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Unit 4: Lesson 13Put It All Together Rehearsal for Seedfolks Composition; TRAIL Marker #3

Unit 4

Planting a Community

                

 

 

Purpose 

In this unit, students read like detectives, asking questions and looking for clues about what characters are thinking, feeling, and doing. As they read, students compose music that represents those investigations in order to gain a deeper understanding of the characters and how they relate to the central theme of the story.

 

Unit Description

In this unit, students create a whole-class musical composition to Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman, a Newbery Medal winning author. Seedfolks is told in a series of character chapters connected by a central theme. To prepare, students become “reading detectives,” annotating the text as they ask questions and look for clues about what characters are thinking, feeling, and doing. In doing so, they are making inferences and text-to-text connections and working toward identifying a central theme of the book. As students read, they learn a range of music elements and create music using classroom instruments and found objects to represent what they have learned about the characters. As a culminating event, the class creates and performs a Seedfolks Composition for an invited audience.

Intention of Unit

A4L Unit 4, Planting a Community, was initially designed and developed to target four primary literacy goals that were identified by teachers as particularly difficult for their students to master and apply – making inferences, text-to-text connections, determining theme, and annotating text.  The integration of an art form was perceived as a promising character traits with musical sounds and rhythm, by inspiring students to express and convey meaning and emotions, and to facilitate visualization of a theme for the text. 
 

Unit 4 Art Form

The art form designed for this Unit is music.  In much the same way that a story is conveyed in motion pictures or any media arts genre, the music is interwoven and connected to the text and images to identify and guide the viewer’s emotional interpretation of about what the characters are thinking, feeling and doing.  E.g.; the musical score is connected to descriptions of images and actions so that once the viewers have experienced the combined words with associated sounds, they can visualize what is happening when only the associated music is heard.    
 
The creation of music through found objects as well as available musical instruments is used as the art genre in this Unit.  This decision was made to comply with the strategy for equity and access used in all the A4L Units so that all students could experience the creation of a musical score even though their school may not have access to traditional musical instruments and students are not already knowledgeable about how to play them. 
This approach of relying on sounds, rhythm, dynamics, duration, pitch and timbre is not unprecedented and is masterfully used in music and dance compositions such as the Stomp and in the motion picture August Rush, as well as many other examples.  By using found objects to make sounds that convey the personality traits and actions of the characters in Seedfolks, students learn to listen intently and to discriminate the meaning of sounds and to be resourceful in finding ways to create music without formal music instruction.  
 

Differentiation Options

 
Vocal Music:  In addition to using music produced with found objects, a musical alternative is to use sounds produced by the human voice or body.  For example, the voice can also produce sounds that create different levels of dynamics, duration, pitch and timbre.  The voice alone is sufficient to produce the range of sounds and variations to define the characteristics of each character in the text and a thematic overview of the book.  The voice may also be effectively supplemented by sounds created using other parts of the body (e.g. clapping, rubbing hands, humming, stomping feet, etc.) or through a combination of voice and use of other found objects or musical instruments as suggested in the Unit.  
 
Visual Arts & Writing:  A substitute for the art genre of music could also be visual arts and writing, in which the students complement the association of sounds with quick linear gesture drawings and later with colors that convey character traits, emotions, and action.
 

Newly Added Feature: This Unit's student texts have been translated into Spanish

 

                

 

Common Core State Standards

Arts for Learning is aligned with the Common Core State Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language. This Overview describes the scope of the standards and this Quick Reference Guide provides each of the standards fully or partially met within this A4L Unit, followed by the charts that specifically identify the standards addressed in each lesson and step in the Unit. The standards are also coded and listed at the beginning of each lesson in the unit. Arts for Learning also provides a comprehensive student assessment program in each unit. This A4L Assessment Toolkit Quick Reference Chart indicates an overview of the locations of the tasks to be scored in the unit.
 
Each A4L unit is developed on a common framework and contains a 3-part sequence of instruction that educational research suggests will help students become more self-directed, independent learners. There is a gradual hand-off of responsibility--from teacher to students-- that is supported by assessment and teacher help as needed. Throughout A4L units the arts serve as motive and means to advance reading for meaning and writing thoughtfully.

 

 

 

 

Part 3

Sharing

Unit 4: Lesson 13

Put It All Together Rehearsal for Seedfolks Composition; TRAIL Marker #3

Unit 4: Lesson 13

Put It All Together Rehearsal for Seedfolks Composition; TRAIL Marker #3 

 
 

LITERACY OBJECTIVE

By the end of this lesson students will be able to reflect on their music choices and how they represent the text.
 
 

LITERACY "I CAN" STATEMENT

"I can reflect on my music choices and how they represent the text."
 
 

 

LESSON OVERVIEW

 
 

Standards Alignment

 

Targeted Standards
 
Secondary Standards

 

Teaching Resources

 

Student Notebook
 
Art Materials

 

Assessment

 

Life & Learning Skills

 

  Differentiation Options  

 

  Leveraging Moments

 

 

 

STEP 1: INTRODUCE PART 3-- PERFORM & INFORM

 

 

Process: Tell students that in the next two lessons, they get to put together and rehearse their Seedfolks Composition, which they will present to an audience. They will spend time planning, rehearsing, reflecting, refining, and then performing for an audience.

 

Alternative for using Visual Arts as the Art Form

 

Alternatives Perform & Inform Audiences

 

 

 

STEP 2: INTRODUCE LESSON 13

 

 

Process: Give an overview of the lesson objectives: Organize and rehearse themes for the Seedfolks Composition performance; reflect on learning through TRAIL Marker #3.

 

Suggested Dialogue

 

Introducing the Lesson

 

 

 

STEP 3: TRANSITION TO MUSIC

 

 

Process: Transition to music, gather instruments, and move to sit in Seedfolks Ensembles. Tell students to wait for the "Go" signal to begin moving.

 

Suggested Dialogue

 

Transitioning to Music

 

 

 

STEP 4: SEEDFOLKS ENSEMBLES REHEARSE THEMES

 

 

Process: Tell ensembles to run through their themes at least three times, so that they can play it the same way each time. Timing for rehearsal is 8 minutes.

 

 

 

STEP 5: THE COMPOSITION: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

 

 

Process: Guide students in combining all elements of the Seedfolks Composition into the rondo form. Create a visual representation of the rondo form for this composition: A for the Seedfolks theme, and B through F (or beyond) for their respective characters' themes. Represent the characters in the order they appear in the book. For example, B=Kim, C=Ana, D=Wendell, E=Gonzalo, etc.

 
If there is more than one theme for a character, each theme will play in succession in the performance. Prior to this session decide how to determine the performance order. This can be done using a choice method common in your classroom, such as drawing straws. A second possibility is by class discussion: listening to the themes for each character and discussing if there is an artistic reason for one to go first or second. The latter option is more time consuming (about 5-7 minutes per character) yet further deepens the literacy/music connection. See menu below for suggestions.
 
There may be a single instrument that more than one student plays during the course of the Seedfolks Composition. Let students know that each will have the instrument when needed. Step in to help if needed.
 
Introduce the teacher's role as conductor, with the conductor facing the musicians. Set up the performance positions: students will be in a semi-circle, with the A-Theme ensemble to teacher's far left. Ensembles B, C, D, E, F, etc. will be arranged consecutively along the line of the semi-circle. Introduce and practice conducting cues. Lead ensembles in several initial run-throughs of the composition, practicing standing at ready with instruments in hand, hands up and apart, and using the conductor's signals to begin playing.
 
As conductor, it is important to know how each theme begins and ends. Make copies of each ensemble's Graphic Notation Chart. Student Notebook, pages 25-26 Stop as needed to add additional notes, for instance, who starts each theme and who ends it. Some ensembles will have evolved to have their own student leader. Regardless, cue the beginning of the theme; let the student conductor take over after that.
 
Designate where students place instruments after finishing playing their theme. This could be holding them at their sides, placing them on long tables, or on the floor.
 
Timing for putting it all together is 25 -30 minutes. If leading a class discussion regarding order of multiple themes for one character, add 5-7 minutes per character.

 

Teaching Tip: Choosing Order of Characters with Multiple Themes

 

Teaching Tip: Conducting Cues

 

Suggested Dialogue

 

Move students into performance positions

 

For character with multiple themes, choose the order for performance

 

Determine if instruments need to be shared during performance

 

Introduce & practice conducting cues

 

Lead initial run-through of Seedfolks Composition

 

 

 

STEP 6: REFLECT & REFINE

 

 

Process: Lead students in a reflection on the first series of run-throughs. Together, devise strategies for improvement. Decide if the recurring Seedfolks theme and character themes run continuously, or if there is a pause between one and the other. Encourage self-responsibility. Each musician takes ownership of his/her learning. Guide students to offer solutions and ideas for improvement.

 
Musicians sometimes need to stop and practice problematic areas several times. They also need to learn how to think ahead and keep moving, without stopping to "fix" things. Take time to isolate and practice transitions several times. Then go back and practice playing the piece straight through. 
 
Timing to reflect and refine is 15 minutes.

 

Suggested Dialogue

 

Refining the Composition

 

 

 

STEP 7: COLLECT INSTRUMENTS & RESTORE THE ROOM

 

 

Process: Restore the room to its original state. Students return instruments to their correct storage unit. Students take their A4L Notebooks and Texts and sit with their Seedfolks Ensembles.

 

 

 

STEP 8: GUIDE STUDENTS THROUGH TRAIL MARKER #3

 

 

Process:  TRAIL Marker #3 is the third formative assessment in the unit--a final reflection. Students turn to page 31 in their A4L Student Notebooks and reflect on their learning.

Select one of the following options to facilitate the activity and discussion:
 
  • Have students work in pairs or small groups to complete the TRAIL Marker. Have them talk before writing to get ideas flowing. Then, have a whole class discussion.
  • Have students complete the TRAIL Marker individually, and then share in small groups or whole class.

 

TRAIL Marker: Formative Assessments

 

Suggested Dialogue

 

Beginning the Final Reflective Activity

 

 

 

STEP 9: CLOSE LESSON 13

 

 

Process: Close the lesson with a look forward, describing the next lesson.

 

Looking Forward

 

Performing The Closing Ritual (Optional)

 

 

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING LESSON 13! YOU ARE NOW READY TO MOVE ON TO LESSON 14 OF UNIT 4

 

 

 

 

You've now reached the end of our ArtsforLearning Curriculum preview.