Introduction to the Series of Lessons

I am teaching my portfolio lessons to two fifth-grade general

music classes. The fifth graders have a more vocal focus than the other

grades, and class usually includes some choral singing. The students in

my class are the ones who have opted not to take band or orchestra

this year. Students who drop band and orchestra mid-year also join our

class. During my portfolio lessons, we gained one new student in each

class. At Oakview, two of our students are special needs students, but

they are not accompanied by a parapro. They leave class early to pack

up, since their music class is during last hour and they need extra time

to get their things together. At East Olive, we have one student who is

on the Autism Spectrum. He is also not accompanied to music class.

The students have had general music in an MLT-focused

classroom since they began kindergarten. They have developed their

aural skills through this method, found their singing voices, and

learned to echo and create both rhythmically and tonally with solfege.

They began reading basic rhythmic and tonal notation about a year

ago. This year, they have worked to develop their singing voices and

have learned basic ukulele.

The primary goal for these lessons is for students to compose a

song based on a book. They will identify the main points of the story

and incorporate these into their song. Their performance of their song

will demonstrate tonal and rhythmic proficiency and clearly follow the
important points of the story, as identified by the students. They will

also demonstrate the ability to work in pairs or small groups. Another

aim of the lessons is to connect music to reading for March is Reading

Month.

Students will create music by composing their own song in pairs

or small groups. They will create lyrics and a melody, and can use

instruments if they wish. The unit will begin with a performance by me,

where the students will get ideas for their project. When their pieces

are finished, the groups will perform for the class, and possibly for their

classroom teachers. I will assess them in several parts. The first

assessment piece is their journal prompt, which asks what their

favorite book is about. Next they will be given a planning worksheet,

which will be graded for completion and effort. I will also assess their

song performance on multiple criteria: participation, tonal competency,

and rhythmic competency. They will also assess their own

performances with the help of a self-reflection worksheet.