Allie Charney

Dr. Talbot

MUS149

22 October 2018

Assignment 4.3: Movement Activity

i. Musical Concept: Accents

ii. Context: I am introducing the concept of accents to a first-grade class, using a
movement activity involving clapping, stomping, and improvising. The students
already feel comfortable clapping rhythms in simple meter when the teacher keeps a
steady beat, but they have little to no prior knowledge of accents.
iii. Essential Question: How do accents affect the way we listen to and interpret music?
iv. National Standards:
a. Create
i. MU:Cr1.1.1a With limited guidance, create musical ideas (such as
answering a musical question) for a specific purpose.
ii. MU:Cr3.1.1a With limited guidance, discuss and apply personal, peer, and
teacher feedback to refine personal musical ideas.
iii. MU:Cr3.2.1a With limited guidance, convey expressive intent for a
specific purpose by presenting a final version of personal musical ideas to
peers or informal audience.
b. Perform
i. MU:Pr4.3.1a Demonstrate and describe music’s expressive qualities (such
as dynamics and tempo).
ii. MU:Pr6.1.1a With limited guidance, perform music for a specific purpose
with expression.
iii. MU:Pr6.1.1b Perform appropriately for the audience and purpose.
c. Respond:
 i. MU:Re7.2.1a With limited guidance, demonstrate and identify how
specific music concepts (such as beat or pitch) are used in various styles of
music for a purpose.
ii. MU:Re8.1.1a With limited guidance, demonstrate and identify expressive
qualities (such as dynamics and tempo) that reflect creators’/ performers’
expressive intent.
iii. MU:Re9.1.1a With limited guidance, apply personal and expressive
preferences in the evaluation of music for specific purposes.
d. Connect:
i. MU:Cr2.1.1a With limited guidance, demonstrate and discuss personal
reasons for selecting musical ideas that represent expressive intent
ii. MU:Pr4.3.1a Demonstrate and describe music’s expressive qualities (such
as dynamics and tempo).
v. Learning Outcomes:
a. Students will clap and stomp accented beats.
b. Students will stomp accented beats.
c. Students will improvise a movement (i.e. punch, stomp, etc.) to demonstrate an
accented beat and will perform it individually to the class.
d. Students will verbally explain their understanding of accents.
e. Students will aurally determine which beat is accented when listening to the
teacher clapping.
vi. Materials:
a. Chalkboard
b. Chalk
vii. Glossary of Terms:
a. Accent: Placing emphasis on a musical note or rhythmic beat.
viii. Procedure:
a. The room will be set up with an open, carpeted space in the middle with chairs in
a semicircle towards the back of the room. The teacher will write “ 1 2 3 4” on
the chalk board.
b. Students will enter the classroom and take their seats.
c. The teacher will summon the students to sit on the floor at the front of the room.
d. The teacher will draw a marcato accent above the number 1.
e. The teacher will clap the beats, accenting beat one.
f. The students will join in and continue clapping with the teacher.
g. The teacher will assess whether or not the students accent the first beat.
h. The teacher will cue the students to stop clapping.
i. The teacher will erase the accent on the first beat and place it on the second beat.
j. The teacher will clap the 4/4 pattern again, this time accenting the 2nd beat, and
the students will clap along until they are comfortable with the accented rhythm.
k. The teacher will assess whether or not the students accent the 2nd beat.
l. The teacher will erase the accent from above beat 2 and write it above beat 3.
m. The teacher will demonstrate the accent on the third beat, this time stomping
around the room instead of clapping.
n. The students will all stomp around the room, accenting the third beat with a foot.
o. The teacher will assess whether or not the students accent the third beat.
p. The teacher will tell everyone to create their own movement to accent beat four.
q. The teacher will go around to each student so they may demonstrate their
movement.
r. While counting along, the student will stomp around the room on beats 1, 2, and
3, performing their movement on beat 4.
s. The teacher will call out a name (i.e. “Just Billy!) and count to four, and the
student will perform his or her movement on the fourth beat.
t. The teacher will assess whether or not the student accented the fourth beat, using
their movement.
u. The teacher will repeat step “sp” until most or all of the students have gone
(depending on amount of time).
v. The teacher will instruct the students to sit down and gather in a circle on the
floor.
w. The teacher will instruct the students to turn to a partner and discuss what they
think the arrow-shaped marks over the numbers are and what they mean.
 x. The teacher will go around the room and ask each group to explain what they
talked about.
y. The teacher will write down key words from student responses on the board.
z. The teacher will write “Accent” on the chalk board, and the teacher and students
will create a definition together using some of their key words.d and explain what
it is.
aa. Game time! The teacher will tell the students to close their eyes. The teacher will
clap a 4/4 pattern and accent a different beat each time. She will go around the
room to each student so they can individually say which beat is being accented.
bb. The teacher will assess whether or not the student recognizes which beat is being
accented.
ix. Assessment:
a. The teacher will visually and aurally assess whether or not the students accent the
correct beat when clapping, stomping, and improvising their own movement.

The student accents the correct beat when

clapping.
The student does not accent the correct
beat when clapping.

+ The student accents the correct beat when

stomping.
- The student does not accent the correct beat
when stomping.

+ The student accents the correct beat when

improvising his or her own movement.
- The student does not accent the correct beat
when improvising his or her own movement.
 b. The teacher will assess the students’ explanations of accents.

The student’s response mentions something

relating to emphasis, attention,
loudness, or shortness.
The student’s response does not mention
anything relating to emphasis,
attention, loudness, or shortness.
c. The teacher will assess whether or not the students can aurally identify on what
beat an accent occurs.

The student correctly identifies the beat on

which the teacher accented the clap.
The student incorrectly identifies the beat
on which the teacher accented the
clap.
i.
x. Further Learning:
a. In the next class, students could play accented beats on percussion instruments.
b. The students could practice accenting more than one beat in each measure.
xi. Honor Code:
a. I affirm that I have upheld the highest principles of honesty and integrity in my
academic work and have not witnessed a violation of the Honor Code.
Alexandra Charney