KS3 Music

Careful planning and use of questions

Prepare for the modelling episode of the lesson well, particularly if you are intending to demonstrate a new feature of a musical style or how to develop a new skill. Anticipate where pupils are likely to struggle (the ‘hot spots’ of learning), think through the problems they face and plan the modelling episode so that these are addressed. It is important to rehearse the skill in advance and to identify what the modeller will say during the demonstration. Ground rules will need to be established in order to make the most of the modelling opportunities.

Modelling is most effective when both the modelling episodes and the pupils’ first attempts are scaffolded by employing resources that précis or recall prior knowledge. Scaffolding helps the learner to connect prior learning with new learning. It involves a teacher guiding pupils’ learning through interactive direct teaching (e.g. modelling, demonstrating and questioning) and also by constraining the tasks set to provide focus and support. Limiting the scope and freedom of the activity reduces ambiguity while retaining challenge, enabling the teacher to manage the pace and process by which pupils take increasing control of the task and the learning.

Scaffolds in music could take the form of:

• a bank of chords or a given chord sequence, both of which impose constraints;
• vocabulary lists or the main characteristics of a particular musical style or genre which support a piece of extended writing or a group talk activity (see Resource 5e for an example of a vocabulary grid which supports work on South American dance music);
• a graphic representation of a piece of music that provides a framework for locating specific features in a listening task;
• a skeleton score that provides a rhythm as a basis for a melodic composition along with a restricted number of given pitches to work with;
• a series of differentiated parts for whole class performance or a given set of MIDI sequences for pupils to arrange and ‘voice’ using an ICT programme;

Importantly the scaffold is used in each case to help focus on the development of specific understanding or skills.

KWL grids

When preparing a modelling episode teachers sometimes make assumptions about what pupils know and what they need to know in order to move their learning forward. In doing so, they can overlook some of the barriers that pupils will face.

One strategy which

• a) encourages pupils to consider for themselves what they need to know or understand in order to compete a task; and

• b) informs the modelling process

is the use of KWL grids. A KWL grid allows teachers and pupils to identify what they already Know, what they Want to know (asking pertinent questions) and record what they have Learned. KWL grids can be used in a number of teaching and learning contexts where pupils are required to anticipate or reflect on their learning.

When modelling, KWL grids can help pupils understand how to improve by:

• keeping their own working record of the modelling process i.e. their understanding of how to approach a particular task independently;
• identifying, as the modelling episode is taking place, any aspects of learning about which they require further clarification;
• providing a prompt for feedback to the teacher to inform the modelling process.

KWL grids can therefore be used before the modelling episode (to inform the teachers’ planning of the modelling), during the modelling episode (to inform the pupils’ thinking process) or after the modelling episode (so that pupils can identify where further clarification is needed).

The following are three examples of KWL grids completed before the modelling episode. The first two examples show the use of a KWL grid for an individual activity. The third example shows how a KWL grid can be re-visited across a whole unit. In each example, the teacher and pupils have agreed and completed the ‘what I know’ and ‘what I have learned’ columns together and individual pupils have completed the ‘what I want to know’ column. In all three examples the ‘pupil’ questions are then fed back to the teacher in order to inform the modelling process, identifying where the emphasis of the modelling episode should lie. It should be noted that these examples show only one of a number of ways of using the grid. Numerous applications and uses of KWL grids can be found at www.standards.dfes.gov.uk (search: KWL grids)

Example 1: A single activity taken from a unit of work called:

Understanding the conventions of reggae

What I know	What I want to know	What I have learned
How to construct a triad	How to sequence these triads to make a chord progression suitable for reggae Is it possible to use them in any order at all or should a pattern emerge?	Use the formula of ascending and descending triads (C, Dm, Em, Dm) to help structure a sequence and demonstrate understanding of the concept

Example 2: A single activity taken from a unit of work called:

Understanding the conventions of dance music

What I know	What I want to know	What I have learned
What rhythm structure will be used in a piece of music for a ‘stomp’ style dance	How to enter the rhythm into a software- based drum machine program and repeat it for a whole section of the music Do I have to enter the rhythm into the program eight times or is there a shortcut’	How to select the timbre or sample for my recording How to build and layer the rhythms to generate increasing excitement in the first section of the dance How to enable the loop facility within the program or how to copy and paste the rhythm for the entire section of music in which it will feature

If you want to know more about using software-based drum machine programs, you can go to the Practical Support Pack module called Developing samba rhythms.

Example 3: Three activities from a unit called: Understanding the conventions of the blues: see Document A42  40kb

Task 3: Planning to use a KWL grid (30 minutes)

Choose a modelling situation during which it would be appropriate for pupils to generate their own questions and develop a sense of what they need to know to realise the task. Create a KWL grid with their prior learning already identified in column 1 and the expected pupil outcomes in column 3. During the active modelling session, ask the pupils to complete column 2 recording questions relating to any aspects that need further clarification in order for them to successfully approach and realise the task. Support this process with prompts and reinforcements along the way. This information should then be either fed back to the teacher so that the process can be repeated (focusing on these specific aspects) or retained by the pupils for clarification on an individual basis later on. Reflection After the lesson, identify and jot down your thoughts concerning how successful the use of this strategy was, and ways in which you might improve its use. Plan to develop the strategy in other modelling opportunities.