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I questioned students about their knowledge of syncopation and improvisation. None of the students were familiar with the term syncopation and four could give a general definition of improvisation.
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I explained the concepts of syncopation and improvisation. I had to explain again in a different way, because I didn't break down the first lesson enough.
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Students were given egg-shakers and practiced improvising rhythms while the other students sang through the song.
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Students worked in groups to circle the places on one page of the song "O Desayo" where they sang a syncopated rhythm.
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After the first formative assessment, I realized the students were having trouble differentiating which accented beats were syncopated or not. I tailored my next lesson to this specific concept.
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Students demonstrated their ability to play syncopated rhythms and improvise rhythms with egg-shakers.
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On average, student scores rose by 7%. Three groups' scores did lower, one quite substantially by 9.5%. The group with the lowest score on the formative assessment raised their score by 18%.
