Lesson Planning Form for Accessible Instruction Calvin College Education Program

Teacher Ashley Meyers

Date 4/16/16

Subject/ Topic/ Theme Appalachian folk music -spirituals

Grade 9-12th

I. Objectives
How does this lesson connect to the unit plan?
Since this arrangement of Banjo Pickin Girl weaves in bits of Nobody Knows the Trouble Ive Seen on one of the later verses, I thought that it would be
appropriate to address another influential American folk genre spirituals.
cognitiveR U Ap An E C*

Learners will be able to:

Accurately and artistically sing through verse 6-7 of Banjo Pickin Girl
Make stylistic distinctions between spirituals and Appalachian folk songs
Understand the origins and influence of spirituals on American musical culture
Self-evaluate their progress on their small group arrangement

Ap/C
U/Ap
U
An/E

physical
development

socioemotional

X
X
X

Common Core standards (or GLCEs if not available in Common Core) addressed:
MU:Cr2.1.E.IIa Select and develop arrangements, sections, and short compositions for specific purposes that demonstrate
understanding of characteristic(s) of music from a variety of cultures studied in rehearsal.
MU:Pr4.3.E.IIa Demonstrate how understanding the style, genre, and context of a varied repertoire of music influences prepared and
improvised performances as well as performers technical skill to connect with the audience.
MU:Pr5.3.E.5a Use self-reflection and peer feedback to refine individual and ensemble performances of a varied repertoire of music.
(Note: Write as many as needed. Indicate taxonomy levels and connections to applicable national or state standards. If an objective applies to particular learners
write the name(s) of the learner(s) to whom it applies.)
*remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create

II. Before you start

Identify prerequisite
knowledge and skills.

Students should be familiar with the first five verses Banjo Pickin Girl from past class periods.
Pre-assessment (for learning):

Outline assessment
activities
(applicable to this lesson)

What barriers might this

lesson present?
What will it take
neurodevelopmentally,
experientially,
emotionally, etc., for your
students to do this lesson?

Formative (for learning): The teacher could ask students some questions about spirituals to see how much the
students already know and adjust the focus of the lesson based on this. Some example questions could include:
Can you name any spirituals? Where do spirituals come from? Do you know of any arrangers of spirituals? What
are some typical topics of spirituals?
Formative (as learning): Students evaluate their groups progress on their arrangement. They should consider both
their technical and stylistic preparedness and the necessary time they will need to complete the assignment.
Summative (of learning):
Provide Multiple Means of
Representation
Provide options for perceptionmaking information perceptible
When learning about spirituals,
students are first asked to compare
vocal idioms in Appalachian folk
music and spirituals by listening to
a recording (aural). Afterwards,
they fill in notes on their outline to
put words to some of the
characteristics they heard.

Provide Multiple Means of Action

and Expression
Provide options for physical actionincrease options for interaction

Provide Multiple Means of

Engagement
Provide options for recruiting
interest- choice, relevance, value,
authenticity, minimize threats
In an effort to make this lesson
more relevant to students lives,
after learning about the origins of
spirituals, the students will also
learn about specific characteristics
of spirituals that have influenced
popular music.
Students also get to make creative
decisions about their small group
arrangement (what instrumentation
to use, voicing/harmony,
interpretation, etc.).

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Provide options for language,

mathematical expressions, and
symbols- clarify & connect
language

Students are able to read music

notation and text when singing
Banjo Pickin Girl, which
include both symbols and
written language.

How will your classroom

be set up for this lesson?

Students are able to add

expression to their performance
of Banjo Pickin Girl by
learning about and
incorporating authentic
performances practices.

Provide options for sustaining effort

and persistence- optimize
challenge, collaboration, masteryoriented feedback

Students must collaborate with

each other to work on their
small group arrangement.

Students write in the blanks for

their spiritual notes outline.

In a more personal way,

students get to choose the small
group song and how they want
to interpret it.

Provide options for comprehensionactivate, apply & highlight

Provide options for executive

functions- coordinate short & long
term goals, monitor progress, and
modify strategies

Provide options for self-regulationexpectations, personal skills and

strategies, self-assessment &
reflection

Students must manage their

time in order to complete their
small group arrangement on
time. They are also asked to
monitor their progress on their
project by filling out a selfevaluation form at the end of
the class.

At the end of the class period,

each group self-assesses how
well they are doing and how
much more time they will need
to have their arrangement
performance-ready.

Students are expected to apply

what they are learning about the
vocal styles of both
Appalachian folk music and
spirituals to their performance
of Banjo Pickin Girl and
their small group arrangements.

Materials-what materials
(books, handouts, etc) do
you need for this lesson
and are they ready to
use?

Provide options for expression and

communication- increase medium
of expression

In the lecture on spirituals, the

lasting influence of spirituals
was highlighted to show the
important contribution African
Americans to musical culture in
the United States.
Clip of Fisk Jubilee Singers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3tKJ8gSKSk
Clip of Nobody Knows the Trouble Ive Seen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdavA_2QA0c
Self-evaluation sheets for group arrangements (see attachment).
Spirituals teacher notes/student outline (see attachments).
Computer that can be hooked up to play with sound system
For most of the class, the students can sit in their normal rows for choir. The teachers computer/the
classroom speakers should be set-up to play the necessary clips of spirituals as well. Towards the end
of the class period, students may break off into clusters to work on their small group arrangement.

III. The Plan

Time

Components

3 min
5 min
Motivation
(opening/
introduction/
engagement)

5-7
Development
min
(the largest
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Describe teacher activities

AND
student activities
for each component of the lesson. Include important higher order thinking questions and/or
prompts.
Start with a brief discussion of the origins of
Students listen to short outline of the origins of
African-American spirituals (see attached notes).
African-American spirituals.
Play clip of Nobody Knows the Trouble Ive
Seen. Have students compare vocal idioms in
spirituals to vocal idioms in Appalachian folk
music. How are they similar? How are they
different? How do they treat vowels/consonants?
Have students take out Banjo Pickin Girl and
point to where their part switches to Nobody
Knows the Trouble Ive Seen. How might they
make this distinctive/bring this out?
Once everyone has taken their seats, have students
warm-up. Include one of each of the following

Students listen to clip of Nobody Knows the

Trouble Ive Seen and compare vocal idioms in
spirituals to vocal idioms in Appalachian folk
music. How are they similar? How are they
different? How do they treat vowels/consonants?
Students take out Banjo Pickin Girl and point to
where their part switches to Nobody Knows the
Trouble Ive Seen. Students should focus on how
they can make this distinctive/bring this out.
Students take their seats and warm-up as directed.

types of exercises:
1. Relaxation/stretching
2. Breath support
3. Pure vowels
4. Extremes of range (usually lower then
upper)
5. Diction/articulation
6. Flexibility
10-15
min

component or
main body of
the lesson)

The goal for music learning today is to get through

at least verse 6 (mm. 47-59) and possibly verse 7 to
the end (mm. 59-77). As in previous lessons, some
voice parts may need to be isolated, then tried all
together with the group.

Students sight-read/learn their parts from mm. 4777 (hopefully).

5-7
min

Finish with a discussion of why spirituals are still

Students listen to some of the ways that spirituals
important today. Mention how the Fisk Jubilee
are influential and still relevant today. They may
Singers popularized spirituals. Talk about how
ask questions as they think of them.
spirituals have influenced modern gospel traditions
as well as Blues and R & B. Also, tell students
about composers who are known for setting
spirituals today: Rollo Dilworth, Moses Hogan,
John W. Work, etc.
Give students time to keep working on their
Students keep working on their arrangement
arrangements. Have students fill out a form
projects. By the end of the day, they should have
describing their progress (how far are you on the
their 3-paragraphs written. They should also be
paragraphs? Do you have an instrument that you
rehearsing their arrangement and tweaking it as
Closure
can include in your arrangement? How close are
necessary. At the end, students fill out a form where
(conclusion,
you to being able to sing/play through your piece?
they evaluate their own progress (how far are you
culmination,
Are you satisfied with your performance? Etc.). If
on the paragraphs? Do you have an instrument that
wrap-up)
this unit were more than 5 days, the teacher may
you can include in your arrangement? How close
choose to give the students more time on their
are you to being able to sing/play through your
arrangement or keep the same due date based on
piece? Are you satisfied with your performance?
this evaluation.
Etc.)
Your reflection about the lesson, including evidence(s) of student learning and engagement, as well as ideas for improvement
for next time. (Write this after teaching the lesson, if you had a chance to teach it. If you did not teach this lesson, focus on the
process of preparing the lesson.)
Rather than lumping Appalachian folk music and spirituals all together, I wanted to highlight the spiritual that was woven into
Banjo Pickin Girl. As an equally important and influential type of American folk music, spirituals provided an interesting point of
contrast and connection with Appalachian folk music. Also, I wanted students to make the distinction that while both Appalachian
folk songs and spirituals may not use standard choral tone, their musical styles are still different and should be reflected in how
they sing the music.
At the end of the lesson, I chose to have students evaluate their progress on their small group arrangements both for practical and
learning reasons. Practically speaking, it is helpful for the teacher to know how well the students feel they are doing (Are they
overwhelmed or lost? Is this easy for them? Do they need more time to work? Are they almost done? How confident do they feel?
Etc.). Based on the students evaluations, the teacher can choose to move forward with the original schedule or give students more
time and assistance with their arrangements. Since this may be one of the first times that students are asked to do an arrangement like
this, it may be prudent on the teachers part to give students a little extra leniency and help if they are feeling lost. From a learning
perspective, it is also good for students to learn to gauge how their work is going and how much time it will take them to complete a
project. These time management and self-evaluation skills will help them in the rest of their high school and college careers.

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