Unit Plan Outline

Teacher: Joshua Joseph

Unit Title: Music and Instruments of the World
Grade: 10
Number of Classes: 4

MA Frameworks: Singing, Reading and Notation, Playing Instruments, Concepts

of style, stylistic influence and stylistic change.

National Standards: (Creating, Performing, Responding, Connecting)

Performing
Responding
Connecting
Creating

Rationale:
The content in this unit will be the first introduction to music outside of the
American culture. It not only focuses on the music but also on the instruments
that play a key role to the music in these different cultures studied. Students will
also learn how to apply information learnt to instruments within the classroom.

Essential Questions:
Can you identify a music culture or an instrument after it was studied?
Can you identify which country a particular instrument comes from?
Can you list/identify the musical characteristics that make up the respective
music cultures?

Enduring Understanding:
Students would have gained knowledge of some of the different music cultures
that exist.

Behavioral Objectives:
Students will be able to identify the instruments in the cultures studied.
Students will be able to list/identify the musical characteristics of music of a
various culture through listening.
Students will be able to perform a basic melody on the steelpan.
Students will be able to do a presentation on any of the music cultures studied at
the end of the unit.

Assessment/Evaluation:
Informal Teacher Observation
Formal Assigned homeworks or in class activities.
Long Range Assignment/Project/Product Final presentation on a culture
already studied of their choosing.
Prior Knowledge and Skills:
Syncopation
Bass and treble clef notation
Rests and their durations/values
Reading in percussion clef
Playing of djembes and auxiliary percussion

Accommodations:
1. Special needs If needed and a physical condition is present, use of
smaller instruments to accommodate student/s.

2. ELL Use of pictures/manipulative.

Pairing of ELLs together.
Concise explanations.

School to Home/community connection:

This unit would bring forth some education outside of music such as History,
Social Studies and Geography. Students would be exposed to this unit and
hopefully have a new view or appreciation for other cultures upon completion of
this unit. Activator:
Reading of melodies and arrangements of various pieces or musical excerpts.

Repertoire:
Symphony No. 5
No Way Out Othello Mollineaux
The Hammer David Rudder
In the Mood Glenn Miller
Calypso Music David Rudder
Batty Mamselle Lord Kitchener
Portrait of Trinidad- Panazz players
Tingalayo

Materials Needed:
Computers
Laptops
Speakers
Whiteboard
Markers
Mini Steelpans
Mallets
Cowbells
Djembes
Lesson Outlines

Lesson 1
Behavioral Objective Students will be able to identify the various
instruments in the steelpan family if given the range.

Assessment/Evaluation Students will be given a picture of a range and

they will match it to the respective steelpan within the steelpan family.

Prior Knowledge and activator No prior knowledge needed.

Lesson content
Brief overview of history and development of the steelpan is given.
Parts of the steelpan are then discussed
Introduction to the steelpan family happens.
Each instrument in the steelpan family is brought forward with its
respective range and layout.

Lesson 2
Behavioral Objective Students will be able to demonstrate proper
steelpan mallet technique through performance on the tenor steelpan.

Assessment/Evaluation Students will be given a basic melody to

perform on the tenor steelpan at the end of class. Students and teacher will
critique.

Prior Knowledge and activator Singing through the melody as a class

first before performing will be done. Singing can either be done in solfege or on a
syllable.

Lesson content
Teacher focuses on the tenor steelpan layout.
Teacher has a powerpoint slide up showing the layout of the notes on a
tenor steelpan and where its located on the staff (range).
Teacher demonstrates on their steelpan the effect of proper technique and
how it affects the overall sound of the instrument.
Teacher distributes mini steelpans to the class and respective mallets.
Students firstly practice holding their mallets in the correct way.
Teacher walks around and fixes any errors in holding and grip.
Teacher does some wrist exercises with students working on keeping a
loose wrist and working on alternating the hands.
 Teacher puts a melody on the board and has the students sing it first.
Teacher then demonstrates what it would sound like on the steelpan using
the proper technique.
Teacher leaves tenor pan slide up on the powerpoint for students to use
as guide if lost and has them come up one by one to perform melody.

Lesson 3
Behavioral Objective Students will be able to identify the musical
characteristics of the genre Calypso through listening.

Assessment/Evaluation Through a homework assignment students will

create a table listing similarities and differences between two calypsos by a
calypso artist that they have been assigned to.

Prior Knowledge and activator Possible reading of a leadsheet from a

calypso arrangement.

Lesson content
Teacher gives history of calypso and its origins to its development to
present day.
Teachers discusses that calypso can either be an instrumental thing or
something that can be sung.
Teacher identifies the different themes of sung calypsos that can be sung
and how it affects the lyrical content (social commentary, humorous, ex
tempo)
Teacher plays a few calypsos both sung and instrumental arrangements
and has students list the heard musical characteristics.
Teacher has students list the similarities and differences between pop and
calypso musics musical characteristics.
 Lesson 4
Behavioral Objective Students will be able to perform a simple
calypso groove on the djembe and provide accompaniment to Tingalayo.

Assessment/Evaluation Informal assessment though teacher

observation

Prior Knowledge and activator A review of the song Tingalayo as

some students may not have learnt it in Elementary school or just dont
remember it. Possible reading a simple rhythm/groove in percussion clef just to
refresh.

Lesson content -
Teacher reviews the song Tingalayo.
Teacher then proceeds to notate Tingalayo on the board as a
reference for students.
Students now speak the rhythm of Tingalayo using rhythm syllables
(Gordons syllables)
Teacher now notates the Calypso groove for djembe and cowbell
on the board.
Teacher has students clap pulse and sing the individual grooves.
Teacher then assigns students to djembe or cowbell and has them
repeat the singing process.
Djembes and cowbells are now distributed to their respective
students.
Teacher demonstrates the various hand positions on the djembe
and where they fall with regards to the accompaniment.
Teacher gets their steelpan and plays the melody to Tingalayo and
has the students accompany them.
Teacher has students switch instruments and repeat instrument.