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Richard Laprise
Curriculum 2016
Final Curriculum Project
Intended Class: Novice/Intermediate instrumental ensemble class
Timeframe: 8-10 class periods
Background:
Students in this class have a basic playing ability on their instruments and a
basic understanding of music literacy including both reading and writing in
standard notation. The majority of students composing and improvising
skills are in the novice category of the National Standards.
Enduring Understanding:
Music can communicate a variety of moods and feelings.
Essential Question:
What causes music to communicate particular moods/feelings and how are
they created and performed?
Desired Results:
Students will be able to personally identify, create, and perform music that
communicates a variety of moods and feelings.
Learning Experience 1
Task: From listening to various musical examples, students will identify the
moods/feelings that are personally communicated to them and explain the
elements of music that made them feel this. In small groups, they will also
create visuals and body movements for a specific piece which demonstrates
the mood/feeling.
Standards1

Respond
CA 8&9
int
Connect
CA 11 nov

Assessment

3, 4

Mult. Intel.

1, 2, 4, 5,
6, 7

Blooms

2b, 6b, 5b,

2c,

1 See appendix for explanation of number system

Think Skills

1a,1b, 2b

P21

1, 2, 3, 4

After piquing students interest involving music being used to communicate

moods/feelings, students will listen through the viewpoint of referentialism
and expressionism to several character pieces and pieces of program music
(e.g. sections of Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz and Don Quixote by
Strauss). Through the context of the character or program, the class will
describe and explain what elements (limited to rhythm, tempo, melody,
dynamics, expression, and instrumentation) of the music helped
communicate the character and/or program. As appropriate throughout all
learning experiences, the teacher will encourage the use and incorporation
of the concepts of melody (focus on motive and phrase), rhythm and meter,
harmony (consonance and dissonance), texture, tempo, dynamics (including
crescendo and decrescendo), timbre, and instrumentation.
In small groups, the students will be assigned one of these pieces and
collaborate to create both visual pictures and physical movements that
represent the mood. Justifications for their actions must be supplied. Each
group will have to present their work to the class, without music, to see if
their classmates can infer the mood/feeling.
Then, individually, students will listen to a variety of non-character or nonprogram music and describe the moods/feelings and explain what elements
of music led them to these conclusions. The moods/feelings will be written
down on separate pieces of paper to be used for the next learning
experience.
Learning Experience 2
Task: Students will improvise a short melody that communicates an assigned
mood/feeling, will infer what other students are trying to communicate, and
will reflect on the experience.
Standards

Create
CA 1&3.2
novice
Perform
CA 6 novice
Respond

Assessmen
t

Mult.
Intel.

1, 2, 7

Blooms

6b, 2b,1d,
5c

Think Skills

1a, 2b, 3a,

3c

P21

1, 2, 4

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CA 9 nov-int
Using the written down moods/feelings from learning experience 1, students
will pick a paper at random and improvise a short idea on their instruments
that they feel represents the assigned mood or feeling. Ideas will be
analyzed by the class for qualities of the concepts of motives and phrases.
Students will also infer and write down what mood/feeling they think is being
communicated and some students will share inferences with the class.
Students will then write a brief reflection on what they created including their
thinking process for creating a mood/feeling, their evaluation of their
performance and how to improve it, and their developing answer to the
essential question.
Learning Experience 3
Tasks: Students will compose a melody using standard notation based on a
mood or feeling of their choice and then present this composition to the
class. In addition, they will develop criteria to evaluate their compositions.
Students will then alter at least one element of their compositions to
communicate a different mood/feeling.
Standards

Create
CA 2&3
nov-int
Perform
CA 6
novice
Respond
CA9 novint

Assessment

3, 5

Mult. Intel.

1, 2, 3, 6,
7

Blooms

Think Skills

2b, 3c, 5c,

6c

1a, 1b, 2a,

2b, 3b, 3c

P21

1, 2, 3, 4

As a class, students will develop a self-assessment rubric for their

compositions with a required criterion focusing on the communication of
moods/feelings.
After selecting a mood/feeling of their choice, students will begin composing
a short melody that communicates this mood/feeling. Students will be
encouraged to use their instruments to experiment before writing down their

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melody in standard notation. At least two nights of homework will be
assigned to this project before presentation. The teacher will visually review
students work as they progress through this learning experience.
Students will perform their compositions in small groups and collaborate to
make their individual compositions better communicate their selected
mood/feeling. Next, students will perform their composition for the class and
then, with the class-created rubric, they will self-assess their composition. A
reflection will also be required which continues to trace their development of
the essential question and the elements of music which they think
contributed most to communicating their mood.
As a homework assignment, students will have to change at least one
element of their composition so that it communicates a different mood than
the original. Students will have to write a short response to explain their
changes and compare their two compositions.
Learning Experience 4
Task: Students will determine a mood/feeling to communicate in a prepared
piece and how to communicate it. With the aid of audio recording, they will
self-evaluate their performance and make adjustments. They will also
interview someone outside of the class who has heard their performance to
see if the mood was communicated clearly.
Standards

Perform
CA 4.2 & .3 novint
CA 5 nov-int
CA 6.1 nov
Respond
CA 8 & 9 nov

Assessmen
t

3, 5

Mult.
Intel.

1, 2, 6

Blooms

2b, 3c,
4b, 4c,
5c

Think Skills

1a, 2a, 2b,

3a, 3c

P21

1, 2, 3

Students will listen and respond to several short pieces in an abbreviated

version of Learning Experience 1. This reinforces and practices previous
activities and prepares students for the main part of this learning experience.
(Jellison- Principle 2, practice)

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As a class, students will discuss what mood/feeling they want to
communicate in one of their ensemble pieces (either a section or the whole
piece) and why. By putting themselves in the listeners shoes, the class will
then decide how they will communicate this mood/feeling without changing
pitches or rhythms. Their focus will be guided toward dynamics, articulations,
timbre, tempo/rubato etc. as appropriate.
The section of music will then be audio recorded and played for the class for
their self-evaluation. Adjustments will be made based on their feedback and
another recording will be made. This can be repeated as many times as
necessary.
Students will then interview and document answers from a family member or
friend not in the class who has heard their performance of the piece (either a
recording posted online or a live public performance) to see if the
mood/feeling was communicated. (Jellison- discussing music in contexts
representative of adult life).
Through class discussion, students will share their findings to determine if
any further adjustments to their performance are needed.
Students will then apply the knowledge and skills gained from this
experience to a different piece being prepared. Ideally, the new piece will
communicate a different mood/feeling so students have an opportunity to
practice transferring concepts. Recordings and self-evaluation will also follow.
Learning Experience 5
Task: Students will identify moods/feelings being communicated through a
variety of media and justify their answers.
Standards

Respond
CA 7 & 8
nov
Connect
CA 11
novice

Assessment

3, 4

Mult. Intel.

1,2,4,5,6,7

Blooms

2b, 5b

Think Skills

1a, 1b, 2a,

2b,

P21

1, 2, 3

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In preparation for the class period, students will bring in at least one piece of
music (with appropriate lyrics) and justify why it communicates a particular
mood/feeling to them. In addition, they will bring in an image (visual art),
video (dance, drama, etc.) or transcript (speech, poetry, etc.) of something
non-musical that also communicates a personal mood/feeling.
Additional resources for this lesson can be drawn from other
classes like art, English, foreign languages, history, etc.
The teacher will compile the various media and present them to the class in
succession. Students will explain, in writing, the mood/feeling that was
communicated to them for each example with a brief explanation of why. For
non-musical examples, students will give a brief description of how or what
type of music could communicate the evoked mood/feeling. (JellisonPrinciples 1, 2, & 3)
The teacher will then facilitate a class discussion which aims to draw
connections between the other media and music and to answer the essential
question. A final reflection, focusing on answering the essential questions
and how it relates to the music they listen to outside of school, will conclude
the learning experience. (Jellison- connection to life outside of school)

Appendix
Legend:
Standards
National Music Standards- Ensemble:
Number coding follows those used by NAfME.
http://www.nafme.org/wp-content/files/2014/11/2014-Music-StandardsEnsemble-Strand.pdf

Assessment:
1
2
3
4
5

Selected response
Constructed
response
Product
Performance
Process-focused

Mult. Intel
Multiple Intelligences:
1

Linguistic

Musical

Logicalmathematical

Spatial

Bodily-kinesthetic

Inter-personal

Intra-personal

Blooms
New Blooms Taxonomy:
1
2
3
4
5
6

Remember
Understand
Apply
Analyze
Evaluate
Create

a
b
c
d

Factual
Conceptual
Procedural
Metacognitiv
e

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Think Skills
Thinking Skills:
From Dimensions of Thinking

Skills of Knowledge
Acquisition
a
Focusing Skills
b

Info-Gathering Skills

Remembering Skills

Skills of Processing
2

Organizing Skills

Analyzing Skills

Skills of Transfer and

Application
a
Generating Skills
b

Integrating Skills

Evaluating Skills

P21
21st Century Skills:
1
2
3
4

Critical thinking and

problem solving
Communication
Collaboration
Creativity