Alexa Kleiman

Assessing Music Learning

Assignment 10

Small Group Activity: Slippery Fish
Grade: 4

OBJECTIVES
- Students will create dance moves or movements to animals found in the
ocean.
- Students will sing and dance at the same time.
- Students will show respect for other students presenting their sea creature
movements.
- During the class period, students will sing and understand the interval low
sol to do with a success rate of 80%.

PROCEDURE
What kinds of animals live in the ocean?
I have a song about a specific animal that lives in the ocean, and it goes like this!
Teacher introduces the song and sings it entirely once through with hand
movements.

Slippery Fish
Slippery Fish
Swimming in the water
Slippery Fish
Slippery Fish
Gulp, Gulp, Gulp!

What did I do when I sang the word fish? (Sing through it again so students know
exactly what you did for each part of the song)
Once you go through all parts of song, put the entire thing together and have
students sing with you and add the hand movements. Do until each student is
proficient at the hand movements while they are singing. Encourage students to
keep singing throughout the song as well as doing the movements.

Break students into groups.
Have a slippery fish group, tuna fish group, octopus group, great white shark
group, and a humongous whale group. Use as many as you can but the humongous
whale is needed for the ending. Hand out one card per group so that each group has
the animal that they will emulate through movement.

Each group will make movement that will look like their specific animal. Students
can use each person to make one big fish, or they can all have individual fish like
motions. Tell students they will each take a turn presenting their animal, but when it
is not their turn, they have to sit and be a respectful audience for others performing.
Every student must be singing at all times.

After a group finishes their segment, the lyrics go Gulp, Gulp, Gulp! Oh No!!! He got
eaten by a Tuna Fish, Tuna Fish, Swimming in the Water

Sing the entire song and finish with the lyrics Great white shark, Great white
shark, Gulp, Gulp, Gulp! Oh no! He got eaten by a. Oops! Excuse me!
Have the students stand up when it is their turn to present their animal.

Conclude by pointing out which fish is the smallest and biggest fish. Explain by
telling the students this song also shows how the food chain works. The bigger
fishes always eat the littler ones.

RUBRIC
Check all that apply:
_____1. Student was able to sing and complete movements at the same time.
_____2. Active participation was apparent in learning the song, and creating
movements.
_____3. Singing maintained correct pitch while performing movements.
_____4. Displayed clear focus while other students performed by being a good
audience.
_____5. Demonstrates creativity by exploring different movements for the sea
creatures to present.
_____6. Demonstrated the interval low sol to do, in tune, while continuing the
movements.

Exemplary Demonstrates all 6 criteria.
Proficient Demonstrates 4-5 criteria.
Developing Demonstrates 2-3 criteria.
Entry Demonstrates 0-1 criteria.

SUMMARY
This is a lesson plan that a former classmate used in Elementary Praxis at our
cooperating elementary school. Her lesson was so successful, that I had to use it for
this opportunity. I didnt have her actual lesson plan in my possession, so creating
this came from memory as I adapted it to these objectives. I preferred to use the
additive rubric for this lesson because of its ability to allow the teacher to grade
efficiently and promptly. Knowing very well what to look out for as we collect the
information will make it effortless to gather information.
As I try this lesson plan out when I get the opportunity to, I think the
first couple tries I will keep it as is. Although as I gain confidence with the lesson and
it molds over time, I think I would like to add a self or peer reflection as well. Having
that extra level will let me understand how my students thought about the lesson to
make better changes in the future, and collect information about if my students
preferred to work in this type of environment.