I chose this lesson plan on MusicTechTeacher.com because I believe that if I had instruction in this format as a student I would have learned a lot from it, and therefore my students could take a lot away from the lesson. The entire lesson is based around the usage of technology, whether using midi keyboards, computer software, or video camera, and utilizes many NJCCS for music.
There are several small gaps in the lesson plan, and here's why: the first gap lies within ensuring that the students actually understand what the G major scale is. It is more than likely that between grades 2 - 5 that the class knows what the notes are called, but they do not understand how these notes function within a scale and which notes are the important ones. The second small gap is a mistake that many musicians make: not everyone knows how to improvise. Yes, it should be self evident what exactly is necessary and how one goes about improvising, but if a student has never seen or thought of how to improvise, they won't know how. Using the "Think Aloud" strategy will give every student the opportunity to see how to go about improvising by allowing them to see and discuss how it is done. The final gap lies within the usage of the notation software for composing the phrase: in doing so, it allows all students to participate in the same capacity and to easily edit and adjust their work with feedback from their peers and from the teacher.
The curriculum goal for this lesson is learning how to compose. The technologies used in this lesson are essential because without a piano, the students have no basis for understanding pitch or musical literacy. The notation software decreases the time needed to write the music and generates clear and accurate results from the students.
Lesson Plan
Google Spreadsheet
