PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY LESSON PLAN & EVALUATION

PART 1. BACKGROUND OF THE LESSON

Name of Student Leo (6 years old) and Lesson Number 1

Nerys (8 years old)

Date and time of 22/01/20 – 17.00 Length of 30 minutes x2

lesson lesson

A. Lesson Aims

-Develop a comfortable/safe environment for the new student

-Begin to develop an effective ‘plucking’ technique of the ‘G’ string

-Begin to understand the beginning of a G major scale – the pitches G, A, B

-Begin to feel a sense of pulse/ distinction of rhythms

B: Materials required to teach this lesson

-Guitars x2
-Piece of paper

PART 2: THE LESSON

A. Starter Activities

Timing What Why How

5 mins ‘Che Che Kule’ song
B. Main Development Activities
-Build confidence/trust with -Call and response with
student singing, try and ensure clear
-Develop sense of rhythms
pulse/internalise rhythms -Continuing with call and
(to use later) response, implement
-Call and response, creates percussive element on the
immediate back of the guitar (tap the
engagement/focused rhythm while singing)
listening -Offer creative choice of
where to tap the guitar,
student can create their
own ‘drum’ sound

Timing What Why How

5 mins -Begin to develop an -Thoughtfully taking ‘free- -Through demonstration, will

effective ‘free-stroke’ stroke’ approach as oppose attempt to show anchoring

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 plucking technique on G
string
3 mins -Reconciliation of plucking
technique and pitch of G
string
10 mins -Using same approach as
introducing the note G,
begin to introduce note A.
If student learns quickly,
can also introduce note B.
C. Conclusion of Lesson; Review Activities
Timing What
5 mins -Further reconciliation of
the notes G, A and B
to ‘rest-stroke,’ despite
possibly being slightly more
difficult to begin with, will
lead to a more versatile
technique later on
-Beginning on G string, as
opposed to the top E string,
because can instantly begin
to implement the opening of
a G major scale
-Further reinforce plucking
technique, and develop sense
of rhythm and pitch
-Continuing process of
introducing G major scale
-Further develop sense of
pitch and rhythm
Why
-Reinforcing students
understanding of the
pitches, physically on the
instrument and aurally
of thumb on string 4 (string
directly beneath string
3/G), as stability for right
hand. Then demonstrate
striking motion of string 3
with finger ‘i’ only.
- Call and response ‘games,’
similar to starter activity.
Plucking different rhythms
of G string for the student
to imitate, simultaneously
singing the pitch of G for
student to also copy.
- Continuation of call and
response games across the
different notes, with both
playing the notes and singing
the pitches.
-Can use same rhythms from
the starter activity across
the different notes: ‘Che
Che Kule’
-Ensure the plucking-hand
thumb remains anchored on
string 4 when student
begins to pluck across two
different strings
-Demonstrating how to
effectively use other hand
which fret to press for note
A
How
-Making the call and
response games more
challenging for student by
only singing the pitches, for
the student to imitate
through instrument,
further developing aural
2

3 mins - Finish lesson with ‘Don’t
strum this one back’ game
- Fun, rewarding game for
student to enjoy at end of
the class.
- Develops sense of pulse/
distinction of rhythms
-Develops effective
‘strumming’ technique
skills.
-Switch roles in game,
allowing the student to
create some sequences for
the teacher to copy
-Turning back to student
and playing different notes
for the student to guess
the pitches.
- Student imitates rhythms
from teacher through
strumming guitar, however
avoids the rhythm that
follows “don’t strum this
one back”.

D. Independent Study (Homework)

What
-Continue to look over the new notes G, A, B to be
quizzed in the following lesson
-Practise them in different sequences, singing
the pitches at the same time.
Why
- Reinforce what the student has learnt in the
lesson.
- Continue to develop plucking technique
- Internalise the pitches aurally, before being
introduced to what the pitches look like on
notation

PART 3: LESSON EVALUATION: PUPIL SKILLS AND MUSICAL UNDERSTANDING

A. Skills and musical understanding acquired; what did the student learn in this lesson and
how do you know this?

Leo
-Learnt to internalise rhythms with a pulse – singing along to starter in time with correct rhythm
-Began to learn an effective plucking technique – was able to pluck G string clearly
-Learnt the titles of 2 notes (A and G) – was able to play and sing them simultaneously
Nerys
-Learnt to internalise rhythms with a pulse – singing along to starter in time with correct rhythm
and pitch
- Began to learn an effective plucking technique – was able to pluck G and B string clearly
-Gained a better understanding of scales – was able to play and sing the notes G, A, B
simultaneously with good dictation and good aural recall

B. Building on skills and musicality; How will you build on these skills and their musical
understanding in the next lesson(s)

-Reinforce aural understanding with more copying/ call and response games – integrate hand

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gestures to signal different pitches
-Allow more for students to create their own short melodies for me to copy - improvise
-Introduce notation of what the notes G, A, B look like on a stave
-Possibly explore more of the scale on the instrument and voice, C, D, E etc.

PART 4: SELF-REFLECTION: the quality of the teaching in the lesson

A: Lesson Strengths: what did you do well in this lesson? Mention anything that might have
positively influenced the pupil(s)’ learning) 

Leo
-Song at the start was very engaging for Leo and allowed him to move around while actively
musicking
-Singing the notes allowed Leo to keep working on his understanding of scales and pitch when
he no longer wanted to play the notes on his instrument.
-elements of games/copying keeps Leo engaged for longer
Nerys
-Song at the start was also engaging. Nerys was previously upset about an incident at school
and didn’t want to participate in the guitar lesson, however uplifting song changed her mood
and motivation
-Also responded really well to singing while she played instrument, made her focus for longer

B. Lesson Weaknesses: What was less successful in this lesson? Mention anything that might
have negatively influenced this lesson) 

Leo
-Very difficult to get Leo to sit still. He was able to effectively engage in the starter and
sing the notes while moving around, however very difficult to get him to sit and play the
instrument
-Physically small hands and body can make it difficult for Leo to play the instrument
-Copying games need to be constantly adapting for Leo to not lose interest
Nerys
-Nerys can very quickly lose interest also, there needs to be an element of competition in the
games to get her to focus
-sometimes complains that her fingers hurt when trying to play the instrument

C. What might you do to improve your teaching in the next lesson? This might include new
strategies, resources and approaches to make the teaching and learning more effective.

Leo
-More games that require Leo to be physically active and moving
Nerys
-More singing in all the activities

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Remember to keep all your lesson plans, evaluations and self-reflections in a folder. You should refer to
them as you plan each lesson. Please remember you will be asked to submit this work as part of your
Practical Pedagogy portfolio.