Music Ed

Jazz Lesson Plan

Wikipedia-Wikipedia has a list of jazz artist categorized by genre,style, and date that students could use as a starting point for their research.

Songza.com-Students can quickly find music from their selected artists and instantly play it for free.  Great way to expand their musical palate.

Clickers-There’s a portion of the lesson plan where the students answer six opinion driven questions about Jazz and compare their answers.  This could just as effectively be done with the clickers and since so much time is saved, more questions could be posed in greater detail. (”Jazz is noise” is a loaded statement.  Jazz IS noise.  All sounds are noise.  That could be worded better.)

Composing Music Lesson Plan

Finale Notepad-Finale Notepad is a free music notation software that can be downloaded from the internet at Finale.com.  Students can manipulate notes and create compositions easily and quickly.

Smart Board-Teacher can create a short rhythm on the smart board using Finale Notepad.  The 4/4 rhythm can be written prior to class or in front of the class.  Teacher can even ask students what rhythmic pattern should be used. Students can later come up to the Smart Board and move the notes to different lines, creating different melody options that Finale will play back.

Lesson Plan Assignment

This exercise will allow you to practice integrating technology into teaching and learning by using ready-made lesson plans that do not have technology and adapting technology activities to those plans.

The process:

1. Find two different lesson plans either on the web, in textbooks, or ones you’ve created in your content area and grade level that do not use any technology or only a little. (Make sure that you provide the URL if the plan is found on the web or a copy of the plan if it is from a book or your own.)
2. Use Word to write a technology integration section that you would add to each lesson plan. When finished add a page to your webfolio and either paste your narrative into the page or upload and link the file. Use three different technologies in each lesson. You will use a total of six different technologies. (Remember that a “technology” can be a specific piece of software. A computer by itself and a data projector not considered a “technology” in this assignment.) A web site can be used only once. The technology integration part should include:

• a description of the three technologies that you will use
• the objectives of each technology
• what software and hardware are needed
• what skills the teacher and students will need
• a reflection of what each technology adds to the lesson and student learning, (does the technology really add to the lesson)
• a link to the lesson plan if on the web, a digital copy if it is one of yours, or a hard copy if from a book

Here is an example of a good section:

Lesson plan title: Owl Pellets
Found at: http://www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceOwlPelletsSkeletalSystem58.htm

The technologies used in this lesson are a digital camera, the World Wide Web, and Inspiration software.

Objectives of the technologies:

• camera – The camera will be used to take pictures of the various bones found in the pellet. Students will practice using the camera by taking pictures of the various bones.
• World Wide Web – Students will use research skills to find pictures and information about the various prey found in the pellets.
• Inspiration software – Inspiration software will be used to make a graphic picture of the Owl and prey that was found in the pellet. The graphic should include pictures from the camera and the web along with brief descriptions of the various animals.

Software and Hardware requirements:

• digital camera with computer software or media reader
• Access to the Internet and browser software
• Inspiration software
• color printer

Skills required:

• Teacher – The teacher will need to be able to help students use the camera, web browser, and Inspiration software. The teacher should also be able to transfer pictures from the camera to the computers or network.
• Students – Students should have research and technical skills for searching on the World Wide Web and determining what sites have appropriate information. Students should know copyright issues and give appropriate credit for pictures and information.

Reflection on the technology:

The web will allow students to find more information and pictures than most classroom references. Students will need to use critical thinking skills while on the web to find correct information about the animals. They will also practice fair use and copyright issues with regards to using pictures and information from the web. Using the camera will allow students to document the pellet dissection and then use the images in any number of ways. The Inspiration software will have them connect owls and their prey in a graphic picture.The pictures could later be used for presentations or reports.