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Supplemental/Communication Items
N/A

Visuals
To help students understand the relationships between
different note values, I drew a note tree up on the board
that stayed up for the first week of the unit. The tree showed
a whole note dividing into two half notes, four quarter notes,
etc. Each note also had its corresponding rest next to it.
When the students learned about the parts of and notes
on the staff, I used the staff lines on the board to guide
students through each part. We also formatted the entire
project on four staves on the board. I had the students come
up to the board and write out one note at a time until we had
an entire melody. Then we used the same process for the
accompaniment line; I kept this up on the board for the
remainder of class.

Student Assessment

Composition Project
For this project, each student will be composing an
eight-measure melody to played on piano and an
eight measure rhythmic accompaniment to be played
on drums.
Requirements for each project:
1. Write 4 measures of melody in treble clef using
notes in the right-hand C position
2. Write 4 measures of melody in bass clef using
notes in the left-hand C position
3. Write an 8-measure accompaniment part for a
hand drum, using note values and rests from
your notes.
Compositions will be graded on:
Correct use of notes and rhythms
Formatting: Clefs, time signatures, bar lines,
measure numbers
Performance: steady beat, proper hand
technique, rhythms and notes played correctly
Originality: make it interesting!

Composition Project Rubric

Composition
8 measure
melody

8 measure
accompanime
nt

Performance
Correct notes
and rhythms
Steady beat
Proper hand
technique

Basic
(0-4)

Proficient
(5-8)

Distinguished
(9-10)

There are 3 or
more errors in
formatting. Notes
are consistently
written incorrectly
on the clefs and
do not from the cmajor scale.
Rhythms do not fit
into 4/4 time and
are written
incorrectly on the
staff. Composition
shows lack of
original thought.
Students missed
more than 4 notes;
rhythms were
incorrect
throughout the
performance.
Steady beat was
non-existent.
Students
consistently
slowed down, sped
up, or had to stop
all together. Hand
position was
incorrect. There
always room for
improvement;
keep practicing!

Composition is
mainly formatted
correctly, missing
only 1 or 2 clefs,
time signatures, or
bar lines. Notes
come from the cmajor scale and are
written correctly on
the staff, with only
1 or 2 mistakes.
Rhythms mostly fit
into 4/4 time.
Composition is
interesting!
Students missed 2-3
notes and fumbled
over a couple
rhythms, but you
kept going! The
beat was steady the
majority of the
time; students
slowed down or
sped up only once
or twice. Hand
position was mainly
correct. Nice work
just needs
refinement!

Composition is
formatted correctly,
including all clefs,
time signatures,
and bar lines. All
notes come from
first five notes of cmajor scale. Notes
are correctly placed
on the staff in each
clef. Rhythms fit
into 4/4 time.
Composition is
pleasant to listen
to!
Students missed
only 1 note or
rhythm or students
played all correct
notes and rhythms.
The beat was
steady the entire
time. Correct hand
position was used
on the piano. It is
evident students
practiced and work
well together!

Composition Project

Performance
Composition

STUDENTS

Technology:
The technology used throughout this unit included a CD
with various songs, an electronic version of Rhythm Reader,
YouTube videos, and the Real Piano 3D App. One of the first
goals I wanted to accomplish was for students to be able to
identify the melody in a piece of music. My cooperating
teacher had a CD with a variety of famous pieces, from Ride

of the Valkyries to Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. Students

were asked determine which instruments or voices had the
melody. This skill was also assessed on the pre and
posttests.
I used an electronic version of Rhythm Reader to teach
students note and rest values, as well as time signatures. By
projecting the book on a large screen, I was able to move
about the room and make sure all students were on task,
instead of standing at the board and writing constantly. The
Rhythm Reader also provided several exercises for the
students to drum with, which was more time efficient than
me writing exercises on the board and then erasing them.
After students had mastered several note and rest values,
they were asked to use their drumming skills to accompany
three different music videos that I found on YouTube. Using
YouTube videos (school appropriate, of course) allowed me to
create an engaging activity that connected the material they
had learned to music they actually listen to.
The Real Piano 3D App was used so students could
practice their piano skills and work on their compositions

during and outside of class. We do not have a full class set of

piano keyboards, so half the class would go to the keyboards
and the other half could skill work by using the app on their
iPads.

Accommodations:
Because each student in this class learns differently
and has a different musical background, I made a few
accommodations throughout the unit. When students were
learning rhythms through drumming, I varied the tempo of
our drumming so students at different levels could follow
along. Most of the accommodations were made while
students were working on their composition project. There
were four students in the class who had previous piano
experience and needed to be challenged beyond using right
and left-hand C position. These students were allowed to use
any notes on the piano they wished, as long as they could
play them correctly. Other students in the class were having
difficulty managing the amount of pitches and note values to

choose from. For these students, I limited their note values

to whole, half, and quarter notes, and limited their pitches to
C, D, and E. During the performance I allowed students to
play as slowly as needed, while still keeping a steady tempo.
Each student was able to create a play a composition
successfully due to these accommodations.