WV-TPA Task: Design for Instruction

WV-TPA Lesson Plan 1

Grade Level: 7th-8th grade- 30 minutes (takes up 3 10 minute class periods)
Title: Separate Ways Pre-Assessment
Conceptual Focus: Music Theory Chord Spelling
Modes of Knowledge: Enactive, Musical
Musical Behaviors: Playing, Listening, Creating

WVU School of Music

Lesson Plan

Title
Objectives (2 points):
1. The students will be able to name the notes of the chords on their pre-assessment
2. Students will be able compose parts for the intro of Separate Ways and perform them with melodic and
rhythmic accuracy

Standards:
Standard - 9.1.8.B
Recognize, know, use and demonstrate a variety of appropriate arts elements and principles to produce,
review and revise original works in the arts.

9.1.8.G
Explain the function and benefits of rehearsal and practice sessions.

9.1.M.2.B1
Create and perform different forms of music and dance.

Materials (1 point):
● Steel Drums, sticks
● Separate Ways sheet music
Procedures (5 points):

● Welcome the class and instruct them to stand quietly by their drum and place their sticks in their
hands

● Play Separate Ways by Journey and ask what they heard in the song.

● Explain the chord terminology that is on the sheet music. They will learn what major and minor
chords are and will be asked to identify them on the lead sheet for Separate Ways

● Come up with 10 chords, and have students write down the notes in each chord

● Teacher works with each student to assess their understanding of how to play the chords in the
intro section. Once they are able to name each note of the chord, they will be asked to play them
on the steel drum

● After they know the chords, each section will work in groups to compose their part without
deviating too much from the original work.

● The students will collaborate together with the help of the teacher to decide on which part will be
played. Explain that the leads will play the main melody, the double seconds will compose a part
that is based on the root and 3rd of the chord, guitars will compose a part based on the root and
5th, and the basses will compose a bassline.

● Each group will have time to work in groups to practice the notes and rhythms in their parts.
Once they become more familiar with the music, the parts will be put together. As this is going
on, pre-assess their technique on the steel drum and pre-assess their rhythmic understanding.

● Teacher explains the form of the intro section. (4 measure of lead melody, basses come in with 4
measure bassline, double seconds and double guitars come in)

● Practice each section of intro before putting all of the parts together in same sequence

Assessment (2 points):
● Assess learning by having students play the full intro section of Separate Ways. They will be
assessed on playing the proper chords, the creativity of the parts they composed, rhythmic
accuracy, and proper technique.
Reflection
This was a really enjoyable activity to do with the students. I was surprised by how much some of the
students already had an understanding of how to play some of the basic chord progressions on the steel
drums. I was worried about what their prior knowledge was on this topic and how it would impact the
overall flow of the lesson, but everything went pretty well. Going forward, I think it would help some of
the students that are having trouble if I model what they need to be playing on the steel drums. I am really
looking forward to seeing the progress the students make in the next lesson.

WV-TPA Lesson Plan 2

Grade Level: 7th-8th grade- 30 minutes (takes up 5 10 minute class periods)
Title: Separate Ways Composition and Steel Drum Technique
Conceptual Focus: Music Theory Chord Spelling and Steel Drum Technique
Modes of Knowledge: Enactive, Musical
Musical Behaviors: Playing, Listening, Creating

WVU School of Music

Lesson Plan

Title
Objectives (2 points):
1. The students will be able to name the notes of the chords in the first and second verse of Separate Ways
2. The students will be able to demonstrate proper steel drum playing technique
3. The students will be able to compose parts for the first and second verse of Separate Ways.

Standards:
9.1.8.B
Recognize, know, use and demonstrate a variety of appropriate arts elements and principles to produce,
review and revise original works in the arts.

9.1.8.G
Explain the function and benefits of rehearsal and practice sessions.

9.1.M.2.B1
Create and perform different forms of music and dance.
Materials (1 point):

● Steel Drums, sticks

● Separate Ways sheet music

Procedures (5 points):

● Welcome the class and instruct them to stand quietly by their drum and place their sticks in their
hands

● Play the first and second verse of Separate Ways by Journey and ask what they heard in the song.

● Have students come up figure out the notes of the chords that are in the first two verses

● Once the students become comfortable with the chords, begin discussing proper technique when
playing steel drums. Emphasis will be put on standing between 4-5 inches from the drum, the
sticks are held between the thumb and first joint of the index finger, their sticks are held at waist
level, and that their grip is relaxed at all times.

● Teacher will walk around the room and observe each individual student to see if they are able to
demonstrate each aspect of proper technique on the steel drum

● Teacher will then work with each student to assess their understanding of how to play the chords
in the intro section. Once they are able to name each note of the chord, they will be asked to play
them on the steel drum

● After they are more familiar with the chords, each section will work in groups to compose their
part without deviating too much from the original work. The students will collaborate together
with the help of the teacher to decide on which part will be played.

● Each group will have time to work in groups to practice the notes and rhythms in their parts.
Once they become more familiar with the music, the parts will be put together. As this is going
on, assess their technique on the steel drum and assess their rhythmic understanding.

● Teacher explains the form of the intro section. (4 measure of lead melody, basses come in with 4
measure bassline, double seconds and double guitars come in) and the first two verses come after
the introduction.

● Practice both verses before putting all of the parts together in same sequence

Assessment (2 points):
 ● Assess learning by having students play the first and second verse of Separate Ways. They will be
assessed on playing the proper chords, the creativity of the parts they composed, rhythmic
accuracy, and proper technique.

Reflection:
This was another good lesson. The seventh graders have had a lot of energy lately, and it has really tested
my ability to manage the classroom. There were a couple of instances where I probably should have put a
stop to some of the behavior, but I will use those instances as a good learning experience. Composing
parts for the first and second verses was more difficult for the students simply because there were a few
new chords that they needed to use that they weren’t as familiar with. In general, these classes went a
little slower than expected, but that is okay. They have a really good grasp on how to play with proper
technique on the steel drum, and I think they are in a really good position to finish this unit on a positive
note!
WV-TPA Lesson Plan 3
Grade Level: 7th-8th grade- 50 minutes (takes up 3 10 minute class periods)
Title: Separate Ways Final Assessment
Conceptual Focus: Music Theory Chord Spelling and Steel Drum Technique
Modes of Knowledge: Enactive, Musical
Musical Behaviors: Playing, Listening, Creating

WVU School of Music

Lesson Plan

Title
Objectives (2 points):
1. The students will be able to name the notes of the chords in the interlude and chorus of Separate Ways
and compose parts for the song.

Standards:

9.1.8.B
Recognize, know, use and demonstrate a variety of appropriate arts elements and principles to produce,
review and revise original works in the arts.

9.1.8.G
Explain the function and benefits of rehearsal and practice sessions.

9.1.M.2.B1
Create and perform different forms of music and dance.

Materials (1 point):
 ● Steel Drums, sticks
● Separate Ways sheet music

Procedures (5 points):

● Welcome the class and instruct them to stand quietly by their drum and place their sticks in their
hands

● Play the interlude and chorus of Separate Ways by Journey and ask what they heard in the song.

● Give students handout for post-assessment

● Have students quietly complete handout that they filled out during the pre-test

● Collect assessments and get recording of Separate Ways ready to play

● Play the interlude and chorus of Separate Ways by Journey and ask what they heard in the song.

● Instruct students that they have students come up with and figure out the notes of the chords that
are in the interlude and chorus.

● Teacher walks around and answers any questions the students may have

● Teacher works with each student to assess their understanding of how to play the chords in the
interlude and chorus. Once they are able to name each note of the chord, they will be asked to
play them on the steel drum

● After they know the chords, each section will work in groups to compose their part without
deviating too much from the original work. The students will collaborate together with the help of
the teacher to decide on which part will be played.

● Each section will quietly get into their groups and begin working

● Each group will have time to work in groups to practice the notes and rhythms in their parts.
Once they become more familiar with the music, the parts will be put together. As this is going
on, assess their overall technique on the steel drum and assess their rhythmic understanding, as
well as chord knowledge, and compositional creativity in comparison to the first pre-assessment.
 ● Practice both sections before putting all of the parts together in same sequence

Assessment (2 points):
● Assess learning by having students play the chorus and interlude of Separate Ways. They will be
assessed on playing the proper chords, the creativity of the parts they composed, rhythmic
accuracy, and proper technique.

Reflection:
In this lesson, I conducted the post-assessment for the project. I am really happy with the overall progress
the students made throughout this unit. I am so impressed with their ability to spell chords at such a
young age. This was something that not many middle schoolers can do, and I hope this will benefit them
in the future. They seemed to really enjoy working on Separate Ways. I think finding ways for them to
compose parts for the song in groups was a successful way to get them to think in a creative way without
them feeling intimidated. We will be performing this piece at the Spring Concert and I can’t wait to see it
happen!

Narrative:
Going into this unit, I had a few concerts about how the students would handle this project. I

spent a lot of time in the beginning discussing how to construct this unit with my cooperating teacher. I

wanted to find a way to introduce composition in a way that is not too intimidating for young students.

That was my biggest concern going into this project. By using Separate Ways as a song for them to learn I

was able to use a lead sheet with chord progressions that provided limitations on what they should

compose. I was also able to introduce them to basic steel drum technique in this lesson. The main thing I

really liked about this unit was how I was able to introduce multiple important concepts to the students in

a fun way.

Throughout this unit, when myself and Mr. Schrader modeled how to play with proper technique,

it seemed to help them a lot. As the lessons progressed, I began to notice how so many of the students

were visual learners, and I realized that was something I could use to help them. When it came to them

composing parts for the music, it helped them when I would come up with my own parts as an example.

By providing set rules by which they were to compose, it seemed to help them from becoming too

overwhelmed by the task. Also, having them work in groups seemed to be really fun for them.
 It is also worth noting that I worked on this unit with two class periods in seventh and eighth

grade. My cooperating teacher thought it would be a good idea to use two different groups in order to

compare and contrast them for the project. In general, the seventh grade class was usually significantly

behind the eighth grade class. There were also quite a few more classroom management problems that

occurred with seventh grade that made the lessons take a little longer than expected. The pre-assessment

data caused me to slow down the delivery of material with the seventh graders, whereas the eighth grade

was farther along than I expected. As I delivered this unit, I tried to read body language and ask questions

to decipher if the students are understanding the material. There were times where it seemed like a

particular student was best suited playing a different instrument, and we switched parts for them. It took

lots of encouragement in order to get a couple students to participate, but it ended up working out. Using

modeling in order to provide a visual component, as well as playing the original recording of Separate

Ways as a reference for the students benefited the students greatly.