Reflection 5: Integrated Lesson Plan

        My Reflection: I chose to make an integrated lesson plan for a general music class at the elementary level. I recently created and executed an actual lesson plan for such class and “tweaked” it to this specific assignment to become more technologically integrated as well as to include the use of a spreadsheet. All this was to say, the majority of my research came from experience in k-4 classrooms and physically testing this lesson plan out. The challenge was finding a lesson that could easily be modified for the younger ages yet remain a challenge for the older ones.
        The assignment I went with was over the musical elements of dynamic and tempo. Beyond the actual lesson, I had the children find these sounds in the classroom and think of everyday objects outside of the classroom that also fit the different dynamics of forte, mezzo forte, mezzo piano, and piano as well as the different tempos of adagio, moderato, and allegro. Then to integrate technology, I had every student use the computer to research a song that they know that fits these specific elements. Every student signed up on a spreadsheet, a sort of table with the dynamics listed on the top and the tempos listed along the side so that each child had a unique combination to go with. For example, one kid might have had "forte, moderato" and would then have to find a song that was played loud(forte) and at moderate speed (moderato). They also had to find the sheet music for it and indicate where exactly the element combo was present in the song. For the assessment aspect , I had them present their song by playing it and showing their sheet music findings to the class.

        What I learned from this assignment was that really any lesson could be integrated with technology and/or a spreadsheet. Originally I did not teach this lesson using the help of the computers/music files/spreadsheets, but I feel those factors make the learning more about the child's experience verses the teacher's lecture. I learned how using technology can contribute to an open-ended learning environment and I think that kids actually would be more interested in the lesson! I will actually use this new-and-improved lesson plan in future music lessons.