Unit Plan Outline

Teacher: Nathaniel Evans

Unit Title: Subdividing Rhythms
Grade: 9-12
Number of Classes: 2

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

 Students will respond to the rhythms be analyzing their subdivisions and
how the are counted.
 Students will perform the rhythms with their new counting system.

Rationale:
This lesson helps provide students with the tools to become better musicians.
The counting system they learn in these lessons will help them in many different
areas of their musicianship. Students will become better at sight reading, better
at playing rhythms, and have better time.

Essential Questions:
 What is the importance of using a counting system in music?
 How do you count sixteenth note subdivisions?
 How do you count sixteenth note triplet subdivisions?

Enduring Understanding:
Students will be able to use this counting system any time they run into a difficult
rhythm in a piece of music. It’s also useful for transcriptions. If they count out the
beats while listening to music, they’ll know exactly where each note lies in the
measure.

Behavioral Objectives:
At the end of this unit, students will be able to:
 Count all the subdivisions of quarter notes through sixteenth notes.
 Count all the subdivisions of quarter note through sixteenth note triplets.

Assessment/Evaluation:
Informal
Formal
Long Range Assignment/Project/Product

Prior Knowledge and Skills:

Students should have a fairly thorough knowledge of how to read rhythms. They
should understand each note value (including triplets) and how they are
subdivided into each other.

Accommodations:
  Students who are hard of seeing can view the powerpoints (which contain
all the rhythmic examples) from their iPads or computers.
 ELL students who may not be familiar with English numbers should at a
minimum keep the pulse of the smallest subdivision by tapping their hands
on either their legs or their desks. This means they’ll still be able to feel
the subdivisions, but they won’t have to worry about thinking about the
English numbers.

School to Home/community connection:

Many world music genres, such as many Latin and African styles, use
complicated syncopated rhythms. This counting system gives students the skills
to better understand and play these complicated styles.

Activator:
 Students will create a map of all the notes and how they are subdivided
into other notes.
 Students will practice reading rhythms while using the counting system.

Repertoire:
Teacher created rhythmic examples, each one adding a new subdivision (i.e.
quarter notes, then eight notes, then sixteenth notes, etc.)

Materials Needed:
 Computer
 Projector
 Powerpoint
 Speakers
 Whiteboard
 Dry erase markers
 Exit Slip

Lesson Outlines
1. Counting in Rhythm
a. Behavioral Objective: By the end of this lesson, students will be
equipped with a counting system to help them get through some of the
more difficult rhythms in our repertoire. This counting system focuses
more on subdivision than it does on note duration.
b. Assessment/Evaluation: Students will be asked to complete an exit
slip at the end of class where they write in the subdivisions above
the notes of a rhythmic example.
c. Prior Knowledge and Activator: Students should already know all
the note values and how they are subdivided into each other. They
will complete a “note map” at the beginning of class as a warm up.
d. Lesson content:
i. Basic Rules
 ii. Quarter Notes
iii. Eighth Notes
iv. Sixteenth Notes
2. Counting Triplets in Rhythm
a. Behavioral Objective: In this lesson, students will build on the
counting system from the previous lesson by adding triplets to their
repertoire,
b. Assessment/Evaluation: Students will be asked to complete an exit
slip at the end of class where they write in the subdivisions above
the notes of a rhythmic example.
c. Prior Knowledge and Activator: Students should already know all
the note values and how they are subdivided into each other. They
will complete a “note map” at the beginning of class as a warm up.
d. Lesson Content:
i. Eighth Note Triplets
ii. Sixteenth Note Triplets
iii. Quarter Note Triplets
3. Counting Syncopated Rhythms
a. Behavioral Objective: In this lesson, students will continue to work
with the counting system. This time, they will be introduced to more
complex syncopated rhythms that also include triplets.
b. Assessment/Evaluation: Students will be asked to complete an exit
slip at the end of class where they write in the subdivisions above
the notes of a rhythmic example.
c. Prior Knowledge and Activator: Students should already be very
familiar with the counting system. We will go over a straight and a
triplet example at the beginning of class as a refresher.
d. Lesson Content:
i. Warm-up/Review
ii. Syncopated Straight Rhythms
iii. Syncopated Triplet Rhythms
iv. All Together!
4. Counting in Odd Time Signatures
a. Behavioral Objective: In this lesson, students will work on using the
counting system in odd time signatures.
b. Assessment/Evaluation: Students will be asked to complete an exit
slip at the end of class where they write in the subdivisions above
the notes of a rhythmic example in odd time signatures.
c. Prior Knowledge and Activator: By this point students should be
very strong with the counting system. We’ll go over a quick
rhythmic example at the beginning of class featuring all of the
things we’ve talked about thus far.
d. Lesson Content:
i. Warm-up/Review
ii. Counting in Compound Meters
iii. Counting in Odd Time Signatures
1. 5/4 & 5/8
2. 7/4 & 7/8