Music 315 Music Fundamentals in the Classroom Activity Notebook Guidelines
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A. Weekly Lesson Plans (20 points each)

Each week (beginning third week), you will be preparing a 20-minute lesson plan. The first is for Kindergarten, while the next four will be for combined grades: 1/2; 3/4; 5/6; 7/8. Each lesson plan needs to be a plan which involves music in some fashion–and which you can imagine yourself teaching! (We will double-up during the sixth and eighth weeks, when two [separate] lesson plans will be due. See your course syllabus.) The Guidelines for these lesson plans are included in this Reader; you will make enough (hole-punched) copies for everyone in the class. I will be grading each lesson plan (worth a maximum of 20 points) and returning it to you so that you may include it in your notebook. Your notebook will also include everyone else's lesson plans, and the Index you prepare will allow you to locate the plans in future years.

The points that you earn on these lesson plans will be added up and divided by 10; this will represent half of your overall grade for the Activity Notebook. The items listed below (B-G) will constitute the other half of your grade; the two halves will be averaged.

B. Organize It! (15 points) Your notebook, at a minimum, needs to contain the following items:

1. a Table of Contents (you do not need to put page numbers in your binder -- in fact, I'd recommend against it -- but you need to identify the general order in which things appear in your binder)

2. All the Lesson Plans you and others have written this quarter, divided by grade level. Presumably, within a grade level, you will have organized the lesson plans by the title of the lesson, or the author's name, or by a number you assigned to each lesson

3. an Index - an index is not a table of contents; it's a chart or cross-listing of the lesson plans that reflects the kinds of information each lesson contains. A single lesson plan will probably appear more than once in your index. The real purpose of the index is to make your notebook useful to you in years to come, when you've forgotten about many of the teaching ideas contained in these lesson plans. (I have previous examples of indices you can examine for ideas, and will demonstrate some in class.)

4. In your binder, you should include an explanation of your index.

5. All items listed under letters C, D, and E below. Items listed under F are optional.

6. Clear, attractive exterior identification, as described under letter G below.

In order to give you some feedback on your in-progress index (and to prod you to get to work on it!), I will examine your index during Week 6. I will write comments and suggestions only at this time; points will not be assigned until your final version is submitted.

C. Comparison of California State-Adopted Textbooks and Materials

Choose one grade level (K-8) that appeals to you and use it as a basis of comparison for all the textbooks listed below. (Look at the adjacent grades, however, to see if any material overlaps.)

Visit the "Learning Resources and Curriculum" section of the Kennedy Library (2nd floor), and make your way to "WC 780" in the stacks.

Here you will find the adopted textbooks you need for your comparison Please–don't check them out; examine them in the library. It is easier to do a comparison with all the materials right there, and you do your classmates a disservice if some of the volumes 'go missing.'

1. Textbook (Integrated Program) Evaluations and Comparison

Two large sets of materials (listed below) have been adopted by the State of California. These include a host of instructional aids, including recordings–a couple even offer computer programs. Be sure that you look around the shelves in order to examine all the support materials for each grade. Both sets have great merit, although each is organized somewhat differently.

Share the Music - Macmillan / McGraw-Hill, 1998.

The Music Connection - Silver Burdett & Ginn, 1995.

a. Using one grade level as the common denominator, fill out a questionnaire for each set (10 points each). One questionnaire is due in Week 8; the second is due Week 9. (These may be hand-written, but must be legible.) Late Penalty: 2 points per day.

b. Conclude with a one-page typed comparison of the sets, weighing their respective strengths and weaknesses. Be sure to say which one you would choose to use in your classroom, and why.Due: Week 10 (turned in as part of your Activity Notebook) (10 points)

2. Recorded Materials Evaluation/Comparison (10 points)

In addition to your examination of the integrated set textbook materials, I would also like you to compare the recorded materials which accompany each set. Talk to the staff at the desk to help you locate and listen to these materials.

Using the same grade level you selected above, choose at least one song or piece from each edition and listen to it with the appropriate lesson in front of you. How well do the tunes integrate with the suggested lesson? (This means you must look at the lesson in the Teacher's Edition!) What is the calibre (quality) of each performance? Are words easy to understand? Do you think students will enjoy or be turned off by the performanceówhy? Do you think the selections are appropriate to the age group? Type up a comparison which discusses the merits and demerits of each edition's albums; be sure to identify the specific tunes and lesson s you evaluated. Due: Week 10 (turned in as part of your Activity Notebook)

The Music Department Office hours are:

Monday - Thursday 8 am - 4:30 pm; 7-10 pm Saturday 9 am - 1 pm

Friday 8 am - 4:30 pm Sunday 12 - 4 pm

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