Music

Music
__ Teachers in attendance __ 5/26: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate __ Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? __ __ Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. __ 5/26: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher-made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students: 6th grade - Evaluating, reflecting and analyzing the concert video at a basic level. 7th grade - Evaluating, reflecting and analyzing the concert video at a proficient level. Beginning work on the 8th grade Graduation Selection. 8th grade - Evaluating, reflecting and analyzing the concert video at a mastery level. *Orchestra students: 6th-8th grades: Labor Day Run at the Plantation Music
 * Monthly POV: May 26, 2011**

5/26: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. __**Our concerts and Festivals are our means of evaluating students at this time.**__ // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance-positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breathe in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of solfege tonal syllables during the singing of tonal patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

__ Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) __ 5/27: Enrichment Awards Day 5/28: Orchestra Carowinds Trip 6/3: Music Department Performances at Graduation ** Monthly POV: 5/12/2011 **
 * __ 5/26: Upcoming Events __ **

__ Teachers in attendance __ 5/12: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate __ Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? __ __ Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. __ 5/12: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher-made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students: 6th grade - Evaluating, reflecting and analyzing the concert video at a basic level. 7th grade - Evaluating, reflecting and analyzing the concert video at a proficient level. Beginning work on the 8th grade Graduation Selection. 8th grade - Evaluating, reflecting and analyzing the concert video at a mastery level. 6th grade- New skills- eighth notes, slurs, pick up notes, 3/4 time, dynamics, key signatures 7th grade- New skills- minor scales, legato/ staccato articulation, enharmonics, textures, cut time 8th grade- Technique work- scales, arpeggios, chord studies. *Orchestra students: 6th grade: OBE Preparation, Sight-Reading Grade 1-1.5 literature 7th grade: OBE Preparation, Sight-Reading Grade 2-2.5 literature 8th grade: OBE Preparation, Sight-Reading Grade 3-3.5 literature

5/12: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. __**Our concerts and Festivals are our means of evaluating students at this time.**__ // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance-positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breathe in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of solfege tonal syllables during the singing of tonal patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

__ Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) __ 5/16-19, 24: Orchestra Benchmark Exam 5/19: Band Spring Concert: 7:00 pm, BMS Gym 5/27: Enrichment Awards Day 5/28: Orchestra Carowinds Trip
 * __ 5/12: Upcoming Events __ **

** Monthly POV: 5/12/2011 **

__ Teachers in attendance __ 5/12: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate __ Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? __ __ Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. __ 5/12: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher-made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students: 6th grade - Reviewing concert procedures, refining concert songs, practice stage manners, improving blend and diction at a basic level. 7th grade - Reviewing concert procedures, refining concert songs, practice stage manners. Evaluating judges feedback from State Festival and refining concert songs. Improving blend, 2 part harmony and diction at a proficient level. Preparing group pieces. 8th grade - Reviewing concert procedures, refining concert songs, practice stage manners. Evaluating judges feedback from State Festival and refining concert songs. Improvising to a familiar melody. Improving blend, balance, 3 part harmony, diction, and projection at a proficient level. Preparing group pieces. 6th grade- New skills- eighth notes, slurs, pick up notes, 3/4 time, dynamics, key signatures 7th grade- New skills- minor scales, legato/ staccato articulation, enharmonics, textures, cut time 8th grade- Technique work- scales, arpeggios, chord studies. *Orchestra students: 6th grade: OBE Preparation, Sight-Reading Grade 1-1.5 literature 7th grade: OBE Preparation, Sight-Reading Grade 2-2.5 literature 8th grade: OBE Preparation, Sight-Reading Grade 3-3.5 literature

__Music Content Standards__ 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing-daily-lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging-integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. There are composition exercises in the orchestra method book that allow students to create compositions under certain parameters. 3. Music Literacy-daily-students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. In chorus, parents and students have to refer to the singing tests in order to gain insight into executive skills for singing since the voice is an instrument that resides inside the body. 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating-daily-students analyze and evaluate their own individual performance as well as the group at least once a week. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) 5. History and Culture-integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. Orchestra students have studied musical eras through educational podcasts, provided by a radio station in Cincinnati. 6. Making Connections- daily-Orchestra students have “tech time” daily, where examples are shown of how string players connect with the “real world” of pop music (i.e. student violinist who improvises on his violin to "pop tunes" off the radio; Chorus students figure out which modality that song is sung in); constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc.

5/12: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance-positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breathe in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of solfege tonal syllables during the singing of tonal patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

__ Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) __ ** __ 5/12: Upcoming Events __ ** 5/16-19, 24: Orchestra Benchmark Exam 5/19: Band Spring Concert: 7:00 pm, BMS Gym 5/27: Enrichment Awards Day 5/28: Orchestra Carowinds Trip ** Monthly POV: 5/5/2011 **

__ Teachers in attendance __ 5/5: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate __ Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? __ __ Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. __ 5/5: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher-made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students: 6th grade - Evaluating, reflecting and analyzing the concert video at a basic level. 7th grade - Evaluating, reflecting and analyzing the concert video at a proficient level. Beginning work on the 8th grade Graduation Selection. 8th grade - Evaluating, reflecting and analyzing the concert video at a mastery level. 6th grade- New skills- eighth notes, slurs, pick up notes, 3/4 time, dynamics, key signatures 7th grade- New skills- minor scales, legato/ staccato articulation, enharmonics, textures, cut time 8th grade- Technique work- scales, arpeggios, chord studies. *Orchestra students: 6th grade: String Warm-Up: playing D, G and C Major scales in challenging rhythms and bowings, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly) Concert pieces: Dragonhunter and La Petite Danseuse (remembering and understanding, creating, applying) 7th grade: Spring Concert Music (Grade 1 & string literature: //Cripple Creek, Eagle's Pride, Shaker Fantasia//), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly (understanding, applying, creating)  8th grade: Spring Concert Music (Grade 2 & 3 string literature: //Symphony No. 4// (Boyce), 1st movement, //The Gift, Danza// ), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly (creating, understanding, applying)

5/5: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. **__Our concerts and Festivals are our means of evaluating students at this time.__** // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance-positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breathe in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of solfege tonal syllables during the singing of tonal patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

__ Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) __ ** __ 5/5: Upcoming Events __ ** 5/5: Orchestra Spring Concert: 6:30 pm, BMS Gym 5/7: Chorus Carowinds Trip 8 AM - 8 PM 5/10: Band Spring Concert: 7:00 pm, BMS Gym

** Monthly POV: 4/28/2011 **

__ Teachers in attendance __ 4/28: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate __ Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? __ __ Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. __ 4/28: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher-made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students: 6th grade - Reviewing concert procedures, refining concert songs, practice stage manners, improving blend and diction at a basic level. 7th grade - Reviewing concert procedures, refining concert songs, practice stage manners. Evaluating judges feedback from State Festival and refining concert songs. Improving blend, 2 part harmony and diction at a proficient level. Preparing group pieces. 8th grade - Reviewing concert procedures, refining concert songs, practice stage manners. Evaluating judges feedback from State Festival and refining concert songs. Improvising to a familiar melody. Improving blend, balance, 3 part harmony, diction, and projection at a proficient level. Preparing group pieces. 6th grade- New skills- eighth notes, slurs, pick up notes, 3/4 time, dynamics, key signatures 7th grade- New skills- minor scales, legato/ staccato articulation, enharmonics, textures, cut time 8th grade- Technique work- scales, arpeggios, chord studies. *Orchestra students: 6th grade: String Warm-Up: playing D, G and C Major scales in challenging rhythms and bowings, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly) Concert pieces: Dragonhunter and La Petite Danseuse (remembering and understanding, creating, applying) 7th grade: Spring Concert Music (Grade 1 & string literature: //Cripple Creek, Eagle's Pride, Shaker Fantasia//), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly (understanding, applying, creating)  8th grade: Spring Concert Music (Grade 2 & 3 string literature: //Symphony No. 4// (Boyce), 1st movement, //The Gift, Danza// ), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly (creating, understanding, applying)

__Music Content Standards__ 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing-daily-lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging-integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. There are composition exercises in the orchestra method book that allow students to create compositions under certain parameters. 3. Music Literacy-daily-students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. In chorus, parents and students have to refer to the singing tests in order to gain insight into executive skills for singing since the voice is an instrument that resides inside the body. 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating-daily-students analyze and evaluate their own individual performance as well as the group at least once a week. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) 5. History and Culture-integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. Orchestra students have studied musical eras through educational podcasts, provided by a radio station in Cincinnati. 6. Making Connections- daily-Orchestra students have “tech time” daily, where examples are shown of how string players connect with the “real world” of pop music (i.e. student violinist who improvises on his violin to "pop tunes" off the radio; Chorus students figure out which modality that song is sung in); constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc.

4/28: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance-positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breathe in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of solfege tonal syllables during the singing of tonal patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

__ Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) __ ** __ 4/28: Upcoming Events __ ** 4/29: Field Day 5/3: Chorus Spring Concert: 6:30 pm, BMS Gym 5/5: Orchestra Spring Concert: 6:30 pm, BMS Gym 5/7: Chorus Carowinds Trip 8 AM - 8 PM 5/10: Band Spring Concert: 7:00 pm, BMS Gym

** Weekly POV: 4/21/2011 **

__ Teachers in attendance __ 4/21: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate __ Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? __ __ Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. __ 4/21: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher-made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students:

6th grade - Reviewing concert procedures, refining concert songs, practice stage manners, improving blend and diction at a basic level. 7th grade - Reviewing concert procedures, refining concert songs, practice stage manners. Evaluating judges feedback from State Festival and refining concert songs. Improving blend, 2 part harmony and diction at a proficient level. 8th grade - Reviewing concert procedures, refining concert songs, practice stage manners. Evaluating judges feedback from State Festival and refining concert songs. Improvising to a familiar melody. Improving blend, balance, 3 part harmony, diction, and projection at a proficient level. *Band students: 6th grade- New skills- eighth notes, slurs, pick up notes, 3/4 time, dynamics, key signatures 7th grade- New skills- minor scales, legato/ staccato articulation, enharmonics, textures, cut time 8th grade- Technique work- scales, arpeggios, chord studies. *Orchestra students: 6th grade: String Warm-Up: playing D, G and C Major scales in challenging rhythms and bowings, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly) Concert pieces: Dragonhunter and La Petite Danseuse (remembering and understanding, creating, applying) 7th grade: Spring Concert Music (Grade 1 & string literature: //Cripple Creek, Eagle's Pride, Shaker Fantasia//), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly (understanding, applying, creating)  8th grade: Spring Concert Music (Grade 2 & 3 string literature: //Symphony No. 4// (Boyce), 1st movement, //The Gift, Danza// ), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly (creating, understanding, applying)

__Music Content Standards__ 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing-daily-lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging-integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. There are composition exercises in the orchestra method book that allow students to create compositions under certain parameters. 3. Music Literacy-daily-students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. In chorus, parents and students have to refer to the singing tests in order to gain insight into executive skills for singing since the voice is an instrument that resides inside the body. 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating-daily-students analyze and evaluate their own individual performance as well as the group at least once a week. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) 5. History and Culture-integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. Orchestra students have studied musical eras through educational podcasts, provided by a radio station in Cincinnati. 6. Making Connections- daily-Orchestra students have “tech time” daily, where examples are shown of how string players connect with the “real world” of pop music (i.e. student violinist who improvises on his violin to "pop tunes" off the radio; Chorus students figure out which modality that song is sung in); constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc.

4/21: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance-positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breathe in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of solfege tonal syllables during the singing of tonal patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

__ Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) __ ** __ 4/21: Upcoming Events __ ** 4/26: Orchestra Booster Club Meeting: 6:30 pm 4/29: Field Day 5/3: Chorus Spring Concert: 6:30 pm, BMS Gym 5/5: Orchestra Spring Concert: 6:30 pm, BMS Gym 5/7: Chorus Carowinds Trip 8 AM - 8 PM 5/10: Band Spring Concert: 7:00 pm, BMS Gym

** Weekly POV: 3/31/2011 **

__ Teachers in attendance __ 3/31: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate __ Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? __ __ Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. __ 3/31: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher-made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students begin to analyze songs and self-reflect in preparation for State Festival on April 14th and 15th. Students are applying previously learned skills and evaluating their own performances as well. Students also create new parts of songs either through improvisation tonally or rhythmically or by creating new text to go with a familiar melody.

6th grade - Reviewing concert procedures, refining concert songs, practice stage manners, improving blend and diction at a basic level. 7th grade - Reviewing concert procedures, refining concert songs, practice stage manners. Evaluating ourselves for State Festival and refining concert songs. Improving blend, 2 part harmony and diction at a proficient level. 8th grade - Reviewing concert procedures, refining concert songs, practice stage manners. Evaluating ourselves for State Festival and refining concert songs. Improvising to a familiar melody. Improving blend, balance, 3 part harmony, diction, and projection at a proficient level. *Band students: 6th grade- New skills- eighth notes, slurs, pick up notes, 3/4 time, dynamics, key signatures 7th grade- New skills- minor scales, legato/ staccato articulation, enharmonics, textures, cut time 8th grade- Technique work- scales, arpeggios, chord studies. *Orchestra students: 6th grade: String Warm-Up: playing D, G and C Major scales in challenging rhythms and bowings, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly) Concert pieces: Dragonhunter and La Petite Danseuse (remembering and understanding, creating, applying) 7th grade: Spring Concert Music (Grade 1 & string literature: //Cripple Creek, Eagle's Pride, Shaker Fantasia//), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly (understanding, applying, creating)  8th grade: Spring Concert Music (Grade 2 & 3 string literature: //Symphony No. 4// (Boyce), 1st movement, //The Gift, Danza// ), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly (creating, understanding, applying)

__Music Content Standards__ 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing-daily-lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging-integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. There are composition exercises in the orchestra method book that allow students to create compositions under certain parameters. 3. Music Literacy-daily-students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. In chorus, parents and students have to refer to the singing tests in order to gain insight into executive skills for singing since the voice is an instrument that resides inside the body. 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating-daily-students analyze and evaluate their own individual performance as well as the group at least once a week. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) 5. History and Culture-integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. Orchestra students have studied musical eras through educational podcasts, provided by a radio station in Cincinnati. 6. Making Connections- daily-Orchestra students have “tech time” daily, where examples are shown of how string players connect with the “real world” of pop music (i.e. student violinist who improvises on his violin to "pop tunes" off the radio; Chorus students figure out which modality that song is sung in); constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc.

3/31: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance-positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breathe in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of solfege tonal syllables during the singing of tonal patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

__ Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) __ **__ 3/31: Upcoming Events __** 4/14-4/15: Chorus State Festival 4/26: Orchestra Booster Club Meeting: 6:30 pm 4/29: Field Day 5/3: Chorus Spring Concert: 6:30 pm, BMS Gym 5/5: Orchestra Spring Concert: 6:30 pm, BMS Gym 5/7: Chorus Carowinds Trip 8 AM - 8 PM 5/10: Band Spring Concert: 7:00 pm, BMS Gym

__ Teachers in attendance __ 3/10: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate __ Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? __ 3/10: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher-made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students begin to analyze songs and self-reflect in preparation for State Festival on April 14th and 15th. Students are applying previously learned skills and evaluating their own performances as well. Students also create new parts of songs either through improvisation tonally or rhythmically or by creating new text to go with a familiar melody. 6 6th grade - New Skills - Duple meter division, tonal and rhythm dictation of major and duple meter division. Vowel unification and other basic vocal technique. 7th grade - New Skills - Melodic, harmonic and natural minor. 2 part harmony skills and vowel unification excercises. Working on 3 pieces of music for state festival. 8th grade - New Skills - melodic reading in minor with moving and repeated eighth notes, syncopation and triple meter.. Three part homophonic reading (SSA) in duple major. Reading 2 parts in Dorian. *Band students: 6th grade- New skills- eighth notes, slurs, pick up notes, 3/4 time, dynamics, key signatures 7th grade- New skills- minor scales, legato/ staccato articulation, enharmonics, textures, cut time 8th grade- Technique work- scales, arpeggios, chord studies. Concert Festival preparation- "Black Forest Overture," "Fantasia on the 'Dargason'." *Orchestra students: 6th grade: String Warm-Up: playing D, G and C Major scales in challenging rhythms and bowings, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly) Concert pieces: Dragonhunter and La Petite Danseuse (remembering and understanding, creating, applying) 7th grade: Concert Festival music (Grade 1.5-2 string literature: //Eagle’s Pride, Petite Tango, Shaker Fantasia//), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly (understanding, applying, creating)  8th grade: Concert Festival music (Grade 3 string literature: //The Gift, Danza//, Fanfare and Frippery), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly (creating, understanding, applying) __After the analysis of your most recent assessment, how will you address student strengths and weaknesses?__ 3/10: Assessment in music spans a wide and diverse range. All three teachers give performance-based assessments (i.e. playing tests, singing tests) as well as non-performance (written/electronic) assessments. Mr. Gunter gives notation quizzes where the student has to notate on musical staff paper what solfege syllables and/or pitches he is performing. Near the conclusion of the first quarter, Ms. Tate gives a written theory exam to all 6th grade band students, assessing their knowledge and comprehension of the basics of music theory. Mrs. Dobyns gives non-performance assessments using the SMART Board and the SMART Response Clicker System. Each child has a clicker and can choose answers to a variety of question types: multiple choice, number choice, true/false, etc. 3/10: The most recent assessment that the orchestra students took was their music history quiz on Zoltan Kodaly. The material covered is off of a website dedicated to teaching children about music history in a fun and technology-centered manner. We listen to six minute podcasts three days a week. The students are able to go on a see the test questions and quiz themselves on the questions ahead of time. We cover all questions and answers the fourth day (test review day) and then we have the assessment on the fifth day of the week. Most of my students scored very well. Some of my students did not, and I have realized that I need to review the questions and answer a second time to enable more of them to correctly answer more of the questions. __How have you used your student’s scores (PASS, MAP, formative/summative assessments, grade distribution sheets) to differentiate instruction?__ 3/10: All lot of what we do as music educators is DI, because of the nature of teaching multiple instruments/voice divisions. When analyzing students’ scores on concert music playing tests (excerpts from the students' sheet music), Mrs. Dobyns realized that some students knew exactly how to play the spiccato bow stroke (off the string bow stroke), with correct technique, while others struggled and performed the stroke with mistakes. When demonstrating how to perform the stroke correctly, she made references to potato chips and how the bow stroke sounds "crunchy" like a potato chip. This analogy helped the students in hearing how the notes should be played, and their spiccato bow stroke improved. __ Where did this week’s learning goals fall within Bloom’s Taxonomy? __ 3/10: In the music department, we have learning goals that remain constant and some that change. One goal that we all share is for our students to be able to perform with correct posture, superior tone quality and correct rhythms/intonation/fingerings/bowings/articulation. This one goal encompasses most of the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy: Creating, Applying, Understanding and Remembering. __ In looking at your last formal/informal assessment, identify the level of Bloom's utilized within that assessment. __ 3/10: __7th/8th Grade Tuning Check__ (Assessment to see how well the students are tuning each of their strings-how well each string matches in pitch with the tuner) // Creating: // Students create sound on their instrument performing on instruments. // Evaluating: // Students are evaluated using a 16 point analytic rubric. // Analyzing: // Students analyze each string pitch once their hear it being played on the tuner. They then decide if it matches, needs to be raised, or needs to be lowered. // Applying: // Students apply what they have learned in how to adjust the pitch of a string (either raise or lower the fine tuner/peg, depending on which way the pitch needs to be adjusted). // Understanding: // Students understand how to change the pitch of their strings. // Remembering: // Students must remember the basic skills in adjusting their string pitch: turning their fine tuners or pegs.
 * Monthly POV: 3/10/2011 **

__Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources)__

**__ 3/10: Upcoming Events __** 3/10: Double Enrichment Rehearsals for 7th and 8th grade orchestra, guest clinician-Dr. Chris Selby 3/15: Orchestra Pre-Festival Concert with BHS Orchestras-7:00 pm at BHS Auditorium 3/17: "Into the Woods" Field Study to RNE High School. (Chorus and Orchestra) 3/25: SCMEA Orchestra Concert Festival: 9:15 am-12:30 pm-Keenan High School

** Weekly POV: 3/10/2011 **

__ Teachers in attendance __ 3/10: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate __ Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? __ __ Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. __ 3/10: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher-made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students begin to analyze songs and self-reflect in preparation for State Festival on April 14th and 15th. Students are applying previously learned skills and evaluating their own performances as well. Students also create new parts of songs either through improvisation tonally or rhythmically or by creating new text to go with a familiar melody. 6th grade - New Skills - I chord skips, reading melodic patterns stepwise and with I chord skips in Major tonality. Duple meter division, tonal and rhythm dictation of major and duple meter division. Vowel unification and other basic vocal technique. 7th grade - New Skills - triple meter subdivision (reading patterns only). 2 part harmony skills and vowel unification excercises. Working on 3 pieces of music for state festival. 8th grade - New Skills - melodic reading in minor with moving and repeated eighth notes, syncopation and triple meter.. Three part homophonic reading (SSA) in duple major. *Band students: 6th grade- New skills- eighth notes, slurs, pick up notes, 3/4 time, dynamics, key signatures 7th grade- New skills- minor scales, legato/ staccato articulation, enharmonics, textures, cut time 8th grade- Technique work- scales, arpeggios, chord studies. Concert Festival preparation- "Black Forest Overture," "Fantasia on the 'Dargason'." *Orchestra students are on track for their State Concert Festival on March 25 as well. 6th grade: String Warm-Up: playing D, G and C Major scales in challenging rhythms and bowings, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly) Concert pieces: Dragonhunter and La Petite Danseuse (remembering and understanding, creating, applying) 7th grade: Concert Festival music (Grade 1.5-2 string literature: //Eagle’s Pride, Petite Tango, Shaker Fantasia//), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly (understanding, applying, creating)  8th grade: Concert Festival music (Grade 3 string literature: //The Gift, Danza//, Fanfare and Frippery), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Zoltan Kodaly (creating, understanding, applying)

__Music Content Standards__ 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing-daily-lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging-integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. There are composition exercises in the orchestra method book that allow students to create compositions under certain parameters. 3. Music Literacy-daily-students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. In chorus, parents and students have to refer to the singing tests in order to gain insight into executive skills for singing since the voice is an instrument that resides inside the body. 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating-daily-students analyze and evaluate their own individual performance as well as the group at least once a week. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) 5. History and Culture-integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. Orchestra students have studied musical eras through educational podcasts, provided by a radio station in Cincinnati. 6. Making Connections- daily-Orchestra students have “tech time” daily, where examples are shown of how string players connect with the “real world” of pop music (i.e. student violinist who improvises on his violin to "pop tunes" off the radio; Chorus students figure out which modality that song is sung in); constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc.

3/10: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance-positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breathe in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of solfege tonal syllables during the singing of tonal patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

__ Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) __ **__ 3/10: Upcoming Events __** 3/10: Double Enrichment Rehearsals for 7th and 8th grade orchestra, guest clinician-Dr. Chris Selby 3/15: Orchestra Pre-Festival Concert with BHS Orchestras-7:00 pm at BHS Auditorium 3/17: "Into the Woods" Field Study to RNE High School. (Chorus and Orchestra) 3/25: SCMEA Orchestra Concert Festival: 9:15 am-12:30 pm-Keenan High School

** Weekly POV: 3/3/2011 **

__ Teachers in attendance __ 3/3: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate __ Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? __ __ Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. __ 3/3: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher-made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students begin to analyze songs and self-reflect in preparation for State Festival on April 14th and 15th. Students are applying previously learned skills and evaluating their own performances as well. Students also create new parts of songs either through improvisation tonally or rhythmically or by creating new text to go with a familiar melody. 6th grade - New Skills - I chord skips, reading melodic patterns stepwise and with I chord skips in Major tonality. Duple meter division, tonal and rhythm dictation of major and duple meter division. Vowel unification and other basic vocal technique. 7th grade - New Skills - triple meter subdivision (reading patterns only). 2 part harmony skills and vowel unification excercises. Working on 3 pieces of music for state festival. 8th grade - New Skills - melodic reading in minor with moving and repeated eighth notes, syncopation and triple meter.. Three part homophonic reading (SSA) in duple major. *Band students: 6th grade- New skills- eighth notes, slurs, pick up notes, 3/4 time, dynamics, key signatures 7th grade- New skills- minor scales, legato/ staccato articulation, enharmonics, textures, cut time 8th grade- Technique work- scales, arpeggios, chord studies. Concert Festival preparation- "Black Forest Overture," "Fantasia on the 'Dargason'." *Orchestra students are on track for their State Concert Festival as well. 6th grade: String Warm-Up, new notes: F and C natural, new key signature: C Major, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov, New concert piece: Dragonhunter (remembering and understanding, creating, applying) 7th grade: triplet rhythms, compound meter, Concert Festival music (Grade 1.5-2 string literature: //Eagle’s Pride, Petite Tango, Shaker Fantasia//), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov (understanding, applying, creating) 8th grade: rhythm exercises, Concert Festival music (Grade 3 string literature: //The Gift, Danza//, third piece TBA), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov (creating, understanding, applying)

__Music Content Standards__ 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing-daily-lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging-integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. There are composition exercises in the orchestra method book that allow students to create compositions under certain parameters. 3. Music Literacy-daily-students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. In chorus, parents and students have to refer to the singing tests in order to gain insight into executive skills for singing since the voice is an instrument that resides inside the body. 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating-daily-students analyze and evaluate their own individual performance as well as the group at least once a week. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) 5. History and Culture-integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. Orchestra students have studied musical eras through educational podcasts, provided by a radio station in Cincinnati. 6. Making Connections- daily-Orchestra students have “tech time” daily, where examples are shown of how string players connect with the “real world” of pop music (i.e. student violinist who improvises on his violin to "pop tunes" off the radio; Chorus students figure out which modality that song is sung in); constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc.

3/3: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance-positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breathe in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of solfege tonal syllables during the singing of tonal patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

__ Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) __ **__ 3/3: Upcoming Events __** 3/17/11: "Into the Woods" Field Study to RNE High School. (Chorus and Orchestra)

** Weekly POV: 2/24/2011 **

__ Teachers in attendance __ 2/24: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate __ Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? __ __ Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. __ 2/24: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher-made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students begin to analyze songs and self-reflect in preparation for State Festival on April 14th and 15th. Students are applying previously learned skills and evaluating their own performances as well. Students also create new parts of songs either through improvisation tonally or rhythmically or by creating new text to go with a familiar melody. 6th grade - New Skills - I chord skips, reading melodic patterns stepwise and with I chord skips in Major tonality. Duple meter division, tonal and rhythm dictation of major and duple meter division. Vowel unification and other basic vocal technique. 7th grade - New Skills - triple meter subdivision (reading patterns only). 2 part harmony skills and vowel unification excercises. Working on 3 pieces of music for state festival. 8th grade - New Skills - melodic reading in minor with moving and repeated eighth notes, syncopation and triple meter.. Three part homophonic reading (SSA) in duple major. *Band students: 6th grade- New skills- eighth notes, slurs, pick up notes, 3/4 time, dynamics, key signatures 7th grade- New skills- minor scales, legato/ staccato articulation, enharmonics, textures, cut time 8th grade- Technique work- scales, arpeggios, chord studies. Concert Festival preparation- "Black Forest Overture," "Fantasia on the 'Dargason'." *Orchestra students are on track for their State Concert Festival as well. 6th grade: String Warm-Up, new notes: F and C natural, new key signature: C Major, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov, New concert piece: Dragonhunter (remembering and understanding, creating, applying) 7th grade: triplet rhythms, compound meter, Concert Festival music (Grade 1.5-2 string literature: //Eagle’s Pride, Petite Tango, Shaker Fantasia//), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov (understanding, applying, creating) 8th grade: rhythm exercises, Concert Festival music (Grade 3 string literature: //The Gift, Danza//, third piece TBA), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov (creating, understanding, applying)

__Music Content Standards__ 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing-daily-lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging-integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. There are composition exercises in the orchestra method book that allow students to create compositions under certain parameters. 3. Music Literacy-daily-students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. In chorus, parents and students have to refer to the singing tests in order to gain insight into executive skills for singing since the voice is an instrument that resides inside the body. 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating-daily-students analyze and evaluate their own individual performance as well as the group at least once a week. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) 5. History and Culture-integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. Orchestra students have studied musical eras through educational podcasts, provided by a radio station in Cincinnati. 6. Making Connections- daily-Orchestra students have “tech time” daily, where examples are shown of how string players connect with the “real world” of pop music (i.e. student violinist who improvises on his violin to "pop tunes" off the radio; Chorus students figure out which modality that song is sung in); constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc.

2/24: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance-positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breathe in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of solfege tonal syllables during the singing of tonal patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

__ Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) __ **__ 2/24: Upcoming Events __** 2/25-2/26: Region Band Clinic in Rock Hill, SC 2/25-2/27: All-State Orchestra Festival: Clemson University (2 BMS students involved: Sydney Kale and Imoni Dunner) 3/17/11: "Into the Woods" Field Study to RNE High School. (Chorus and Orchestra)

** Weekly POV: 2/17/2011 **

__ Teachers in attendance __ 2/17: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate __ Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? __ __ Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. __ 2/17: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher-made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students begin to analyze songs and self-reflect in preparation for State Festival on April 14th and 15th. Students are applying previously learned skills and evaluating their own performances as well. Students also create new parts of songs either through improvisation tonally or rhythmically or by creating new text to go with a familiar melody. 6th grade - New Skills - I chord skips, reading melodic patterns stepwise and with I chord skips in Major tonality. Vowel unification and other basic vocal technique. 7th grade - New Skills - triple meter division. 2 part harmony skills and vowel unification excercises. Working on 3 pieces of music for state festival. 8th grade - New Skills - melodic reading in minor with moving and repeated eighth notes, syncopation and triple meter.. Three part homophonic reading (SSA) in duple major. *Band students: 6th grade- New skills- eighth notes, slurs, pick up notes, 3/4 time, dynamics, key signatures 7th grade- New skills- minor scales, legato/ staccato articulation, enharmonics, textures, cut time 8th grade- Technique work- scales, arpeggios, chord studies. Concert Festival preparation- "Black Forest Overture," "Fantasia on the 'Dargason'." *Orchestra students are on track for their State Concert Festival as well. 6th grade: String Warm-Up, new notes: F and C natural, new key signature: C Major, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov, New concert piece: Dragonhunter (remembering and understanding, creating, applying) 7th grade: triplet rhythms, compound meter, Concert Festival music (Grade 1.5-2 string literature: //Eagle’s Pride, Petite Tango, Shaker Fantasia//), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov (understanding, applying, creating) 8th grade: rhythm exercises, Concert Festival music (Grade 3 string literature: //The Gift, Danza//, third piece TBA), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov (creating, understanding, applying)

__Music Content Standards__ 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing-daily-lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging-integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. There are composition exercises in the orchestra method book that allow students to create compositions under certain parameters. 3. Music Literacy-daily-students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. In chorus, parents and students have to refer to the singing tests in order to gain insight into executive skills for singing since the voice is an instrument that resides inside the body. 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating-daily-students analyze and evaluate their own individual performance as well as the group at least once a week. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) 5. History and Culture-integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. Orchestra students have studied musical eras through educational podcasts, provided by a radio station in Cincinnati. 6. Making Connections- daily-Orchestra students have “tech time” daily, where examples are shown of how string players connect with the “real world” of pop music (i.e. student violinist who improvises on his violin to "pop tunes" off the radio; Chorus students figure out which modality that song is sung in); constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc.

2/17: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance-positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breathe in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of solfege tonal syllables during the singing of tonal patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

__ Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) __ **__ 2/17: Upcoming Events __** 2/17: Chorus Field Trip for Richland Two Choral Showcase 2/18: Middle School Music RoadShow Performance (Langford, Round Top and Bethel-Hanberry Elementary Schools) 2/25-2/26: Region Band Clinic in Rock Hill, SC 2/25-2/27: All-State Orchestra Festival: Clemson University (2 BMS students involved: Sydney Kale and Imoni Dunner)

**Monthly POV: 2/10/2011** __ Teachers in attendance __ 2/10: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate __ Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? __ 2/10: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher-made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students begin to analyze songs and self-reflect in preparation for State Festival on April 14th and 15th. Students are applying previously learned skills and evaluating their own performances as well. Students also create new parts of songs either through improvisation tonally or rhythmically or by creating new text to go with a familiar melody. 6 6th grade - New Skills - Duple meter division, tonal and rhythm dictation of major and duple meter division. Vowel unification and other basic vocal technique. 7th grade - New Skills - Melodic, harmonic and natural minor. 2 part harmony skills and vowel unification excercises. Working on 3 pieces of music for state festival. 8th grade - New Skills - melodic reading in minor with moving and repeated eighth notes, syncopation and triple meter.. Three part homophonic reading (SSA) in duple major. Reading 2 parts in Dorian.

*Band students: 6th grade- New skills- eighth notes, slurs, pick up notes, 3/4 time, dynamics, key signatures 7th grade- New skills- minor scales, legato/ staccato articulation, enharmonics, textures, cut time 8th grade- Technique work- scales, arpeggios, chord studies. Concert Festival preparation- "Black Forest Overture," "Fantasia on the 'Dargason'." *Orchestra students are on track for their State Concert Festival as well. 6th grade: String Warm-Up, new notes: F and C natural, new key signature: C Major, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov (remembering and understanding, creating, applying) 7th grade: triplet rhythms, compound meter, Concert Festival music (Grade 1.5-2 string literature: //Eagle’s Pride, Petite Tango, Shaker Fantasia//), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov (understanding, applying, creating) 8th grade: rhythm exercises, Concert Festival music (Grade 3 string literature: //The Gift, Danza//, third piece TBA), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov (creating, understanding, applying) __After the analysis of your most recent assessment, how will you address student strengths and weaknesses?__ 2/10: Assessment in music spans a wide and diverse range. All three teachers give performance-based assessments (i.e. playing tests, singing tests) as well as non-performance (written/electronic) assessments. Mr. Gunter gives notation quizzes where the student has to notate on musical staff paper what solfege syllables and/or pitches he is performing. Near the conclusion of the first quarter, Ms. Tate gives a written theory exam to all 6th grade band students, assessing their knowledge and comprehension of the basics of music theory. Mrs. Dobyns gives non-performance assessments using the SMART Board and the SMART Response Clicker System. Each child has a clicker and can choose answers to a variety of question types: multiple choice, number choice, true/false, etc. 2/10: The most recent assessment that the orchestra students took was their music history quiz on Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The material covered is off of a website dedicated to teaching children about music history in a fun and technology-centered manner. We listen to six minute podcasts three days a week. The students are able to go on a see the test questions and quiz themselves on the questions ahead of time. We cover all questions and answers the fourth day (test review day) and then we have the assessment on the fifth day of the week. This week, because of the Community Day Assembly on Friday, we listened to podcasts on Monday and Tuesday, and on Wednesday, we listened to the last one and had our review session on that same day. Most of my students scored very well. Some of my students did not, and I have realized that I need to review the questions and answer a second time to enable more of them to correctly answer more of the questions. __How have you used your student’s scores (PASS, MAP, formative/summative assessments, grade distribution sheets) to differentiate instruction?__ 2/10: All lot of what we do as music educators is DI, because of the nature of teaching multiple instruments/voice divisions. When analyzing students’ scores on scale assessments (how a major scale and arpeggio is constructed), Mrs. Dobyns realized that some students knew exactly how to answer, while others struggled and were unsure of the answer. She created the “human scale and arpeggio,” using eight students to represent the notes of a major scale. She then asked four of the students to have a seat. The remaining four students represented the notes of the arpeggio. Since seeing this visual form of DI, the students can visualize the human scale and arpeggio, and can apply that to their instruments and music literacy skills. __ Where did this week’s learning goals fall within Bloom’s Taxonomy? __ 2/10: In the music department, we have learning goals that remain constant and some that change. One goal that we all share is for our students to be able to perform with correct posture, superior tone quality and correct rhythms/intonation/fingerings/bowings/articulation. This one goal encompasses most of the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy: Creating, Applying, Understanding and Remembering. __ In looking at your last formal/informal assessment, identify the level of Bloom's utilized within that assessment. __ 2/10: __7th/8th Grade Tuning Check__ (Assessment to see how well the students are tuning each of their strings-how well each string matches in pitch with the tuner) // Creating: // Students create sound on their instrument performing on instruments. // Evaluating: // Students are evaluated using a 16 point analytic rubric. // Analyzing: // Students analyze each string pitch once their hear it being played on the tuner. They then decide if it matches, needs to be raised, or needs to be lowered. // Applying: // Students apply what they have learned in how to adjust the pitch of a string (either raise or lower the fine tuner/peg, depending on which way the pitch needs to be adjusted). // Understanding: // Students understand how to change the pitch of their strings. // Remembering: // Students must remember the basic skills in adjusting their string pitch: turning their fine tuners or pegs.

Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources)

**Weekly POV: February 10, 2011** __ Teachers in attendance __ 2/10: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate __ Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? __ __ Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. __ 2/10: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher-made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students begin to analyze songs and self-reflect in preparation for State Festival on April 14th and 15th. Students are applying previously learned skills and evaluating their own performances as well. Students also create new parts of songs either through improvisation tonally or rhythmically or by creating new text to go with a familiar melody. 6th grade - Basic fundamentals of posture, handsigns, and choral singing. Warmup sequence and other procedures are established through games and activities.

7th grade - is working towards "Donuts for Dads" and the "Elementary Roadshow" using a song in Dorian and "Stand by Me"

8th grade - is completing sight-reading "Music Alone Shall Live" a song in duple major with some ostinati. Reading difficult melodic patterns for "Drinking Gourd" *Band students: 6th grade- New skills- eighth notes, slurs, pick up notes, 3/4 time, dynamics, key signatures 7th grade- New skills- minor scales, legato/ staccato articulation, enharmonics, textures, cut time 8th grade- Technique work- scales, arpeggios, chord studies. Concert Festival preparation- "Black Forest Overture," "Fantasia on the 'Dargason'." *Orchestra students are on track for their State Concert Festival as well. 6th grade: String Warm-Up, new notes: F and C natural, new key signature: C Major, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov (remembering and understanding, creating, applying) 7th grade: triplet rhythms, compound meter, Concert Festival music (Grade 1.5-2 string literature: //Eagle’s Pride, Petite Tango, Shaker Fantasia//), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov (understanding, applying, creating) 8th grade: rhythm exercises, Concert Festival music (Grade 3 string literature: //The Gift, Danza//, third piece TBA), daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation, Music History podcast lessons on Benjamin Britten, G.F. Handel, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov (creating, understanding, applying)

__Music Content Standards__ 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing-daily-lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging-integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. There are composition exercises in the orchestra method book that allow students to create compositions under certain parameters. 3. Music Literacy-daily-students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. In chorus, parents and students have to refer to the singing tests in order to gain insight into executive skills for singing since the voice is an instrument that resides inside the body. 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating-daily-students analyze and evaluate their own individual performance as well as the group at least once a week. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) 5. History and Culture-integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. Orchestra students have studied musical eras through educational podcasts, provided by a radio station in Cincinnati. 6. Making Connections- daily-Orchestra students have “tech time” daily, where examples are shown of how string players connect with the “real world” of pop music (i.e. student violinist who improvises on his violin to "pop tunes" off the radio; Chorus students figure out which modality that song is sung in); constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc.

2/10: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance-positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breathe in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of solfege tonal syllables during the singing of tonal patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

__ Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) __ 2/10: Upcoming Events: Feb 11-12: Band Winter Camp at BHS Feb. 12: Dobyns performing with the SC Philharmonic (Professional Development) Feb 25-26: Region Band Clinic in Rock Hill, SC Feb. 25-27: All-State Orchestra Festival: Clemson University (2 BMS students involved: Sydney Kale and Imoni Dunner) __**February 3, 2011**__ Teachers in attendance 2/3: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. 2/3: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students begin to analyze songs and self-reflect in preparation for State Festival on April 14th and 15 th. Students are applying previously learned skills and evaluating their own performances as well. Students also create new parts of songs either through improvisation tonally or rhythmically or by creating new text to go with a familiar melody. 6th grade - Basic fundamentals of posture, handsigns, and choral singing. Warmup sequence and other procedures are established through games and activities.

7th grade - is working towards "Donuts for Dads" and the "Elementary Roadshow" using a song in Dorian and "Stand by Me"

8th grade - is working on sight-reading "Music Alone Shall Live" a song in duple major with some ostinati. *Band students: 6th grade- New skills- eighth notes, slurs, pick up notes, 3/4 time, dynamics, key signatures 7th grade- New skills- minor scales, legato/ staccato articulation, enharmonics, textures, cut time 8th grade- Technique work- scales, arpeggios, chord studies. Concert Festival preparation- "Black Forest Overture," "Fantasia on the 'Dargason'." *Orchestra students are on track for their State Concert Festival as well. 6th grade: introduction to sheet music, new notes: F and C natural, new key signature: C Major, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation (remembering and understanding) 7th grade: minor keys, Concert Festival music, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation (understanding, applying) 8th grade: rhythm exercises, Concert Festival music, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation (creating, understanding, applying)

Music Content Standards 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing-daily-lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging-integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. There are composition exercises in the orchestra method book that allow students to create compositions under certain parameters. 3. Music Literacy-daily-students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. In chorus, parents and students have to refer to the singing tests in order to gain insight into executive skills for singing since the voice is an instrument that resides inside the body. 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating-daily-students analyze and evaluate their own individual performance as well as the group at least once a week. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) 5. History and Culture-integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. Orchestra students have studied musical eras through educational podcasts, provided by a radio station in Cincinnati. 6. Making Connections- daily-Orchestra students have “tech time” daily, where examples are shown of how string players connect with the “real world” of pop music (i.e. student violinist who improvises on his violin to "pop tunes" off the radio; Chorus students figure out which modality that song is sung in); constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc.

2/3: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance- positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breath in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of solfege tonal syllables during the singing of tonal patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources)

2/3: Upcoming Events: Feb 4-5: SCMEA Convention in Charleston, SC Feb 7: Band Booster Meeting Feb 11-12: Band Winter Camp at BHS Feb. 12: Dobyns performing with the SC Philharmonic (Professional Development) Feb 25-26: Region Band Clinic in Rock Hill, SC Feb. 25-27: All-State Orchestra Festival: Clemson University (2 BMS students involved: Sydney Kale and Imoni Dunner)

__**January 27, 2011**__ Teachers in attendance 1/27: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. 1/27: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students begin to analyze songs and self-reflect in preparation for State Festival on April 14th and 15 th. Students are applying previously learned skills and evaluating their own performances as well. Students also create new parts of songs either through improvisation tonally or rhythmically or by creating new text to go with a familiar melody. 6th grade - Basic fundamentals of posture, handsigns, and choral singing. Warmup sequence and other procedures are established through games and activities.

7th grade - is working towards "Donuts for Dads" and the "Elementary Roadshow" using a song in Dorian and "Stand by Me"

8th grade - is working on sight-reading "Music Alone Shall Live" a song in duple major with some ostinati.

*Band students: 6th grade- New skills- eighth notes, slurs, pick up notes, 3/4 time, dynamics, key signatures 7th grade- New skills- minor scales, legato/ staccato articulation, enharmonics, textures, cut time 8th grade- Technique work- scales, arpeggios, chord studies. Concert Festival preparation- "Black Forest Overture," "Fantasia on the 'Dargason'." *Orchestra students are on track for their State Concert Festival as well. 6th grade: introduction to sheet music, new notes: F and C natural, new key signature: C Major, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation (remembering and understanding) 7th grade: minor keys, Concert Festival music, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation (understanding, applying) 8th grade: rhythm exercises, Concert Festival music, daily theory questioning for district benchmark preparation (creating, understanding, applying)

Music Content Standards 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing-daily-lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging-integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. There are composition exercises in the orchestra method book that allow students to create compositions under certain parameters. 3. Music Literacy-daily-students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. In chorus, parents and students have to refer to the singing tests in order to gain insight into executive skills for singing since the voice is an instrument that resides inside the body. 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating-daily-students analyze and evaluate their own individual performance as well as the group at least once a week. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) 5. History and Culture-integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. Orchestra students have studied musical eras through educational podcasts, provided by a radio station in Cincinnati. 6. Making Connections- daily-Orchestra students have “tech time” daily, where examples are shown of how string players connect with the “real world” of pop music (i.e. student violinist who improvises on his violin to "pop tunes" off the radio; Chorus students figure out which modality that song is sung in); constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc.

1/27: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance- positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breath in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of solfege tonal syllables during the singing of tonal patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources)

1/27: Upcoming Events: Feb. 1: Orchestra Booster Club Meeting: 6 pm/Orchestra Room Feb. 12: Dobyns performing with the SC Philharmonic (Professional Development) Feb. 25-27: All-State Orchestra Festival: Clemson University (2 BMS students involved: Sydney Kale and Imoni Dunner)

Place date before each entry under each question.

__**January 20, 2011**__ Teachers in attendance 1/20: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. 1/20: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. *Chorus students begin to analyze songs and self-reflect in preparation for State Festival on April 14th and 15 th. Students are applying previously learned skills and evaluating their own performances as well. Students also create new parts of songs either through improvisation tonally or rhythmically or by creating new text to go with a familiar melody. 6th grade - will start from the beginning since a new group starts next week. 7th grade - is working on festival songs in minor and duple. 8th grade - is working on festival songs in minor and triple. 6th grade- New skills- eighth notes, slurs, pick up notes, 3/4 time, dynamics, key signatures 7th grade- New skills- minor scales, legato/ staccato articulation, enharmonics, textures, cut time 8th grade- Technique work- scales, arpeggios, chord studies. Concert Festival preparation- "Black Forest Overture," "Fantasia on the 'Dargason'." 6th grade: introduction to sheet music, new notes: F and C natural (remembering) 7th grade: minor keys, Concert Festival music (understanding, applying) 8th grade: rhythm exercises, Concert Festival music (creating, understanding, applying)
 * Band students:
 * Orchestra students are on track for their Stave Festival as well.

Music Content Standards 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing-daily-lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging-integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. There are composition exercises in the orchestra method book that allow students to create compositions under certain parameters. 3. Music Literacy-daily-students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. In chorus, parents and students have to refer to the singing tests in order to gain insight into executive skills for singing since the voice is an instrument that resides inside the body. 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating-daily-students analyze and evaluate their own individual performance as well as the group at least once a week. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) 5. History and Culture-integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. Orchestra students have studied musical eras through educational podcasts, provided by a radio station in Cincinnati. 6. Making Connections- daily-Orchestra students have “tech time” daily, where examples are shown of how string players connect with the “real world” of pop music (i.e. student violinist who figured out the melody to Lady GaGa’s hit Telephone and chorus students figure out which modality that song is sung in); constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc.

1/20: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance- positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breath in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of solfege tonal syllables during the singing of tonal patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources)

1/20: Upcoming Events:

__**December 9, 2011**__ Teachers in attendance 12/9: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. 12/9: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. 6th, 7th and 8th grade orchestra students will perform their Winter Concert tonight, Dec. 9. Friday, Dec. 10 is their reflection day, where they will watch the video recording of their concert. They will create “word walls” using words they choose to describe their performance. They will also answer the following questions:

Band students are in the process of preparing music for the winter concert (Dec. 14), as well as preparing for Region Band (Jan 8). 5 students auditioned for the Richland 2 Middle School Honor Band. 3 of the 5 will represent BMS as 1st chair in their sections. 8th grade students have tests weekly alternating between skill tests, scales tests, and lines out of their music. 7th grade students have weekly tests alternating between scales and lines out of their books. 8th grade chorus will be sight-singing a selection of their winter concert music, 7th grade girls chorus will sight-sing a different selection, 7th grade boys chorus will sing a vocal pitch exercise and 6th grade chorus will sing a vocal pitch exercise (familiar scales).
 * 1) In your opinion, what was the best part of your grade level performance?
 * 2) What improvements do we need to make before our next performance?
 * 3) Overall, what was your favorite part of the concert?

Music Content Standards 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing-daily-lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging-integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. There are composition exercises in the orchestra method book that allow students to create compositions under certain parameters. 3. Music Literacy-daily-students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating-daily-students analyze and evaluate their own individual performance as well as the group. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) 5. History and Culture-integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. Orchestra students have studied musical eras through educational podcasts, provided by a radio station in Cincinnati. 6. Making Connections- daily-Orchestra students have “tech time” daily, where examples are shown of how string players connect with the “real world” of pop music (i.e. student violinist who figured out the melody to Lady GaGa’s hit Telephone); constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc.

12/9: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance- positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breath in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of handsigns during the singing of solfege patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources)

12/9: Upcoming Events: Dec. 11: BHS/BMS Workshop/Concert (on a Saturday) Dec. 14: Band Concert Jan. 8: All-State Orchestra Auditions (2 BMS students participating) Jan. 11: BMS Orchestra Booster Club Meeting: 6:00 pm

12/2: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. 12/2: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. 6th, 7th, and 8th grade chorus will perform their Winter Concert on Dec. 7th. The following day they will make a two column chart and write reflections on what needs improvement and what they found to be well done. Students will also write thank-you letters to all the volunteers that helped make their concert possible. 6th, 7th and 8th grade orchestra students will perform their Winter Concert on Dec. 9. Friday, Dec. 10 is their reflection day, where they will watch the video recording of their concert. They will create “word walls” using words they choose to describe their performance. They will also answer the following questions: Band students are in the process of preparing music for the winter concert (Dec. 14), as well as preparing for Region Band (Jan 8). 5 students auditioned for the Richland 2 Middle School Honor Band. 3 of the 5 will represent BMS as 1st chair in their sections. 8th grade students have tests weekly alternating between skill tests, scales tests, and lines out of their music. 7th grade students have weekly tests alternating between scales and lines out of their books.
 * 1) In your opinion, what was the best part of your grade level performance?
 * 2) What improvements do we need to make before our next performance?
 * 3) Overall, what was your favorite part of the concert?

Music Content Standards 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing-daily-lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging-integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. There are composition exercises in the orchestra method book that allow students to create compositions under certain parameters. 3. Music Literacy-daily-students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating-daily-students analyze and evaluate their own individual performance as well as the group. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) 5. History and Culture-integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. Orchestra students have studied musical eras through educational podcasts, provided by a radio station in Cincinnati. 6. Making Connections- daily-Orchestra students have “tech time” daily, where examples are shown of how string players connect with the “real world” of pop music (i.e. student violinist who figured out the melody to Lady GaGa’s hit Telephone); constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc.

12/2: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance- positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breath in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of handsigns during the singing of solfege patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources)

12/2: Upcoming Events: Dec. 3-4: Richland 2 Middle School Honor Band Clinic @ RNE Dec. 7: Chorus Winter Concert Dec. 14: Band Concert Jan. 8: All-State Orchestra Auditions (2 BMS students participating) Jan. 11: BMS Orchestra Booster Club Meeting: 6:00 pm


 * __ November 18, 2010 __**

Teachers in attendance

- Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. - We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. Band students are in the process of preparing music for the winter concert (Dec. 14), as well as preparing for Region Band (Jan 8). 5 students auditioned for the Richland 2 Middle School Honor Band. 3 of the 5 will represent BMS as 1st chair in their sections. 8th grade students have tests weekly alternating between skill tests, scales tests, and lines out of their music. 7th grade students have weekly tests alternating between scales and lines out of their books. 6th grade students will have their first official playing test next week. 7th and 8th grade orchestra students are currently in the “polishing” stage of their Winter Concert music preparation (Dec 9). 6th grade orchestra students are learning how to read, count and play eighth notes with the bow, and are close to beginning their Winter Concert music. 8th grade chorus will be sight-singing a selection of their winter concert music, 7th grade girls chorus will sight-sing a different selection, 7th grade boys chorus will sing a vocal pitch exercise and 6th grade chorus will sing a vocal pitch exercise (familiar scales). Music Content Standards 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing- daily-lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging -integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. There are composition exercises in the orchestra method book that allow students to create compositions under certain parameters. 3. Music Literacy -daily-students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating -daily-students analyze and evaluate their own individual performance as well as the group. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) 5. History and Culture- integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. Orchestra students have studied musical eras through educational podcasts, provided by a radio station in Cincinnati. 6. Making Connections - daily-Orchestra students have “tech time” daily, where examples are shown of how string players connect with the “real world” of pop music (i.e. student violinist who figured out the melody to Lady GaGa’s hit Telephone); constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc.

-We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. // Creating: // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. // Evaluating: // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance- positive and constructive comments). // Analyzing: // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breath in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. // Appyling: // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of handsigns during the singing of solfege patterns. // Understanding: // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) // Remembering: // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources)

-Upcoming Events: Nov. 19-20: Region Orchestra Festival at Lexington High School (2 BMS students involved) Nov. 23: Grits for Grandparents Performances: Chorus and Orchestra Nov. 30: Orchestra Booster Club Meeting Dec. 3-4: Richland 2 Middle School Honor Band Clinic @ RNE Dec. 7: Chorus Winter Concert Dec. 9: Orchestra Winter Concert Dec. 11: BHS/BMS Workshop/Concert (on a Saturday) Dec. 14: Band Concert


 * __November 11th, 2010__ **
 * Teachers in attendance **
 * 11/11: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate **
 * Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? **
 * Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. **
 * 11/11: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long range plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. SMART Board exercises, method book work or teacher made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. Band students are in the process of preparing music for the winter concert (Dec. 14), as well as preparing for Region Band (Jan 8) and Richland 2 MS Honor Band auditions (Nov 18). 8th grade students have tests weekly alternating between skill tests, scales tests, and lines out of their music. 7th grade students have weekly tests alternating between scales and lines out of their books. 6th grade students will have their first official playing test next week. 7th and 8th grade orchestra students are currently in the “polishing” stage of their Winter Concert music preparation (Dec 9). 6th grade orchestra students are learning how to read, count and play eighth notes with the bow, and are close to beginning their Winter Concert music. 8th grade chorus will be sight-singing a selection of their winter concert music, 7th grade girls chorus will sight-sing a different selection, 7th grade boys chorus will sing a vocal pitch exercise and 6th grade chorus will sing a vocal pitch exercise (familiar scales). **
 * __Music Content Standards__ **
 * 1. __Music Performance: Singing, Performing__- daily-lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. **
 * 2. __Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging__ -integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. There are composition exercises in the orchestra method book that allow students to create compositions under certain parameters. **
 * 3. __Music Literacy__ -daily-students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. **
 * 4. __Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating__ -daily-students analyze and evaluate their own individual performance as well as the group. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) **
 * 5. __History and Culture__- integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. Orchestra students have studied musical eras through educational podcasts, provided by a radio station in Cincinnati. **
 * 6. __Making Connections__ - daily-Orchestra students have “tech time” daily, where examples are shown of how string players connect with the “real world” of pop music (i.e. student violinist who figured out the melody to Lady GaGa’s hit Telephone); constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc. **


 * 11/11: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. **
 * // __Creating:__ // Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. **
 * // __Evaluating:__ // Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance- positive and constructive comments). **
 * // __Analyzing:__ // Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breath in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. **
 * // __Appyling:__ // Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of handsigns during the singing of solfege patterns. **
 * // __Understanding:__ // Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) **
 * // __Remembering:__ // Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously. **


 * Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) **
 * 11/11: __Upcoming Events:__ **
 * Nov. 18: Richland 2 Middle School Honor Band auditions @ LMS **
 * Nov. 19-20: Region Orchestra Festival at Lexington High School (2 BMS students involved) **
 * Nov. 23: Grits for Grandparents Performances: Chorus and Orchestra **
 * Nov. 30: Orchestra Booster Club Meeting **
 * Dec. 3-4: Richland 2 Middle School Honor Band Clinic @ RNE **
 * Dec. 7: Chorus Winter Concert **
 * Dec. 9: Orchestra Winter Concert **
 * Dec. 11: BHS/BMS Workshop/Concert (on a Saturday) **
 * Dec. 14: Band Concert **

__ November 4th, 2010 __ Teachers in attendance 11/4: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. 11/4: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long ranges plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. method book work or teacher made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. Band students are in the process of preparing music for the winter concert (Dec. 14), as well as preparing for Region Band (Jan 8) and Richland 2 MS Honor Band auditions (Nov 18). 8th grade students have tests weekly alternating between skill tests, scales tests, and lines out of their music. 7th grade students have weekly tests alternating between scales and lines out of their books. 6th grade students will have their first official playing test next week. 7th and 8th grade orchestra students are currently learning new skills in their text book, as well as preparing for our Winter Concert (Dec 9). 8th grade chorus will be sight-singing a selection of their winter concert music, 7th grade girls chorus will sight-sing a different selection, 7th grade boys chorus will sing a vocal pitch exercise and 6th grade chorus will sing a vocal pitch exercise (familiar scales). __Music Content Standards__ 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing- daily- lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music. 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging - integrated into our curriculum, but not daily. Chorus integrates improvising within guidelines almost daily. Students are almost finished creating their first composition in major tonality and duple meter. 3. Music Literacy - daily- students study new music for every performance. Students are able to sight-read 90% of the music they play or sing in Band, Chorus and Orchestra. Most literature is related directly to the skills the students are learning in class in each grade level. This is more apparent in instrumental classes, where executive (instrument) skills are more easily observed. 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating - daily- students analyze and evalutate their own individual performance as well as the group. Students give specific feedback about performances and make suggestions for improvements (guided by the directors) 5. History and Culture- integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music. Chorus students learn about a variety of cultures and languages through the various songs we sing. 6. Making Connections - daily- constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, team building, group unity etc.

11/4: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. //__ Creating: __// Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). Chorus gives students the skills to create their own musical compositions. //__ Evaluating: __// Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance- positive and constructive comments). //__ Analyzing: __// Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. Students also analyze where to breath in musical phrase and which words are important (phrasing) in a given sentence. //__ Appyling: __// Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). Chorus students constantly apply the use of handsigns during the singing of solfege patterns. //__ Understanding: __// Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a double bar line, they know that is the end of the piece of music.) //__ Remembering: __// Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) 11/4: __Upcoming Events:__ Nov. 6: BHS State Marching Band Competition @ Irmo HS Nov. 18: Richland 2 Middle School Honor Band auditions @ LMS Nov. 23: Grits for Grandparents Performances: Chorus and Orchestra Nov. 30: Orchestra Booster Club Meeting Dec. 3-4: Richland 2 Middle School Honor Band Clinic @ RNE Dec. 7: Chorus Concert Dec. 9: Orchestra Concert Dec. 11: BHS/BMS Workshop/Concert (on a Saturday) Dec. 14: Band Concert

__October 28, 2010__ Teachers in attendance 10/28: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. 10/28: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long ranges plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. method book work or teacher made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. Band students are in the process of preparing music for the winter concert (Dec. 14), as well as preparing for Region Band (Jan 8) and Richland 2 MS Honor Band auditions (Nov 18). 8th grade students have tests weekly alternating between skill tests, scales tests, and lines out of their music. 7th grade students have weekly tests alternating between scales and lines out of their books. 6th grade students will have their first official playing test next week. 7th and 8th grade orchestra students are currently learning new skills in their text book, as well as preparing for our Winter Concert (Dec 9). 8th grade chorus will be singing a selection of their winter concert music, 7th grade girls chorus will sing a different selection, 7th grade boys chorus will sing a vocal pitch exercise and 6th grade chorus will sing a vocal pitch exercise. __Music Content Standards__ 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing- daily- lines in method books, teacher exercises, sheet music 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging- integrated into our curriculum, but not daily 3. Music Literacy- daily- students study new music for every performance 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating- daily- students analyze and evalutate their own individual performance as well as the group 5. History and Culture- integrated into our curriculum in the method books, as well as certain sheet music 6. Making Connections- daily- constantly making connections with music to the real world- responsibility, discipline, respect, etc.

10/28: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. __//Creating://__ Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. exercises in band and orchestra method books give the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). __//Evaluating://__ Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. asked to evaluate their own performance, the groups performance, or their peers performance- positive and constructive comments). __//Analyzing://__ Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. __//Appyling://__ Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). __//Understanding://__ Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a repeat sign, they know to repeat that section of music.) __//Remembering://__ Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) 10/28: __Upcoming Events:__ Oct. 28: BHS Fall Orchestra Concert-7:00 pm/BHS Auditorium Nov. 1: Band Booster Club Meeting Nov. 6: BHS State Marching Band Competition @ Irmo HS Nov. 18: Richland 2 Middle School Honor Band auditions @ LMS Nov. 23: Grits for Grandparents Performances: Chorus and Orchestra Nov. 30: Orchestra Booster Club Meeting Dec. 3-4: Richland 2 Middle School Honor Band Clinic @ RNE Dec. 7: Chorus Concert Dec. 9: Orchestra Concert Dec. 14: Band Concert

__October 21, 2010__ Teachers in attendance 10/21: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? 10/21: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long ranges plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day, we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. method book work or teacher made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. Band students are in the process of preparing music for the winter concert, as well as preparing for Region Band and Richland 2 MS Honor Band auditions. 7th and 8th grade orchestra students are currently learning new skills in their text book, as well as preparing for our Winter Concert (Thursday, Dec. 9th). 8th grade will be singing a selection of their winter concert music, 7th girls will sing a different selection, 7th grade boys will sing a vocal pitch exercise and 6th grade will sing a vocal pitch exercise. The new BMS Chorus website will soon host documents, an MP3 player, and homework assignments so that students can accurately practice at home. [|**http://bmschorus.yolasite.com/**]. An example of a LRP weekly unit for Chorus can be found here. __Music Content Standards__ 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging 3. Music Literacy 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating 5. History and Culture 6. Making Connections

Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards?

Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. 10/21: We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. __//Creating://__ Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments (i.e. Exercise #46 (Essential Creativity) in 6th grade orchestra text gives the students an opportunity to create their music under a certain set of parameters). __//Evaluating://__ Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. Tech Time in orchestra class: students watch performers on the SMART Board and talk about the pros and cons of their performance). __//Analyzing://__ Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. __//Appyling://__ Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). __//Understanding://__ Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a repeat sign (see image below), they know to repeat that section of music.) __//Remembering://__ Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) 10/21: __Upcoming Events:__ Oct. 26: BMS Orchestra is being recognized at the Richland Two School Board Meeting at Longleaf Middle School Oct. 28: BHS Fall Orchestra Concert-7:00 pm/BHS Auditorium Nov. 1: Band Booster Club Meeting Nov. 18: Richland Two MSHB auditions Nov. 23: Grits for Grandparents Performances: Chorus and Orchestra Nov. 30: Orchestra Booster Club Meeting __October 13, 2010__ Teachers in attendance 10/13: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate

Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? 10/13: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long ranges plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. method book work or teacher made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. Band students are in the process of preparing music for the winter concert, as well as preparing for Region Band and Richland 2 MS Honor Band auditions. 7th grade orchestra classes are right on track for the First Quarter long range plan, learning about our new key signature of A Major. Chorus Students will have a singing test this Friday that is determined not only by grade level, but also by number of years in chorus. 8th grade will be singing a selection of their winter concert music, 7th girls will sing a different selection, 7th grade boys will sing a vocal pitch exercise and 6th grade will sing a vocal pitch exercise. The new BMS Chorus website will soon host documents, an MP3 player, and homework assignments so that students can accurately practice at home. []. An example of a LRP weekly unit for Chorus can be found here. 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging 3. Music Literacy 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating 5. History and Culture 6. Making Connections After the analysis of your most recent assessment, how will you address student strengths and weaknesses? 10/13: Student weakness will be addressed through tutoring offered after-school. Review of specific content will be held in class if needed. All classes receive immediate feedback after playing and singing tests. Orch- Feedback is provided on the website: [|www.blythewoodorchestra.com] for parents to see. Band- Parents are updated bi-weekly about upcoming tests, assignments, and events. All classes rearranging seating based on test performance. Chorus homework, documents, and listening examples can be found at []. How have you used your student’s scores (PASS, MAP, formative/summative assessments, grade distribution sheets) to differentiate instruction? 10/3: Using data from our playing/singing tests, we are able to address specific student strengths and weaknesses and plan instruction according to those needs. All classes utilize testing to assess the progress of the students. Both informal and formal testing play a major part in every music class. Of the two, informal assessment occurs the most frequently as we engage students in a constant feedback loop. Where did this week’s learning goals fall within Bloom’s Taxonomy? In looking at your last formal/informal assessment, identify the level of Bloom's utilized within that assessment. 10:13: //Creating:// Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments. //Evaluating:// Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (everyday in class students are asked to evaluate their own performance, and provide feedback to make their own improvements). //Analyzing:// Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. //Appyling:// Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Chorus students sing solfege accurately while reading from music. Students read both rhythm alone and pitches alone and then apply them melodically). //Understanding:// Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines know how to define and give an example of an ostinato.) //Remembering:// Students must remember basic musical principles to continue performing at a higher level. Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) 10/13: __Upcoming Events:__
 * Town of Blythewood Tournament of Band: Saturday, Oct. 16th at BHS Stadium.

__October 7, 2010__ Teachers in attendance 10/7: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? 10/7: We continue to keep pace with our long range plans. Short and long ranges plans are adjusted accordingly each day. Each day we build understanding and skills by use of particular exercises (i.e. method book work or teacher made exercises). As the students' skills mature, they are able to apply these skills to new music. Band students are in the process of preparing music for the winter concert, as well as preparing for Region Band and Richland 2 MS Honor Band audtions. The 8th grade band students are extending their knowlege of key signature with the use of the book //Foundations for Superior Performance//. Each section of the book is based on a particular key signature and explores many different technique exercises within that key. 7th grade is extending their knowlege of key signature with the use of the book //Standard of Excellence Book 2//. 6th grade is solidifying their ability to sustain a particular pitch, while learning about different rhythms. As stated before, all music classes use multiple state standards daily. New state standards: 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging 3. Music Literacy 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating 5. History and Culture 6. Making Connections After the analysis of your most recent assessment, how will you address student strengths and weaknesses? 10/7: Student weakness will be addressed through tutoring offered after-school. Review of specific content will be held in class if needed. All classes receive immediate feedback after playing and singing tests. Orch- Feedback is provided on the website: [|www.blythewoodorchestra.com] for parents to see. Band- Parents are updated bi-weekly about upcoming tests, assignments, and events. All classes rearranging seating based on test performance. How have you used your student’s scores (PASS, MAP, formative/summative assessments, grade distribution sheets) to differentiate instruction? 10/7: Using data from our playing/singing tests, we are able to address specific student strengths and weaknesses and plan instruction according to those needs. All classes utilize testing to assess the progress of the students. Where did this week’s learning goals fall within Bloom’s Taxonomy? In looking at your last formal/informal assessment, identify the level of Bloom's utilized within that assessment. 10:7: //Creating:// Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments. //Evaluating:// Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (everyday in class students are asked to evaluate their own performance, and provide feedback to make their own improvements). //Analyzing:// Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. //Appyling:// Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). //Understanding:// Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a repeat sign, they know to repeat that section of music.) //Remembering:// Students must remember basic musical principles to continue performing at a higher level. Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) 10/7: __Upcoming Events:__ Town of Blythewood Tournament of Band: Saturday, Oct. 16th at BHS Stadium __Setpember 30, 2010__ Teachers in attendance 9/30: Stacey Dobyns, Stephen Gunter, Alanna Tate Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? Please share minutes from your discussion. Be sure to include feedback on the levels of bloom’s being utilized in your classes/assessments each day. 9/30: Based on each of our grade level's progression, our long range plans are being continually adjusted and revised. We continue to reflect on our classes day to day and adjust our long and short range plans accordingly. In example: 7th grade orchestra classes are right on track for the First Quarter long range plan, learning about our new key signature of A Major. They have a playing test this Friday on exercise #56 out of their book, which falls in the line with the set of exercises listed on the 7th grade Orchestra Long Range Plan (see file). Pacing is important in every class, but especially in music classes. Each of us have to be careful to have fast pacing to keep our students engaged in our content. We have multiple of instructional objectives and use various strategies (i.e. Orchestra: calisthenic activities: body and instrument to music history lessons to String Warm-Up exercises to skill building exercises out of our text to sight-reading string orchestra repertoire) to provide an interesting learning environment, full of variety. We are using the newly developed six state music standards (2010), with indicators. The new standard headings are below: 1. Music Performance: Singing, Performing 2. Creating Music: Improvising, Composing and Arranging 3. Music Literacy 4. Critical Response to Music: Analyzing and Evaluating 5. History and Culture 6. Making Connections

We use the multiple levels of Bloom's Taxonomy during each class, each day. Student musicians utilize these taxonomy levels during our classes, possibly without even realizing it. //Creating:// Students create music by singing and/or by performing on instruments. //Evaluating:// Students listen to performances and discuss what they see and hear (i.e. On Wednesday, 8th grade orchestra students watched a video clip of their performance at the South Carolina After-School Alliance Conference last Friday, Sept. 24. They commented on the positive aspects of their performance, as well as the aspects of the performance that need improvement.) //Analyzing:// Students analyze music on the SMART Board, in their text books, on their warm-up exercises, and in their sheet music, looking for and identifying the key and time signatures, solfege syllables, note names, rhythms, dynamics, articulations and bowings. //Appyling:// Students apply what they learn during the warm-up time to music that they rehearse (i.e. Band students practice their scales and arpeggios so that when they see them in band literature, they know the notes and fingerings, and are able to play them successfully, with correct pitches, fingerings, and tone quality). //Understanding:// Students understand musical symbols, after being introduced to them (i.e. Music students in all disciplines understand that when they see a repeat sign (see image below), they know to repeat that section of music.) //Remembering:// Students remember the hand signs that accompany solfege syllabes (i.e. Do, Re, Mi...). When chorus students learn new music, they do solfege patterns, including singing the syllabes and performing the hand signs simultaneously.

Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) 9/30: __Upcoming Event:__ Orchestra Booster Club Meeting: Tuesday, Oct. 5 @ 6:30 pm in room 307.