Assessment Tools In order for my students to successfully learn how to navigate through a piece of music, a wide variety of assessment

tools were required. All five sections of the unit; 1) Note reading, 2) Music Basics, 3) Navigation, 4) Signs and Symbols, and 5) Application and Performance, were distributed equally throughout each lesson, with formal and informal assessments used to track student progress. Pre-assessment Assessment Summary Assessment Description Aside from a few students who had taken extracurricular music lessons of some sort, the majority of the 18 students in the 4th grade choir had never read through a piece of music. The assessment addressed elements 1-4 out of the 5 included in the unit. Question 1 addresses section one; notes on the staff. Sections 2-4 are identified in questions 2-11, with questions referencing measure numbers, signs and symbols, and general music basics. The assessment is a variation of fill in the blank and multiple-choice questions. Alignment to the Standards Colorado National Assessment Questions Standards Standards Theory of Music Reading and Questions 1-11 Notating Music Assessment Timing This assessment was given before any instruction. This allowed me to see what the students knew, what they had an idea about, and what they did not know. This gave me a general idea of each students musical background and knowledge.

Choir Worksheet ! Child of Peace

1. The key signature of Child of Peace is E Major. a) In E Major, what is the most important, or tonic note? ______________________________ b) In E Major, what is the second most important, or dominant note? ______________________________ c) What is the singers starting pitch? (the first note that is sung) ______________________________

4. In which measure will you begin to sing? Circle the correct response. A) Measure 1 B) Measure 4 C) Measure 5 D) I dont know 5.What does the dynamic mp mean?

6. In measure 12, what does the time signature change to? ______________________________

2. What is the time signature for Child of Peace? ______________________________

7. In measure 25, what does this sign mean? (Circle the correct response).

3. How many beats are there in each measure? ______________________________

A) Gradually become softer B) Gradually become louder C) Dont change dynamics

8. In what measure do you see the words poco rit? _____________________________

9. What does poco rit mean? ______________________________

10. What does a tempo mean? ______________________________

11. What symbol indicates the end of a piece of music? (Circle the correct response. A) B)

C)

D)

Informal Assessments Many informal assessments were used throughout the teaching process of this unit. The assessments are broken down into section categories. Hand Staff Self Assessment: After the lines and spaces were identified, students used their hand staff to practice and assess their understanding and progress of note reading.

Pitch Flash Cards: First as a class, and then individually, students worked their way through pitch flash cards. As a flash card was presented, students identified 3 things. o 1 Is it on a line or space? o 2 What line or space number? o 3 What is the pitch? This let me know the level of understanding each student had. It also identified exactly where any confusion might be. If a student could identify that the note was on a line, but counted in the wrong direction, or a student forgot the sequence of the note names, their answers to the flash cards identified this.

Color Dot Game: This game provides a similar result to the teacher as far as comprehension of pitches. Students tossed a round color dot onto an enlarged staff, and their team members had to identify what the pitch was. Like the flash cards, students were required to identify 1) line or space, 2) line or space number, and 3) pitch name. As a competitive game, students were actively paying attention to their peers answers, and were able to assess whether or not their peers answered correctly.

Valentines Day Note Reading Activity Students were provided with a worksheet with valentines day jokes. The jokes had missing letters, represented by pitches on the staff. In order to figure out the Questions and Answers to the jokes, students looked at the pitch on the staff and filled in the blank. Students were allowed to work individually or with one partner.

Note Reading Story This assessment allowed students to access technology to identify notes on the staff. Through the musictechteacher.com website, students accessed an activity similar to the Valentines Day Jokes. Students filled in the blanks with the letters represented by the pictured pitches to figure out the story. As they checked their score at the end, I was able to identify if they understood, and they could fix answers that they got wrong.

Music Tech Teacher Quizzes

Identify the Treble Clef Notes

Gap-fill exercise Correct! Well done. Your score is 98%.

Ms. Garrett began class with a review of treble clef note identification. Then she asked her students to identify the words in the following story by naming the treble clef notes.

Tommy brought

bag of candy to school. He was

happy to share the candy with

bea,

ed, and Deb,

his best friends. They were all the same

age.

dee,

another student who liked to

gab about everything, told her

friends about the

bag of sweets.

abe, who was

supposed to

be helping another student review his treble clef

notes, came to see if there was enough candy for all of the students. He

begged for a piece of candy because he hadn't been

 fed since breakfast! Tommy placed the candy on the

edge of his desk and

added up the

number of pieces of candy from his

bag. He was nice enough

to give a piece of candy to each student in the class.

abe

agreed that the candy was much better than the

cabbage that he had for breakfast!

deb

faced Abe with an awful look on her

face. 'Ugh', cried

bea.' How can you eat cabbage for breakfast?' Abe said that

he ran out of

eggs and

beef. Cabbage was the

next best thing to

feed upon.

ed said that in his

entire life, a

decade, he had never heard such a

bad thing as having

cabbage for

breakfast. Tommy

begged Abe to change to a

sweeter subject and they all went to the a nice lunch. (Story Copyright 2002 by Ms. K. Garrett www.musictechteacher.com)

cafe downstairs for

Musical Hide and Seek: Students played hide and seek by looking through their choir music to discover musical elements and identify measure numbers. Students raised their hands when they discovered the measure number of the element asked for, and the classmates confirmed whether or not the answer was correct. This activity was specifically planned in one of the earlier lessons, but students were asked to identify measure numbers each class period as they sang through the music. Continual Self Assessment: During the rehearsal process, I constantly asked students self-assessment questions, such as: Did I end on the right pitch? Did I remember to use the dynamic pictured? Did I hold the note for the correct time? Students assessed their own work, and as these questions were asked, gave thumbs up or thumbs down. Continual Peer Assessment: During the rehearsal process, students were asked to listen not only to their own part, but to the other voices around them. Students were asked to identify if their neighbors were singing the correct pitches and rhythms. They were also encouraged to pay attention to each others breathing. The classroom was established as a safe space where students could identify whether or not their classmates were using correct techniques while singing. Ticket out the Door/Time Signature Activity: Students were taught the meaning of the two numbers of the time signature. The top number represents the number of beats, and the bottom number represents the type of note that gets the beat. As the students left the classroom, I gave each individual a time signature. Their ticket out the door was to verbally tell me how many beats and what type of note gets the beat.

Post-assessment Assessment Summary Assessment Description The post-assessment is not identical, but parallel to the pre-assessment. The preassessment required students to look at one piece of music to answer questions, The post-assessment asks similar questions, requiring students to look at elements of all three choral pieces to answer. Questions are divided into four categories. There is a Matching portion for musical signs and symbols. There is a Fill in the Blank portion referencing musical basics and such as time signatures and pitches. There is a Musical Hide and Seek (Fill in the Blank) portion similar to the activity done in class, where students navigate through music to identify measure numbers. The students are also given the opportunity to answer a written bonus question that asks what their favorite part of choir has been. Alignment to the Standards Colorado National Assessment Questions Standards Standards Theory of Music Reading and Questions 1-11 Notating Music Assessment Timing This assessment was given at the end of the unit. All of the elements in the assessment were taught throughout the unit, and the assessment will identify what students learned, what they retained, and what they understood throughout the music-reading unit.

Name___________________________

Class___________________________________

Choir Worksheet
Matching Draw a line from the symbol/sign to its definition.

1. 2. mp 3. D.S. al Coda

a. mezzo piano/medium soft b. decrescendo c. a little bit slower

4. 5. poco ritardando

d. go back to the e. crescendo

Fill in the Blank Write the correct answer in the space below each question.
6. What is the time signature of the song In the Stillness? ______________________________ 8. The key signature of Al Tambor is F Major. What is the most important, or tonic note? ______________________________ 7. In the Stillness has how many beats per measure? ______________________________ 9. What is your starting pitch in Al Tambor? (the first note you sing think lines and spaces) ______________________________

Name___________________________

Class___________________________________

Musical Hide and Seek Child of Peace

Fill in the blank with the correct measure number. These questions refer to Child of Peace. 10. In which measure do you begin to sing? __________________________________________________________________

11. In which three measures does the time signature change from

to

__________________________________________________________________ 12. In which measure do you see the rhythm marking, a tempo? __________________________________________________________________ Bonus Question: What is your favorite part of choir?