Unit Plan Outline

Teacher: Amandalin Hunter

Unit Title: How Music Looks: Form and Notation
Grade: 2
Number of Classes: 4
MA Frameworks:
National Standards: (Creating, Performing, Responding, Connecting)
Create, Imagine, Plan and make, Evaluate and Refine, Analyze, Interpret,
Rehearse
Rationale:
In this unit, students will be introduced to form, new music vocabulary, and music
symbols that we will use and build on throughout the year.
Essential Questions:
How does music look? How is music analyzed and understood?
Enduring Understanding:
Form (or structure) creates clarity and order in music. Creativity is grounded in
technical knowledge and experience (were practicing analytical skills and music
literacy to one day use those tools to create). Reading and notating music are
essential for music literacy.
Behavioral Objectives:
Students will gain the ability to identify form in a song, read simple rhythms in
4/4. Recognize whole notes, half notes, quarter notes eighth notes, and equal
value rests. Recognize the bar-line and identify its purpose.
Assessment/Evaluation:
Informal: singing games, in class work, teacher observations
Formal: Student responses, individual performances/ reading
Long Range Assignment/Project/Product: Using knowledge of meter and
rhythm, students will create and perform their own original two bar composition.
Prior Knowledge and Skills:
Keeping a steady beat, counting to four, ability to sing in a round,
Accommodations:
1. Special needs
Allow extra time for understanding, think-pair-share
2. ELL
Write instructions or concepts on the board and explain them
verbally as well.

School to Home/community connection:

Students can separate different sections of their favorite song to practice form.
When students see music notated in games or on toys they can identify what
music symbols they know and what they mean. They can also bring in a symbol
they found if they dont know what it represents. Students can also discuss the
language of music with their parental figures, peers, and other teacher
Activator:
To review and prepare for this unit, sing a song the children already know or can
learn easily. Ask them how someone whos never heard the song could learn it.
Discuss music as a language and introduce printed music and notation.
Repertoire:
Hello Friends, Three blind mice, songs with AB and ABA form, Head and
shoulders baby 123, Rain rain go away rondo, bounce high, Guru Ndiani, other
songs that include eighth notes, quarter notes, half notes and rests. Kaeru No
Uta, Animal Boogie
Materials Needed:
Paper, pencil, rhythm flash cards, different colored white board markers,

Lesson Outlines:
Lesson 1: Welcome to Second Grade Music!!
Behavioral Objective: Students will be able to sing Three Blind Mice and
recognize the AB form.
Assessment/Evaluation Students will be able to separate A from B
and sing both sections independently
Prior Knowledge and activator: ability to echo pitch and rhythm in call and
response.
Lesson content
Welcome back/ to music class!
Review using singing voice and learn arrival song Hello
Friends
Teach Three Blind Mice with call and response
Identify form of Three Blind Mice
Play games that manipulate the form
In groups of two sing Three Blind Mice for the class each
person singing either A or B of the form.
Lesson 2: Form Continued, adding Notation
Behavioral Objective: Students will review prior music reading knowledge
and recognize 4/4 meter, a bar-line.
Assessment/Evaluation: Teacher Observations during Kaeru No
Uta
Prior Knowledge and activator: Review form; chanting Rain, Rain, Go
Away as ABA form unison while keeping a beat in their bodies.
Lesson content
After chanting Rain Rain, ask What does that look like?
Put music on board or screen
Review names, symbols, and duration of whole notes, half
notes, quarter notes, and eighth notes.
Introduce/ review concept of bar-line
Sight read rhythms in Kaeru No Uta slowly and in sections
Add Pitch and lyrics to Kaeru No Uta after rhythms are solid
using pitched call and response.
Congratulations! Students learned half of the song just by
looking at it.
Prompt student responses.

Lesson 3: Creating Original Rhythms

Behavioral Objective: Students will create an original two bar rhythm
which we will add pitch to in the next class.
Assessment/Evaluation Students: Students will present their rhythm
to the class discussing the different types of note values they used (whole note,
half, quarter, eighth)
Prior Knowledge and activator: Dance to Animal Boogie to feel a groove
and put rhythm into bodies.
Lesson content
Rhythm flash cards in 4/4 meter
Discuss the possible combinations of beats to fill a bar of 4
Put four empty bars on the board and fill them in as a class
Hand out a worksheet with two empty bars on it and a key of
notation symbols and their duration. Students will fill out
work sheet individually. Give 5-7 minutes.
Ask questions about their rhythms raise your hand if you
used a half note. Did anybody use a quarter rest? ect..
Collect worksheets for next lesson.
Lesson 4: Creating Original Melodies
Behavioral Objective: Students will be able to identify the Treble clef
symbol, identify the notes G, A, and E on the staff and use those notes to create
an original melody
Assessment/Evaluation Students will be give their composition to
the teacher to play for the class.
Prior Knowledge and activator: ability to distinguish lines and spaces on
the staff. Learn Bounce High, Bounce Low via call and response
Lesson content
Identify and discuss Treble Clef. Lines and spaces on staff
(f.a.c.e. & Elvis guitar broke down Friday)
Identify G, E, and A
Put Bounce High on board and ask students what pitches it
uses
Discus steps and leaps
Sing Bounce High with note names
Put the rhythm the class composed last lesson on the board
and add pitches G, E, and A as a class. Play final
composition on piano.
Students will individually add pitches G,E, and A to their
original rhythm.
Teacher will play everyones original composition on piano.
Save and frame students pieces as My First Composition
for parental figures near the Holidays.