A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively
engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.
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Phase:
During/Explore/Explain
Activity:
Opening Activity
the teacher will play a short piece of music for the students that uses form to maintain interest (“Frightening” from Robert Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood is a good example)
the teacher will ask the students to describe the musical characteristics that are different in each section
the teacher will inform the students that they are going to create a music composition of their own using music recordings with different characteristics
the teacher will access the Free Music Archive website (or other Creative Commons site)
the teacher will demonstrate the process for reviewing and downloading the music files
the teacher will demonstrate the process for importing an mp3 file into Audacity or another audio editing program
the teacher will show the students how to edit the length of the file and how to copy and paste edited clips of the file into the same track
Finally, the teacher will demonstrate organizing the clips into an AB form
Core Activity
the students will access the Free Music Archive website (or other Creative Commons site) and search for two music selections with different characteristics
the students will download the mp3 files from the web and import them into Audacity (or another audio editing program)
the students will edit the sound files so that the duration of each is 30 seconds in length
the students will copy and paste the clips into one audio track so that the music is in AB form and the track is one minute in length
After all of the previous steps have been completed, the students will use the same sound files to create a new audio track that is in ABA form and also one minute long
Closing Activity
the students will download and import a third mp3 file that is different from the first two files
the students will edit and organize all three sound files so that they are within an audio track that is organized in ABACABA form and is 1 minutes in length
the students will write a one-page reflective paper describing their observations and opinions of the AB, ABA, and ABACABA forms.
the students will play their audio track for the class
the students will share their thoughts about form with the class
Assessment Strategies:
The students will provide the teacher with the audio tracks as digital files either as email attachments, uploaded to Google Drive or through the school’s Learning Management System.
The teacher will
evaluate the audio tracks for evidence of contrasting musical elements
evaluate the audio tracks for adherence to AB, ABA, and ABACABA forms
evaluate the students’ reflective paper for insights and understanding of the ways in which form influences our listening experience
Advanced Preparation:
The teacher should be familiar with the website and audio editing software before teaching this lesson.
The lesson would move more smoothly if the students had previous experience with the audio editing software.
Variation Tips (optional):
Students can work individually or in small groups.
Notes or Recommendations (optional):
The teacher may provide the students with a directions sheet containing each step of the process.