Stauffer Listening Lesson

Samantha Belinski
7th Grade General Music

Standards:
MU:Re9.1.7
Select from teacher-provided criteria to evaluate musical works or performances.

Objectives:
1. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to recognize a repeated rhythmic pattern in
the song “Married Life” from the movie ​Up​ with a success rate of at least 80%.
2. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of a
repeated rhythmic pattern by performing the rhythm in small groups with a success rate
of at least 80%.

Hook:
The lesson will begin with a short story that connects to the song that will be presented. I will tell
students that they are going on a trip to their dream vacation spot, but they don’t want to leave
their house and all of their favorite things behind. They buy hundreds of balloons that they attach
to their house, and their trip begins as the house lifts into the sky. When they get to their
destination, they realize that the only way to get back on the ground is to pop the balloons. I will
then use this idea of popping balloons to show them the rhythmic pattern that is repeated
throughout the first minute of the song.

Instructional Sequence
1. Following the hook, I will demonstrate the repeated rhythmic pattern that I want them to
listen for by using the idea of popping a balloon. There will be a movement and sound
that corresponds to this idea where students pretend to pop a balloon themselves while
saying “pop”.
2. Once I demonstrate the first part of the rhythm, students will repeat it back to me with the
movement and sound.
3. Once students understand the first part, I’ll show them the second half of the rhythm and
have them repeat it back to me.
4. Once they have both parts learned, we’ll go through the whole pattern together a few
times so they know what they’ll be listening for in the music.
5. I will tell everyone to listen to the music for this pattern and to try to figure out how
many times it happens, and then I’ll play the first minute of the song for the first time.
6. Now that they’ve heard the music, I’ll ask them how many times they heard the pattern.
I’ll play it through one more time in case some are confused about the amount of
 repetitions. I’ll also ask them to see if they can identify the instruments that have this
pattern throughout the song as an added challenge for those who are ready for it.
7. Once they’ve listened to the music a second time, I’ll ask if anyone is able to identify the
instruments that have this pattern, or at least see if they’re able to recognize the
instrument family if they can’t guess the specific instrument. I’ll then split them up into
three groups since there are three repetitions of the rhythmic pattern with a different
instrument each time, and I’ll explain that during the third listening I want them to do the
“popping balloons” movement every time they hear it in the music. The first group will
listen for and perform during the original pattern, the second group will listen for and
perform during the first repetition, and the final group will listen for and perform during
the second repetition.
8. Once the third playing is over I’ll tell them that they successfully popped all of the
balloons and are now safely on the ground, and this will be the end of the lesson.

Assessment of Objectives
For this lesson, the assessment will be in steps 6 and 7 of the instructional sequence. Asking
them how many times they heard the rhythmic pattern will allow me to see who understands
what they’re looking for as they listen and who might still be confused about the pattern. After
playing it a second time, the next assessment point will be splitting them up into three groups to
see if they can perform one repetition of the pattern in a small group. Again, this will allow me to
see who fully understands the rhythm and where it happens in the music since they will not only
be performing it but listening to see when it’s their turn to come in.