K-4 Music classes make music! Here are just some of the ways we go about it:
CREATE:
K: improvise rhythmic accompaniment to songs as well as movements to all sorts of different music.
1st and 2nd: improvise accompaniments and more with percussion and xylophones as well as compose rhythmic patterns and patterns of solfege!
3rd and 4th: improvise with rhythm instruments, recorders and xylophones. Compose music for recorder and percussion.
PERFORM:
all grades work on performance. Singing and instrumental performances are selected, analyzed, rehearsed and presented in classroom performances, recording sessions, sharing assemblies and concerts. Students give and receive feedback on how to improve their performance.
RESPOND:
All classes respond to music and routinely answer the following questions: What instruments do you hear? What style of music is this? What is the idea of this song and what is used for, or why was it created? Was the selected performance well done? What could have made it better? Which version of a song is your favorite and why?
CONNECT:
Music connects to just about everything in our lives in school and at home. It connects with other subjects in school, activities we enjoy in our daily lives and with history and culture. These ideas are explored with just about every song we explore.
For more on the National Core Arts Standards, visit: Nationalartsstandards.org
