Technology Integration Plan

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            In this lesson, which is geared towards a fifth grade music class, students will reinforce their understanding of how and why we need to connect vocal timbre with expressive qualities of a written text. For the majority of this lesson, the students' will be working with a poem entitled "The Snow Fell Until Dawn." The original lesson plan used in this matrix is called “The Snow Fell Until Dawn.”

Students will begin by collecting descriptions of their feelings and experiences with/of snow. To do this, the teacher will call on one student at a time, and he/she will say what is on his/her mind. This step is aligned with National Standard for Music Education #8, as it begins by incorporating students’ real life experiences and descriptions into a music project. Although the project does not yet involve music in this first step, it involves another discipline, which can loosely be described as "nature study". This step is also aligned with NETS-S #2, as the students will share basic digital media, such as YouTube or home videos, to help illustrate their descriptions. This step mostly involves student participation, as the students are the ones sharing their experiences. It also involves oral/visual presentation, because the students' will share videos with the class, and listening/viewing, because they will experience each other’s videos. In order to keep a running list of the students’ experiences (for future reference), either the teacher or the students will need to write them on a classroom white board or chalkboard. The students will need to use YouTube or another form of video archive to share their videos with the class. The teacher will need to hook up the computer to an overhead project so that the whole class can all view the videos. 

After sharing their experiences, students will then recite the poem together as a class. This step is aligned with National Standard for Music Education #5, as the students are reading text, which can be though of as a beginning form of music. Although this step does not involve music notation, the students are reading text that will soon be embellished with musical elements. This step is also aligned with NETS-S #2, as the students will be reading from a digital source that is being initiated from a distance by the teacher. This step mostly involves group participation because the students are reading the text as one group. It also involves teacher display/direction, as the teacher must point to the words as the students read so that they have an idea of how fast to move as a group. In order to do this, he or she could use a yard/meter stick, or some other kind of pointing device. The teacher must once again use an overhead projector to display the text of the poem to the students.

After reciting the poem, the students will brainstorm which musical elements should be incorporated into the poem’s performance, and they will make revisions as necessary. This step is aligned with NJCCCS 1.1.5.B.2, as the students are using their knowledge of multiple basic musical concepts to embellish the text of the poem. This step is also aligned with NETS-S #3, because the students will be using technology to aid with the development of their musical decisions. This step involves student participation, as the students will offer their own suggestions of musical elements to incorporate; individual decision, as the students must formulate their own opinions prior to sharing them; group discussion, as the students will reflect on each other’s suggestions; and editing, as the students will decide on the effectiveness of their own and of their classmates’ decisions. In order to organize the students’ suggestions, the teacher will use colored markers or chalk to categorize their suggestions by musical elements on the board. The students may also use metronomes and portable keyboards, keyboard apps, or piano pads to assist with their decisions of rhythm and pitch respectively.

After brainstorming which musical elements to include, the students will perform the poem vocally. This step is aligned with NJCCCS 1.3.5.B.2, because the students are allowing their voices to take on different pitches and timbres in this performance. This step is also aligned with NETS-S #3, as the students will be using recording technology to document their performance for future references. In addition to the pointing device, this step utilizes a recording/playback device to capture the students’ performance.

After vocally performing the poem, the students will listen to the recording and evaluate their performance. This step is aligned with NJCCCS 1.4.5.B.5, as the students must now formulate their own opinions of the success level of the performance and music elements added as well as defend their opinions. This step is also aligned with NETS-S #4, because the students must think critically to decide on the results of the recording. This step involves student participation, as the students will offer their own opinions; group discussion, as they will share their opinions with one another; and assessment, as both the students and the teacher will decide on the effectiveness of the performance as well as the musical elements that were added. In addition to the recording/playback device, this step may need to utilize speakers, or some form of amplification system, so that the entire class can hear the recording of their performance at one time.

Finally, the students will break up into smaller groups, and each group will create and perform a musical composition, this time using instruments, that depicts the text and overall character of the poem. This step is aligned with NJCCS 1.3.2.B.3, because the students will be working with Orff instruments (or other instruments available to the class). This step is also aligned with NETS-S #6, as the students must demonstrate that they can use the instruments, as well as a music notation software, correctly and effectively. This step involves group participation and student collaboration because the students will work together to create and perform their compositions; listening/viewing, because they will be experiencing each other’s compositions; and assessment, because both the students and the teacher will decide on the effectiveness of the performance as well as the musical composition itself. The students will need to use Orff or other classroom instruments to play their compositions, and they will use a music notation software, such as Finale or Sibelius, to help plan out and notate their compositions prior to their performance.