Learning Expectations

• Conduct yourself in a way that displays consideration for your peers and teacher
• Follow PWHS and UCPS rules and regulations at all times, including maintaining social distancing and wearing your mask
• Participate appropriately in class, whether during in-person instruction or engaging in remote learning, including attending live class meetings
• Show respect and patience towards your peers and teachers - we are all new at hybrid and remote learning

Objectives for this course

P.ML.1: Apply the elements of music and musical techniques in order to sing music with accuracy and expression.  Illustrate well-developed ensemble skills.

P.ML.2: Interpret the sound and symbol systems of music, including reading standard notation and using it to notate musical ideas.

P.ML.3: Create music using a variety of sound and notational sources.

P.MR.1: Understand the interacting elements to respond to music and music performances.  Interpret conductor gestures, analyze examples, and critique musical performances and compositions.

P.CR.1: Understand global, interdisciplinary, and 21st century connections with music, including its relationship to technology, history, and health and wellness of musicians.

Our day-to-day structure of class will look different than in the past, since we currently cannot work towards a live cumulative performance.  Every effort will be made to incorporate singing as much as possible, whether it is safely in person with masks and distancing, or remotely using Teams or recordings.

Grading Policy

All assignments can be accessed in Canvas.  Assignments are given a point value according to their importance in class, and they will generally “lock” Sunday nights at 11:59pm.  Classwork and assignments turned in after the lock date will receive a maximum of 70% unless the student is experiencing extenuating circumstances that are communicated to me.

Participation will be the main emphasis of this class.  Participation will include engaging in live class meetings, singing, contributing to discussion forums, team-building activities and more.  It will comprise the greatest number of points earned each week in class.

Participating in daily live class meetings is a required component of grades for all Plan B students, regardless of whether the student is face-to-face that day or remote.  Alternate participation activities are available to Virtual Academy students and students who are temporarily remote or who have an excused absence that day of class.

Students who are absent from class (in-person or remote) or who are unable to join the live class meeting portion that includes singing or sight-reading will be expected to record themselves to make up what they missed.

Daily check-in activities will be required for every student on both their in-person days and their remote learning days for attendance and participation purposes.  This will always be found in Canvas.

Classwork assignments will be assigned in a variety of formats.  These will include: critiquing audio or video recordings of a choir; self-reflections; submitting recordings of yourself; completing questions or contributing to discussions on a particular song, artist, period of music history, or composer; informal assessment of music theory concepts.  

Informal assessment will usually be graded for completion and will include teacher feedback for students.  These may include in-person participation in music reading (or recordings for those only learning remotely); exit tickets or “check ins” for understanding; goal-setting and other social-emotional learning tasks.

Formal assessments will measure students’ accumulated knowledge of a theme, unit or concept and will be open-note.  They may take the form of a written reflection, test or quiz.  Formal assessments are not the focus of this class.