Integrated Music Lesson Plan

Catalina Davila
4th Grade

Goals
Illinois Learning Standards
1.C.1b: Identify important themes and topics.
3.B.1a: Use prewriting strategies to generate and organize ideas (e.g.,
focus on one topic; organize writing to include a beginning, middle and
end; use descriptive words when writing about people, places, things,
events).
3.B.1b: Demonstrate focus, organization, elaboration and integration in
written compositions (e.g., short stories, letters, essays, reports).
4.A.1a: Listen attentively by facing the speaker, making eye contact and
paraphrasing what is said.
4.A.1d: Use visually oriented and auditory-based media.
Instructional Objectives for Lesson
Students will create a portrait of Abraham Lincoln.
Students will interpret the musical piece: A Lincoln Portrait.
Students will write their own interpreted biography about Lincoln
based on the musical interpretation.
Cross Curricular Connections
Students will utilize English, Writing and Art.
Materials/Resources:
Computer
Projector
White sheets of paper (one per student)
Crayons, colored pencils, markers ( each table should have all three
coloring utensils
Book: Who was Abraham Lincoln? Written by Janet B. Pascal and
Illustrated by John O Brien. (2008). New York, New York: Grosset &
Dunlap
This book is about the life of Abraham Lincoln. It is sectioned by
major events that happened in Lincolns life.

Song: A Lincoln Portrait

http://depaul.naxosmusiclibrary.com.ezproxy2.lib.depaul.edu/catal
ogue/item.asp?cid=OVC-4037

Time
This lesson will encompass approximately a 45 to 60 minute class session.
Prior Knowledge
The class is learning about the important presidents of the United States
and how they impacted the United States.
Instruction:
Anticipatory Set
- The teacher will explain to the class that today they will study about
Abraham Lincoln.
- Teacher will ask: Can anyone tell me what he or she knows about
Abraham Lincoln? Who was Abraham Lincoln?
- Expected Answers:
He was president of the United States.
Hes on the penny.
He freed the slaves.
- The teacher shall write the student responses on the board or on a
big Post-it poster so that the whole classroom is able to see them.
- The teacher shall take four to six student answers then move on.
Part One
- Tell the class, We know some things about Abraham Lincoln, now we
are going to do a different activity connected to Lincoln. At this time
take out a lined blank sheet of paper and a pencil. Students we are
going to listen to a musical piece titled A Lincoln Portrait by Copland.
There are three new vocabulary words we are going to pay attention
to as we listen to the musical piece; tempo, dynamics, and color
tone.
- Teacher will have these three vocabulary words written on a large
paper that will have the definition and is visible to all the class. The
teacher will post the posters of each music element: tempo,
dynamics, and tone color(timbre). (Page 6)
- The teacher will play the musical piece A Lincoln Portrait by Copland.
The whole piece is 15-minutes. Teacher can shorten how long
to allow students to listen to the piece.
- As the piece is playing students are to write all their emotions,
thoughts, questions they think about.
Tell the class: As you listen carefully, think about what colors you are
able to visualize through the music. What are the dynamics telling
you? Or making you feel? Think about what instruments you are
able to hear and also include this in your notes.

Students are to write their reactions to the piece in their notebook,

as they will return later to them after learning about Lincoln.

Vocabulary
tempo- the speed at which music is being played
tone color/timbre- the quality of sound that distinguishes one voice or
musical instrument from another.
dynamics- the contrast and change in the loud and soft sounds
Part Two
- After the listening, the teacher will read some pages from the book
Who was Abraham Lincoln? Written by Janet B. Pascal.
Pages to read: 3-4, 9-12, 14-18, 20-22, 29-48
- Students are to be quietly listening to the readings.
- After reading these pages, the teacher will hand the students a white
sheet of paper.
- The students will have ten minutes to sketch a portrait of Abraham
Lincoln using their notes from the musical piece.
- Tell class, If you felt or could visualize a vibrant red color, then
include the color in the portrait.
- Class will return to their notes taken when listening to A Lincoln
Portrait by Copland.
- Knowing now the life of Abraham Lincoln, they will listen again to the
piece. They will pay attention to the tempo, tone color (timbre), and
dynamics. They will listen and connect each part of the musical piece
to Lincolns life.
ex. Tempo sped up when they were talking about the Gettysburg
Address to signify the intensity and importance of the speech.
Part Three
- Now, using their listening notes and their portrait of Lincoln, each
student will create their own creative biography on Lincoln. Their
writing should be creative and unique for all students.
- The written work should be based on the emotions, questions, and
thoughts they felt and thought about as they listened to A Lincoln
Portrait.
- Students need to have at least three paragraphs.
- As the students write the musical piece be continuously played to
help them write their creative biography on Abraham Lincoln.
Closure
Teacher will ask for three to four volunteers who would like to read their
creative life story about Lincoln and to also show the class their Lincoln
portrait. The teacher will display both the students written work and their
Lincoln portrait.
Musical Behaviors: Listening and Creating

The whole class will listen to the musical piece A Lincoln Portrait and will
interpret the music. As a part of their listening exercise, they will also
create a portrait of Lincoln based on how they interpreted the musical
piece.
Assessment Based on Objectives
This lesson includes a variety of methods of assessing.
Students actively listen, participate, and are following directions.
- Were students participating in the individual brainstorming?
Were students attentive when listening to the Who was
Abraham Lincoln? Book? Were students respectful of their
peers work? How well did they follow the teachers directions
given?
Student written work and portrait demonstrate their creative aspect.
- How well are they understand and interpret the musical piece?
Are they able to voice their opinions and thoughts in their
written work and illustration?
Adaptations and Extensions
Adaptations
For students with social and/or cognitive disabilities in the class, the
following changes can be made:
Allow student(s) to work to work at their own pace with teacher
guidance.
Allow student(s) to complete this work as homework if they are
unable to complete it in class.
Extensions
If there are students who are academically advanced or finish ahead of
time the following extensions could be made:
Students can investigate on the Internet three fun and interesting
facts about President Lincoln, which they will present to the class the
next day.
Writing Rubric
Criteria

3
2
Student presents
Reader has
Information in
information in
difficulty following
Sequence of
Organizatio logical, interesting
logical sequence
work because
information is
n
sequence which
which reader can
student jumps difficult to follow.
reader can follow.
follow.
around.
Student is
Student does not
Student
uncomfortable
have grasp of
Student is at ease
demonstrates full
with content and
information;
with content, but
Content
knowledge (more
is able to
student cannot
fails to elaborate.
Knowledge
than required).
demonstrate basic answer questions
Shows some
Shows lots of
concepts. Shows about subject.
creativity in work.
creativity in work.
minimal creativity. Does not show
Presentation has Work has four or
Presentation has Presentation has no
three misspellings more spelling
Grammar no misspellings or
more than two
and/or
errors and/or
and Spelling
grammatical
misspellings and/or
grammatical
grammatical
errors.
grammatical errors.
errors.
Work has three or
Work has one or
Work is neatly
four areas that are
Neatness
two areas that are
Work is Illegible.
done.
sloppy.
sloppy.
Total
Grade: ________ out of 10
Resource: http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/

In this lesson, students will be developing and enhancing their

creative writing skills. The students will listen to the musical piece A
Lincoln Portrait and will take notes. They will be practicing note-taking and
will also practice interpreting their own emotions and thoughts as well as
being able to articulate them in a written form. After listening to the piece
and allowing the students to complete their notes, the students will
compose a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. They will use their notes to create
their portrait. Their notes should contain notes on the three aspects of
music: tempo, tone color, and dynamics. The aspects of music along with
their notes are the guidelines for how they will draw their portrait. The
portrait will then influence their creative writing.
This activity is divided into four smaller sections. There is the
introduction, the part one which requires them to listen and to actively take
notes. Part two and three will be sections where they are creating. First
they will create a portrait of Abraham Lincoln and then they will create a
new biography about Lincoln. In this activity students will experience a
creative aspect to learning. They will experience a classical music piece
and will experience art. For the majority of students will be experiencing
for the first time the process of using something visual to create written
work.
This activity is interesting and effective because I feel that it
encompasses and takes into consideration different learners. The students
are acted to activate prior knowledge about who is Abraham Lincoln. This
activity includes every student. They will not be graded on their artistic

ability. When the students are listening and taking notes they are free to
interpret the musical piece however they feel. This lesson is an effective
integration because I am able to incorporate the arts; both music and art.
It will be effective based on the creativity and involvement level of the
students.
I will help the students understand and make connections to
Abraham Lincolns life and to how the musical piece A Lincoln Portrait was
composed. I will use the tempo to help the students understand the highs
and lows in Lincolns life. Tone color can be used to teach how Lincoln
created and had many emotions, thoughts and questions throughout his
life and also how he was able to overcome all obstacles. Using dynamics
can address the critical or pivotal points in Abraham Lincolns life. I will
also allow the students to interpret the musical piece in connect to the
reading from the book Who was Abraham Lincoln? Written by Janet B.
Pascal to the three aspects of music.