I examined four of the various activities I use in my music classes. To grade their effectiveness in a brain-based classroom according to Jensen’s Teaching with the Brain in Mind, I created a rubric. On a scale from 1-3, I scored the activities and averaged the total points. I used the revised ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1 st="on" state="#DEFAULT" w="#DEFAULT"><st1 st="on" place="#DEFAULT" w="#DEFAULT">Arizona</st1></st1> arts standards (Arizona Department of Education, 2006) and the national standards (Music Educators National Conference, 1994) to check which standards are to be referenced. Two of the activities are effective and the other two are not.
The rubric created for this portfolio is designed to assist instructors in evaluating current practices in the music classroom. Once one can evaluate those practices, they can make any adjustments to instruction as needed. Music content proficiency is required to fully understand how to determine which adjustments are needed. The activities included as examples in this paper include movement activities and singing activities that are designed for classes with varying musical skill. This variety is needed to motivate students to engage in General Music.
Attached is a curriculum map for a 3rd grade General Music class for the first quarter. I included both the Arizona Arts standards and the NETS for Students standards. This curriculum map lists time frame, critical concepts and skills, addressed standards, assessments, suggested learning strategies/technology integration, and suggested differentiation methods that can be used.