M.T205

Arrange a Familiar Song

Working in small groups, students will arrange a familiar song. They will take a vocal piece that they have learned in previous lessons and arrange it as an instrumental piece. This assessment will require both individual and group work. Students will be responsible for playing an instrument of their choosing and writing out the part that they will play. Students will work together to make sure that all parts of the song are covered. They may use a variety of melody instruments and unpitched percussion instruments, including electronic or nontraditional sound sources.

Students will work in groups of four. Teachers may need to arrange for smaller or larger groups if the class cannot be divided into groups of four. Each student must play his or her part at the time of the performance. The arrangement will typically be 8 or 16 measures long. However, the length of the arrangement is up to the teacher and will be dependent on the amount of time that the teacher has with the students as well as the experience of the students. The final performances will be video recorded for scoring later. The parts of the assessment are as follows:

Part 1 (Day 1)—Students will take notes on and practice writing elements of notation on blank staff paper in their Student Booklets. This part may be skipped if the teacher wishes to use non-traditional notation, no notation, or a different method of teaching notation.

Part 2 (Day 2)—Students will meet in their groups to decide on instrumentation. Groups of four students will be created and assigned by the teacher using the template found on page 21 of this Teacher Booklet.
Students will use a checklist when meeting in their groups to make sure that all criteria for the arrangement have been met. They will at least need a melody instrument, a rhythm instrument, a tone-color instrument, and a nontraditional sound source in their arrangement.

Part 3 (Day 3)—Each student must write out his or her own part on the staff paper in his or her Student Booklet. This part may continue on to Day 4 if necessary. This is a workshop day, during which students can ask questions of the teacher and each other as they write their parts.

Part 4 (Day 4)—Students will have time to practice their parts both individually and with their groups.

Part 5 (Day 5)—Students will perform their arrangements in their groups for the class. These performances will be video recorded and evaluated by the teacher. This may continue for another class period if necessary.

Part 6 (Day 6)—Students will reflect on their work. Students will reflect on the quality of the final product and their experience. Students also will be asked to reflect on the assessment and what aspects overall make a good arrangement.

This item has been voluntarily field-tested by Michigan teachers with a non-representative sample of students.

Teacher Booklet

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Student Booklet

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These are analytic rubrics. The column on the left shows the dimension that is being measured in the student’s performance. The levels across the top row indicate the performance level in the dimensions. Occasionally all dimensions and performance levels are exemplified by multiple students in a single recording.

TEACHER SCORING RUBRIC–NOTE-TAKING

  • Dimension

  • Neatness

  • Accuracy

  • Completion

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

  • Most or all symbols are drawn sloppily and are nearly impossible to read.

    N/A at this time.

  • About half of the symbols are easy to read; the other half are not.

    N/A at this time.

  • Most symbols are drawn neatly. A few may be hard to read.

    N/A at this time.

  • All symbols are drawn neatly and are clear and easy to read.

    N/A at this time.

  • Most of the lines are inaccurate. There are many errors with the stem directions, beams, and spacing, making the note sheet very difficult to read.

    N/A at this time.

  • Some lines are completed accurately. The practice line has multiple errors. The stems are seldom on the correct side of the notes, and the beams are seldom in the right direction.

    N/A at this time.

  • Most lines are completed accurately. The practice line has some errors. The stems are mostly on the correct side of the notes, and the beams are mostly in the right direction.

    N/A at this time.

  • All lines are completed accurately, including the practice line. The stems are consistently on the correct side of the notes; the beams are in the right direction. Each symbol takes up the correct amount of space on the staff.

    N/A at this time.

  • Fewer than three lines on the staff paper are completed.

    N/A at this time.

  • Three or four lines on the staff paper are completed.

    N/A at this time.

  • Five of the lines on the staff paper are completed.

    N/A at this time.

  • All six lines of the staff paper are completed.

    N/A at this time.

TEACHER SCORING RUBRIC–WRITING INDIVIDUAL PARTS

  • Dimension

  • Music Notation

  • Meter and Rhythm

  • Overall Creativity and Craftsmanship

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

  • Notes are written in a sloppy and illegible manner. Line and space notes are indistinguishable from each other.

    N/A at this time.

  • Most notes are written clearly. The differences between line and space notes are not easily seen.

    N/A at this time.

  • Most notes are written clearly. The differences between line and spaces notes are mostly clear.

    N/A at this time.

  • All notes are written neatly. The differences between line and space notes were easily seen.

    N/A at this time.

  • Fewer than half of the measures have the correct number of beats.

    N/A at this time.

  • Seventy percent of the measures have the correct number of beats. Rhythms are very basic and do not expand beyond quarter notes.

    N/A at this time.

  • Eighty-five percent of the measures have the correct number of beats, and a variety of rhythms are used.

    N/A at this time.

  • All measures have the correct number of beats, and a variety of rhythms are used.

    N/A at this time.

  • The arrangement is not complete, and it is very difficult to read. Fewer than half of the required elements are included.

    N/A at this time.

  • The arrangement is very basic and somewhat legible to read. At least half of the required elements are included.

    N/A at this time.

  • The arrangement is somewhat creative and legible. Most of the required elements are included.

    N/A at this time.

  • The arrangement is creative, clean, and easy to read, and it included all of the required elements.

    N/A at this time.

TEACHER SCORING RUBRIC–PERFORMANCE

  • Dimension

  • Pitch Accuracy

  • Rhythm Accuracy

  • Ensemble Playing

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

  • Student seldom plays the correct notes.

    N/A at this time.

  • Student sometimes plays the correct notes.

    N/A at this time.

  • Student mostly plays the correct notes.

    N/A at this time.

  • Student consistently plays the correct notes.

    N/A at this time.

  • Student seldom plays the correct rhythms.

    N/A at this time.

  • Student sometimes plays the correct rhythms.

    N/A at this time.

  • Student mostly plays the correct rhythms.

    N/A at this time.

  • Student consistently plays the correct rhythms.

    N/A at this time.

  • Student seldom plays together with the group. He or she is consistently not in tempo with the group and is playing at a dynamic level that is different from the rest of the group.

    N/A at this time.

  • Student sometimes plays together with the group. He or she may not be in tempo and may be playing at a dynamic level that is different from the rest of the group.

    N/A at this time.

  • Student mostly plays together with the group. He or she plays in tempo but may be playing at a dynamic level that is different from the rest of the group.

    N/A at this time.

  • Student consistently plays together with the group. He or she is in tempo and playing at the same dynamic level as the rest of the group.

    N/A at this time.
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