S. Miller Technology Integration Project EDTC 615

Stephanie Miller

November 1, 2010

EDTC 615 – Fall 2010

Technology Integration Project

Academic Subject(s): Music

Grade Level(s): 4th Grade

Standards Integrated into the Lesson Plan:

Student Content Standards:

4th Grade History: examine the gradual institutionalization of slavery into America,

including the various responses to slavery, and how slavery shaped the

lives of colonists and Africans in the Americas. (MCPS, 2001)

Music : Making Connections: II.2.4.a Perform spirituals and explain their use and

significance (MCPS, 2006)

National Educational Technology Standards for Students (2007):

3. Research and Information Fluency

Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:

d. process data and report results (ISTE, 2007)

Learning Objectives for Lesson Plan:

Students will:

sing and/or listen to songs that are representative of spirituals sung by slaves.

read lyrics of songs, and interpret the meaning of the lyrics, in terms of their cultural

significance.

write coded messages, and include interpretation.

create an opportunity to share their learning about the Underground Railroad and coded

messages through a PowerPoint presentation.

Featured Technologies:

Using the mobile computer lab, students will view “The Underground Railroad: Escape from Slavery” site

and answer questions from one of the four sections of the site.

They will then work in groups to create a PowerPoint presentation that will explain the journey of a

slave from slavery in the south to freedom in the north, using the answers they have come up with.

ELMO projector to share extra web information beyond “The Underground Railroad: Escape from

Slavery” with whole class.

Other Necessary Materials: Write About It Worksheets (Parts 1,2,3,4) – “The Underground Railroad: Escape from Slavery”

Pencils

Piano or guitar for accompaniment

CD Player/Speakers

Audio Recordings/Sheet music for “This Train” and “Wade in the Water”

Lyrics for “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”

Lyrics for “Follow the Drinkin’ Gourd”

Printable worksheets from ARTSEDGE:

Lyrics of Spirituals

Worksheet

Assessment Rubric

Flash Cards with Code Words/Flash Cards with Meanings

Prerequisite Student Skills:

Content Area: Students should have reviewed the following vocabulary prior to the lesson:

Abolish

Abolitionist

Border

Citizen

Crops

Discrimination

Economy

Fine

Freedom

Fugitive

Plantation

Prohibit

Property

Slave

Slave trade

Technology: Students should be comfortable with basic computer skills, and should be able to navigate a

webpage and use PowerPoint.

Brief Overview of Lesson:

Students will be exploring Scholastic’s “Underground Railroad: Escape from Slavery” website, answering

questions about one of the four sections. They will also review the secret code words that are hidden in

the spirituals sung by slaves and will develop their own codes. Then, working with 3 other students,

they will put together a PowerPoint presentation that explains all four sections and shares their secret

code.

Teacher To Teacher:

A. Bookmark the websites being used prior to class so that students don’t have to spend a lot of

time locating the pages.

B. Test internet connection

C. Set up LCD projector (if using) and speakers

D. Procure spirituals listed below or stream them from the internet

E. Make relevant photocopies

Procedures/Activities:

1. Have students enter the classroom listening to a spiritual such as “Wade in the Water”. 2. Teach students the song and have them sing along. 3. Discuss spirituals and how they were sung by slaves in the fields. 4. Ask students to share what they know about slavery. 5. Assign students a number – 1,2,3, or 4 and pass out the Write About It! worksheets for each

slide (1,2,3 or 4 as well). 6. Explain the activity that they will be doing using Scholastic’s “The Underground Railroad: Escape

from Slavery” site. 1’s will be responsible for the first slide and activities. 2’s for the second, and soon.

7. Have students get laptops and headphones (by worksheet number) from the mobile laptop cart and get to the homepage for “The Underground Railroad” page. Have then check their numbers on their papers and go to the corresponding slide.

8. Working independently, have students explore the page and the other materials relating to the Write About It page (all locatable from the slide).

9. End class singing “Wade in the Water” again.

10. At the next class, as students enter, hand each of them a Flash Card with either a code word or a

meaning from the Underground Railroad. 11. Have students review “Wade in the Water”

12. List the following code words on the board: freedom train, gospel train, conductor,

station, station master, and agent. Give students one minute to read the list and determine

what the words have in common.

13. Once the class determines that all of the words are related to trains, ask students how they

would feel if they were not allowed to ride on a train. Ask them why they think spirituals

would describe leaving on a train. Lead a discussion to explore answers to these

questions for about five minutes.

14. Tell students that the words discussed were codes used by slaves to communicate so the

slave masters would not understand their plans for escape. Slaves were not allowed to

talk, but they could sing; therefore, many slaves disguised their communications through

song. The spiritual is a type of song that served many functions for slaves. These songs

reflected their desire to be free and often told other slaves how they could escape.

15. The Underground Railroad has been described as "silent and secret" and "running on

silent rails in the dark of night." People developed codes, passwords, and secret signals,

to be used by runaways and "investors" in the Underground Railroad. 16. Have students determine who is holding the match to their cards and share the matches with

the class.

17. Distribute copies of the The Lyrics of Spirituals handout. Tell students to read the lyrics

and search for code words and phrases, while you play the spiritual entitled “This Train.”

Play the song two to three times, either via a recording or on the piano or guitar. Ask the

students to tell you what the lyrics of "This Train" mean. Students can interpret

individual words (i.e., train, glory, sleepers, etc.), or they can describe the phrases (i.e.,

“this train don’t carry sleepers, this train”).

18. Clarify any confusion. For example, “sleepers” could refer to a sleeping car, but in the

context of this song, it means someone who wants to escape, but doesn’t want to endure

the hardship (i.e., "wake me up when it's over"). "Righteous peoples" refers to people

who are doing what is right, in spite of the difficulties involved.

19. Teach "This Train" to the class. Sing each phrase in the first verse and have the class

repeat after you. Now sing the second verse in the same way. Finally, sing the entire

song. For variation, have the boys sing one line, and the girls the next, or have a small

group stand and sing a phrase or a verse, then alternate with another small group.

20. Give students five minutes to look for coded messages in the lyrics to "Woke Up This

Mornin'." Discuss findings as a class.

21. Tell students they will listen to another spiritual and begin working on their own coded

messages. The goal of this activity is to have students interpret the coded message in

another spiritual and begin to write their own coded messages to share with the class.

22. Listen to "Wade in the Water." In this style of spiritual, there is a chorus (music and

words that repeat throughout a song). The words repeat three times, with an explanation

at the end.

23. Explain to students that when the words repeat in a song, this means they are very

important, and something for the slave to remember—it could be the difference between

life and death. For example, the phrase "wade in the water" is repeated several times. Ask

students to consider this phrase. Why would slaves need to wade (go into) the water?

(Slave owners used dogs to “sniff out" the trail of their escaped slaves; the dogs could

not follow the scent into the water.)

24. Divide the class into groups of four (based on their numbers from the previous class so

there is a 1,2,3 and 4 in each group). Distribute the What Does this Song Really Say?

handout. Assign each group a different phrase from the song "Wade in the Water." Give

the groups five minutes to write an interpretation of the assigned phrase. (It is okay if

more than one group has the same phrase, depending on the size of your class.)

25. Ask groups to share their interpretations with the entire class, in the order of the song.

Record each interpretation on the board as it is articulated. When all groups have shared

their findings, read the entire interpretation of the song.

26. Choose the variation of the activity that is most appropriate for your class:

27. Keep students in the same small groups, and have them write their own original coded

message. It must be three to five sentences, using the code words and phrases given. They

can even make up their own, but it must follow the general “clues,” using words that have

meanings from the religious and railroad terminology. They must also write the

interpretation. Students will have the rest of this period and part of the next (if needed) to

complete this activity. Then each group will share their coded messages with the rest of

the class, and the class is tasked with interpreting the meaning.

OR

28. Keep the students in groups; however, give them the messages they need to put in code.

For example: “I plan to escape tonight. Meet me by the river. The leader will show us the

way.” Provide students with three or four different messages, and the students should

figure out how to convey the same meaning in code. Each group should share their codes

with the class, and the class is tasked with interpreting the meaning.

29. For either variation of the activity, students must work cooperatively and write their

coded messages using correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

30. Next class: Have students come in and work to create PowerPoint slides that will be put

together to explain the story of the escaping slaves, and will also include their codes that they

have come up with.

31. Following class: have students share their PowerPoint with their classmates.

32. Finish with assessment.

Student Assessment and Evaluation

Technology:

Were students able to create a PowerPoint that included correct information regarding slavery

and the Underground Railroad? (Rubric)

Content Area:

Did the codes that they developed in their presentation make sense? (Rubric)

Given two spirituals (“Follow the Drinking Gourd” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”) are students

able to recognize the secret codes within the lyrics using multiple choice for one (Swing Low)

and written response for the other (Follow the Drinking Gourd). (Written Assessment)

B. Analysis/Defense

It is important for lessons in the arts to connect to other areas in order to help students

learn about core content as well as the arts curriculum. In this way students with an aptitude for

music or visual art, will realize that the things they are learning in their core classes tie into

something they enjoy. Beyond that, the repetition of things that students discuss in their core

classes is helpful in getting them to retain the knowledge. This lesson plan designed for fourth

grade is a very strong lesson choice because it shows the connections between music and social

studies. This helps students gain a broader understanding of the Underground Railroad as they

are singing songs with hidden codes and learning about how slaves escaped in the 1800s. Beyond

the music and social studies connections, students are also responsible for utilizing technology to

showcase what they have learned and present it to the class.

Utilizing the Technology Integration Planning Model (Roblyer, 2010) in conjunction

with this lesson is crucial. According to Phase 1, relating to technological pedagogical content

knowledge (Roblyer, 2010) an educator would need to ensure that he or she is comfortable

utilizing the internet and Microsoft PowerPoint prior to presenting this lesson to their students.

Without this level of comfort, the teacher will not be able to help the students succeed with the

lesson or deal with any issues that may arise. Phase 2 asks about the relative advantage of the

lesson (Roblyer, 2010). In this fourth grade lesson students are utilizing a multimedia website to

learn about slavery and the Underground Railroad. This is a much more hands-on teaching tool

than listening to a lecture. It provides a number of visual and auditory examples in one location.

Working individually on laptops using the mobile laptop cart is also a great way for students to

keep their own pace while learning. Determining the objectives and assessments is Phase 3 of the

TIP Model (Roblyer, 2010). This lesson has content standards for fourth grade social studies,

fourth grade music, and meets an ISTE technology standard as well. The assessments have been

determined to ensure that students have indeed mastered the objectives. These assessments

include the rubric to evaluate the PowerPoint presentation for accuracy, the rubric to evaluate the

effectiveness of students’ Underground Railroad codes, and the written assessment to verify they

can identify codes within spirituals. Phase 4 asks the educator to look at the “activities that

incorporate technology resources to enhance student learning (Roblyer, 2010).” In this

Underground Railroad lesson, those activities are the student-accessed interactive webpage and

the use of PowerPoint to create a final presentation of what is learned. Student learning is

enhanced through these activities as was mentioned in Phase 2, where relative advantage was

discussed. The interactive website is much more hands-on and allows students to learn at their

own pace. The PowerPoint requires group cooperation and a hands-on, presentable form of

assessment where students will “publish” their learning and share with the class. In Phase 5 the

educator must make decisions surrounding the instructional environment (Roblyer, 2010). One

of the important aspects of this lesson is for the educator to bookmark the homepage of the

Scholastic Underground Railroad: Escape from Slavery website on every computer on the

mobile laptop cart. This will expedite the process when students get the laptops out to begin their

exploration of the interactive site. Another key idea is for the teacher to have a back-up plan in

place. If for some reason the mobile laptop cart is not working or the wireless internet is down,

the teacher should have something that can be shared instead. Possibly rearrange the activities in

the lesson plan if the technology is not available on Day 1. Have students work on spirituals and

codes, and then explore the website on Day 2. If it is an issue with the mobile laptop cart,

connecting a classroom computer to a projector, while less ideal, will still get the information

across to students. It will not be as effective at letting them move at their own pace, but it will

still allow them to see the interactive site. Also, having a pre-determined PowerPoint template

for the presentation will expedite that part of the project. Giving students a list of options they

can change to make their project more original than the template is also an alternative for the

students who are more comfortable with PowerPoint. Finally, Phase 6 of the TIP Model has to do

with evaluating and revising the lesson (Roblyer, 2010). This is an important phase of the model

because it helps the educator see how their students have performed, if the objectives have been

mastered, what went well with the lesson, and what could have been done to make the lesson

more streamlined and effective. Utilizing the TIP Model to focus a lesson plan ensures that there

is a ‘road map’ to show where the lesson is headed and how the students will get there.

In reviewing this lesson in conjunction with the TIP Model, a few aspects had to be

modified from the predetermined lesson on ARTSEDGE.com. The standards listed for this

lesson plan on the ARTSEDGE site were National Standards, and it was important to locate the

school district standards that tied in accordingly. The first change had to be made because the

link provided in the lesson plan for National Geographic’s Underground Railroad website was no

longer active. Scholastic’s site was substituted in, and Scholastic’s “Write About It” worksheets

were an asset that needed to be included in the lesson plan as well (Scholastic, 2010). The initial

ARTSEDGE.com lesson suggested the PowerPoint without giving much detail about what

should be included. Combining that concept with the Scholastic “Write About It” worksheets

made a more defined assessment piece for the students. The assessment provided in the original

lesson plan from ARTSEDGE.com (Figure 1) did not really assess the objectives that this lesson

requires students to master. In light of that, the three new assessments were designed: two

rubrics, one for the PowerPoint, one for the Secret Codes, and a written assessment pertaining to

the deciphering of codes in spirituals. These three assessments actually relate to student mastery

of the two content standards (MCPS, 2001) and the ISTE technology standard (2007). The

teacher can verify that students are on the right track by reviewing their “Write About It”

worksheets from Day 1 of the lesson, which act as a benchmark. Utilizing these benchmarks and

assessments, the teacher will then be able to get an actual picture of student achievement.

In conclusion, this 4th

grade lesson about slavery, spirituals, and the Underground

Railroad is a very worthwhile lesson that ties the MCPS fourth grade social studies curriculum

along with the MCPS fourth grade music curriculum. It also relates to the ISTE technology

standards. The assessments, as originally written, did not actually allow students to show that

they had mastered the objectives, but the redesigned assessments focused on student learning in

social studies, music, and technology. Utilizing the Technology Integration Planning Model

helped to show areas where the lesson required changes in structure or planning. All of this

intertwined helps to improve the initial lesson.

Figure 1:

Assessment Rubric

What Does this Song Really Say? Lesson Connection: What Does this Song Really Say? Copyright The Kennedy Center. All rights reserved. ARTSEDGE materials may be reproduced for educational purposes.

Student Name: ______________________________________ 2 1 0 Participation Student participated in Student participated in Student participated all activities. most of the activities in no activities. Preparation Student came to class Student came to class Student did not come with all necessary with some of the to class with the materials. necessary materials necessary materials. Cooperation Student worked Student worked Student did not work cooperatively during all cooperatively during all cooperatively during group activities. group activities. all group activities.

Total Points: ______

(ARTSEDGE, 2010)

C. References for Lesson Plan and Analysis/Defense

ARTSEDGE. (2010). What does this song really say. Retrieved from

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/lessons/grade-3-4/What_does_this_song_say.aspx

International Society for Technology in Education. (2007). NETS for students. Retrieved from

http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-student-standards-2007.aspx

Montgomery County Public Schools (2006). Pre-K-8 general music curriculum

framework. Retrieved from https://my-mcps.mcpsmd.org/sites/archive/ES/Music/Forms/OC%20View.aspx

Montgomery County Public Schools (2001). Fourth grade social studies. Retrieved from

https://my-mcps.mcpsmd.org/sites/archive/ES/Grade%204/Social%20Studies/SS%20Unit%204.1.pdf

Roblyer, M.D., Doering, A.H. (2010). Integrating educational technology into teaching. Boston:

Allyn & Bacon.

Scholastic Inc. (2010). The Underground Railroad: escape from slavery. Retrieved from

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/underground_railroad/escape.htm

D. Research Question(s) for Scholarly Paper

1. What are methods with which music has been assessed in the middle or high school

classroom?

2. How is technology utilized in the middle or high school music classroom to assess

and analyze data?

Note: I found that it was too difficult to find information for one age-level alone, and

even though I teach elementary school, there is VERY little research on

assessment/technology use in the K-5 setting. In order to have enough information

to write a paper with a strong foundation, I needed to broaden my research

questions to include grades 6-12.

E. Resources for Scholarly Paper Fisher, R. (2008). Debating assessment in music education. Research and issues in music education, 6, 1.

Retrieved from Education Research Complete.

Keast, D.A. (2009). A constructivist application for online learning in music. Research and issues in music

education, 7(1), 4. Retrieved from Education Research Complete.

Randall, M. (2010). Beyond the grade. Teaching music, 17(6), 36-39. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier.

*Vega, L. (2001). Increasing student music achievement through the use of motivational strategies

(Masters thesis). Retrieved from ERIC.

*Quantitative data included