Grade 6 - Band

As part of the S.T.R.I.D.E Team expectation of arriving on time and prepared for class, students are expected to have a pencil at each rehearsal to make relevant rehearsal notes/marks on the music.

Band students are expected to practice each evening. Students should be practicing the assigned music selections, in addition to excerpts from the Standard of Excellence, Book 1 utilizing the iPas assessment software.

I also utilize a grading rubric (click on the image posted below), as part of my assessment of each students' improvement over time. The purpose of the rubric is to showcase each students' individual performance strength(s) while highlighting the area(s) in need of improvement. This rubric helps me develop improvement strategies specific to each student. This rubric was designed after discussing acceptable performance criteria with my Music colleagues and the students.



In addition to the points assigned in the grading rubric, students are able to earn an additional 21 points each quarter for:
1. Having the appropriate music at each rehearsal (in their music folder)
2. Having a pencil at each rehearsal
3. Having the Standard of Excellence book (book #1 with the purple stripe) at each rehearsal.

General Music Theory

In the beginning of each year, I have each student identify a specific musical learning goal. Some examples of the goals written by students are: to read music better, to perform at a consistent tempo, to recognize and perform rhythm patterns, to identify pitch by sight and/or sound. I also prompt students to identify one learning strength (which the student will utilize during our class activities) and one learning weakness (which we will improve upon by working together to develop strategies specific to each student). Students also write a grade they desire and a grade they predict.

Most students strive for perfection. I reinforce my expectation of improvement (academic and behavioral) over time rather than perfection. Although every student may not be able to demonstrate a "perfect" performance, each student can demonstrate improvement in some way over time, since each student has a specific learning style and instructional need. At least, that's my philosophy.

Students are engaged in a musical learning activity during each class session and are expected to successfully perform a maximum of 3 tasks.

Each assessment activity focuses on a specific Music concept, with the learner objective outlined and the specific tasks to be assessed are listed. Students are encouraged to assess their successful completion of each task prior to my assessment. As part of my assessment I give verbal and written feedback to students, encouraging students and offering suggestions towards improving any tasks they may not have successfully demonstrated. Improvement, in any area, is what matters most. Finally, I prompt the students to reflect and respond to questions, relating to the Music concept and the learner objective.

The maximum number of points a student should have at the end of the 4 assessments is 12 points. The translation of points into grades is as follows:

Points/Grade

11-12 ___A

8-10 ____B

4-7 ____C

2-3 ____D

0-1 ____F

Grade 8 - General Music (using Guitars)

Eighth grade students who take guitar lessons outside of school are grouped together. This class studies the history of American music as it pertains to the guitar.

1st Quarter we focus on reading music notation by performing 3 American Folk songs and 3 Spirituals. Students are encouraged to select their own songs, based on their learning style, musical experience, and levels of proficiency on the guitar. The students are encouraged to collaborate with each other during our rehearsal and performance times. For each song selected by the student, the melody and the harmony (chords) must be played. Students are encouraged to use whichever notation method works best for them (standard notation, guitar tab etc.)

2nd Quarter we continue our focus on reading music notation by performing 6 songs in the style of 12-Bar Blues. Students will learn and demonstrate their knowledge of Major scale patterns by writing them, writing the 12-Bar Blues Chord progressions for those modes, then selecting 4 of them for performance and assessment. Most students of guitar are familiar with the blues scale.

3rd Quarter we focus on listening to professional recordings. Students will select 6 songs in any Rock style (soft, classic, hard, punk etc.) for performance. Students are expected to listen to the recordings then imitate the playing style of the lead guitar. If there are any solo portions, I encourage each student to play as much of the solo as probable (remember- these are paid professionals so I do not expect the student performances to be exactly the same. Do your best and have fun with the solos!!!)

4th Quarter we focus on composition and improvisation. You will utilize the knowledge and skills developed in the previous three Quarters to compose and original song and improvise original melodies. This is when you perform using your unique "voice", demonstrating your musical "personality" through your guitar playing.

Grade 8 - Band

As part of the S.T.R.I.D.E Team expectation of arriving on time and prepared for class, students are expected to have a pencil at each rehearsal to make relevant rehearsal notes/marks on the music.

Band students are expected to practice each evening. Students should be practicing the assigned music selections, in addition to excerpts from the Standard of Excellence, Book 2 utilizing the iPas assessment software.

I also utilize a grading rubric (click on the image posted below), as part of my assessment of each students' improvement over time. The purpose of the rubric is to showcase each students' individual performance strength(s) while highlighting the area(s) in need of improvement. This rubric helps me develop improvement strategies specific to each student. This rubric was designed after discussing acceptable performance criteria with my Music colleagues and the students.



In addition to the points assigned in the grading rubric, students are able to earn an additional 20 points each quarter for:
1. Having the appropriate music at each rehearsal
2. Having a pencil at each rehearsal

Grade 7 - Band

As part of the S.T.R.I.D.E Team expectation of arriving on time and prepared for class, students are expected to have a pencil at each rehearsal to make relevant rehearsal notes/marks on the music.

Band students are expected to practice each evening. Students should be practicing the assigned music selections, in addition to excerpts from the Standard of Excellence, Book 2 utilizing the iPas assessment software. I also utilize a grading rubric (click on the image posted below), as part of my assessment of each students' improvement over time.

The purpose of the rubric is to showcase each students' individual performance strength(s) while higlighting the area(s) in need of improvement. This rubric helps me develop improvement strategies specific to each student. This rubric was designed after discussing acceptable performance criteria with my Music colleagues and the students.

In addition to the points assigned in the grading rubric, students are able to earn an additional 21 points each quarter for:
1. Having the appropriate music at each rehearsal (in their music folder)
2. Having a pencil at each rehearsal
3. Having the Standard of Excellence book (book #2 with the purple stripe) at each rehearsal.