MUED 380 Leadership Portfolio Project - Unit Design Smith 1

Wild Things:
A Third Grade Music Unit Exploring Wild Things and Imagination

Journee Smith
MUED 380: Music in Elementary School
Fall 2017
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Context Statement:
I had the opportunity to practicum for 3rd grade students at this school. The racial
breakdown of the school was 45.2% White, 36.3% Hispanic and 10.2% African
American. 74.7% of students have a free/discounted lunch. The student/teacher ratio is
16.4%. The demographics of the school is very dynamic. The total number of students
in the school is five hundred and nine. All of the students were amazing listeners
towards the teachers, helping to create a good community in the classroom. All of the
students had a positive attitude towards learning the music and were all were very
cooperative with the teachers ideas. There was a daily routine every time they walked
into the classroom, which helped to stabilize any anxiety that might come with the
unknown. Even with the daily routine, there was still enough change in the activities to
make it exciting and interesting. In the special education class for music, there was one
person to each student. In this aspect, there is constantly a surplus amount of support
that goes between the different teachers of the school. With these ideas in mind, I have
shaped my curriculum around a class such as this one.

Transfer Goals

To infiltrate a sense of pride in using creativity and self-expression to make music

Acquisition Goals

Students will know . . . Students will be skilled at . . . (skills)

The chorus and verses of a song Choreographed movements
Dynamics Song-writing
How to maintain a steady beat Improvisation
How to improvise Performance
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Theme

My theme for this unit is about Wild Things. The book is about using ones own imagination to create a world of
Wild Things. In todays elementary music classroom, it is extremely important to encourage creativity and
imagination. This is relevant because it is helping the students to access and maintain their own forms of
self-expression. This unit is designed to be centered around the students and their own ideas of what their Wild
Things should be.

Overview of Unit

Day 1: The students will be making a film score on this day of the book. They will be able to play the emotions
portrayed in the Wild Things through their instruments and learn about dynamics.

Day 2: This experience will involve a Wild Rumpus Dance Party. They will play a Wild Thing song together and
learn how to keep a steady tempo.

Day 3: The students will be using their creativity to make an Instrumental Wild Place original song. The class will
learn how to record music as well as build a template for making music. They will also have a chance to play with
rhythmic patterns in a song.*

Day 4: The class will participate in Rhythm and Poetry and recording it over their music from Day 3. The lyrics
will be centered around Wild Things. *

Day 5: The students will have the opportunity to make a choreographed dance with their song from Day 4. *
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Experience Design for Day #3

Overview

The students will be using their creativity to make an Instrumental Wild Place original song. The class will learn how to record
music as well as build a template for making music. They will also have a chance to play with rhythmic patterns in a song.

I Can Statements (learning goals)

I can collaborate with others to create a musical presentation and acknowledge individual
contributions as an integral part of the whole.
I can perform sets of beats.

Materials

Alto Xylophone
Bass Xylophone
Alto and Bass Metallophone
Drums
Projector
Computer and Speaker
Recording Device

Detailed Process

Time Required
3 mins 1) At the beginning of the class, the students will sing a Wild Thing melody with me.
This melody will be incorporated into the instrumental Wild Place original song that
they create. There will be a few ways to help guide them into an instrumental track.

2) After they have sung through this melody, they will also maintain a steady beat with
their hands.
a) Alright, so now try showing the steady beat in a different way.

3) Once they have all mastered the steady beat, I will clap out a pattern while they
maintain the beat. Individuals in the circle will repeat my pattern while the rest of
the class maintains the beat.

4) After providing them with context on making different rhythmic patterns, individual
students can volunteer to provide the class with improved rhythmic patterns over
their steady beat.

5) The students will now sing the Wild Thing melody from the beginning of the class
and pat out a beat at the same time
a) After the we finish singing the melody, keep on patting out the beat.
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6) One student will improv over the beat using their hands. We will try this out with
several students.

7) When a few students have had a chance to do this, they be assigned to different
instruments.
8) They will then do the same thing that they did without the instruments.
a) The students on the melodic instruments will be assigned the correct notes
that will be harmonically sound with the melody.
9) They will start out with a steady beat on the instruments and then begin to add
different layers of rhythmic patterns to it.
10) After each student has had a chance to play around with different instruments, they
will pick a rhythmic pattern that they liked and use it for the instrumental Wild Place
Original song recording.
11) Each student will be about to have their sound recorded and added to the song.
They will be shown how to do this on the projector.

Assessments

The students will be assessed when doing a call and response of their rhythmic patterns.

Extensions:

An extension of this song would be to have them create their own songs on Garageband.

Adaptations

Size The students will have different ways of learning the steady tempo through their bodies as
will as the instruments.

Color When separated into groups, I will name the groups by different colors.

Pacing Students will have the opportunity to volunteer to demonstrate different rhythms as well as
be given options of different rhythms to play.

Modality They will have a visual of the sounds they are producing by using Garageband. They will
learn the rhythms aurally when clapped to them, and kinesthetically by learning the
different ways to show rhythms in their bodies.

Experience Design for Day 4

Overview

The class will participate in Rhythm and Poetry and recording it over their music from Day 3. The lyrics will be centered around
Wild Things.
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I Can Statements (learning goals)

I can explain personal motivations for making music.

I can collaborate with others to create a musical presentation and acknowledge individual
contributions as an integral part of the whole.

Materials

Paper
Pencil
Computer and Speaker
Recording Device

Detailed Process

Time Required
3 mins 1) When the students enter the classroom, the Instrumental Wild Place Original Song
will be playing. We will sing the Wild Thing Melody with it and during the time in
between the chorus, we will clap to the beat.

2) We will then do a call and response instead of clapping while replaying the song:
a) I am a Wild Thing I like to sing
i) This rhyming scheme will go on for a little so the students will grasp
how to do a poem with rhythm over music.

3) After this, we will go into more depth about Wild Things.

a) If you were a Wild Thing, where would you go? What activities would you
like to do? What food would you eat?
i) They will think about this on their own.

b) Now, share with a buddy what you would do.

c) Anyone want to share with the class what they would do?
4) After this, they will be separated into groups by color. Each group will come up with
a name for their Wild Thing
a) Now remember, there are a lot of different people and different ideas in the
room about what a Wild Thing could be. Make sure that you are being kind
to your peers when you are thinking about ideas for your Wild Thing names
5) Once they have come up with a name, they will then come up with a four stanza
verse.
a) I will be going around the room supervising and facilitating all of the many
ideas that will be going on. The instrumental music will be playing in the
background.
6) When each group has completed their Wild Thing Rap, they will share it with the
class.

7) After this, we will pick an order and they will be able to Rap over their instrument
recording and sing the Wild Thing chorus when the time comes.
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8) We will then make a recording of this to add to the instrumental wild place original
song.

Assessments

The students will be assessed by observing their call and response techniques as well as clapping in
rhythm with me. When the individual groups perform, I will have the opportunity to observe specific
people each time. .

Extensions:

An extension of this would be instead of making a rap, creating a melodic line with their own lyrics.

Adaptations

Size The students have a chance to brainstorm ideas of Wild Things on their own and then
have the opportunity to brainstorm with other people.

Color They will be separated in groups dependent on the color I give them. For the stanzas, the
lines the rhyme could be the same color.

Pacing The students have a chance to brainstorm ideas of Wild Things on their own and then
have the opportunity to brainstorm with other people.

Modality The students learn aurally during the call and response. They learn kinesthetically when
clapping to the beat. They learn visually when they have a paper to write down their lyrics.

Experience Design for Day 5

Overview

The students will have the opportunity to make a choreographed dance with their song from Day 4.

I Can Statements (learning goals)

I can perform choreographed movements.

Materials

Camera
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Video Editing Software

Computer and Speakers

Detailed Process

Time Required
3 mins 1) When the students enter the classroom, we will begin by listening to the recording
of the layered music that weve been working on for the past few days.
2) Students who would like to will jump in the middle of the circle and come up with
dance moves for the class to imitate.
3) After their bodies have warmed up, I will start a movement pattern with our song. At
first they will follow along as much as they can with the movements I use. When the
song is over I will ask them what they notices.
a) What parts of my movements stuck out to you all? When did my
movements change?
b) This opens the floor up to conversation about learning when the chorus of
the song is there and when the verses are there.
4) Now, lets try the movements again! Pay attention to where in the song Im
changing my movements.
a) What new things did you all notice?
i) Hopefully their answers will be geared toward explaining the
different sections of a song, chorus and verses.
5) Go back to your Wild Thing groups now. Think about the verses that you all made
up. What movements would go well with those verses?
a) The students will choreograph their own movements to the music they
created.
i) During this time, I will be floating around the room and facilitating the
different groups ideas.
6) When the groups have mastered their moves, they will perform it for the class.
Once they have done this, we will record the movements and make it into a music
video with their song. During the chorus of the song, the students will all have a
unified choreographed part of the song. When their personal stanza appears in the
piece, they will be able to perform their unique choreographed moves.

Assessments

The students will be assessed during their group sessions and performances with the class.
.

Extensions:

An extension of this would be to have each group choreograph the entire song with their own moves.

Adaptations

Size
The students have the opportunity to stand in the middle and come up with dance moves
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for the class, which might be big or small movements. When I do my movement pattern, it
will involve the class using smaller movements.

Color I will assign choruses and verses with different colors as well.

Pacing The students will have the opportunity to gather ideas from me when I give different
movement ideas and then move into their own ideas individually.

Modality Aurally, my chosen movements will match the song. Visually, they will be able to observe
the other people with their performances. Kinesthetically, they will be able to come up with
their own movements.