Emily Hornbake

As part of my student teaching, I created and implemented a mini-unit on "stylistic contrast" within an arrangement of The Nutcracker entitled The 3-Minute Nutcracker, arr. Lloyd Conley. This project was loosely based on edTPA guidelines. The unit was comprised of five consecutive lessons, each one focusing on a different movement of The 3-Minute Nutcracker. I also conducted a formal pre- and post-assessment, as well as informal assessments throughout. The goal of the project was to create conceptually-based lessons that included many student-centered learning activities.

 

This project was implemented with Festival Orchestra at North Central High School in Indianapolis, IN. Festival Orchestra is audition-only and the second best orchestra at the school. It is meant to serve as a training orchestra for the top group, Symphony Orchestra. Students come from diverse backgrounds; many take private lessons, but not all.

 

I chose to focus this project on "stylistic contrast" because at this point in the rehearsal cycle, students knew most of their music fairly well, and I wanted to focus on refining musical details. They only had three instructional weeks until their final concert. I chose to focus on four movements:

2. March

6. Dance of the Reed Flutes

7. Waltz of the Flowers

8. Trepak

 

This section of my website is organized into the following categories:

• Lesson Plans & Videos: see lesson plans for each day of the unit and watch clips from various classes

• Formal Assessment: explore the formal pre- and post-assessments I implemented throughout this unit

• Conclusion: read my reflection on this project, and see video comparisons of performances of each movement before and after rehearsal

 

I hope you enjoy exploring this unit as much as my students and I did!