This project's purpose was to design a full scale lesson plan for an entire year.  My partner Sophia and I decided on general music with an emphasis in modern band rather than standardized band or orchestra.  This lesson plan includes activities, performances, ideas for events, and standard classroom procedure through instrumental methods. 

​Link to Full Google Sheet of Lesson Plan for the Year HERE

Link to document HERE

For our percussion ensemble activity we chose a short rhythmic pattern that consisted of 5 parts.  We decided to teach the rhythms orally rather than sheet music.  We used famous composer names as an outlet to communicate the rhythms.
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View activity HERE.

View video HERE

I think our group ideas were very strong in terms of pedagogical terms.  We faltered with execution. 
Why did we not execute as well as we hoped?

• Not everyone was familiar with the one rhythm that they taught.
• We didn't communicate how the rhythm related to the rest

What are some ways we could solve these problems for the future.

• Have a dry run before class. 
• Allow a few seconds to fix problems in class. 
• Always have a back up plan, maybe limit the group to 2 or 3 rhythms. 

Beginning Instrumental Music is the first exposure in an educational setting to westernized instruments that student receive. Some of these instruments may include but are not limited to, recorders, drums, boom whackers, some simple percussion accessories like shakers and caterpillars, xylophones, glockenspiels, piano, and body percussion. The purpose of having beginning instrumental music is to allow student to begin exploring the instrumental world. Some of the goals should include basic aural skills such as call and response, how to play instruments, ability to read a treble and bass clef, basic rhythms and notes (spanning from whole notes to 16th notes), major scales, and 2/4 3/4 4/4 time signatures. Some fun activities should include drum circles, recorder, sight reading, singing from aural examples and music, and performances to receive appreciation for their hard work!! These classes should prepare students to start in an orchestra, band, choir, or non-traditional ensemble setting. One example of a non-traditional ensemble setting would be a bucket drum ensemble. These skills should transfer and allow for more complex skills to develop if they choose to continue to music in a formal class setting. As a beginning instrumental teacher, I should prepare myself by planning for; wide and differing ability levels, multiple ways of teaching (color spots/plain sheet music/aural/by example), and honest feedback from students.