Curriculum Connections
There are two parts to the project that
meet expectations in both the area of music and media literacy:
- To have students become proficient in
playing the recorder
- To have students apply their understanding
of playing the recorder and using technology to create original compositions
through collaboration with students in a different school.
Overall Expectations
By the end of Grade 5, students will:
C1. Creating and Performing: apply the creative process to create and perform music for a variety of purposes, using the elements and techniques of music;
Students will be introduced to playing the recorder. Original music and rhythm exercises available at PortableMusic.ca and on the Zune player will provide the benchmarks for students' progress through the program. Students will work through the exercises, earning “recorder belts” for each set of expectations that are achieved. Once students have achieved a level of proficiency in playing the recorder they will then compose their own composition for the recorder. These compositions will be shared with students in a different class, in a different school who will compose the accompaniment for the recorder composition. Final compositions will be shared on the web site and available for download on the Zune player.
Through their recorder playing and composition work, students will be addressing the Fundamental Concepts for the Grade 5 level:
Fundamental Concepts
Students will build their knowledge of the elements of music and related musical concepts that were introduced in Grades 1 to 4. Students will develop understanding of musical concepts through participation in musical experiences that involve listening, creating, and performing (e.g., singing, moving, playing instruments).
Elements of Music
• duration: dotted quarter note followed by an eighth note; dotted eighth note and sixteenth note; rhythms, including those with eighth notes and sixteenth notes, in various combinations; metre
• pitch: key signatures in the music they perform
• dynamics and other expressive controls: dynamics and articulation encountered in music listened to, sung, and played, and their signs
• timbre: tone colour for particular purposes (e.g., use of trumpets for a fanfare, flutes for depicting birds, various instruments for creating specific moods)
• form: compositions in four or more sections
Reflecting, Responding and Analysing
Apply the critical analysis process to communicate their feelings, ideas, and understandings in response to a variety of music and musical experiences;
Students will be required to provide a name for their composition that reflects the mood of the piece and communicates their feelings about it.
Once students have created their compositions they will be required to analyze what level of recorder proficiency their composition addresses. Student compositions will be added to the PortableRecorder.ca site as further practice pieces for future students.
Source: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/arts18b09curr.pdf
Overall Expectations
By the end of Grade 5, students will:
1. demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts;
Students will independently use video and audio files on the Zune Player to support their recorder practice.
Students will be collaborating with each other using classroom blogs and real time classroom video conferencing to share and create their music compositions.
Students will become proficient in the use of audio editing software.
2. identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning;
Students will listen to podcasts produced by other students and classes and develop a list of necessary components required to communicate effectively.
3. create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques;
Students will collaborate on the creation of musical compositions using both the recorder and music creation applications.
4. reflect on and identify their strengths as media interpreters and creators, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in understanding and creating media texts.
Students will share their compositions with each other, across classes and schools. Projects will be posted as audio files available for download to the Zune player. They will report on aspects of the program that they enjoyed that were difficult and challenging.
Once students have created their compositions they will be required to analyze what level of recorder proficiency their composition addresses. Student compositions will be added to the PortableRecorder.ca site as further practice pieces for future students.
Source: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/language18currb.pdf
