Unit+Plan+New

Unit Title: Opera – Who likes this stuff anyway? Grade level: 6-8 Discipline: Music Teacher name(s): Bethany Hughes Email address: Bhughes@basd.org School(s) or District(s): Brownsville Area School District

This is unit is an exercise in an exercise in student participation in music making through appropriate and active observation. ** Opera – Who likes this stuff anyway? ** // Overview // Students will learn about, listen to, and explore the history of opera from Baroque to Modern. Students will then be assigned a group and an opera which they will explore the plot, composer’s life, and history surrounding the creation. Students will then synthesize the information in a project that will include research and creation of an authentic project: either creation of a scene, costume draw, put original text to an opera melody, put opera text to an original melody, or set from the assigned opera. // Time needed to complete the unit: // 3 weeks, 42 minutes each day // Big idea //// : // Music evolves over time in response to changing tastes and preferences in popular culture // Essential questions: // Why was there a need for musicians to create opera? How people adapt opera into the music of today?

// Summative task: // Student project that will include a research portion and creation of an authentic project: either creation of a scene, costume draw, put original text to an opera melody or set from the assigned opera, and put opera text to an original melody. This project contains 4 main components: composer research, opera summary and research essay, visual project (poster), and authentic presentation with timeline placement. Students will place their presentation on a large timeline in the classroom - students will then identify and discuss the evolution of opera - operetta - American Musical and explain the adaptations made in music and hypothesize about future changes. Composer information is complete, including information about the composer’s life from the beginning, middle and end. Students include interesting facts relating to the opera and creative insight about how the composer fits into the evolution of opera during his/her time. || Composer information is complete, including information about the composer’s life from the beginning, middle and end. Students include interesting facts relating to the opera. || Composer information contains information about the beginning, middle, and end of the composer’s life. || Composer information contains information about the beginning, middle, or end of the composer’s life. || Student’s essay is placed on the poster and presentation clearly states how their opera affected operas created before and after or how it celebrated a specific style of opera, and poster is placed in correct time with insightful and thoughtful supporting evidence. || Student’s essay is placed on the poster and presentation clearly states how their opera affected operas created before and after or how it celebrated a specific style of opera, and poster is placed in correct time with valid supporting evidence. || Students essay is placed on the poster and presentation states how their opera affected operas created before and after or how it celebrated a specific style of opera, and Poster is placed in correct time period. || Student’s essay or presentation states how their opera affected operas created before or after or how it celebrated a specific style of opera, or poster is placed in correct time period. || Plot summary is a detailed depiction of the assigned opera plot and includes relevant and in-depth information about the storyline, conflict, climax, and plot. The summary also includes evidence of change in the characters throughout the opera. || Plot summary is an accurate depiction of the assigned opera plot and includes relevant and in-depth information about the storyline, conflict, climax, plot and characters. || Plot summary is an accurate depiction of the assigned opera plot and includes relevant information about the storyline, conflict, climax, plot or characters. || Plot summary is a description of the assigned opera, or includes relevant information about the storyline, conflict, climax, plot or characters. || || Students’ aesthetic response project is exceptionally creative and relevant to the assigned opera and displays insightfully synthesized concepts. Student’s original melody clearly communicates the experience or emotion of the original aria and is complete with consideration for performance style, accompaniment and is rehearsable, not improvised (unless there is a noted cadenza). Students defend their choices insightfully. || Students’ aesthetic response project is relevant to the assigned opera and displays synthesized concepts. Students original melody appropriately communicates the experience or emotion of the original aria and is complete and rehearsable, not improvised. Students can clearly defend their choices. || Students’ aesthetic response project is relevant to the assigned opera. Students original melody appropriately communicates the experience or emotion of the original aria and is complete and rehearsable, not improvised. Students can defend their choices. || Students’ aesthetic response project is relevant to the assigned opera. Students’ original melody communicates the experience or emotion of the original aria or is complete. || || A score of No Score Given will be given in incomplete areas || ||  ||  || ** Standard ** || ** Content Indicator ** || ** Process Indicator ** || (1) 9.2.8.E Analyze how historical events and culture impact forms, techniques and purposes of work in the arts (e.g., Gilbert and Sullivan operettas). || (1) Students will understand the creation of opera as a secular art form, the cultural implications of the form, and its importance in formalizing popular music and classic themes. || (1) Students will discuss the evolution of opera through Renaissance Madrigal. Students will pair-up and read a unique passage in each group. Students will report their findings to the class and complete a class-wide Venn diagram illustrating the similarities and differences in styles. Students will hypothesize how culture in the late 1600s affected the changes and static characteristic of the styles through listening exploration. || (2) 9.2.8.C Relate works in the arts to varying styles and genre and to the periods in which they were created (e.g, Bronze Age, Ming Dynasty, Renaissance, Classical, Modern, Post-Modern, Contemporary, Futuristic, others). || (2) Students will know opera works by musical characteristics unique to the time period in which they were created and the cultural environment in which they were created. || (2) Students will listen to a variety of examples of Baroque Opera. Students will read about and discuss the music that they are hearing and the environment in which it was created. Students will draw conclusions about how opera evolved from a formal art form to a more popular, informal form, through the transition of too serious Baroque to Comic Classical Opera. || (3) (4) 9.2.8.A Explain the historical, cultural and social context of an individual work in the arts. || (3) Students will understand the life of Mozart and his influence in re-establishing opera as a formal art form through the study of the opera The Magic Flute. || (3) Students will read about the life of Mozart and listen to a variety of opera music, pre and post Mozart influence. Students will learn about the cultural environment surrounding the creation and production of The Magic Flute. Students will view several excerpts of The Magic Flute on DVD and respond to the cultural implications present in the production. || (4) 9.1.8.I Know where arts events, performances and exhibitions occur and how to gain admission. || (4) Students will understand appropriate concert/opera attendance behaviors and local opera and theater companies next performances and locations. || (4) Students will read about and role play various concert situations. Students will discuss appropriate responses and will complete a short writing assignment about appropriate responses to a variety of situations that could happen during a performance. || (5) 9.3.8.A.1 Compare and contrast musical styles. || (5) Students will understand the difference in a variety of opera music and know characteristics unique to a variety of time periods. || (5) Students will listen to a variety of opera related music chronologically. Students will identify differences and changes in opera, from the evolution of Baroque to Classical, to Romantic, to operetta, to American Musical Theater. Students will chart differences and discuss as a class. || (6) 1.3.8.B Analyze the use of literary elements by an author including characterization, setting, plot, theme, point of view, tone and style. || (6) Students will understand the plot to a variety of operas and musicals. || (6) Students will research an assigned opera plot. Students will create a plot map on a poster, describing the setting, plot and characters of their assigned opera. Students will share their learning with the class by presenting and posting their poster in the classroom. ||
 * Summative Assessment Rubric **
 * Task ** ||
 * Advanced ** ||
 * Proficient ** ||
 * Basic ** ||
 * Below-Basic ** ||
 * Composer Information ** ||
 * Composer Information ** ||
 * Composer Information ** ||
 * Presentation and Poster ** ||
 * Presentation and Poster ** ||
 * Plot Summary ** ||
 * Plot Summary ** ||
 * Aesthetic Response **
 * Aesthetic Response **
 * Teacher materials needed:** Cd Player, Various CDs, Arts and Poster Supplies, DVDs, DVD Player, worksheets
 * Student materials needed:** Paper, Pencil

Unit warm-up: See Lesson 1 Assessing Prior Knowledge: See Lesson 1
 * Unit vocabulary:** Genre, Opera, Secular, Aria, Overture, Recitative, Renaissance, Madrigal, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Secular, Polyphony, Monody, Bass Continuo, Counter Tenor, Comic Opera

** Topic ** || ** Lesson Plan ** || ** Formative Assessment ** || Opera – What is it? Where did it come from? || 1. Students arrive in class; the word ‘opera’ appears on the board. - Students are placed in small groups and asked to be silent and act-out their idea of what opera is using charades - Teacher leads discussion about students’ ideas of opera - Teacher led discussion ‘why do you think opera was created?’ 2. Students are put in small groups to read about and listen to secular music created during the Renaissance (madrigals) //[Adaptation: teacher read sections to help with fluency, relevant photos provided, large text, typed notes, listening examples, positive redirection applied when appropriate].// Students then listen to several examples of early opera. Students discuss the changes in culture between the times and create hypothesis about the cultural implications revealed in the musical examples. Students will be given sheet music and encouraged to sing along with the examples. 3. Class creates a large Venn Diagram displaying the differences in the style of Renaissance madrigal and early opera arias on the board. 4. Students will create a listening journal entry, identifying what students hear. || Completion of the Venn Diagram – showing contrasting melodies, rhythmic patterns, instruments, reasons for creation (sacred/secular), textures, etc.; observation of student discussion participation, and completion of an Art and Music of the Renaissance and Baroque Pds. Worksheet. || ** Accommodations for Special Learners ** || ** Accommodations for ESL Students ** || ** Enrichment for Gifted Learners ** || ADHD students, Specific Learning Disabled Students (Reading), and Visually Disabled Teacher read sections to help students with fluency issues, multiple sensory instruction, including listening, photos of artwork and time period technologies. Typed notes with defined vocabulary words. Positive redirection when applicable. Large text copies supplied. || Typed, defined vocabulary words provided for students with visual cues if appropriate. || Extra vocabulary to enrich the depth of the subject available to students. Future thinking questions to ‘think about.’ Teacher provided web quest to enrich information, including a musical scavenger hunt listening for characteristics of a certain era. || ** Topic ** || ** Lesson Plan ** || ** Formative Assessment ** || Relating opera to when it was written – listening for clues. || 1. Students hypothesize about what life was like during the Baroque Period. 2. Students chart major characteristics of life, technology, and art and music of the time. 3. Students listen to examples of opera music from the Baroque Period – students are supplied sheet music for listening examples when available //[Adaptations: large print music, sheet music, listening maps, manipulatives, positive redirection when appropriate]//. 4. Students identify characteristics of music in Baroque opera. 5. Teacher led discussion about the change from simple accompaniment serious opera to extravagant and overwhelmingly embellished Baroque opera and the poor audience response to it. Students continue by listening to and discussing the further transition to lovely and light Viennese Classical opera //[Adaptations: large print music, sheet music, listening maps when appropriate]//. 6. Students compare these examples to the characteristics of life, art and technology of the time which they hearing and example from. 7. Students listen to 3 complete (view if possible) opera scenes or arias from Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras. Students respond to the differences in the music using spontaneous movements. 8. Students will discuss the adaption of the genre over time and hypothesize about why these adaptations occurred. 9. Students will be divided into groups and assigned an era of opera. Students will be asked to describe the differences using musical responses, either melodic or rhythmic. Students will pair their sounds with movements and perform their responses for the class. || Observed student discussion (will be looking for participation and evidence of both knowledge and synthesis of content), musical and movement responses that are appropriate. || ** Accommodations for Special Learners ** || ** Accommodations for ESL Students ** || ** Enrichment for Gifted Learners ** || ADHD students, Specific Learning Disabled Students (Reading), and Visually Disabled Variety of information teacher provided, defined vocabulary list, multiple sensory approach, visual, audio, text, images, sheet music when appropriate, allow adaptation in writing allow images or listing, instead of paragraph, forego grammar and spelling concerns. Large print text and music where appropriate. Positive redirection when applicable. || Typed, defined vocabulary words provided for students with visual cues if appropriate. || Future thinking questions to ‘think about.’ Teacher provided web quest continued (to enrich information), i.e. http://www.classicsforkids.com/games/. Students will be given the opportunity to look at various manuscripts, identifying musical examples of characteristics in the music of each period. || The Magic Flute || 1. Students will be grouped and will receive a picture that is relevant to the story of ‘The Magic Flute.’ Students will then brainstorm ideas and words to describe the picture that they are looking at. Students will then create a sound to describe something in the picture. Students will perform their sounds in an orchestral way (group 1 immediately followed by group 2, etc.). 2. Students discuss opposites in the opera characters of ‘The Magic Flute,’ especially those of Prince Tamino and Papageno. Students will then read a-loud the story of the opera (//Large print texts, multiple sensory, sheet music to follow)//. Students will then be assigned parts and get props to act-out the basic storyline. 3. Students will listen to the Queen of the Night’s Aria and compare the style to that of Papageno’s song. Students will then watch a shortened version of ‘The Magic Flute.’ || Observed sound creation (student sounds should have a planned melodic and rhythmic pattern and should be rehearsed), discussion participation (will be looking for participation and evidence of both knowledge and synthesis of content) || || ADHD students, Specific Learning Disabled Students (Reading), and Visually Disabled Variety of information teacher provided, defined vocabulary list, multiple sensory approach, visual, audio, text, images, sheet music when appropriate, Large print text and music where appropriate. Positive redirection when applicable. || Typed, defined vocabulary words provided for students with visual cues if appropriate and access to recordings, video and music, with subtitles in a variety of languages (which are often available on opera recordings). || Students will compare the characters in ‘The Magic Flute’ to modern cartoon characters (i.e. Papgeno=Homer Simpson?). Students will discuss the use of dramatic differences in opera and compare that to those used in current and past animation. || Opera Project Research || 1. Students will be grouped into pairs or trios. Teacher will assign each group an opera that is in the top 20 produced, in the current season of a local company, or culturally/historically significant, as decided by the teacher. 2. Students will use an encyclopedia to find information about their assigned opera, note important facts from the beginning, middle, and end of the composer’s life. Students will then collaborate to write a 75-100 word informational paragraph highlighting the most interesting facts //[Adaptations: variety of materials available, including images, recordings, large text readings, writing accommodations when appropriate].// 3. Students will find a picture of their composer on the internet and print it for use in their visual presentation. 4. Students will research the history of their assigned opera and the plot of the opera. Students will note important facts and then create a paragraph about the opera and an opera summary, including information about the plot, characters, setting, conflict, and resolution. Students will create a plot map identifying the literary characteristics of the opera //[Same as above].// 5. Students will be given access to a variety of reference materials: photos of productions/costumes/sets, VHS/DVD opera scenes, CD/MP3 recordings, programs, internet access, etc. to further explore the opera they were assigned. || Student discussion (will be looking for participation and evidence of both knowledge and synthesis of content), questions, time on task (students should be engaged in their project). || || ADHD students, Specific Learning Disabled Students (Reading), and Visually Disabled Students will be paired in peer groups carefully to enhance student learning in a positive way, students will be allowed to use a variety of materials for research, including internet, picture books, etc. Students will be encouraged to write facts about the composer in a list format, instead of paragraph, when appropriate. Large print text when appropriate. Positive redirection when applicable. || Typed, defined vocabulary words provided for students with visual cues if appropriate and access to recordings, video and music, with subtitles in a variety of languages (which are often available on opera recordings). || This is a student driven activity with the opportunity for gifted learners to explore the composer’s life and opera individually and as a cooperative activity. Gifted students will be permitted extra time to web quest and explore composers and their operas, and create projects that are more independent and more deeply synthesized. Students will also be encouraged to study the text of an aria and find a modern, popular song that communicated similar themes of to compose an original work that does. || Visual Projects and Presentation Planning || 1. Students will gather the materials that they found during research and create a plan for their poster and presentation. 2. Students will cooperatively create their presentation using provided resources (art supplies, DVDs, CDs, mp3s, internet access, prop box items, sheet music, piano, teacher, etc.). Students will include composer information, opera information, and opera plot summary and evolutionary role in opera as an art form //[Adaptations: selective pairings, separate performance space, writing adaptations, large print text and positive redirection when appropriate].// 3. In their cooperative groups, students will begin to plan their classroom presentation and be encouraged to use classroom resources to plan their presentation. 4. Students will then be asked to compose small motifs of sound, rhythmic or melodic, that fit the opera they are studying. Students will be asked to defend their choice of sound and how it relates to the evolution of opera. 5. Students will continue their music-making exploration by completing longer melodic phrases and pairing them with text from their opera. Students will consider the use of pitch and rhythm in order to communicate the experiences or feelings of their character. Students will prepare their original melodies for performance during their presentations. || Time on task, quality of student discussion (will be looking for participation and evidence of both knowledge and synthesis of content), student motifs creation (student sounds should have a planned melodic and rhythmic pattern and should be rehearsed) || || ADHD students, Specific Learning Disabled Students (Reading), and Visually Disabled Students will be paired in peer groups carefully to enhance student learning in a positive way, students will be allowed to use a variety of materials for research, including internet, picture books, etc. Students will be encouraged to write facts about the composer in a list format, instead of paragraph, when appropriate. Large print text when appropriate. Positive redirection when applicable. || Typed, defined vocabulary words provided for students with visual cues if appropriate and access to recordings, video and music, with subtitles in a variety of languages (which are often available on opera recordings). || Gifted students will be permitted extra time to web quest and explore composers and their operas, and create projects that are more independent and more deeply synthesized. Students will be granted the opportunity to perform an updated opera aria or scene from their opera that is a modern parallel the story or music. || Project Presentation and Audience Participation || 1. Students read about appropriate concert etiquette. Students act out a variety of situations and discuss appropriate concert etiquette. Students complete a concert etiquette quiz. 2. Students present their work for the class (Summative Task) chronologically by the date which they were written. Students present their research along with their aesthetic project, drawing, costumes, sets, lyrics to a common melody, melody to common language lyrics, dramatic presentation. Students describe how their opera fits into the evolution of opera and place their poster on a large timeline in the music classroom //[Adaptations: selective pairings, separate performance space, writing adaptations, large print text and positive redirection when appropriate].// 3. Students who are observing will be expected to perform concert etiquette behaviors for concert etiquette grade. || Concert Etiquette Quiz and Performance || ADHD students, Specific Learning Disabled Students (Reading), and Visually Disabled Students will be paired in peer groups carefully to enhance student learning in a positive way, students will be granted permission to present in a quiet or separate classroom, students will be granted writing adaptations. Large print text when appropriate. Positive redirection when applicable. || Typed, defined vocabulary words provided for students with visual cues if appropriate and access to recordings, video and music, with subtitles in a variety of languages (which are often available on opera recordings). || Students will be asked to complete an authentic task of hypothesizing about the creative process of opera production and creation. Students will be asked to hypothesize about the audition process, production costs, publicity, etc. Students who sing or play an instrument will be granted a mock-audition. ||
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