common theme in these events, which is the theme of God working through
music.
LESSON PLAN
Teacher: Mr. Vooys Grade 5/6 Music Afro-American Spirituals Lesson 8 Feb ___,
2017/ 47 min
GLOs
-enjoyment of music
SLOs
requested, I will be listing the relevant grade 5 and 6 outcomes at the
36
beginning of each lesson. If a pre-grade 5 outcome is to be a focal point

related minors
-H.3.6- The I and V7 chords may be used to accompany melodies.
-H.4. 8- The IV and V chords are also used to accompany melodies
-S.4.19- Continue vocal development (legato and staccato).
-S.5. 24. Use solfa skills in reading music and sight singing.
expression.

TSW refine and perform formatively assessed through questioning,
arrangements of This Little Light, focused on the fundamentals of choral
Swing Low/All Day and performance.
Joshua.
How do musical instruments and
arranging add to the impact of a
song?
37

piano,
Learning Resources:
Original sheet music arrangement for This Little Light of Mine by Mr.
Vooys
PROCEDURE
Lesson 8: Review of all songs. Add keyboards to This Little Light. Add beatbox
to Swing Low.
Intro: Welcome class, so today were going to work on adding some new
elements to the songs weve been working on. Id love to have you perform one
or two of these for a Hymn Sing soon, and well figure out which songs these will
be.
Music game: Ach von den Musica

-Zumba za
-Viola
-Picoll-a
-Piano-la
-Air-horn-la
Warmup/technique exercise:
1. Do, do-re-do, etc. Staccato and legato
2. Sight-sing a simple melody with solfge.
Songs: Joshua fought

This Little Light of Mine
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot/All Day, All Night
-Work specifically on phrasing, dynamics, and movement.

-Add keyboard instruments to This Little Light
-Add vocal percussion to Swing Low.
-Consider what to add to Joshua, if anything.
Closure:
Arranging- what is it? These songs were singing are all arrangements of the
original songs. What does that mean? Think about a bouquet of flowers. Every
38
flower is beautiful on its own, but by arranging them, or placing them together
just so, they are able to make a greater whole. Thats a lot like what musical
arranging is. Its taking a melody or a song, and putting the pieces together in a
different way, or adding more pieces. Sometimes the different way is even better
than the original.
Composers and arrangers arrange songs. Sometimes a songwriter will write a

song thats just voice and piano, and an arranger can write strings, drums and
percussion, and sometimes a whole orchestra based on the melody and the
harmonies in the song. What weve done is make very simple arrangements of old
songs, by adding beatbox and (Orff instruments). Its a way to make a good piece
of music even more beautiful and interesting.
Tomorrow were going to keep fine-tuning these songs, and getting them to the
point where we can decide on which songs well perform.
Heres a Bible verse for you to think about today:

Psalm 95:1- O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, let us shout joyfully to the
rock of our salvation.
LESSON PLAN
2017/ 47 min
GLOs
-enjoyment of music
SLOs
39
expression.

TSW refine and perform formatively assessed through questioning,
Joshua.
song?

piano,
Learning Resources:
40
Vooys
PROCEDURE
Lesson 9: Refining
Intro: Welcome, class. Were going to work on improving our musical and vocal
expressiveness today. But first, lets play a music game
Music game: tba
Warmup/technique exercise:
1. Mommy Made Me Mash My M and Ms scale
2. Ma-na-la-tha-va-sa (articulation/enunciation exercise)
Talk about expressiveness: Lets talk about expressiveness. Weve been

working with making our own movements to the songs, and weve been working
with our dynamics and phrasing. Weve studied the lyrics of our songs, and
explored the stories the songs are telling, so we can communicate the lyrics and
story better. Weve memorized our songs, so we can look at the audience when
were singing. What do you think all of these practices contribute to our songs?
These practices all make us more expressive singers. And thats one of our big
musical goals this year is to help you get stronger at being musically expressive.
Being musically expressive helps us make a bigger impact when were
performing. Instruments can also add extra impact to a performance, and make it
better. But sometimes its better to sing without instruments, and that will make a
bigger impact. Thats why were adding beatbox to Swing Low and
instruments to This Little Light, but were not adding extra sounds to Joshua.
Were going to run all three songs today, and were going to use our beatboxing
and instruments.
-Pick 4-5 beatboxers for beatboxing songs. Pick 4 instrumentalists. There should
ideally be no crossover between beatboxers and instrumentalists.
Songs: All three songs, with accompaniments. Work on trouble spots
Closure: I think weve made some really big improvements today, ladies and
gents! Lets look at our main verses for the class again:
Psalm 33:1-5
1Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.2Praise the Lord
with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.3Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and
shout for joy.4For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.5The Lord loves
righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.
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Lets think about this for a minute. Does God want us to be perfect singers? No.
Does He want us to be skillful, though? Yeah! And does he want us to be bummed
out that were singing? Absolutely not, He wants us to be joyful! God made music,
and its one of His greatest gifts to us. By singing songs to Him, we are able to use
the gift He gave us, in the best way possible. Ive seen improvements in your skill
level over the past month and a half, and Im really proud of you! Next class,
were going to do a little bit more refining, and were going to have a short quiz.
Itll be about the phrasing, dynamics, and lyrics of our three songs. Any
questions?
LESSON PLAN
2017/ 47 min
GLOs
-enjoyment of music
SLOs
expression.
42

TSW continue to refine and perform formatively assessed through questioning,
Joshua.
Students will be summatively assessed
TSW will apply their learning from through a quiz on spirituals, dynamics,
this unit to a brief short answer quiz. and choral performance.
song?

piano, quiz sheets and pencils for every student.
Learning Resources:
Vooys
PROCEDURE
Intro: Hello class, welcome, and please come on in. Were going to start as usual
with a game and a warmup, then were going to do our quiz, and then well keep
43
polishing our songs.
Music game: tba
Warmup/technique exercise: Breathing/centering exercise before quiz.
Quiz: 20 minutes
Songs: Sing all three songs. Check for dynamics, phrasing, expressiveness,
movement.
Closure: Wow, it has been a pleasure to work with you on this unit! Im thankful
that weve been able to explore the power of music to praise and worship the
Lord. Afro-American spirituals are songs written by people who lived in very
difficult, painful situations, but they still used their songs to glorify God, and when
we do that He often releases us from our spiritual chains.
We also were able, in this unit, to focus on musical expression. How do we express
ourselves musically?
Great performance! Youre really improving your ability to be musically

expressive! Were finished with our Spirituals unit now, and next class, were
going to do some music listening exercises with some contemporary gospel music
before we go into our Blues unit.
To end the class, lets review Psalm 33:1-5, one more time, and lets close this unit
in prayer.
NOTE: A performance for these songs will most likely be arranged at

some point. This may effect a lesson in the future, where we will spend
some time rehearsing these songs.
Ending prayer:
Dear Lord: I want to thank you for the gift of music, for those who have worked
hard to play skillfully for you, and for giving us the ability to hear and delight in
music.
I also want to thank you, Lord, for the talents you have given us. Help us to
develop them purposefully, to use them faithfully for your glory. Though I wont be
playing skillfully for you on a harp, may I "play skillfully" with the instruments and
talents you have given me.
May this be true, dear Lord, for all of your people. Help us to be faithful stewards
of the talents and gifts you have given. May we "play skillfully" at work, in our
communities, as we serve at church, in our families, and in every other area of
our lives.
44
We pray these things in Christs name, Amen.
And thats our thought for the day. Weve all been given the capacity to sing and
to make music, which is great. Weve also all been given other talents and
abilities. How are we going to develop these abilities to help us serve God and
other people? This weekend, please think about what talents do I have, and how
can I develop them, and use them to serve God and help other people? This will
be a good thought to think deeper about. You could talk to your parents about it.
Have a wonderful day!
Extension/Bridge activities:
Possible bonus or alternate songs, or extensions: Soon and Very Soon, Siyahamba
Additional listening songs: Marvin Sapp-Greater, Kirk Franklin- Without You
Think of possible ways to further incorporate contemporary urban/gospel.
Unit Assessment Plan:

The focus for assessment in this unit is to build the skills necessary to succeed in
music. Emphasis is placed on preparedness, listening skills, and ability to follow
direction.
Students will be tested on their ability to apply concepts learned in class, through
the use of a singing skills checklist. If needed, and after further consultation with my
teacher mentor, we will decide whether a separate singing test will be necessary.
The singing test will cover the same criteria as the singing skills checklist, in which
case the checklist will form an additional source of assessment evidence.
Students will assess great performances of the songs they are singing through their
in class listening logs, and apply their understanding of music to determine what
makes each performance great.
There will also be a brief quiz at the end of the unit to assess student understanding
of key concepts covered in the unit.
45
Weighting:
Musicianship checklist-30%
Singing Checklist/Test (testing if necessary. May be accomplished informally
throughout unit. Will consult with teacher mentor. Checklist will be used throughout
unit for additional assessment evidence). 40%
Listening Logs-20%
Written Quiz-10%
Assessment Materials for use in Unit:

Musicianship checklist
A) Comes on Time (Weighting- 10) 4 3 2 1

B) Comes Prepared (Weighting-30) 4 3 2 1
C) Follows Direction (Weighting-30) 4 3 2 1
D) Displays Respectful Behaviour (Weighting-30) 4 3 2 1
Sample implementation:
Student Name A B C D
Anderson, James 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1
Lu, Andy 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1
MacGill, Jessica 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1
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Singing evaluation:
A) Sings with proper dynamics SLO E.2, E.10 4 3 2 1

B) Sings with expression, phrasing, and enunciation SLO S.15, S.26 4 3 2 1
C) Performs simple movements to beat of music SLO M.3 4 3 2 1
D) Matches pitches with teacher and ensemble members, sings in 4 3 2 1
unison. SLO S.7
Sample implementation:
Student Name A B C D E
Anderson, James 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1
Lu, Andy 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1
MacGill, Jessica 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1
Grade 5/6 Spirituals Unit Quiz:
All questions worth 1 pt, unless noted otherwise

1. Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho is an example of a song written in which
kind of key:
a) Major b) Minor
2. What group of people wrote most of the songs weve been singing this month?
a) British composers b) African-American slaves c) African-Canadian slaves
3. What instrument does beatboxing imitate?

Drums
4. What can you do with your hands to make the bass sound bigger when you
beatbox (2 pts)?
Make a well with your hands and make the bass drum sound into this well. It
creates a bassier, deeper
sound.
5. What are some of the ways we can make a performance more expressive? (4
pts)
Possible answers-dynamics, phrasing, enunciation, movement, understanding the
lyrics, making eye contact with the audience.
6. What is the most popular number of bars used in phrasing?

4
7. What does this symbol mean (pp)?

Very quietly
47
8. What does this symbol mean (f)?

Loudly
9. What does this symbol mean (mf)?

Medium-loud
9. What does this symbol mean (fermata)? draw this symbol on before
distributing test
Hold for longer than usual.
10. Do we get softer or louder with this symbol (<)? Crescendo-draw this on the
actual test
Louder
11. Name five things weve talked about that can help make a better choir
performance. Note: there are seven things that weve talked about.
-Breathing
-Dynamics
-Understanding the lyrics
-Communicating the message
-Movement
-Instrumental performance
Bonus: What is one of the stories that is mentioned in the lyrics of Swing Low,
Sweet Chariot?
Total Marks: /20
Music 5/6 Listening Log

Name of Song:
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Name of Singer:
Etta James
What stands out to you about this song? What parts of the song are the most
interesting?
What makes this a great performance? What are the singer and choir doing that
makes it sound so good? Think of the skills weve talked about in class.
48

Ps III Music 56 Unit 1 - Spirituals and Gospel - Peter Vooys

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Grade 6/5 Spirituals/Gospel Unit

Unit objective: The students will perform several arrangements of traditional

Specific Learner Outcomes

otherwise requested, I will be listing relevant grade 5 and 6 outcomes at the

S.3.18- Sing partner and nonsense songs.

Technology: We will be using video examples of great performances of our songs

-S.5.26. Extend vocal development to include phrasing, enunciation and

Objective: Assessment: Students will be

Materials & Equipment:

Music games: Show Us How You Get Down

Orientation/Intro to Mr. Vooys: Who am I?

for this next few months.

-I love music in general, and Gospel music, and music as worship.

Technique/Skill focus: Breathing. I want to make sure you know how to

-Yawn w/ hand on belly

Whats so great about this performance?

Were going to be working with all of these things in this unit!

Why is it good to listen to great performances?

Before we go, I have two questions for you:

Have a great day, class!

Objective: Assessment: Students will be

Materials & Equipment:

Warmup/technique exercise: Do, Do-Re-Do, Do-Re-Mi-Re-Do, etc.

Song: This Little Light of Mine. (Matthew 6:14-16)

How do dynamics affect how we communicate a song?

Who can tell me what this song is about?

How do understanding the lyrics affect how we communicate a song?

Excellent! So lets try it again, now that we understand the lyrics.

Sing song again, focusing on communicating.

Did that feel different?

Objective: Assessment: Students will be

-breathing functioning, but may require extra

Materials & Equipment:

-Music game: Stella Ella Olla

-Warmup/technique exercise: One, One-two-one, one-two-three-two-one, etc.

Bible story of St. Paul and Silas singing hymns

Heres a Bible verse to think about today:

Have a great day, class!

Objective: Assessment: Students will be

Materials & Equipment:

Warmup/technique exercise: Sing major scale on ma, mee, may

Distribute listening log 1 and pencils

Listening exercise: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot by Etta James

Collecting listening logs.

Background for song:

Song: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

-Learn song by rote/repetition

Pause for kids to respond

When we sing sacred songs to God, we come into His presence.

Have a great day, class!

through its words (text).

Objective: Assessment: Students will be

Key Questions: Accommodations: There are 11

Materials & Equipment:

Orffestrations for Spirituals by Linda Forrest

Music Game: Funky Chicken (with basic harmony. Try it)

Warmup/technique exercise: 1, 1-2-1, 1-2-3-2-1, etc, with skipping (skip the 3,

Song: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot/All Night, All Day

Have a great day, class, and thank you!

Objective: Assessment: Students will be

How can you practice vocal

Materials & Equipment: