Helping students find DO and count rhythms

A choral resource for you! This is an information sheet that can help singers know where DO is and how to count rhythms for melodic sight-reading.  This link allows you to download in better resolution; the google drive folder has both the PDF and an editable Word version.

Resources for tracking Learning Sequence Activities

My administrators LOVE how LSAs differentiate instruction by students' aptitudes, and how LSAs not only help sequence students' learning but also help assess students' learning.

I keep track of students' progress in the LSAs on my iPad.  For instructions on how to use an iPad to track LSAs, scroll down to the middle of this page on Jennifer Bailey's blog.

Don't have an iPad? No problem. You can put these downloads into a binder too and mark on them with a pencil.


Download the FREE, editable Excel file for tracking your students' LSA progress here. 

After the students take their aptitude tests, I color-code their seating chart by aptitude. (By the way - these seats aren't desks or chairs, they're "squad seats" where students are sitting on the floor in rows.)

• A student whose name has a purple background has a high rhythm aptitude.
• A student whose name has an orange background has a low rhythm aptitude.
• A student whose name has blue type has a high tonal aptitude.
• A student whose name has red type has a low tonal aptitude.
• A student whose name has black type and a white background has average tonal and rhythm aptitude.

As the class is doing their LSA, I mark each student's progress. I mark rhythm LSAs above the student's name and tonal LSAs below.

I mark a vertical line for teaching mode, then the horizontal line crossing it for evaluation mode. If a student wasn't quite successful in one pattern, I put a tick mark instead of a horizontal line (see Luna, Amelia, Ghieth, and Anaija in this sample below).

Here is a SAMPLE chart --it's not actually how students performed on a given LSA, or their actual aptitudes. This is about how it would look after 1 day on the tonal LSA and 1 day on the rhythm LSA.

So for example, on this chart (again, not real):

• Grace Zelenak chanted the rhythm LSA's Easy pattern in teaching and evaluation mode, and the Medium pattern in teaching mode.
• Ian Strachan chanted the rhythm LSA's Easy and Medium patterns in teaching and evaluation mode.
• Anaija Herring successfully chanted the Easy pattern in teaching mode and evaluation mode and the Medium pattern in teaching mode, but had trouble with her first attempt at Medium pattern in evaluation mode.
• Ryan Murphy has performed the rhythm LSA Easy pattern in teaching mode, and the tonal LSA Easy pattern in teaching and evaluation mode.
• Amelia Smith has had two unsuccessful attempts at evaluation mode on the rhythm LSA's Easy pattern.
• Luna Shkembi has had one unsuccessful attempt at evaluation mode on the tonal LSA's Easy pattern.
• etc. 

I also write which LSA we're on at the bottom of the seating chart, which streamlines the process during class so I know exactly which one we're doing (all my classes seem to progress at different rates)!

It's a seating chart color-coded by aptitude!!!! (same download as above.)

Measuring Student Growth: 1st grade Singing Voice

In my district teachers are required to show student growth using data through a Student Growth Goal. My growth goal was focused on 1st graders finding singing voice and singing more in tune. Here's how I tracked the student data.


Student Growth Goal:

"All students will improve in their ability to sing in tune with accurate pitch. 70-80% or more will improve by at least one level or maintain the highest level according to the Singing Voice Development Measure, and will improve in the percentage of pitches they sing in tune in their singing test."

This resource gave me my rating scale and most of my songs and patterns. My principal LOVED that what I was doing was based in research!

The Measurement and Evaluation of Children's Singing Voice Development by Joanne Rutkowski

Pretest
On their pretest in October, students echoed patterns in minor tonality, and sang a minor song they had learned.

Song used on pretest (students sang for me individually as others worked in centers):

Patterns students echoed on pretest:

How students were rated in the assessments:

 Singing Voice Development Measure

Joanne Rutkowski's research determined that students progress toward using their singing voice through the following stages. I recorded the students singing with my iPad, and graded each student based on what range they were singing in.

1. Pre-singer – does not sing but chants the song text.

2. Inconsistent Speaking Range Singer – sometimes chants, sometimes sustains tones and exhibits some sensitivity to pitch but remains in the speaking voice range (usually A2 to C3).

3. Speaking Range Singer – sustains tones and exhibits some sensitivity to pitch but remains in the speaking voice range (usually A2 to C3).

4. Inconsistent Limited Range Singer – wavers between speaking and singing voice and uses a limited range when in singing voice (usually up to F3).

5. Limited Range Singer – exhibits consistent use of limited singing range (usually D3 to F3).

6. Inconsistent Initial Range Singer – sometimes only exhibits use of limited singing range, but other times exhibits use of initial singing range (usually D3 to A3).

7. Initial Range Singer – exhibits consistent use of initial singing range (usually D3 to A3).

8. Inconsistent Singer – sometimes only exhibits use of initial singing range, but other times exhibits use of extended singing range (sings beyond the register lift: B3-flat and above).

9. Singer – exhibits use of consistent extended singing range (sings beyond the register lift: B3-flat and above).

Mid-year assessment:

I checked on student range with this song in February. I used this song because it goes above the "Initial Range Singer" range above. Many students had grown to "Singer" level (Level 9 on the scale) by February, many of them even hitting high E's!!!

End-of-year assessment:

Students individually sang patterns, Hello There!, and See the Bird (from pretest) for their final assessment. 

Hello There:

Patterns in post-test: 

So how did it turn out?

The students grew more than I could have imagined!!  100% of students increased or maintained their singing voice level. Here are video examples of just HOW much these students grew!!

Resources for Planning MLT lessons

If you're looking for more resources for incorporating Music Learning Theory into your lessons, here are some resources I recommend:

·       Jump Right In! music curriculum books (I have K-4 books; the kindergarten book is here, for example)

·      the GIML website

·      Other MLT blogs I love:

       The Ways Children Learn Music blog
 Sing to Kids blog
 Mind, Muscle, Music, & Myth blog
  South Music Curriculum blog
 K-1 curriculum maps blog
 Teach Music to Kids blog

·      Experimental Songs and Chants Without Words book of songs

·      Music Play early childhood curriculum