Middle School Choir Unit

Introduction to Music Vocabulary Terms

Wamego Middle School

Ms. Kinsey Volk
 Table of Contents

Student Learning Goals _________________________________________________________ 3

National Music Standards Addressed ______________________________________________ 3
Vocabulary Terms Addressed ____________________________________________________ 4
Pre-Assessment _______________________________________________________________ 4
Lesson One __________________________________________________________________ 5
Lesson Two __________________________________________________________________ 7
Lesson Three _________________________________________________________________ 9
Lesson Four _________________________________________________________________ 11
Post-Assessment _____________________________________________________________ 13

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Student Learning Goals:
● Students can smoothly transition between music symbols.
● Students can verbalize the meaning of given music vocabulary terms (coda, crescendo, unison,
ritardando, spoken note, D.C. al coda, crescendo poco a poco, medley, flat, and the various
dynamics).
● Students are familiar with the ten terms (coda, crescendo, unison, ritardando, spoken note, D.C.
al coda, crescendo poco a poco, medley, flat, and the various dynamics) and can verbalize their
meaning.
● Students can accurately define the ten music terms (coda, crescendo, unison, ritardando, spoken
note, D.C. al coda, crescendo poco a poco, medley, flat, and the various dynamics).
● Students can continuously sing through Aladdin (a Medley from Walt Disney’s Aladdin) arranged
by Ed Lojeski, Can You Feel the Love Tonight arranged by Keith Christopher, and Seize the Day
arranged by Roger Emerson.

National Music Standards Addressed: (https://www.ksde.org)

● Pr.2.I: Demonstrate, using music reading skills where appropriate, how the setting and formal
characteristics of musical works contribute to understanding the context of themusic in prepared
or improvised performances.
● Pr.3.I: Demonstrate understanding and application of expressive qualities in a varied
repertoire of music through prepared and improvised performances.
● Pr.5.N.a: Demonstrate attention to technical accuracy and expressive qualities in prepared and
improvised performances of a varied repertoire of music.
● Re.2.I: Describe how understanding context and the way the elements of music are manipulated
inform the response to music.
● Re3.N: Identify interpretations of the expressive intent and meaning of musical works,
referring to the elements of music, contexts, and (when appropriate) the setting of the text.

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Vocabulary Terms Addressed:
● Coda
● Crescendo
● Unison
● Ritardando
● Spoken Note
● D.C. al Coda
● Crescendo poco a poco
● Medley
● Flat
● Dynamics: pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff

Pre-Assessment
For the May concert, students from seventh and eighth grade are singing Aladdin (a Medley from Walt
Disney’s Aladdin) arranged by Ed Lojeski, Can You Feel the Love Tonight arranged by Keith Christopher,
and Seize the Day arranged by Roger Emerson. This unit was composed after several rehearsals of
learning music for the end-of-the-year concert because students needed different methods of learning
music vocabulary to help make it easier for students to navigate through the music. This was also created
to be able to sing through songs without stopping and restarting at each symbol. To show what they
already knew, I created a pre-test with 10 important vocabulary terms that are found in the music. This
helped me create a rough outline of what I needed to go over.
The pre-test was taken on the students’ iPads on Google Forms.
Link to the Pre-Test: https://forms.gle/rWzoBGj4ejfPiH5d7

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 LESSONS AND ACTIVITIES
Lesson One: Introducing the Terms and Music Scavenger Hunt

Prior Knowledge/Skills:
Middle School students have been in the choir program since 6th grade. They have been working on good
choral vowels, breathing, articulation, and tone.
Unit Objectives:
Students transition between each music symbol smoothly while singing. They are also familiar with the
terms to the point that they can verbalize what each one means, such as the differences in dynamics,
where to go when they see the term “D.C. al Coda” and what to do when they see “cresc. poco a poco.”
Rehearsal Objectives:
Students are familiar with seven of the ten terms (coda, crescendo, unison, ritardando, spoken note, D.C.
al Coda, cresc. poco a poco) and can verbalize what each one means. Students can accurately answer
questions that will be on the Google Quiz.
Assessment of the Rehearsal:
Aural observations and verbal confirmation between the class and teacher.
Relevant Context Factors:
7th and 8th Grade choir is split into two classes and they are both different lengths of time. The 4th-hour
choir rehearsal is 55 minutes while the 5th-hour choir rehearsal is only 45 minutes. This has resulted in
the first-class going into more detail than the second class and the two choirs vary in level of music that
they can sing.
Modifications/Accommodations Needed:
Finding the terms in the music, going into depth with each term, director modeling
Materials, Resources, and Technology:
● Music (Aladdin Medley, Seize the Day, Can You Feel the Love Tonight)
● Google Slides (Slides 1- 8 and 11)
○ Link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1mYK9uXlfYpzmLXGtkhs3QVJNvjH_gZuM81Hzu1S3YT4/edit?usp=sharing
● Projector/Screen
Personal Improvement Objective:
Director provides helpful instruction and steps that allow students to sing unfamiliar parts confidently.

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Activity Sequence:
1. T has the Google Slides projecting on the board.
2. T: “Last time we met, I had you test your knowledge to see what you already knew about certain
music terms that you can find in your music. Show me by raising your hand on a scale of one to five,
one = not confident in how I did and five = super easy, ready for the post-test, how you did on the
pre-test.”
a. Ss raise their hands in the air with numbers held up while T analyzes how the students reacted
towards the pre-test.
3. T: “Thank you! So today we are going to dive deeper into some of our terms and play a little music
scavenger hunt with our terms.”
a. T starts the slide show. T asks Ss what each term means and then as a class they find it in
their music.
i. Coda: Can You Feel the Love Tonight - pg 6
ii. Crescendo: Can You Feel the Love Tonight - pg 6
iii. Unison: Every song, numerous places
iv. Ritardando: Seize the Day - pg 3, Aladdin - pg 6, 16, 17, 28, 36, Can You Feel the
Love Tonight - pg 8 x2
v. Spoken Note: Aladdin- pg 8, 9, 14, 18, 19, 21, 22
vi. D.C. al Coda - Can You Feel the Love Tonight pg 5
vii. Cresc. poco a poco - Seize the Day pg 3
4. T switches slide to slide 11
5. T: “For our next concert we are singing from three different genres. What is a genre?”
a. Ss raises a hand to answer
6. T: “Exactly! How would you describe or define a ‘ballad’?”
a. Ss raises a hand to answer (A song that tells a story, and it can be dramatic, funny, romantic,
etc.)
b. “Which song would you consider a ballad?” (Can You Feel the Love Tonight)
7. “What is a ‘musical’?” (A genre of drama in which singing and dancing play an essential part.)
a. “Which song would you consider a musical?” (Seize the Day)
8. “And lastly what is a ‘medley’?” (A song with multiple songs that play one after the other)
a. “Which song would you consider a medley?” (Aladdin)
9. T: “Great! Go ahead and open up Aladdin!”
Assessment: Informal assessment by raising their hand with a number of 1-5 (1= not confident in the
vocabulary words and 5 = very confident.) T takes note of Ss that do not feel confident in their learning.

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Lesson Two: Dynamics

Prior Knowledge/Skills:
Middle School students have been in the choir program since 6th grade. They have been working on good
choral vowels, breathing, articulation, and tone.
Unit Objectives:
Students transition between each music symbol smoothly while singing. They are also familiar with the
terms to the point that they can verbalize what each one means, such as the differences in
dynamics, where to go when they see the term “D.C. al Coda” and what to do when they see
“cresc. poco a poco.”
Rehearsal Objectives:
Students are familiar with the different dynamic symbols (pianissimo, piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte,
forte, fortissimo) and can verbalize what each one means. Students can identify and label them
from softest to loudest.
Assessment of the Rehearsal:
Aural observations and verbal confirmation between the class and teacher.
Relevant Context Factors:
The 7th and 8th Grade choir is split into two classes and they are both different lengths of time. The
4th-hour choir rehearsal is 55 minutes while the 5th-hour choir rehearsal is only 45 minutes. This
has resulted in the first-class going into more detail than the second class and the two choirs vary
in level of music that they can sing.
Modifications/Accommodations Needed:
Going into depth with each term and director modeling
Materials, Resources, and Technology:
● My Country ‘Tis of Thee
● Google Slides (Slides 9 & 10)
○ Link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1mYK9uXlfYpzmLXGtkhs3QVJNvjH_gZuM81Hzu1S3YT4/edit?usp=sharing
● Projector/Screen
Personal Improvement Objective:
Director provides helpful instruction and steps that allow students to sing unfamiliar parts confidently.

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Activity Sequence:
1. T has the Google Slides projecting on the board.
2. T asks the Ss to identify each symbol and what each one means. (Reveal the answers as they are being
taught on the Google Slides)
3. T has Ss stand up tall and sing My Country ‘Tis of Thee
4. T: “This time as we sing, I will point to our dynamic symbols (slide 10). I will change dynamics
whenever I want and your job is to sing whatever I point to.
a. Ss sings while T points to the dynamics. Change often and make it tricky.
5. T selects a student to be the dynamic leader while everyone else sings My Country ‘Tis of Thee
a. Ss who is the dynamic leader will choose the next person to be in charge
b. Continue this 4-5 more times or repeat as needed
c. T is listening for those who might be having difficulties with changing dynamics while
singing
Assessment: Students completed an informal assessment by singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” while
differentiating between the dynamics given by the leader.

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Lesson Three: Kinesthetic Group Work

Prior Knowledge/Skills:
Middle School students have been in the choir program since 6th grade. They have been working on good
choral vowels, breathing, articulation, and tone.
Unit Objectives:
Students transition between each music symbol smoothly while singing. They are also familiar with the
terms to the point that they can verbalize what each one means, such as the differences in dynamics,
where to go when they see the term “D.C. al Coda” and what to do when they see “cresc. poco a poco.”
Rehearsal Objectives:
Students can accurately and verbally define the ten vocabulary terms (coda, crescendo, unison, ritardando,
spoken note, D.C. al coda, crescendo poco a poco, medley, flat, and the various dynamics).
Assessment of the Rehearsal:
Aural observations and verbal confirmation between the class and teacher.
Relevant Context Factors:
7th and 8th Grade choir is split into two classes and they are both different lengths of time. The 4th hour
choir rehearsal is 55 minutes while the 5th hour choir rehearsal is only 45 minutes. This has resulted in
the first class going into more detail than the second class and the two choirs vary in level of music that
they can sing.
Modifications/Accommodations Needed:
Going into depth with each term, director modeling, assisting with groups
Materials, Resources, and Technology:
● Google Slides
○ Link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1mYK9uXlfYpzmLXGtkhs3QVJNvjH_gZuM81Hzu1S3YT4/edit?usp=sharing
● Projector/Screen
Personal Improvement Objective:
Director provides helpful instruction and steps that allow students to sing unfamiliar parts confidently.

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Activity Sequence:
1. T divides the Ss into groups of two. Each group is given two terms to focus on.
2. T: “Now that we have talked through each of our music vocabulary words, I want you to explain them
to me as well as the rest of the class. Your job is to define both of your words as well as come up with
an action to help us remember each term. For instance, if I had the word molto ritardando (which is
not one of your vocabulary terms) I could walk in a straight line and then slow down a lot because
molto means a lot or much.”
a. Give students 5-7 minutes to come up with their definition and movement for their words.
Walk around and help any groups that might need it. Take note of those that struggle with any
of the terms.
3. Ss presents at the front of the class each of their vocabulary terms.
Assessment: Students completed an informal assessment by participating in the group discussion
and creating movements with the corresponding terms.

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Lesson Four: Applying the Vocabulary Terms to the Music

Prior Knowledge/Skills:
Middle School students have been in the choir program since 6th grade. They have been working on good
choral vowels, breathing, articulation, and tone.
Unit Objectives:
Students transition between each music symbol smoothly while singing. They are also familiar with the
terms to the point that they can verbalize what each one means, such as the differences in dynamics,
where to go when they see the term “D.C. al Coda” and what to do when they see “cresc. poco a poco.”
Rehearsal Objectives:
Students can accurately and verbally define the ten vocabulary terms (coda, crescendo, unison, ritardando,
spoken note, D.C. al coda, crescendo poco a poco, medley, flat, and the various dynamics). Students can
also continuously sing through all three songs and apply their knowledge from the vocabulary terms.
Assessment of the Rehearsal:
Aural observations and verbal confirmation between the class and teacher.
Relevant Context Factors:
The 7th and 8th Grade choir is split into two classes and they are both different lengths of time. The
4th-hour choir rehearsal is 55 minutes while the 5th-hour choir rehearsal is only 45 minutes. This has
resulted in the first-class going into more detail than the second class and the two choirs vary in level of
music that they can sing.
Modifications/Accommodations Needed:
Finding the terms in the music, going into depth with each term, director modeling
Materials, Resources, and Technology:
● Music (Aladdin Medley, Seize the Day, Can You Feel the Love Tonight)
● Whiteboard
Personal Improvement Objective:
Director provides helpful instruction and steps that allow students to sing unfamiliar parts confidently.

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Activity Sequence:
1. T: “Everyone did a great job coming up with movements to help us remember each vocabulary term
we have studied. Today, I want to apply the knowledge we have gained through the last few lessons to
our music.
2. T and Ss sing through each piece.
a. If needed, stop and explain how the students could be more successful with the term that is seen in the
music.
b. T assesses as Ss sing through each piece and takes note of those who need more assistance.
3. T: “Great work everyone! Since we have taken the time to learn these vocabulary words, our
performance has improved a lot! This will help us, especially as we get closer to the concert!”
Assessment: Students finished their summative post-assessment through a Google Form using
multiple-choice questions and two extra credit questions..

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 Post-Assessment
The final assessment of this unit was a Google Form that was identical to the one the students
took in the Pre-Assessment. This quiz was out of 15 points and students that struggled were given the
option to retake the quiz so the teachers could see a visible change between the scores. If there was still no
marked improvement, I was able to pull students out individually and go over the concepts students
struggled with. After this unit, students were able to perform Aladdin, Can You Feel the Love Tonight, and
Seize the Day without stopping and restarting for vocabulary term purposes, especially for directional
terms such as coda and D.C. al Coda. This piece could be sung once in its entirety.

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