Elementary Unit

Garrett Prall
12/4/18
Concept
Pentatonic Scale

Curricular model this unit draws from

Kodaly method

Concepts the students have already learned prior to beginning this unit?
 Do, Re, Mi, Sol, La, Do
 Low Sol, La
 Slurs
 Triple meter
 Triplets
 Dynamics

Grade level
3rd Grade

Pre-assessment Activity
Teacher has cards with various short melodies using notes of the pentatonic scale. Teacher flips
card over and students sing the syllables using hand signs. Teacher leads students up to singing a
pentatonic Scale on solfege with hand signs.

Describe how you will use this tool. What will you do if students need skill strengthening
before beginning your unit?
This tool measures students’ abilities to sing the correct solfege on the correct pitches and works
the up to a pentatonic scale without them knowing. If the students need strengthening
beforehand, rework stepwise solfege with pitch accuracy in mind. After progress has been made,
move on to skips and leaps.

Post-assessment (Summative)
Each student will compose their own 8 bar melody using F or G pentatonic. Each student will be
able to play their melody on a mallet instrument.

Identification and description of other musical concepts students will

learn/experience in this unit (e.g., form, texture, timbre, harmony,
instrumental technique, etc.).
 Sixteenth notes
 Instrument playing on recorders and mallet instruments

Identification and description of the cross-curricular connections students

will make in this unit (language arts, historical/cultural knowledge, math,
science, physical education/health, visual arts, etc.).
 Physical education from movement games played
 Historical/cultural from Mi Burro and Paiute Legend Song

Description of music from outside of the Western European

folk/classical traditions.
 Students perform a Legend Song from the Paiute Tribe

Outline of the Unit

A. Prepare
Students are beginning to be introduced to pentatonic melodies. Each solfege activity and song
used is written in a pentatonic scale. Students will also be exposed to body percussion, recorder
playing, and improvisation. The pieces covered are My Girl by The Temptations, Cotton-Eyed
Joe, and Paiute Legend Song.

B. Present
Students return to Cotton-Eyed Joe to learn about the pentatonic scale. They partake in a solfege
activity much like the first pre-assessment and end up singing a pentatonic scale. Afterwards, the
teacher reveals the concept to them. Students then play a scale game where a student moves
stepwise up and down the scale and the rest of the class sing the solfege degree they step on.

c. Practice
Description of what the students will do during this stage in the
unit, including repertoire (minimum of three new pieces that are
DIFERENT from the “Prepare” repertoire) and activities.
In this section, students learn more about the pentatonic scale and how to identify it. They will
have to determine which of two melodies is pentatonic and which is not with the help of solfege.
Afterwards, they have two opportunities to compose their own pentatonic melodies; once in
groups and once as individuals. The songs used in this section are Mi Burro, Train is a-Coming,
and Cindy.
 Present Lesson #1: My Girl
Teacher Name: Mr. Prall

Materials of Instruction:
My girl sheet music

Pre-Assessment Activity: Teacher has cards with various short melodies using notes of the
pentatonic scale. Teacher flips card over and students sing the syllables using hand signs.
Teacher leads students up to singing a pentatonic Scale on solfege with hand signs.

Entry Activity: Class listens to original recording of My Girl by the Temptations. Teacher asks if
class knows song. Teacher gives history lesson on the song/group.

Activity #1 Objective: Students are able to sing the melody of My Girl from memory without
teacher assistance.
 T: plays back track to song and sings it with class
 Class sings it again alternating lines with the the teacher
  Class sings alone now but teacher has cue cards giving hints (sun to hint “sunshine on a
cloudy day”, snow for “cold outside”)
 Class sings alone without teacher assistance
Assessment: Students are able to sing My Girl without teacher assistance

Activity #2 Objective: Students will perform My Girl with body percussion without teacher
assistance.

 Teacher performs BP to song in front of class

 T: teach first two measures of BP and class repeats
 T: teach next four measures of BP and class repeats
 Combine first six measures as a group
 T: teach BP pattern for m. 7-9 and class repeats
 T: teach BP pattern for m. 11-13 and class repeats
 Class combines m. 7-13
 As a group, perform m. 1-13 to music
 T: teach BP for m. 14 and 15 and class repeats
 T: teach BP for last two measures
 Combine m. 14 to end as a group
 Perform m. 11-end to music
 Combine and perform the whole BP to music with teacher
 Divide the class into two groups, group 1 sings with the recording, group 2 does BP
without teacher assistance
 Groups switch roles and repeat

Assessment: Class performs My Girl with BP without teacher assistance

 Present Lesson #2: Cotton-Eyed Joe

Teacher Name: Mr. Prall

Materials of Instruction:
Cotton-Eyed Joe sheet music (only bottom line is used), recorders

Lesson Sequence:

Entry Activity/Pre-Assessment:
Begin by singing solfege with hand signs to the melody of the piece.
Activity #1 Objective: Students are able to sing through Cotton-Eyed Joe as a class on
words.

1. T: Ask class if any of them recognized the melody

2. T: Ask class what they know about Cotton-Eyed Joe
3. T: Give class a history lesson over the song’s origins: Originated most likely in the late
1800’s, not sure where it began, many different versions exist.
4. T: Sings first line for class
5. S: Repeat what they heard
6. T: sings second line
7. S: Repeat second line
8. T: Can we put both together?
9. Class sings through both lines together
10. T: sings through line 3
11. S: repeat
12. T: sings through line 4
13. S: repeat
14. Combine line 3 and 4 with teacher, then students alone
15. Combine the whole song together and sing through T+S, then students alone
Assessment: Is the class able to sing through the whole song without teacher
assistance?
Transition/Closure: Good job class! Can we add instruments now?

Activity #2 Objective: Class will play song on recorders without teacher assistance.
1. T: plays through line 1
2. S: repeats
3. T: plays through line 2
4. S: repeats
5. Class combines line 1+2 on recorder
6. T: plays through line 3
7. S: repeats
8. T: plays through line 4
9. S: repeats
 10. Class plays the combines lines 3+4
11. Class plays through the whole song on recorder. First with the teacher, then without
12. Split class into two groups, half plays the song, half sings it. Then reverse the groups

Assessment: Are students able to play through the song without teacher assistance?

Present Lesson #3: Paiute Legend Song

Teacher Name: Mr. Prall

Materials of Instruction:
Paiute Legend Song Music
Xylophones, Marimbas, Glockenspiel (each with Fa and Ti removed)

Lesson Sequence:

Entry Activity/Pre-Assessment: Begin with a history lesson on the Paiute tribe, their culture,
their traditions, etc.

Activity #1 Objective: Students are able to sing The Paiute Legend Song without teacher
assistance.

1. T: sings melody on “doo” for the class

2. T: sings first line on “doo” and have class repeat
3. T: sings second line on “doo” and have class repeat
4. Class combines both lines and sings through melody, First with teacher, then without
5. T: speaks “Peahwä vee” and has class repeat
6. T: speaks “väku mädu” and class repeats
7. T: speaks” heennäh” and class repeats
 8. T: speaks through whole phrase and class repeats
9. T: speaks through each measure in rhythm and class repeats, them on whole phrase
10. T: speaks “Hongäh vädäwee” and class repeats
11. T: speaks “Yämäney, yämäney” and class repeats
12. Class combines all of the second phrase. First with teacher, then without
13. T: speaks through each measure on rhythm and class repeats, then through the whole
phrase
14. Class speaks through the whole piece on rhythm
15. T: introduces the pitches to the words on rhythm. Sing through each measure, class
repeats, then do each phrase, them combine the song together
16. S: sing through the whole piece without teacher assistance

Assessment: Are students able to sing through the song without teacher assistance
Transition/Closure: Good job! Now we’re going to add instruments!

Activity #2 Objective: Students improvise an 8 bar melody on mallet instruments in F

pentatonic

1. Pass out mallet instruments

2. T: plays through the first line on a mallet instrument and students repeat
3. T: plays the second line and class repeats
4. T: “now watch me and see what I do differently”
5. T: improvises for 8 bars
6. T: “What did I do differently?”
7. S: “You made it up!”
8. T: “Correct! Do you think you can make it up with me this time?”
9. Class plays through piece and then improvises as a group for 8 bars
10. If time allows, play through piece, then individual students play an improvisation,
alternate back and forth
11. If time does not allow, break students into small groups and have students improvise to
each other

Assessment: Are students able to successfully improvise in F pentatonic for 8 bars?

Closure: Good job today! What we did is called improvisation. We will be doing more with
it in the future!

Present Lesson #4 – Cotton Eyed Joe

Teacher Name: Mr. Prall

Materials of Instruction:
Cotton Eyed Joe Sheet Music
Cards with solfege to be used in entry activity
Black tape, blue tape, and papers with “Do, Re, Mi, Sol, La” for scale game
Lesson Sequence:

Activity #1 Objective: Students will sing a pentatonic scale aurally on neutral syllables and
then solfege without teacher assistance

T: Has cards with two notes on each, Teacher sings the two notes on neutral syllables, then
students repeat
T: After making it through all of the cards, the teacher cycles through them again on solfege
T: Slowly works the students on neutral syllables up the pentatonic scale, starting “Do, Re, Do.
Do, Re, Mi, Re, Do… etc up to Do-La-Do.” Afterwards teacher repeats activity on solfege
S: sing pentatonic scale Do-La without teacher assistance

Assessment: Were the students able to sing the pentatonic scale?

Activity #2 Objective: Students will successfully play the scale game in class (elaborated on
in lesson)

T: Introduce pentatonic scale concept and say that the class is going to play a game with it
T: introduce scale game-
Scale Game: Teacher lays out black (or other colored) tape on the floor in the shape of a
music staff. X’s of blue tape are placed to represent notes of the pentatonic scale and paper with
the solfege names are placed at the foot of the staff below each note. Students will one at a time,
move up and down the scale as they please and the rest of the class will sing the notes they step
on. (Diagram below)

Assessment: Did the class successfully perform the scale game?

Activity #3 Objective: Students will sing Cotton Eyed Joe on solfege from the notation

T: Draws notated F pentatonic scale on board with solfege below staff

T: points to notes on board to the tune of cotton Eyed Joe
T: hands out sheet music of cotton Eyed Joe to students with first note of solfege written in.
S: get into small groups and solfege the rest of the song, with an F pentatonic scale on the board
as a reference
S: sing cotton Eyed Joe on solfege, then on text without teacher assistance.

Assessment: were the students able to successfully sing cotton Eyed Joe without teacher
assistance on solfege and then on text?

Closure: Teacher reviews pentatonic scale properties to class, then includes that the class
will be returning to the topic in later class periods.

Practice Lesson #5 – My Girl

Teacher Name: Mr. Prall

Objective: Students will aurally identify which song is written in a pentatonic scale and
then identify which of two simple melodies is written in a pentatonic scale
Materials of Instruction:
 My Girl song recording
 Can’t Help Falling in Love recording
 Two simple melodies, one pentatonic, one not in a pentatonic scale
 Projector

Lesson Sequence:
Activity #1 Objective: Students will identify from recordings of “My Girl” and “Can’t Help
Falling in Love” which is in a pentatonic scale.

T: Review with class what the characteristics of a pentatonic scale is

T: Introduces activity where two examples will be played, the class is to write down on a piece
of paper which they think is written in a pentatonic scale and then pass the paper into the teacher
T: Plays song #1: “My Girl”
T: Plays song #2: “Can’t Help Falling in Love”
S: Write which they think is in a pentatonic scale on a piece of paper and passes it to teacher
T: Replays songs if requested to, then tallies up on the board what the votes are, then discusses
with the class why they think what they did. Review pentatonic scale properties. If the majority
of the class is correct, ask them how they could tell the difference. If the vote is a near-tie or the
majority leans toward the incorrect answer, discuss why they thought what they did, then break
down each song to demonstrate the difference.

Assessment: Were the students able to successfully identify that “My Girl” was written in a
pentatonic scale? If not, have they since understood why they were incorrect and better
know how to identify pentatonic songs in the future?

Activity #2 Objective: Students are given two melodies and must decide which is written in
a pentatonic scale and which is not.

T: Introduces next activity: Students are given the following two songs (without the titles) and
told to identify which is pentatonic and which is not. It is strongly suggested that students solfege
the music to help in their decision. Additionally, they are told to circle and skip notes they do not
know the solfege for. The starting notes of each example are marked “Do” to help the students
begin.
T: Pass out songs
S: Participate in activity and pass in their papers
T: Tallies up votes
T: Put each example on the projector and solfege them, circling outlier notes. Then showing
which is pentatonic

Assessment: Were the students able to correctly identify which melody was pentatonic? If
not, do they understand their mistakes and how to correctly identify pentatonic melodies in
the future?

Practice Lesson #6 – Paiute Legend Song

Teacher Name: Mr. Prall
Objective: Students will identify that the song played by the teacher (Paiute Legend Song)
is in a pentatonic key. Then students will work on their ability to hear intervals with the
interval game.

Materials of Instruction:
 Paiute Legend Song sheet music
 Marimba
 Colored tape

Lesson Sequence:

Activity #1 Objective: Students will hear Paiute Legend Song, attempt to identify the piece,
then if it’s in a pentatonic key or not.
T: Tells class to listen to song and try to identify the tune
T: Plays Paiute Legend Song on marimba
S: Attempt to guess the tune
T: Offer hints and guidance based on how well the students are guessing
T: Tell students if they were right or wrong, then reveal the piece
T: Asks class to listen again and attempt to determine if the piece is in a pentatonic scale or not
S: Guess and teacher tallies
T: Reveal that it IS pentatonic, then discuss why

Assessment: Were the students able to determine if Paiute Legend Song is pentatonic? If
not, are they aware of why it is?

Activity #2 Objective: Students will play the interval game and attempt to improve their
ability to guess intervals.
T: Introduces interval game: Pentatonic “Do-La” solfege syllables are placed throughout room in
squares of tape. Students start on “Do.” Teacher plays “Do” and then another note in the
pentatonic scale and students then move from “Do” to what they believe is the correct note.
S: Play interval game
T: Starts with simpler intervals and then moves on to more difficult intervals with intention of
students being able to identify the more difficult intervals in the end.

Assessment: Did they class show improvement in identifying intervals?

Practice Lesson #7 – Mi Burro

Teacher Name: Mr. Prall

Objective: The class will perform Mi Burro with half of the students on mallet instruments
and the other half singing.

Materials of Instruction:
 Mi Burro sheet music
 Marimba, xylophone
Lesson Sequence:

Activity #1 Objective: Students will learn and perform Mi Burro first on solfege and then
on text without teacher assistance
T: Sings pickup measure-m. 4 on solfege
S: Repeat
T: Sings pickup to m. 5-m. 12 on solfege
S: Repeat
T: Combine pickup at beginning-m. 12 on solfege
S: Repeat
T: Sings m. 12-end on solfege
S: Repeat
T: Combines pickup to m. 5-end on solfege
S: Repeat
T: Combines whole song on solfege
S: Repeat
S: After practicing, perform song on solfege without teacher assistance
T: Speaks full text and gives translation
T: Speaks text “A mi burro le duele la cabeza” then Sings m. 1-m. 5
S: Repeat
T: Speaks text “el medioco le hapuesto un a gorita negra” then Sings m. 5-m. 12
S: Repeat
T: Speaks text “zapatitos Lila” and Sings to end
S: Repeat
T: combines m.1-m.12 and students repeat, the combines m.5-end and students repeat
S: Sing through whole song on text with teacher assistance, then without

Assessment: Were the students able to sing through Mi Burro without teacher assistance?

Activity #2 Objective: Students will perform Mi Burro on mallet instruments and on text
T: Plays m. 1-m.5 on mallet instrument
S: Repeat
T: Plays m. 5-12 on mallet instrument
S: Repeat
T: Combines m.1-12
S: Repeat
T: Plays m.12-end
S: Repeat
T: Combines m. 5-end
S: Repeat
T:Plays whole song on mallet instrument
S: Repeat
S: play through whole song with teacher, then without
T: Divides class in half, part 1 Sings on text, part 2 on mallet instruments. Then switch parts
Assessment: Was the class able to successfully perform on both text and instruments?

Practice Lesson #8 – Train is a-Coming

Teacher Name: Mr. Prall

Objective: Students will play Train is a-Coming on mallet instruments and improvise
between verses.

Materials of Instruction:
 Train is a-Coming sheet music
 Mallet instruments
Lesson Sequence:

Activity #1 Objective: Students will learn Train is a-Coming on mallet instruments and
play it without teacher assistance.
T: Plays m.1-2, students repeat
T: Plays m.3-4, students repeat
T: Combines m. 1-4, students repeat
T: Plays m. 5-6, students repeat
T: Play m. 7-8, students repeat
T: Combines m. 5-8, students repeat
T: Combines m. 1-8, students repeat
S: Play song without teacher assistance

Assessment: Was the class able to play Train is a-Coming without teacher assistance?

Activity #2 Objective: Students will play Train is a-Coming on mallet instruments and
improvise 8 bars between verses
T: improvises a melody for 8 bars.
T: “What did I do there?”
S: “Made it up!”
T: Tells students to experiment a bit on their own and students play for a minute
T: Explains activity: Class plays through song, improvise for 8 bars, back to verse 2
S: Perform activity and play in pairs or go around and allow each student to improvise for the
class depending on time left.
Assessment: Was the class able to successfully play the piece, improvise, then get back into
the piece?

Practice Lesson #9 – Cindy

Teacher Name: Mr. Prall

Objective: Students will play Cindy on mallet instruments, then compose a short piece in a
pentatonic key in small groups.

Materials of Instruction:
Cindy sheet music
Mallet instruments

Lesson Sequence:

Activity #1 Objective: Students will learn and play Cindy on mallet instruments.
T: Plays m. 1-beat 2 of m.8 and students repeat
T: Plays m. 8 beat 3-end of piece and students repeat
T: Combines m.1-end and students repeat with teacher assistance
T: Describes activity where teacher plays, but when teacher stops, students continue where
teacher left off. When teacher starts playing again, students stop.
T: Plays m. 1-4 and students pick up and keep playing
T: Starts playing again at m. 9, beat 3 and plays until m. 11 beat 2
S: Continue playing
T: Takes over at m. 14, beat 4 and plays until the last note
S: Play last note
Class then plays whole song together again
Assessment: Was the class able to successfully play the tune on mallet instruments?

Activity #2 Objective: The class will compose simple melodies in small groups and perform
them for the class.
T: Explains assignment: groups need to compose a simple, 8 measure composition on mallet
instruments. Students will have 5 minutes in their groups to develop the melodies. Then the
groups will take turns performing for the class.
S: Develop their melodies in their groups
T: Calls out when 5 minute mark has been reached. Afterwards, calls the first group to perform.
S: Perform their melodies for the class
T: Has a debrief session with the class. Asks what was easy, what was hard, what would they do
different if they could go back and do it again.
Assessment: Where the students able to come up with a melody as a group and then
perform it for the class?

Practice Lesson #10 – Train is a-Coming

Teacher Name: Mr. Prall

Objective: Students will create their own simple melody using a worksheet and then
perform it for the class.

Materials of Instruction:
Train is a-Coming sheet music
Composition worksheet
Lesson Sequence:
T: Teacher introduces activity: Students will have 10 minutes to compose their melodies.
Afterwards, they will practice their melodies on mallet instruments. The class will then perform
their melody for the class.
S: Compose their melodies for 10 minutes
T: Stop composition process and transition students to practicing
S: Practice their melodies for 5 minutes
T: Stop practice time and begin performances
S: Perform their pieces
T: Leads class discussion. What did you think about this assignment? What was easy, hard?
What would you change?

Assessment: Did the class successfully compose their melodies following the rules set for
them?