Seventh Grade Music -- Returning Students

PEIMS Course Title/Number:
Music 7/03153001

Course of Instruction/Lesson Description:
Music Concepts B is for middle school students who have completed the Music Concepts A course. This course continues to develop student music skills as well as a study of additional famous composers.

Major course expectations include the following:
Students will:

• Define and identify beat and tempo
• Define and reproduce rhythm
• Identify, locate, and play notes on the keyboard
• Read, write, and play rhythms from notation
• Identify various characteristics of melody
• Identify important facts about the lives of Robert Schumann, Chopin, Verdi, John Philip Sousa, and Greig
• Identify the "personalities" in a piano piece by Schumann
• Describe the characteristics of several of Chopin's famous waltzes
• Describe how Greig suggests the stage action in his music for Peer Gynt
• Examine a chorus or aria by Verdi and explain how it reflects the dramatic situation of the characters
• Identify and investigate characteristics of music in the Romantic period
• Identify and write key signatures
• Identify and play rhythms with syncopation
• Identify and construct minor scales using the step pattern
• Identify harmony
• Identify and investigate characteristics of jazz music
  

Lesson Numbers/Duration:
34 total.

Online Importance:
K12's Music program provides step-by-step guidance in each lesson.

Most lessons center around the computer-based Music Ace program that provides students with an interactive experience reading, writing, and playing music. Famous composers are examined through the online Activity Instructions and are accompanied by CDs for each composer.

Each lesson provides detailed instructions for each online activity. Activity Instructions provide an outline of the lesson as well as information about assessment and supplemental material. Activity Instructions are available to print from the Online Lesson.

Monitoring Student Progress:
Most music lessons contain assessments and performance goals. The assessment generally includes two or more questions or problems based on the lesson objectives.

Students and parents can access student-specific screens to determine (1) progress in the number of lessons completed, (2) the lesson assessment (percentage mastered), (3) the semester assessment (percentage mastered), and (4) the number of times the student has taken the assessment instruments. Families who enroll their children in the eCP program have the benefit of help and guidance from an experienced teacher. The teacher will contact students daily through email and phone conferences. Consistent progress monitoring by the teacher will be utilized throughout the project period.

Schedule for Monitoring Student Progress:
Each teacher will establish a daily contact schedule for their assigned students at a time of day that is reasonably convenient for both parties. Contacts may be asynchronous/synchronous or one-on-one/groups. The avenues of teacher-initiated contact will be adjusted as determined by the progress a student makes through their learning plan. Parent- and student-initiated contact with teachers can happen at any time. The Acting Director, or their designee, will monitor the communication logs to ensure that parents are being routinely supported and informed regarding the student's ongoing progress and participation.

In addition, teachers will monitor progress in mastery of objectives and lesson completion on a weekly basis. Continuous progress monitoring by the assigned teacher ensures that parents are informed on a regular basis regarding progress and participation.

Required Instructional Materials:
Materials K12 provides:

• CD: Sousa
• CD: Music Ace, Grade 7
• CD: Chopin (Vox 8502)
• CD: Schumann & Grieg (Vox 8505)
• CD: Verdi (Vox 8517)

Grading/Credit Award Criteria:
The Texas Virtual Academy at Southwest Schools issues formal report cards every nine weeks. Students who complete a significant amount of coursework after the conclusion of the final term will receive a supplemental report card in July. The final grade in each content subject, English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science, is determined by a combination of the grades from each reporting period and the proctored course completion (CCE) exam. The average of the grades for each reporting period is comprised of 90% of the final grade. The scores of the CCE comprise 10% of the final grade.

The final grade for electives is based on cumulative progress recorded in the Online School (OLS). A grade of Completed, or C, is reported for 80% or more of the lessons marked as completed. A grade of Incomplete/Unacceptable, or I, is reported when 80% of the lessons are marked as completed. No Grade, or NG, is assigned if the student has administrative approval to waive the course requirements in a particular elective course.

To be promoted to the next grade, the student must meet the Student Success Initiative requirements for that grade. Additionally, the student must have a final score of 70 or above on at least three content courses and the average of the four content courses must be at least 70. For each reporting period, the grade in a content area subject is the average of at least six distinct grades. Those grades include, but are not limited to, the progress in the OLS converted to a numerical grade, response to the daily questions, online quizzes following the weekly grade-level study halls, work samples, and benchmark assessments.

Contact Information:
Students will be assigned a teacher upon acceptance into TXVA@SW. The teacher will provide the student and family telephone and email contact information. The student and/or family may contact a help desk at 1-886-YOUR K12 for additional technical, material, or logistical support. Students will be provided with online assistance 24/7 through the TXVA website.