Listening

Aim: What is a listening map?

Grade: 1st Grade General Music Class
Materials:

Computer with flash drive

Smartboard
Elmo
Fun with Composers

Procedures:
1. Today we are going to be talking about listening. Listening is an important part of
music. Just like singing, dancing, and playing instruments.
2. Today we are going to be using listening maps. Lets talk about maps. Does anyone
know what a map does?
3. Similar to a map, a listening map tells us what to listen for. It also tells us which
direction our voice should go.
4. Start showing different types of listening maps. Have students use their fingers to
trace the listening/vocal map in the air.
5. Start to tell the story of Chef Figaro. Break the story down by incorporating clips of the
listening map.
6. Have students follow you by rote.
7. Introduce the listening map
8. Introduce musical symbols (such as the repeat sign).
9. Ask students about the different dots, and why they feel that there is a difference in
size.
10. Listen to a clip of the revised music while having the students sing along and use
motions.
11. Listen to the entire clip, showing the musical surprise at the end.
12. Try it with the classical a cappella version.
13. Send students back to their seat with their own listening map.
14. Have students follow along with their finger as the music plays.
15. Stop at different intervals to see if students are able to follow along. Have a student
come up to show where we are on the SmartBoard.

Assessment:

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Students will be able to follow along with their listening map by using their finger. The
following class, they could be formally assessed.

Rubric
Listening Map
Student was able to follow listening map successfully by using their finger.
Student was able to follow listening map by using their finger, but student
needed a little bit of help.
Student attempted to follow the listening map by using their finger, but got
lost often.
Student did nothing while the music was playing.

National Standards
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
5. Reading and notating music
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music
7. Evaluating music and music performances

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Critique
Mentor, Dana Marinara
(718) 630 - 3899 ext. 1021

Positive
Engaged students with questions
Who wants to eat the soup?
Who knows what a map is?
Practiced different listening maps - modeled and then invited students to copy/practice.
Posed simple questions when showing different listening maps that assessed their
understanding
How is this going to sound?
Modeled what it sounds like when Chef Figaro adds seasoning, and soup, and stirs it up.
Tied all instruction together by showing listening maps of The Marriage of Figaro.

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Constructive Criticism/Recommendations for Improvement

Students spend a long time on the rug
Some students restless

Critique of Lesson
Teacher, Betty Starobinsky

The point of my lesson today was that I wanted to introduce listening maps. My students
have not done any vocal explorations or listening maps at this point in time, nor have they done
a listening activity similar to this one. I utilized the book, Fun with Composers. This is my
favorite listening activity to do in the book. I wanted my students to get an idea of what their
voice can do and how the sound will match the pictures.

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I think the lesson started off great. As I introduced the listening map, I tried to make a
real-life connection to maps. I thought this would be a great hook to grab the students
attention. It allowed an opportunity for active participation during questioning.

I spent a lot of time introducing vocal exploration/listening maps. I encouraged students

to try and use their finger. I was happy to see that the children were trying themselves, without
much prompting. Even though there were a number of listening maps, I thought it was
necessary in order to try and incorporate different types of questioning so each listening map
would not feel the same. I didnt want the activity to be redundant, but I wanted the students to
get enough practice. By varying the activity - the speed, the direction, etc it creates a different
environment. By asking the students questions such as What I should be doing with my voice,
I was able to tell that they understood the activity.

I noticed that I constantly repeated the answers of students. This has become a method
for me to absorb what the students are saying and quickly sum up their explanations. This was a
good technique, because as I watched the video, I realized some of the voices were not loud
enough, and other voices trailed off as the students were explaining. By summing up answers,
everyone heard one another.

For classroom management, I tried to use positive reinforcement specific to the behavior
that I saw during the lesson. You can see the students adjusting their seated positions to try and

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please me and to get a compliment. When there was talking on one side of the room, I tried to
relocate my position (13:00) to help remind students to do the right thing, and to fix their
behavior during the listening activity. Unfortunately, it didnt work until the students were ready to
finish their conversation, however it was an attempt to try and fix the behavior without stopping
the class and the student who was speaking.

There are some things that could have been better in the lesson. First off, I wish I would
have placed the video camera in a better place. I was disappointed by the angle of the camera, I
didnt realize that the listening map was not visible on the SmartBoard. There are a few set back
of being a push-in teacher, and one of them is preparing everything in the first few minutes that
you come into the classroom. Because I was busy setting up the video camera and eager to
start the lesson on time, I forgot to turn the sound on the SmartBoard and to locate the pointer
prior to the lesson starting.

When we were reviewing the lesson maps, the students were disappointed that I skipped
one of the listening maps. Unfortunately, I felt that it was too difficult to try in the beginning of the
lesson. I redirected the students by telling them that I would return to that map, however I didnt
(due to lack of time and forgetfulness). Next time, I should have avoided showing that slide.

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My final critique was that I should have not let the students stay on the carpet as long as
they did. The students were getting restless, and as I watched myself teaching I was able to see
them fidgeting. I should have included a movement activity in the middle of the lesson.

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