In planning units of work for his/her class, the teacher will be aware of the progress the children in the class have made in music skills, the songs they have learned previously, music they have listened to, and the special needs of some pupils. The teacher may select content suggestions from each strand, adding similar, appropriate examples as necessary. Some areas of content will require more detail than others in order to clarify the teaching steps involved. The teacher will also consider the teaching approaches that could be used between and within strands and how learning activities could produce evidence of children's progress in achieving the objectives of the unit. The outcomes of assessment will provide important information for the planning of follow-up activities and future work in music.
Planning a lesson
In planning a music lesson, the teacher may approach the task in two ways by asking:
- What do I want the children to do during the lesson?
- What do I want the children to achieve from the lesson?
The first question implies a non-specific activity and in some cases perhaps even a non-musical activity, for example listening to 'a tape' or 'filling in' a page in a workbook. The second question is more closely linked with teaching objectives, and by asking it the teacher safeguards against unfocused activity and potentially lost time.
Evaluation
At the end of a lesson or series of lessons, the teacher should review the teaching and learning process in music, for several reasons, which include
- evaluating the effectiveness of teaching
- grouping children for particular activities
- informing planning
- revealing new insights into musical behaviour
- confirming previous findings.
The teacher may seek feedback from the children or request the involvement of a colleague to assist him/her in the process.
Some planning exemplars
The exemplars that follow show how a number of strand units from the curriculum have been combined so as to produce a sample comprehensive plan for teaching, learning and assessment.
Although suggested class levels are given, the unit of work in each case may be modified to suit children's needs and abilities, or adapted for children at higher or lower class levels.
The exemplars include:
- a unit of work for first and second classes, showing the integration of Listening and responding, Performing and Composing
- a unit of work in rhythm skills from the 'Literacy' strand unit
- a unit of work in melodic skills from the 'Literacy' strand unit
- a music lesson plan.
EXEMPLAR 3 - Developing a monthly plan (first and second classes)
EXEMPLAR 4 - A unit of work in rhythm skills (first and second classes)
EXEMPLAR 5 - A unit of work in melodic skills (third and fourth classes)