HS Work Sample

Work Sample
Megan McGee
Undergraduate in Bachelor of Music Education
Fall 2015
Greeley Central High School
District 6-Public Schools
Greeley, Colorado
Cooperating Teacher: Richard Green
UNC Supervisor: Jill Burgett

2
Section I: Planning Process
Topic Map
Improvements &
growth in Music
Literacy
Sight Reading
Learning the
major scale
through
Solfege
Learning key
signatures
through the
circle of fifths
Use of the
Practice
Room
Circle of
fifths
testing in
class
Individual
testing and
tracking of
progress
Learning
basic
musical
concepts
just as
note
names,
values,
&
rhythms
Practicing
musical
concepts
through
sight singing
Individual
practice
with sight
reading

3
Unit Outline
Music Literacy through Sight Reading
Unit Objectives: To increase music literacy through sight reading and become proficient
in at least levels 1 and 2 on the practice room website which will continue to help them
grow as a class in their musicianship.
Learning the basics of sight reading
 Solfege
o Learning the solfege syllables and Curwin hand signs
o Various warm-ups that include solfege and learning all of the syllables in
many different formats
Use solfege when learning repertoire and having the students continue to
try and figure out the solfege on their own
 Basic Musical Concepts
o Watching level 1 video on thepracticroom.net on sight reading an basic
concepts such as clefs, staves, and note names.
o Practicing sight reading examples on level 1 in the class room on
thepracticeroom.net.
o Individual practice and grading on thepracticeroom.net.
~ Initial Sight Reading Quiz (Pre-Test) ~
Continuing the basics of Sight Reading while applying to real music & making
thepracticeroom.net part of the daily learning activities
 The circle of fifths and how to find “do”
o Circle of fifths lecture in class with practice

4
o Applying circle of fifths to finding key signatures
o Writing out key signatures
o Using the circle of fifths to understand how to find “do” and apply it in
examples from thepracticeroom.net
 The Practice Room
o Be able to understand these concepts on their own and as an ensemble
 10 examples of level 1 sight reading on thepracticerom.net on
their own – graded by me
 Continued daily practice in class
o Note name identification
o Practice key signature identification
~ Circle of Fifths Test ~
On to Level 2 on thepracticeroom.net
 Level 2 sight reading practice
o Watch Level 2 sight reading video in class
o Continued work in class on level 2
o Continued homework including thepracticeroom.net such as Level 2
Rhythm videos & examples of sight reading done individually
 Other included theory work
o Explanation of triads and how you can distinguish them using solfege
syllables
~ Sight singing Quiz (Post-test) ~

5
Description of Content
I chose to focus my work sample on music literacy through sight reading. The
system I am evaluating is one that is being introduced and implemented just this year in
high schools in District 6. The idea presented is that sight reading will create better
musical literacy in all students-vocalists or instrumentalists- and it is one of the best ways
to improve musicianship in a student. It develops their ear training, visual identification,
key signature, and scale identification all at the same time. To test this process I set up a
sight reading plan for the students based upon a website called: thepracticeroom.net. It is
a website filled with sight reading examples, instructional videos, real music examples,
and even all-state audition level work. The website itself is very user friendly for the
students and for the teacher. As the teacher, I can log on and see what every student has
been working on, how long they worked on it, etc. and grade accordingly.
I did sight reading examples in class from the website every day and watched
some of the instructional videos in class. Additionally, by using this particular site, I
could also have the students practice at home and monitor how much work they had each
done from my own account. Since they were a beginning choir, most of them had very
little musical experience to date, which is why I selected these particular students for my
sample group, although all the choirs of all levels were using the same site. I like and
agree with the idea that musical literacy can best be learned through sight reading and I
wanted to focus on this and on the value and validity of this particular website as a tool
when helping the students with their growth and musicianship.

6
Section II: Description of the Setting
The Weld County School District 6 provides a learning environment for more
than 21,000 students through 25 district schools, 6 charter schools, and an online
academy, all around the Greeley and Evans area. Greeley Central High School is a public
school located in the center of Greeley. Greeley Central High School has an enrollment
of approximately 1400 students with an average class size of 250 students. It is a 4-year
high school including grades 9-12 as well as the only arts magnet program in the district.
The students are in school from 7:15 until 3:15 every day with up to 8 classes a day. On
Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, the students have eight 50 minute class periods and on
Wednesdays and Thursdays they have four 100 minute block periods.
The school is extremely diverse. The minority enrollment in the school is 68 %-
mainly Hispanic, 57% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and there is a 71%
graduation rate, all of which are above the state average.
The music room at Greeley Central High School is a fairly standard sized music
classroom. The classroom is shared with the choir classes as well as the orchestra classes.
There are approximately 30 chairs with collapsible desks instead of risers which is a
down side for the choir students but ideal for other classes such as AP music theory and
music history, and still manageable for orchestra. There are a few bass and cello racks
around the room for the orchestra students as well as a few large cabinets with guitars and
choir robes. There also is a white board and a piano at the front of the room. There choir
room connects to the band room through three separate smaller storage areas. The first is
used as a shared office space for the choir director, orchestra director, and band director,
though the orchestra director is only there for the first part of each day. The second space

7
is used for sound equipment of varying kinds from microphones to sound systems for the
school. The third is a music library with a wide variety of band, choral, and orchestral
repertoire, while the last is a storage unit.
For this work sample I chose one choir to work with extensively; the Concert
Choir/Beginning Choir. There were 20 female students and 7 male. The general
demographics of the classroom match with that of the rest of the school. There were 11
Caucasian students and 16 minority students mainly those of Latino descent. There are 7
English Language Learners in the class and most of them are listed as fully proficient in
English. There are 3 female students enrolled in AVID and 1 male with special medical
needs.

8
Section III: Colorado Academic Standards, Goals, & Objectives
National Music Standards Addressed in this Lesson
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
5. Reading and notating music.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines
outside the arts.
New Colorado K-12 Model Content Standards for Music Addressed in this Lesson
1. Expression
of Music
1 Present music expressively using appropriate technology
2 Demonstrate informed participation in music-making activities
3. Aesthetic
Valuation of
Music
1 Discernment of musical elements
2 Classification by genre, style, historical period, or culture
Section IV: Lesson Plans with Supporting Materials

9
Each day in Concert Choir was planned out according to the same structure and
time table. The general layout for each day, for the selected choir, is seen below:
Concert Choir
Monday, Tuesday, Friday Date:
Lesson Objective:
1:30-1:31- stretch-hum singing
1:31-1:32- siren/sound effect warm-ups including articulation & vowel exercises
1:32-1:34- a singing & vocalizing warm-up (va, va, sing ee, sing ay, sing ah, etc)
1:34-1:37- more complex warm-up (round, chordal warm-ups) scales, flexibility
1:37-1:42- sight reading
1:42-1:50- starting repertoire/review from last class
1:50-2:03- hardest rep section starting with a review and then getting into new material
2:03-2:11- review/sing through of rep that’s more stable-working musicianship & artistry
2:11-217- even more stable rep & working memorization
2:17-2:20- announcements/reflections
Wednesday (altered block period day) Date:
Lesson Objective:
1:35-1:36- stretch, hum routine
1:36-1:37- breathing – working breath support & diaphragmatic breathing
1:37-1:39- siren/sound effect warm-ups including articulation & vowel exercises
1:39-1:43- a singing & vocalizing warm-up (va, va, sing ee, sing ay, sing ah, etc)
1:43-1:48- more complex warm-up/ scales/ intervals

10
1:48- 1:56- sight reading
1:56-2:09- review of less complex rep & pushing into new material
2:09-2:35- hardest rep section
2:35-2:55- sectional rehearsals/ training/ sight singing tests
2:55-3:05- review/sing through more stable rep-working musicianship & artistry
3:05-3:12- memorization
3:12-3:15- announcements/reflections
The sight reading challenges I presented varied from day to day and rather than
having a few long lesson plans based around the subject of sight reading, I instead taught
them in small chunks every day. Therefore, the above listed lesson plan is just a general
idea of our lessons, and my specific sight-reading work that I did with the students fell in
different time slots depending the day. Therefore, most lesson plans are similar and
consistent only really varying with the different levels of the website.
LessonPlan 1:
Teacher Name: Megan McGee
Date: August 19 & 21
Unit Title: Sight Reading with the Practice Room
Grade Level(s) for the Lesson: Concert Choir (Beginning Choir)
National Music Standards addressed in this Lesson: stated previously in work sample
New Colorado K-12 Model Content Standards for Music: stated previously in work
sample

11
Rationale for the Lesson: As most of the students are new to music and choir, they will
not have much of a foundation in musical elements or music theory. Therefore, it is
important to start them off with a basic understanding of solfege, Curwin hand signs, etc.
Instructional Goal of the Lesson: The students will have a grasp on general music
concepts that they can then use to start reading through their repertoire and develop a
better understanding of how to read their music.
Content/Instructional Process:
 Getting Attention of the Students: Start playing warm-ups for the students on the
piano immediately so they are automatically warming up and stop talking because
of the piano playing.
 Activity 1: A variety of warm-ups and vocal exercises. The warm-ups will take up
the first few sections of the general lesson plan listed above. Time slot 1:30-1:37
on M,T,F, and 1:35-1:48 on W)
 Transition 1: Have the students direct their attention to the chart at the front of the
room with all of the solfege syllables listed. I will go over the syllables with them
along with the Curwin hand signs to match. Then I will have them practice a few
different exercises involving the solfege they just learned.
 Activity 2: I will use the Curwin hand signs and have the students follow me on
solfege. I will pick random hand signs and they will have to follow me with their
voices. This way they will start to associate the hand signs with the proper pitch
and be able to better identify the different pitches in the scale. (This will occur
during the sight reading section of the time table)

12
 Transition 2: I will introduce a piece of real music that they will work with all
semester. I will give them their starting pitches and the solfege syllable they on
which they begin.
 Activity 3: I will talk the students through the first few lines of their music using
the solfege terminology they have just learned. This way they can apply their
knowledge. (This will fall during the first repertoire section in the time chart.)
Guided Practice/Formative Assessment: During Activity 3 I will call on various students
to evaluate and see if they understand the concepts discussed. I also will evaluate the
responses and accuracy I get during Activity 2. This way I have two options during the
class period to test how my students are doing. This provides the opportunity to test them
as a class and individually.
Re-Teaching Strategy: If the students struggle with these activities I can go back and
introduce the same concepts on piano instead of relying mainly on singing
demonstrations. I can also follow along with the solfege chart more explicitly for the
students who benefit more from visual aids. I can put some real examples on the board as
well so they can envision what the solfege looks like in actual music and how it is
applicable.
Independent Practice: I will encourage the students to continue practicing these concepts
on their own for the time being. I will also suggest they look at their music outside of
class and see if they can start figuring things out on their own. Eventually, they will start
using thepracticeroom.net as their individual practice.

13
Summative Assessment: My summative assessment is their level of performance during
class. I will see the level they are at and be able to prepare for the next class appropriately
based on their comprehension level in class.
Closure: After practice and instruction with the newly learned material, I will continue to
introduce their new music for the semester and encourage them to apply what they
learned. I will continue this with a new piece in each time slot until the class is over.
Materials Used in the Lesson
 Piano
 Solfege chart
 Laptop
 Projector
 Music for students
Resources Needed for the Lesson
 thepracticeroom.com
Reflection: The information was brand new to the students but they were able to pick up
on the major scale fairly easily. They will definitely continue to need lots of practice but
they had a productive start. By the end of class they seemed relatively comfortable with
the basic major scale and the order of the solfege syllables though most of them were still
using the chart at the front of the classroom.
LessonPlan 2:
Date: August 24, 2015

14
sample
Rationale for the Lesson: Sight singing is an efficient way to test their new knowledge of
solfege. Additionally, I will be introducing new information like note values, types, etc.
will further their music literacy and better their sight singing abilities.
Instructional Goal of the Lesson: The goal of the lesson is to give the students an
understanding of basic concepts such as measures, bar lines, clefs, and the staff, and then
have them successfully sight read a simple exercise pulled from level 1 of
thepracticeroom.net.
 Getting the Attention of the Students: Start playing warm-ups for the students on
the piano immediately so they are automatically warming up and stop talking
because of the piano playing.
 Activity 1: A variety of warm-ups and vocal exercises. The warm-ups will take up
the first few sections of the general lesson plan listed above. Time slot 1:30-1:37
on M,T,F, and 1:35-1:48 on W)
 Transition 1: I will allow the students to sit quietly while I pull up
thepracticeroom.net and put it on the projector so all the students can see.
 Activity 2: I will pull up the first instructional video on the site for them to watch.
This video touches on elements including the treble clef, bass clef, measures, bar

15
lines, and double bar lines. They can get a quick overview of what music looks
like on the staff and how it can be interpreted. This will occur during the sight
reading section of the lesson plan.
 Transition 2: Pass around a sheet where everyone can write down their email
information.
 Activity 3: While the students are writing down their information, I will describe
to them how website works. I will later use their email information to create
accounts for all of the students. I will teach them how to navigate the site, how to
log in, watch videos, and other important website details. Then I will pull up an
example of level 1 sight reading on the website. Level 1 is very basic; everything
is in stepwise motion, nothing goes above the solfege syllable “sol,” it is all in
either 3/4 or 4/4 time, and there is even an option to have the solfege written in
underneath the example if needed. I will work through a few examples of level 1
as a class. This will occur during the first section of repertoire on the lesson plan
time table in place of starting a new piece of music during that time as this will
need more time and dedication.
 Transition 3: I will assign them their homework on the website; 10 examples of
level 1 sight reading.
Guided Practice/Formative Assessment: As the students are going through the level 1
examples on the board I will walk around and see how they are doing as a class. I will
work through a few examples so that they are presented with different challenges. I will
call on various students before we work through the examples as well to ask about certain
notes, clefs, and other information they just learned.

16
Re-Teaching Strategy: The students will naturally struggle with these concepts at first, as
it is brand new information. Therefore, I will continue with lots of practice of these
concepts and will go over them every day in class to reiterate them. If the students still
are not grasping the concepts I will describe it to them on the board in more interactive
ways – having them come up to the board, working through things as a class, etc - and in
general using more examples in addition to the video.
Independent Practice: The independent practice is in the homework that I assigned to
them. I will be able to check their accounts, what they were working on, and how long
they worked.
Summative Assessment: I will be able to assess of performance during class. I will see
the level they are at and be able to prepare for the next class appropriately. I also will be
able to log in and check on their homework and who has been practicing.
Closure: I will continue to work repertoire with the students after they have gone through
their sight reading lesson for the day. I will continue to ask questions about what they’ve
learned as we work through their other pieces. This will continue this until class is
finished.
 Piano
 Solfege chart
 Laptop
 Projector
 Music for students

17
Reflection: The students had an appropriate amount of difficulty with the exercise but are
showing great signs of improvement. They did well with the examples they were given
after some practice. The transition to real music was difficult for them but that will
improve with continued practice.
LessonPlan 3
Dates: September 16
sample
Rationale for the Lesson: Learning the circle of fifths is crucial in their understanding of
music. This will improve their general musicianship and improve their sight reading
abilities during class.
Instructional Goal of the Lesson: The goal of the lesson is to make sure the students learn
and understand the circle of fifths and what it means in music. They should learn the
circle of fifths, how to find “do” from the circle, and be able to write key and understand
key signatures.

18
 Getting the Attention of the Students: Start playing warm-ups for the students
on the piano immediately so they are automatically warming up and stop
talking because of the piano playing. This will take up the warm-up section of
the time table.
 Activity 1: We will run through a few examples of level 1 sight reading
examples on thepracticeroom.net.
 Transition 1: I will have the students pull out a blank sheet of paper,
preferably staff paper, and if they do not have any I will provide it for them.
 Activity 2: I will lecture on the circle of fifths. I will write it on the board,
describe what it means in music, how to identify keys, and how to identify
“do.”
 Transition 2: I will have the students copy down the circle of fifths from the
board.
 Activity 3: I will continue to describe how to use the circle of fifths to write
out key signatures and in which order to put the sharps and flats. I will
demonstrate a few for them and then I will have them take time to write out all
the key signatures for all of the keys in the circle of fifths.
 Alternate Activity 3: For most students this task is doable but I know that
some students are still struggling with even more basic concepts. So I will ask
students that are still confused on things like note names/identification to
come up to the board. While other students are working on the key signature
assignment alone, the other students will come up and work in a small group
with me. They will then have the option to do the assignment after class

19
instead of during class because the assignment will be due the next day. These
activities will occur throughout the entire class period different than the
normal schedule we use in class.
Guided Practice/Formative Assessment: The students will have the rest of class to work
on this and ask me questions. During this time I will be walking around the room,
checking on how each student is doing, and identifying their struggles and how to best
help them.
Re-Teaching Strategy: Though I will be teaching this concept in a lecture format, I will
be walking around afterwards and hopefully will be able to answer any questions the
students have and that time will provide for any re-teaching that needs to be done.
However, if the class as a whole is still struggling I will go back and take more time with
each section drawing it all out on the board and spending more time writing up examples.
I can also work through the assignment as a class and have the students answer questions
aloud instead of having them work individually on the assignment.
Independent Practice: The students will be doing lots of independent practice while
working on the assignment. They are allowed to talk to their neighbor if needed but for
the most part the assignment should be done individually. Also, if they do not finish they
will be taking it home to work on it individually.
Summative Assessment: The students will turn in their assignment at the beginning of the
next class and I will grade their assignment.
Closure: I will allow the students to have the rest of class to work on their circles and
their key signatures.

20
 Piano
 Solfege chart
 Laptop
 Projector
 Staff paper
 White board
 Markers
Reflection: At first this lesson was particularly difficult for the students. However, after
walking around individually with them and working one on one with them they were able
to work their way through the assignment. They had to take it very slowly but by the end
of the class period almost all of the students had finished the majority of the assignment.
Having some students come up to the board and work with them individually helped a
great deal. It gave me ample time to work with those students that were struggling and it
was challenging enough for the students did understand. It was a great lesson to work
with the students alone and get to know at what level each of them is on. They turned in
their papers to me the next day and the majority had vast improvements and were able to
identify the importance of the circle of fifths in sight reading.
LessonPlan 4
Dates: October 5

21
sample
Rationale for the Lesson: The students have moved along well through all of level 1 on
thepracticeroom.net during class. They are grasping the concepts presented to them and
are moving through level 1 without any difficulty. Therefore, I am moving on to level 2
examples. The students will learn new musical concepts to and we will apply them to
level 2 sight reading.
Instructional Goal of the Lesson: The students will be able to read through some level 2
examples on thepracticeroom.net and we will discuss any new concepts that arise such as
rests, different rhythms, etc. We will talk about the things they don’t recognize and work
through them as a class so that by the end of their sight reading session they will be able
to handle and work through more challenging sight reading examples.
 Getting Attention of the Students: I will immediately start playing piano to get
the students attention and they can begin warm-ups.
 Activity 1: I will run through a variety of warm-ups and vocal exercises with
them. The warm-ups will take up the first few sections of the general lesson
plan listed above. Time slot 1:30-1:37 on M,T,F, and 1:35-1:48 on W)
 Transition 1: I will allow the students to sit quietly while I pull up
thepracticeroom.net and put it on the projector so all the students can see.

22
 Activity 2: I will pull up a sight reading example from level 2 on the Practice
Room. I will give the students an opportunity to read through the example
together as a class after giving them “do” and their starting pitch. It is likely
they will struggle since there will be concepts we have not covered yet in
class. The main difference in level 1 and level 2 is the difficulty of the rhythm
and new rhythm concepts like quarter rests, half rests, and whole rests.
 Transition 2: I will give the students time to ask about new things they see in
the example-specifically rhythm related- and we will discuss them as a class
and what each one means.
 Activity 3: I will have the students attempt another read through with the new
knowledge we have just learned together. We will work through the example
slowly and repeatedly until they feel comfortable with the new concepts.
Activity 1 & 2 will occur during the sight reading section and the first section
that’s usually dedicated to repertoire on the time sheet provided.
Guided Practice/Formative Assessment: I will be able to assess them as a whole and see
how they are doing with the level 2 concepts. They also will have time to ask question
and analyze the new material. This way I will be able to know what they are struggling
with and what things I need to give more practice and attention.
Re-Teaching Strategy: The students will have lots of time to practice over the next few
weeks and discuss tings with which they are having particular difficulty. I will have
ample time to go over issues they come upon. Also, their homework is to watch the level
2 rhythm video on thepracticeroom.net which will go over it in a different format.

23
Independent Practice: Their homework is to watch the level 2 rhythm video as stated in
the re-teaching strategy. They also are assigned to practice 10 rhythm examples from
level 2. This way they can become comfortable with the rhythm concepts and apply them
to the level 2 sight reading when they are in class.
Summative Assessment: I will be able to assess the students based on the homework that
is due by October 9-the Friday after our new concepts are introduced in class. I will be
able to log in to their accounts and track their progress online.
Closure: We will move along from sight reading and the rest of the class time will be
focused on repertoire.
 Piano
 Solfege chart
 Laptop
 Projector
 Staff paper
 White board
 Markers
Reflection: The students did well on the level 2 example on the Practice Room. There
were only a few major differences between the two levels and most of them were just
related to rhythm. After we discussed the new note values, rests, etc, the students did well
with the sight reading. They are progressing very well and very quickly.

24
LessonPlan 5
Dates: October 26
sample
Rationale for the Lesson: I will be able to assess the students’ growth over the course of
the last 8 weeks.
Instructional Goal of the Lesson: The goal is for the students to review the concepts we
have been going over in class and then to test their understanding with the hope that they
will make vast improvements in their scores due to the constant work we have done so far
in the semester.
 Getting Attention of the Students: I will immediately start playing piano to get
the students attention and they can begin warm-ups.
 Activity 1: The students will run through a few warm-ups and vocalize at the
start of class. This will take up the warm-up sections on the time sheet.
 Transition 1: I will pull up thepracticeroom.net on the projector.

25
 Activity 2: The students will run through some sight reading examples on
level 2 in order for them to have a small review before I test them. This will
occur during the sight reading portion of the time table.
 Transition 2: Students will pull out their music and start working on their
repertoire.
 Activity 3: The students will work on their repertoire with my cooperating
teacher and I will pull them all into the office one at a time to test their sight
reading ability. I will pull up an example from level 1 on the Practice Room.
The example I will use will be a different example from their original test but
still from the same level. This way I can see their improvement. I will not only
have them sing through the example but the students will need to be able to
identify the key signature and “do.”
Guided Practice/Formative Assessment: I will get some one on one time with each
student which will allow me to evaluate each student and their progress.
Re-Teaching Strategy: Unnecessary in this instance. They have tested in a few different
ways now and they need the different types of testing.
Independent Practice: They will continue to practice on their own and have assignments
on the practice room.
Summative Assessment: I will be able to log their progress and compare to their previous
scores from earlier in the semester.
Closure: I will take each student individually and when each student is done I will take
over the teaching of repertoire in the main classroom for the rest of the period.

26
 Piano
 Solfege chart
 Laptop
 Projector
 Staff paper
 Record log for grading
 White board
 Markers
Reflection: The students have made a lot of progress and were very willing to work with
me. Some of them were a little uncomfortable under the pressure of standing on their own
however; most of them did really well.
~
The following is the plan I created with my cooperating teacher for the students to follow
and all of the assignments for thepracticeroom.net. The calendars were used for all of the
choirs but the highlighted sections are the assignments for Concert Choir which is the
choir I am using for this work sample.

27
August 2015
◄ July 2015 ~ August 2015 ~ Sep 2015 ►
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19
First Day of
School
20 21 22
23 24 BV: 10
examplesLevel
1 sight reading
Chamber: 10
exampleslevel 3
sight reading
CC: 10
examplesLevel
1 sight reading
25 26 27 28 29
30 31 Notes:
September 2015
◄ August 2015 ~ September 2015 ~ Oct 2015 ►
1 2 3 4 5

28
◄ August 2015 ~ September 2015 ~ Oct 2015 ►
6 7 8 9 CC:SS Quiz
1on Level 1
10 11 12
13 14 15 16 CC: Theory
Review: Circle of
Fifths and writing
all key signatures
17 BV: Theory
Review: Circle of
Fifths and writing
all key signatures
18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 AP Theory:
music theory.net
25 Major Key
signatures in 1
min
BV: PR 10
examples level
1&2
Chamber: PR 10
examples rhythm
level 3
CC: 10examples
rhythm level 1
26
27 28 AP Theory:
musictheory.net
25 minor/1 minute
& PR minor keys
10 ex lev.1
29 30 CC: Circleof
fifths test
Notes:
October 2015
◄ September
2015 ~ October 2015 ~ Nov 2015 ►
1 CC:
musictheory.net
Major Key Sig.
20/1min
2AP Theory:PR
Rhythm 10 ex.
Lev.1&
(theory.net)
Intervals aural 25
visual 20
3

29
◄ September
2015 ~ October 2015 ~ Nov 2015 ►
4 5AP Theory:
musictheory.net
Intervals: 20
visual/1 min & 25
aural/1 min
6 7 8 9AP Theory:
Triads 20/1 min-
aural
& PR Rhythm
lev.4 watch video
and do 10
examples
BV: PR: Rhythm
lev.2 watch video
& do 10 examples
Chamber: PR
level 4 rhythm.
Watch video & 10
examples
CC: PR lev.2
rhythm video and
10 examples
10
11 12 13 14
CC: M,m,+,dim
triad
explanations
(theory lecture in
class)
15 16 AP Theory:
Triad ID visual
25/1
min(theory.net)
BV:key sigid
25/1min
(theory.net)
Chamber: Maj
Key ID 25/1min
CC: key sigid
25/1min
(theory.net)
17
18 19 20 21 22
CHOIR
CONCERT
23 24
25 26
CC: Sight
singing quiz
27 28 29 30 AP Theory:
SS L4 PR 10 ex.
BV: Rhythm L3
PR 10ex &watch
video
Chamber: SS L4
PR 10ex
CC: SS L2PR
10ex
31

30
Section V: Pre & Post-Assessment
Students’ Pre-Assessment Grades
The test is out of 10 points and would be examples from the same level on
thepracticroom.net. The goal is for them for their grade to improve from the first test to
the second. They will have opportunities to practice in between the tests as well that I
will be able to monitor and track who is practicing and if it contributes to their scores.
Student Name Pre-Assessment Grade
Taken 09/09/2015
Acosta Flores,Angelo S 2.5
Aguilar,Jamie N 5
Archuleta-McGrath,Aleena 0
Barraza Bonilla,Evelyn 7.5
Bengford,Arienna K 5
Campbell,Jackson T 10
Canterbury,Kathryn R 10
Diaz,Mario S 7.5
Dixon,Christian G 10
Emery,Aaron W 5
Granado,Lorenzo P 10
Hernandez,Anastasia M 2.5
Hoffman,David J 0
Lamica,Tamika C 7.5
Magruder,Brian D 5
Morales,Ariel E 2.5

31
Plastow,Heather N 7.5
Reeves,Hailey A 0
Rodriguez,Brenda V 2.5
Rodriquez,Dallis T 0
Salazar,Ramona D 0
Schlecht, Charlene 10
Secord, Sydney R 7.5
Severson, Gwynevere E 0
Sheets, Hattie W 10
Tucker, Josie 0
Vasquez, Diana A 0
Wampler, Meghan E 10
Students’ Post-Assessment Grades
Student Name Post-Assessment Grade
Taken 10/27/2015
Acosta Flores,Angelo S 8
Aguilar,Jamie N X
Archuleta-McGrath,Aleena 3
Barraza Bonilla,Evelyn 5
Bengford,Arienna K 10
Campbell,Jackson T 10
Canterbury,Kathryn R 10
Diaz,Mario S 3

32
Dixon,Christian G 10
Emery,Aaron W 5
Granado,Lorenzo P 10
Hernandez,Anastasia M 8
Hoffman,David J 10
Lamica,Tamika C 7.5
Magruder,Brian D 10
Morales,Ariel E 8
Plastow,Heather N 10
Reeves,Hailey A 5
Rodriguez,Brenda V 2
Rodriquez,Dallis T 1
Salazar,Ramona D 0
Schlecht, Charlene 5
Secord, Sydney R 9
Severson, Gwynevere E 3
Sheets, Hattie W 10
Tucker, Josie 6
Vasquez, Diana A 6
Wampler, Meghan E 10

33
All Grades at a Glance
(Includes all the weekly Practice Room grades as well as the tests to see progress)
Student Name Sight
Singing
Pre-Test
Grades
(out of
10)
Practice
Room
Check #1
(out of
10)
Practice
Room
Check #2
(out of
10)
Test on
the
Circle of
Fifths
(out of
20)
Practice
Room
Check #3
(out of
10)
Sight
Singing
Post Test
Grades
(out of
10)
Acosta
Flores,Angelo S
2.5 0 0 12 0 8
Aguilar,Jamie N 5 0 0 17 0
0
Archuleta-
McGrath,Aleena
0 0 0 0 0 3
Barraza
Bonilla,Evelyn
7.5 0 0 15 0 5
Bengford,Arienna K 5 0 2 18 0 10
Campbell,Jackson T 10 0 10 19 10 10
Canterbury,Kathryn
R
10 0 10 X 10 10
Diaz,Mario S 7.5 4 1 19 1 3
Dixon,Christian G 10 0 0 20 0 10
Emery,Aaron W 5 7 10 5 0 5
Granado,Lorenzo P 10 10 10 20 10 10
Hernandez,Anastasia
M
2.5 0 0 16 0 8
Hoffman,David J 0 0 0 20 0 10

34
Lamica,Tamika C 7.5 10 10 15 10 7.5
Magruder,Brian D 5 3 8 12 10 10
Morales,Ariel E 2.5 0 10 14 0 8
Plastow,Heather N 7.5 10 10 13 0 10
Reeves,Hailey A 0 0 0 2 0 5
Rodriguez,Brenda V 2.5 0 0 13 0 2
Rodriquez,Dallis T 0 0 0 6 0 1
Salazar,Ramona D 0 0 0 X 0 0
Schlecht, Charlene 10 0 10 11 10 5
Secord, Sydney R 7.5 9 0 18 0 9
Severson,
Gwynevere E
0 0 0 8 0 3
Sheets, Hattie W 10 10 10 19 10 10
Tucker, Josie 0 10 0 12 0 6
Vasquez, Diana A 0 10 0 4 0 6
Wampler, Meghan E 10 10 10 14 10 10
X: an “X” is indicated if the students were absent or if they were unable to do the assignment due
to late adds/withdraws from the class, etc.

35
Section VI: Analysis of Pre & Post-Assessment
Pre-Assessment Analysis
Most of the students in my test group were very ready and willing to learn. They
all came from different backgrounds in music and so some students started out on their
pre-test knowing absolutely nothing while others were already very competent in music.
There was definitely a wide spread of variations but as a class the students all started on
the same level and together their musicianship made definite improvements.
There were six students I chose to look at in depth because I think they showed
the most growth and they were the ideal candidates for this grading process. The students
I chose – Arienna Bengford, Anastasia Hernandez, Arial Morales, Josie Tucker, Diana
Vasquez, and Brian Magruder – were all beginning musicians. The goal of this test was
to see how much progress a student could make in their musical literacy and so I thought
it best to use students who had little or no prior experience in music to test the efficiency
of the website and of my teaching. All of the students in the above group received scores
of 5 out of 10 or lower to begin: two students received 0s out of 10, two received 2.5 out
of 10, and 2 received 5 out of 10.
In the beginning of the semesters the students were working very hard and were
absorbing a lot of information. The practice room was really helping the students
particularly with in-class activities such as daily examples and regular lesson videos. The
troublesome part of the unit was getting the students to do the individual homework on
the website at home. A lot of students forgot, were unsure of the assignment because they
had not written it down, had computer problems, etc and were not very dedicated to the
individual practice aspect. This was when I altered my plan and created the formal

36
calendars that are listed above. I posted it on their school website with the whole month
done in advance for them. Originally I had tried having sporadic homework assignments
due through the practice room but found out it worked much better to regulate their
assignments and have one due every Friday at the same time. After this the students
showed improvement in their online assignments.
If the practice room alongside my teaching is effective then the students should
see improvements from their original grades by the end of my time with them. They have
ample opportunities to practice in class and outside of class on the website. Another goal
is to get all of the students on the same level of musicianship. Some students come in to
this choir knowing nothing while others have higher music knowledge. Their
achievement will grow as a class as they bridge the gap and grow together as musicians.
A huge benefit I saw to using the practice was room was precisely to fill that gap. The
students who have good sight reading skills to begin with will have an easy way to
practice while those that are struggling will have an opportunity to study and learn on
their own and then neither kind of student will hold the other one back. Plus it forces
them to be self-disciplined and take their musicianship seriously.
Post-Assessment Analysis
There was a lot of variation in the post-assessment data although the results
turned out very well for such a short period of time. Sight reading is an element of music
that takes a lot of time to master and these students made a lot of progress in just a few
short weeks. For the most part, the students all improved by a significant amount in the
time they were given. There were a few students that fell backward in their grading but

37
upon more observation, they were directly correlated to their other poor grades in class
and in other homework assignments such as the practice room and their circle of fifths
test. The students that already had great scores to start out with because of previous
musical backgrounds continued to stay at a similar score most likely because they are still
on the earlier levels of the website. After the students progress into higher levels in class,
those that tested well early on will still encounter a challenge.
The following is a graph of the results of the pre and post-tests:
As seen in the chart, the post-test scores indicated in red are almost always above
the pre-test scores in blue. The leaps are not necessarily consistent since some students
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Archuleta-McGrath,Aleena
BarrazaBonilla,Evelyn
Bengford,AriennaK
Campbell,JacksonT
Canterbury,KathrynR
Diaz,MarioS
Dixon,ChristianG
Emery,AaronW
Granado,LorenzoP
Hernandez,AnastasiaM
Hoffman,DavidJ
Lamica,TamikaC
Magruder,BrianD
Morales,ArielE
Plastow,HeatherN
Reeves,HaileyA
Rodriguez,BrendaV
Rodriquez,DallisT
Salazar,RamonaD
Schlecht,Charlene
Secord,SydneyR
Severson,GwynevereE
Sheets,HattieW
Tucker,Josie
Vasquez,DianaA
Wampler,MeghanE
Pre-Test Results 2.5 5
Post-Test Results 8
X

38
had vast improvements while some were only marginal but aside from a few outliers
there is apparent progress.
These next charts demonstrate the six students that I looked at in depth to better
determine the effectiveness of the study. The first chart looks specifically at the pre
versus post-test scores while the second chart includes the practice room and circle of
fifths scores.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Pre-Test Score
Post-Test Scores
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Bengford,Arienna K
Hernandez,Anastasia
M
Magruder,Brian D
Morales,Ariel E
Tucker, Josie
Vasquez, Diana A

39
The two charts show very different things. Chart #1 demonstrates that all students
made very clear progress and all at approximately the same rate. Chart #2 however, looks
much more sporadic. The students made a definite progress from pre-test to post-test but
there were a lot of inconsistencies in between. There is obvious benefit in teaching music
literacy through sight reading and using the practice room was a really great tool that
allowed students that had very little previous music knowledge to make vast
improvements. However, after examining the second chart, it looks as if the in class
practice was much more effective than the individual homework on the site. There were
initially a lot of inconsistencies with students remembering to actually do their homework
which was part of the problem. The students got better over time once a better routine
was created for them but it makes it difficult to test the efficiency of the practice room
itself. I think the students just needed more time to develop the habit of doing online
homework for choir since it is not something they were used to.
However, we were using the practice room every single day in class for
educational videos, learning help, sight reading examples, practice, etc. and the in class
portion seemed to be extremely effective. It was a great tool to use in class and I think the
students just need more time to develop that after school routine in order for the
individual homework to be really beneficial. Another thing I might have done if this trend
had continued was instead to have individual time in class to work on these assignments.
The students have access to a tech lab next door and during the day on Wednesdays when
they have 100 minutes in choir I may have just had them spend time in the tech lab in
sections while having sectionals in class. The program and its incorporation into the

40
district is still a new idea but I think it is definitely a great resource but the routine could
use some critiquing and re-evaluation.
Section VII: Reflective Essay
I learned a lot through this process about the process of introducing new concepts
to students, my own teaching style, importance of routine, the students themselves, and
so much more. I realized that introducing a new program to the students was much more
difficult that I had planned for. Setting up the program was fairly easy but it was hard to
motivate students to do the after school work included. The amount of students that did
their practice room check assignments was sporadic. It took a few assignments before
they settled in and started regularly doing the assignments. There is always a period of
time to ease into a new concept but they struggled with this one. I think my own
presentation of the website and the importance of the assignment could have been more
firm and which would have helped. I think it also would have helped if I had created the
calendars from the beginning instead of just writing the assignments on the board and
telling the students in class. After there was more of a routine the students responded
better and started doing the online work more consistently. For future concepts and
planning like this I have learned that I need to have a better organizational strategy so the
students will know what is expected from them.
I was forced to quickly learn how to deal with students from different levels of
musicianship as well which was a hard task to accomplish. I had to figure out how to find
the right balance in lesson planning and lectures so that it was not too challenging for
those who had never studied music before but it also provided challenging opportunities

41
for students that had a fair background in music. It was a balance I had to learn
throughout all of the choirs but this group in particular since it was the beginning group.
I discovered how essential planning is with these students as well. Planning is
important in any group but with a beginning group you are most likely one of their only
sources of music knowledge to date. They may have had some experience but maybe
nothing concrete or that requires music literacy and it was up to me to get them up to
speed and figure out the best order in which to teach various aspects of music. Do you
teach rhythm first? Solfege? Note names? What do you start with? These were all
questions I had to really think about, make mistakes with, and revise. I utilized the idea of
music literacy through sight reading and having a tool like the practice room helped focus
my planning and allowed me to take the students through one step at a time and in a
smooth and linear fashion. I would absolutely use this at my own school even if just for
the in class benefits.
I learned that revisions and adjustments are absolutely necessary and crucial in a
planning process. My process started out a lot differently than it ended and I had to make
a lot of alterations along the way but every mistake or modification made it better. I think
that is essential in any kind of teaching environment. You have to adjust to what your
students need and to their learning styles if you want to be effective and respected with
your students.
Most importantly I think, I learned a lot about my students. I learned how they
work individually and the various work ethics and techniques that students have in a
classroom and the different ways of dealing with each one. We spent a lot of time
practice solfege, circle of fifths, etc and I spent a lot of individual time with each student

42
which was extremely effective when assessing where the students are at in their learning,
how they think, and it is always important for building relationships. Seeing how each
student processed things was exceedingly helpful in planning future lessons because I
could see common patterns in mistakes, questions, and comprehension. In the way I liked
the practice room as well because I could see who was practicing on their own and if
their struggles in class were a lack of understanding or of practice. I could furthermore
take the information about them individually and look out for things like that in their
work as a group. I could put struggling singers next to ones that were thriving. I could sit
shy musicians next to confident ones. I could better figure out how to make them respond
as a group by my own personal relationships with them and my creating an environment
that was more accommodating to their needs.
Overall, this was a great learning opportunity. I learned how to better plan and
organize things for myself and my students, I created relationships with my students that
furthered their learning and my understanding of their needs, and I also found a great new
program that I would use in my own classroom. I saw an amount of growth in the
students’ musicianship that exceeded my expectations and because of that we became a
better choir and a more cohesive unit.

43
Section VIII: References
Websites:
thepracticeroom.net

HS Work Sample

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to HS Work Sample

HS Work Sample