Lesson Planning Form for Accessible Instruction Calvin College Education Program

Teacher Kendra Walters

Date April 25, 2017 Subject/ Topic/ Theme High School Choir, Vowels and Blending Grade ____9-12______

I. Objectives
How does this lesson connect to the unit plan?
The unit plan is about choral habits and this lesson focuses on producing vowel shapes and blending their tonetwo habits that they should be building.

cognitive- physical socio-

Learners will be able to: R U Ap An E C* development emotional

Understand the different parts of the mouth/body that produces vowel sounds in both singing and speaking
U x

Create different vowel sounds Ap, C x

Blend with the people around them to create a uniform sound x
Sight-read music to a small degree U, Ap

Common Core standards (or GLCEs if not available in Common Core) addressed:
-Sing music written in four parts, with and without accompaniment
-Perform an appropriate part in large and small ensembles, demonstrating well-developed ensemble skills
-Sight read accurately and expressively, music with a moderate level of difficulty
-Demonstrate extensive knowledge and use of the technical vocabulary of music
-Explain ways in which the principles and subject matter of various disciplines outside the arts are interrelated with those of music

(Note: Write as many as needed. Indicate taxonomy levels and connections to applicable national or state standards. If an objective applies to particular learners
write the name(s) of the learner(s) to whom it applies.)
*remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create

II. Before you start

Identify prerequisite -Students must be able to sight-read music to a degree. They should use what theyve learned in the
knowledge and skills. previous class periods about posture, breathing, and tone to help their singing.

Pre-assessment (for learning): None

Formative (for learning): Ask students to rate themselves on a scale of 1-5 with their eyes closed as to how
well they know their part.
Outline assessment
activities Formative (as learning): Review the posture exercise, ask students what parts of our bodies we should pay
(applicable to this lesson) attention to.

Summative (of learning): Sing through the first three pages as a group and listen to students to see how
well they know it. Listen for hard spots and mark them to work on for the next class.

What barriers might this
lesson present?
What will it take
neurodevelopmentally,
experientially, emotionally,
etc., for your students to do
this lesson?
Provide Multiple Means of
Representation
Provide options for perception-
making information perceptible
-I sing/play the warmup
-Picture of the warmup on the screen
-Picture of mouth on screen
-Words explaining concept on screen
-Teacher speaks concept aloud
Provide Multiple Means of Provide Multiple Means of
Action and Expression Engagement
Provide options for physical Provide options for recruiting
action- increase options for interest- choice, relevance,
interaction value, authenticity, minimize
threats
-Relax posture
-Breathe with hands in front of
abdomen
-Pull an invisible string out of head
-Vowel hand signs

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 Provide options for language, Provide options for expression and Provide options for sustaining
mathematical expressions, and communication- increase medium effort and persistence- optimize
symbols- clarify & connect language of expression challenge, collaboration,
mastery-oriented feedback

-Sing warmups focused on

vowels
-Learn about how to make
vowels
-Physical motions for different
vowels
-Sing the Seal Lullaby with
only vowel sounds

Provide options for comprehension- Provide options for executive Provide options for self-
activate, apply & highlight functions- coordinate short & long regulation- expectations,
term goals, monitor progress, and personal skills and strategies,
modify strategies self-assessment & reflection

-The music, The Seal Lullaby

Materials-what materials -Chairs
(books, handouts, etc) do -Pencil
you need for this lesson and
are they ready to use?

In two rows with S T A

How will your classroom be S B A
set up for this lesson?

III. The Plan

Describe teacher activities AND student activities
Time Components for each component of the lesson. Include important higher order thinking questions and/or
prompts.
10:50- -Posture Warmups. Ask students which parts of their -Thinking about which parts of their body are
10:52 body are important for a singers posture and do them. important for posture. Fixing their posture
Motivation
-Feet: shoulder-length apart, one slightly in front of
(opening/
the other, weight evenly distributed
introduction/
-Knees: slightly bent, relaxed
engagement)
-Chest: raised comfortably
-Shoulders: relaxed and lowered comfortably, parallel
to your chest
-Arms: resting at sides, hanging relaxed, fingers
hanging
-Chin: resting on a table, parallel to the ground
-Face: eyebrow raises

10:52- -Breathing
10:54 -Hands in front of abdomen, slowly take deep breath -Practicing breath management and support
Development while moving hands down and out, move hands back as
(the largest you exhale. This is what the diaphragm does.
component or -Hiss in 8 out 8, in 7 out 8, in 6 out 8, etc.
10:54- main body of -Tone -Blending their tone
10:56 the lesson) -Noo on so-fa-mi-re-do, pull golden string from
head
-Zing-ee on do-so-fa-mi-re-do
-Vowels

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10:56- -Talk about vowels -Listening to the teacher talk about vowels.
11:00 -SHOW SLIDE Looking at the picture on the screen of the
-Vowels are created by the nasal cavity, oral cavity, human mouth and reading the words on the
and labial cavity. Talk about where these are in your screen. Students are expected to think about
body and which vowel you use each cavity for. Refer to which parts of their mouths make different
the picture on the screen. These sounds are created in vowel sounds in both singing and speaking.
speaking too, not just singing.
-When breathing, always make space for the tallest
vowel, then make the other vowels revolve around that
space, but be sure to keep the sound forward in the
mouth so the tone is not covered.
-Breathe in the vowel. Ex. At beginning of Seal
Lullaby, breathe in a tall ooh vowel before you sing
-The vowels need to be focused and aligned to
create a blended tone. Lets practice blending

11:00- -Continue with the following warmups:

11:06 -mee, meh, mah, moh, moo slowly on F, then on so-
fa-mi-re-do. Use different hand motions to signify each
vowel sound.
-mee eh, mee ah, mee oh on so-do, so-do, so-do-so-
mi-do
-Students take what theyve just learned
about vowels and apply it with more
warmups. They are doing the vowel motions
while singing the vowel.

11:06- Guys Sectional

11:16 -Review the ooh section at beginning -Guys are reviewing the beginning then
-Basses first then tenors. Go to pg. 2, start on sight-reading new music. They are listening
loo and get to words the second/third time to the teacher, singing what she tells them,
though. If time, have them sing the whole and will adjust their
section using only vowel sounds and no posture/breathing/tone/vowels as needed.
consonants. Use motions from before if
necessary. Go through bottom of pg. 3
-Be paying really close attention to vowel
sounds, make sure they breathe in the vowel.

11:16- Girls Sectional

11:26 -Same. Start with sopranos then altos.
Same as guys.
11:26- Come back together -Moving back into the same room.
Closure
11:35 -Sing pages 2-3 together with only vowels, no -Singing what theyve just learned, but with
(conclusion,
consonants. only vowel sounds which requires a lot of
culmination,
-Explain that since this song, especially for ATB, has thinking.
wrap-up)
you hold vowels for a long time so they have to be
blended. Listen to the people around you, match vowels

Your reflection about the lesson, including evidence(s) of student learning and engagement, as well as ideas for improvement
for next time. (Write this after teaching the lesson, if you had a chance to teach it. If you did not teach this lesson, focus on the
process of preparing the lesson.)
This lesson went fairly well. I could tell that they were getting a little sick of learning things because for them, choir isnt a class
where you learn but where you sing. I think I may have talked a little bit too much about the scientific parts of vowels and I lost them
just a little bit. I do feel like I made it interesting enough with a picture and me explaining it, words on the screen, and having them
make vowel sounds based on which cavity it comes from. In the future I could try to make something like this even shorter or just
have it be more hands-on and less knowledge-based. I would say that I ended up getting great vowel sounds of them in both the
warmups and in the song later so they did eventually respond well to my teachings.
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