Impact on Student Learning Project

Alexandra Jennings
Class Level: 3rd Grade
# of Students Recorded: 18

For my impact on student learning project, I based it off of the instrument families unit
for third grade. Learning the four families of the orchestra is Virginia SOL 3.11, “I can identify
instruments from the four orchestral families, visually and aurally.” The assessment I used was a
front and back worksheet, and the worksheet covered instrument identification with pictures,
family classification, as well as a listening portion. There was a 100% rate of improvement for
the class as a whole, in that each student in the class was able to improve their score by some
amount. The average of the pre-test worksheet was a 48.8%, and the average on the day of the
post-test was an 80.5%.

One of the biggest areas of improvement from the assessment was the first part of the
worksheet, which involved identifying the pictures of the different instruments and classifying
them by their name and their family. This is most likely due to the fact that each instrument was
introduced with a picture and its title, and we talked about one family at a time. After finishing a
discussion about the instrument families the day this class completed their post-test, I had the
students self-assess their progress to show how they felt about learning the instrument families so
far. I asked them to show me on their hand on a scale of one-to-five how well they felt like they
knew the instrument families thus far (1 being not well, 5 being very well), and I only saw
students show a 4 or a 5. One thing that I noticed to be beneficial for some learners for this unit
was being able to pass around an instrument from the families we discussed in the instructional
period. The students got the chance to look at a reed, a clarinet, a violin, a bow, and various
percussion instruments from the classroom. Being able to physically hold and make notes of the
characteristics of these instruments helped students to remember some of the details about them-
like how many strings a violin has, what a bow is made out of, or where the reed goes on a
clarinet. Making this connection seemed to be helpful, because the examples we used to pass
around were some of the first examples that students would think of when we would review
certain details about each instrument family. This is something that I would try to implement for
a unit like this one in the future, especially at the third grade level.
At the conclusion of the lesson for each instrument family, we would take some time to
review the instruments/characteristics that we learned for that lesson. A majority of the students
seemed to enjoy playing different games in order to review the instruments, and one game in
particular that the students benefited from was a 20-questions style “What Instrument Am I?”
game. A student would think of an instrument from that family, and the rest of the class would
ask “yes” or “no” questions to try and figure out what instrument their classmate was thinking of.
This was helpful with details of each instrument, like having a single reed, having a double reed,
having no reed, being high sounding, or being low sounding. This game was a great way for
students to have the opportunity to draw from what they had learned in the previous lesson, as
well as have fun reviewing.
Another thing that seemed to benefit many students when introducing certain instruments
was the use of videos as a part of instruction. We watched various types of videos depending on
the instrument. The students loved watching videos on how the instruments are built, and they
also enjoyed watching parts of videos of different instruments covering popular songs that they
recognized. Many of them made the connection of what songs they heard based off of watching
the instrument covers, and it also gave them a chance to become more familiar with what the
different instruments sound like. Instructional videos seem to reach students that benefit from
visual and aural approaches, which helped make many of the instruments from this unit more
memorable for certain learners.
If I were to work on this unit again, I would make a few changes in order to make sure
students are getting the most from this topic. One of the things I would try to reinforce more
would be the sounds of the instruments. Although we watched quite a few videos and discussed
what the instruments sound like, we didn’t spend as much time trying to identify the instrument
sounds without looking at the videos. This was also a part of the assessment worksheet, which
included four listening questions on instruments from the woodwind family. We did one activity
that involved listening only, but if I were to do this unit again, I would try to review the sounds
alone at least once per lesson. Another thing I would change would be the first portion of the
assessment worksheet. I think some students found it difficult to keep track of drawing so many
lines, so next time I would alter this part of the worksheet. I would keep the pictures of the
instruments to be consistent with the visual identification, but then I would have students pick
the names of the instruments from a word box. Then to classify, I would have them write the
names of each instrument picture under its corresponding family. The overall unit is designed to
take place over the span of a month, including a day to introduce the four instrument families,
and a seperate day to discuss/learn about each specific instrument family. The post-test covered
information that was introduced at the beginning of the unit, but was also given after the class
period that we used to learn about the woodwind family. I believe that if both classes were
dedicated to reviewing all four families, or if the post-test was given after learning about the final
instrument family, the scores would be even higher. Regardless, all students showed some area
of improvement between taking the pre-test and taking the post-test, and it has been clear in class
lessons that students are retaining the new information given in this unit.
Impact on Student Learning Project: Lesson 1 
 
3rd Grade General Music 
Student Teacher: Lexi Jennings 
 
Week 4 (Lesson 1 of Project) 
 
Sols/”I Can” Statements (Objectives): 
● 3.11 I can identify instruments from the four orchestral families visually and aurally.  
 
Materials needed: 
● treble staff  
● youtube video ( ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ95KUWCGT0​ ) 
● instrument family slides 
● quiz questions ( 
http://www.musictechteacher.com/music_quizzes/aq_identify_instrument_families/quiz.h
tml​ ) 
● note cards 
● instrument sounds ( 
http://www.musictechteacher.com/music_learning_theory/music_instruments.htm​ ) 
 
Introduction: 
● Review the treble clef, and note names for lines and spaces at the board with the entire 
class as a whole. 
● Pass out pre-test worksheet to entire class; all students complete pre-test worksheet 
individually.  
○ Listening portion of the worksheet is completed as a group. (Final 4 questions) 
● Play video that introduces the four instrument families 
 
Direct Instruction: 
● Go through slides that break down the four families, asking students questions and 
making sure students are actively listening and participating 
 
Guided Practice: 
● Take quiz questions together as a class 
 
Independent Practice: 
● Students will be given a card with one of the instruments we discussed on it 
● Students will move to the family they think their instrument belongs to 
 ● We will check each group as a class to make sure all students are in the right spot 
● I will play a short sound file of an instrument noise, and students will move to the corner 
where they think the sound belongs (percussion, woodwinds, brass, strings) 
● We will identify the instrument and family as a class. Instructor will call on students that 
want to guess the instrument name.  
 
 
Assessment/Closure: 
● I will assess students by calling on individuals during the slides and group quiz, as well 
as assess their accuracy during the classification activity.  
 
Adaptations: 
Size: ​Students will be primarily introduced to the four instrument families with a slideshow. As 
an alternative, slides can be printed out and given to students that this would assist. Students will 
also be given their own index cards to read with their own instrument on them to identify.  
Color: ​Different colors can be used for different instrument families. This can be applied to 
printouts, slides, and index cards. 
Pacing: ​Students will be given many opportunities for discussion and questions when talking 
about the different instrument families with the slideshow. We will talk through the quiz 
questions as a class, where students can be called on independently. All students will be 
encouraged to either agree or disagree when going over the answers to the quiz questions. During 
the listening activity, students will be able to help their peers in picking a family for the sounds 
they hear. 
Modality: 
● Aural: ​Students will watch an introductory video about the instrument families, and this 
video includes music from the four different instrument families. The lesson also includes 
a listening activity, where students will listen to instrument sounds and try to classify 
them by family.  
● Visual: ​Students will be shown information and pictures of instruments on slideshows. 
An alternate option would be to print out slides and give students handouts to follow 
along.  
● Kinesthetic: ​Students will move to four different corners of the four different instrument 
families for different instrument sounds. Students can be shown different movements to 
help them remember characteristics of the different instrument families. (Ex., “bowing” 
motion for strings, shaking or striking motion for percussion, etc.) 
 
 
 
 
Impact on Student Learning Project: Lesson 2 
  
3rd Grade General Music 
Student Teacher: Lexi Jennings 
 
Week 5 (Lesson 2 of Project) 
 
Sols/”I Can” Statements (Objectives): 
● 3.11 I can identify instruments from the four orchestral families visually and aurally.  
 
Materials needed: 
● Instrument families slides 
● Woodwinds presentation 
(​https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cL3a4q81bo3tf93OUdiGfKPT3PtM1TYORlzc
Xr8nrv4/edit?usp=sharing​ ) 
● Instrument sounds ( 
http://www.musictechteacher.com/music_learning_theory/music_instruments.htm​ ) 
 
Introduction: 
● Review the four instrument families 
○ use introductory slideshow that reviews all four instrument families.  
 
Direct Instruction: 
● Introduce the woodwind family and seperate slideshow. 
 
Guided Practice: 
● View woodwind slideshow, and seperate videos for each woodwind instrument.  
● Pass around clarinet and clarinet reed 
○ prompt students to make observations: 
■ How heavy is it? 
■ Does it have keys or buttons? 
■ How big is it? 
■ What makes it a woodwind? 
 
Independent Practice: 
● Students can play brief “what instrument am I” game in style similar to 20 questions, 
using questions like: 
○ Is it high sounding? 
○ Is it low sounding? 
 ○ Is it made of wood? 
○ is it made of metal? 
○ Is it a double reed instrument? 
○ Does it have a reed? 
 
Extension: 
● Students play four corners game using instrument sounds. 
 
 
Assessment/Closure: 
● Students may ask questions throughout woodwind slideshow, and instructor will assess 
accuracy during instrument game, and four corners game.  
 
Adaptations: 
Size: ​We will review the four instrument families with a slideshow, as well as discuss the 
woodwind instruments with a slideshow. As an alternative, slides can be printed out and given to 
students that this would assist.  
Color: ​Different colors can be used for different instrument families, and the different woodwind 
instruments. This can be applied to printouts and slides.  
Pacing: ​Students will be given many opportunities for discussion and questions when talking 
about the different instrument families and different woodwinds with the slideshow. We will talk 
about the different sounds and qualities of the different woodwinds as a class, and all students 
will be able to test what they know in the “what instrument am I” game that we play at the end of 
the lesson. 
Modality: 
● Aural: ​A majority of instruction will be given aurally, and students will have a chance to 
watch videos that include the different instrument sounds.  
● Visual: ​Students will be shown information and pictures of instruments on slideshows. 
They will also watch videos of people playing instruments, and they will watch a few 
videos on how the different instruments are made. An alternate option would be to print 
out slides and give students handouts to follow along.  
● Kinesthetic: ​Students can be shown different movements to help them remember 
characteristics of the different instrument families. (Ex., “bowing” motion for strings, 
shaking or striking motion for percussion, etc.) Students will also be given parts of 
instruments (reed, bow) and a clarinet to pass around and see during the discussion.  
 
 
 
 
Impact on Student Learning Project: Lesson 3 
 
3rd Grade General Music 
Student Teacher: Lexi Jennings 
 
Week 6 (Lesson 3 of Project) 
 
Sols/”I Can” Statements (Objectives): 
● 3.11 I can identify instruments from the four orchestral families visually and aurally.  
 
Materials needed: 
● Woodwinds presentation 
(​https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cL3a4q81bo3tf93OUdiGfKPT3PtM1TYORlzc
Xr8nrv4/edit?usp=sharing​ ) 
● Strings family presentation 
● Violin to pass around 
 
Introduction: 
● Review the woodwind family  
● Pass out post-test assessment.  
○ Students complete assessment individually; listening portion will be completed as 
a class.  
 
Direct Instruction: 
● Introduce the string family with slideshow. 
 
Guided Practice: 
● View strings family slideshow, and videos for each strings instrument.  
● Pass around violin for students to look at  
○ prompt students to make observations: 
■ How heavy is it? 
■ How big is it? 
■ How many strings does it have? 
■ What makes it the highest string instrument? 
● Can demonstrate how string instruments work on a ukulele 
 
Independent Practice: 
● Students can play brief “what instrument am I” game in style similar to 20 questions, 
using questions like: 
 ● Students may ask questions/share comments throughout powerpoint presentation 
 
 
Assessment/Closure: 
● Students may ask questions throughout strings slideshow. I will ask a few questions about 
strings instruments at the conclusion of the presentation. If there is time, students can 
play 20 questions game using string instruments.  
 
Adaptations: 
Size: ​We will review the four instrument families with a slideshow, as well as discuss the strings 
instruments with a slideshow. As an alternative, slides can be printed out and given to students 
that this would assist.  
Color: ​Different colors can be used for different instrument families, and the different strings 
instruments. This can be applied to printouts and slides.  
Pacing: ​Students will be given many opportunities for discussion and questions when talking 
about the different instrument families and different strings with the slideshow. We will talk 
about the different sounds and qualities of the different strings as a class, and all students will be 
able to test what they know with questions at the end of the lesson. 
Modality: 
● Aural: ​A majority of instruction will be given aurally, and students will have a chance to 
watch videos that include the different instrument sounds.  
● Visual: ​Students will be shown information and pictures of instruments on slideshows. 
They will also watch videos of people playing instruments, and they will watch a few 
videos on how the different instruments are made. An alternate option would be to print 
out slides and give students handouts to follow along.  
● Kinesthetic: ​Students can be shown different movements to help them remember 
characteristics of the different instrument families. (Ex., “bowing” motion for strings, 
shaking or striking motion for percussion, etc.) Students will also be given parts of 
instruments (bow) and a violin to pass around and see during the discussion.