WEEK 3 SMALL LESSONGROUPS CONCERT CHOIR

Teachers Name: Adam Kishbauch Grade Level: 7/8

Lesson Title: Vowels as colors

Learning Goals: What Learners Will

Be able to do (behavioral): By the end of this lesson, students in the HMS Concert Choir Small
group class will be able to modify vowels for blended tone quality and diction.

Understand (cognitive): By the end of this lesson, students will apply their knowledge of vowels
and how they affect singing in self-assessment.

Encounter (experiential): Singing a piece in Latin.

Construct meaning (constructivist): As a result of this lesson, students will hear vowels in a
different way through color charts as well as comparing vowels of choral performances of Latin
works to modern performances of songs with differing vowel modification.

Focusing Question

In what ways will students: self monitor their vowel modification? How will students
convey the meaning of the text through performance?

Materials

Choral octavos, piano, Internet for recordings, CD player, Chromebooks

Assessment

Formative: self and peer monitoring of vowels, application from one song to another,
understanding through questioning, prediction, and clarification

Summative: Students will perform the piece at a December concert. In addition, students will
perform small song clips with modified vowels.

Integrative: Teacher reflects on the following questions:

1. In what ways did the overall sound of students improve?
a. Students had success in achieving taller vowels, but not consistent by any means.
The final class began to show sustained improvement towards the end of the
lesson. The most effective moments were self-monitoring and peer-monitoring.
Once students were able to get past the laughing, they would achieve desired
results quickly.

2. What can be done to differentiate instruction for working towards the learning goals?
a. Having students do the personalize portion for homework and recording the
results so that they can spend time on the transformative aspect rather than
seeing it as a supplement that was hurried at the end of the lesson.
b. Do not do this lesson as the first introduction to the piece. Perhaps give a lesson
related to the origin of latin text, introduce the piece, then focus on vowels.
Students will then spend time on vowels alone rather than vowels and notes. This
could also give them a chance to really internalize the meaning of the
personalization and perform aspect.

Process

Partner: (Honor THEIR world by beginning with an experience students bring to the classroom.
Include time for students to collaborate and respond through sharing and discussion.)

Play the opening verse of Take me Home by Cash Cash asking students to pay attention to the
singers vowels. Ask students to think of how they would describe the vowel formation in their
own words (shapes, colors, feelings, mimicking the sound).
Follow the same process with a recording clip of Rutters Mass for Children sung by the
Cambridge singers, and ask students to pair up and discuss the differences between the two
recordings (focusing on vowels). Pairs will share their findings.

Present: (Sequence the Lesson steps. Take the learning from THEIR world to the world of the
classroom. Present the information and allow time for students to practice and respond. Engage
critical thinking, problem posing, and problem solving)

A - Warm-up: (5 minutes)
- elbow/arm, head roll, sternum stretch
- pin wheels
- lip formation for oo
- Vi, ve, vah, vo, vu SSSSSFMRD
- Arpeggio in excelsis

B VOWEL COLORS/GLORIA DEO: (5-7 minutes)
- Color wheel/vowel chart
- identify colors for Gloria Deo
- lip formation and modification for vowels

C Gloria Deo: (12-15 minutes)
- Latin Text
- Identify color of vowels
- say text rhythmically meas. 26 Laudamus Te
- sing meas. 26-45
- review song with Latin text meas. 6-45

D For Everything Season: (5-8 minutes) IF TIME
- Say text with vowel modification and colors (connect to Gloria)
- review meas. 35 to end
- check love

Personalize: (Make the learning personal to the students. Provide opportunities for students to
create and be musicians. Encourage original thinking and innovations. Facilitate students
abilities to connect.)

Ask students to find a song on their ipod, phone, or playlist on chrome book. Students should
analyze a verse of the song, designate vowel colors for each vowel sung, and sing accordingly.

Perform: (Communicate and share the new learning as students perform through concert
presentation, demonstration, or exhibition)

Students will perform their song clip for the class. Each performance will be followed by a
discussion about how the vowels changed from the original style of the song.
Students will perform Gloria Deo for the December concert with improved and confident
vowel modification.