Introduction to the Unit

The focus of this unit is call and response for second grade. This is a
concept that includes a call a musical thought, and a response that is
thought of as a reply to the original musical thought. This concept for
second grade is based off of USD 383s Manhattan Public School districts
curricular model. According to this curricular model students should
already be familiar with pulse vs no pulse, and the solfege syllables Mi, So,
and La. Students will also be familiar with matching pitch through vocal
exploration and learning the difference between high and low pitches. AB
and ABA forms will have been explored prior to this unit as well as broad
umbrella tempo and dynamic concepts such as loud, soft and andante vs
allegro. With this prior knowledge students will be ready to learn and
perform call and response songs.

Pre-Assessment:
For the pre-assessment students will be grouped into pairs with a full
class activity after working in pairs. While the students are grouped into
pairs each partner will write three questions so the pair will in total have six
questions. Once the partners have finished writing their questions they will
trade papers and answer their partners questions. These questions may not
have simple yes or no answers. Partner one will then ask partner two the
question and partner two will respond with their answer. I will then call on
each pair to tell me their favorite question and answer and I will write it on
the board. Then together as a class I will read the question and students will
respond with the answer written on the board.
This pre-assessment tool will help me determine my students
knowledge on answering after hearing a certain prompt. If my students
continue to ask the question with me or fail to say the answer I will know
my students need some help strengthening this concept. I can strengthen
this concept through more exercises like my pre-assessment. First we will
prepare this concept by having the students write out questions for their
partner to answer. Then we will present the concept of question and answer
by asking the students to identify the question and answer. Finally, we will
continue to practice this concept by asking each other questions every day
either written or aurally. This unit was prepared for second grade. All of the
included activities, songs, games, and warmup exercises were created to
continue developing new and prior musical skills and knowledge.
Post-Assessment
Three summative assessments will take place at the end of the unit.
These assessments will be a self-reflection, student quiz, and a teacher
rubric. Students will have the opportunity to reflect on their experiences
with developing their own Call and Response in groups of four. The
development of this exercise will take place over several class periods and
at the end of the unit students will be able to reflect over the experience
and final product in their groups. Students will be tested over their
knowledge and asked to identify the concept of call and response aurally
and visually and write down the distinguishing characteristics of a call and
response piece. Lastly, students will be graded on a rubric at an end of the
year performance. Students will be graded based on pitch, rhythmic,
dynamic, and lyric accuracy as well as student engagement during the
performance.
As students learn more about the concept of call and response, they
will continue to develop skills such as pitch, rhythm, and lyric
memorization through musical creativity, song learning, and cross-
curricular connections. Students will also practice instrumental technique
with xylophones and rhythm sticks.
The main aspect of this unit is to have students identify the large
form of Call and Response. In order to do this it is important for students to
be competent in their understanding of what a musical form is. To solidify
this knowledge students will compare and contrast a musical form they are
familiar with (AB form).
As well as gaining new knowledge and polishing prior musical
knowledge, students will learn about the history of each piece through
historical connections. Students will gain knowledge about the African
American culture through African American spirituals and childrens songs
such as Swing Low, East Coast Line, and Daniel. Students will have the
opportunity to learn more about this culture through musical and historical
interaction.