Janaa Eborn

10/11/2020
MUS149

Microteach Lesson Plan 03

Context: Grade 4 General Music
Prior Knowledge: Students have worked with dynamics and tempo. The students are analyzing
these along with pitch direction to identify shape in a melody.
Essential Question: How can contour make a piece of music unique?

I.National Standards:

1. MU:Cr1.1.3a Improvise rhythmic and melodic ideas, and describe connection to specific
purpose and context (such as personal and social).
2. MU:Pr4.1.3a Demonstrate and explain how the selection of music to perform is
influenced by personal interest, knowledge, purpose, and context.
3. MU:Cn10.0.3a Demonstrate how interests, knowledge, and skills relate to personal
choices and intent when creating, performing, and responding to music.
4. MU:Re7.2.3a Demonstrate and describe how a response to music can be informed by the
structure, the use of the elements of music, and context (such as personal and social).

II. Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will demonstrate musical contour through movement.

2. Students will create movements that represent contour.
3. Students will define contour.
4. Students will identify directional dynamics, pitches, or tempos that create the contour of a
melody.

III. Assessments:

1. The teacher will visually assess the students’ locomotor movements during the movement
routine demonstration (+1 for students who follow the teacher and perform the
movements, 0 for students who do not perform the movements)
2. The teacher will visually assess the student-created, locomotor movements (+1 for
students who show direction through their movements, 0 for students that don’t show
direction through their movements).
3. The teacher will visually assess the students’ definitions of contour on their exit tickets
(+1 for students who get the definition at least partially correct, 0 for students who can’t
explain shape).
4. The teacher will visually assess the students’ identification of shape and directional
components in a piece of music (+1 for students who raise and lower their hands at the
correct times, 0 for students who do not raise or lower their hands at the correct times).

IV. Materials:
 1. Pencil (writing utensil)
2. Paper (something to write on)
3. “Invocation” by Sina Bathaie.
4. Modern Interpretation performed by Santoor Navazan.

Sina Bathaie. (2017, September 30). Invocation [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTSzgpmxMWs&ab_channel=SinaBathaie-Topic

Peykan47. (2011, May 9). Iranian Santur, Modern Interpretation [Video].

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55Cjsbt-eYY&ab_channel=Peykan47

V. Key Terms:

1. Contour- the sequence of motions between notes of a melody.

Study.com. (2020). Contour. Study.com

https://study.com/academy/lesson/melodic-contour-definition-examples.html

VI. Procedure:

1. The teacher will introduce “push” and “pull” motions, asking students to follow.
2. The teacher will crouch down and hold their hands directly in front of their chest (with
palms facing out and fingers slightly curled).
3. The teacher will slowly step forward, gradually standing taller, pushing arms forward/up,
and straightening fingers.
4. The teacher will say that this is a “push”.
5. The teacher will slowly move back to the original crouched position.
6. The teacher will say that this is a “pull”.
7. The teacher will play Invocation and have students follow them with push and pull,
locomotor movements.
8. The teacher will explain that the push and pull movements can be done to where they
match the melody.
9. The teacher will have students stop their movement after 1-2 minutes.
10. The teacher will explain what contour is and how you can identify it in music.
11. The teacher will talk about how tempo, pitch direction, and dynamics contribute to
contour.
 12. The teacher will ask students questions to help them consider how directional dynamics,
pitches, and tempo might be categorized (whether as a push or pull).
13. The teacher will ask the students if (for example) an accelerando could be considered a
push.
14. The teacher will ask the students if (for example) a decrescendo could be considered a
pull.
15. The teacher will play more of Invocation and have students slowly move their hands up
and down, following the shape of the melody.
16. The teacher will break students into two groups and have them come up with a movement
that shows direction.
17. The teacher will have the groups present their movements to the class.
18. The teacher will have the students leave their groups.
19. The teacher will have the students write an exit ticket explaining what contour is.

VII. Further Learning:

1. After this lesson, the teacher could introduce some new pieces and have students identify
directional features they hear.
2. The teacher could have the students create more movements that represent contour.

Honor Code:

I affirm that I will uphold the highest principles of honesty and integrity in all my endeavors at
Gettysburg College and foster an atmosphere of mutual respect within and beyond the classroom.

Janaa Eborn.