Below is a general outline of K-4 curriculum, it is frequently adpated and changed!

Kindergarten

Overview: Kindergarten students receive music instruction once every 6 days for 45 minutes with the music teacher and take part in a yearly spring concert. Major goals are: (1) fostering musical literacy; (2) gaining an understanding of our musical heritage and those of other cultures; and (3) developing the building blocks of musicianship (in tune singing, steady beat, active listening, etc.) In kindergarten music, we spend a lot of time finding our singing voices with our friend Arioso, following paths with our voices, and discovering steady beat and rhythm in music. Also important in kindergarten is understanding and establishing the procedures and routines in the music room. Activities include: listening, creating/improvising, moving, rhythm, singing, reading and writing notation, and evaluating and understanding artistic culture.  

Units:

• Instrument families (Young Persons’ Guide to the Orchestra)

• Carnival of the Animals

• Roles (composer/performer/improviser/audience member)

• Groups (solo/duet/trio/quartet/quintet)

• Expressive elements

  • same/different

  • loud/soft (forte/piano)

  • fast/slow (andante/allegro)

  • short/long (legato/staccato)

  • high/low

  • sound/silence

• Singing 

  • Arioso

  • 5 voices (sing, speak, whisper, call, inside your head)

  • Vocal paths

  • Singing in tune with self

  • Solo vs. group

• Form

  • AB/binary

  • Strophic

• Rhythm

  • Steady heartbeat vs. the way the words go (steady beat vs. rhythm)

  • Quarter notes/eighth notes (ta and tadi)

1st Grade

Overview: 1st grade students receive music instruction once every 6 days for 45 minutes with the music teacher and take part in a yearly spring concert. Major goals are: (1) fostering musical literacy; (2) gaining an understanding of our musical heritage and those of other cultures; and (3) developing the building blocks of musicianship (in tune singing, steady beat, active listening, etc.) In 1st grade music, we widen our musical literacy and vocabulary as we discover solfege (so and mi), meter, and dynamics. Activities include: listening, creating/improvising, moving, rhythm, singing, reading and writing notation, and evaluating and understanding artistic culture.  

Units:

• Peter and the Wolf and Farkle McBride (review instrument families, brass family)

• Dynamics (pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, cresc, decresc)

• Singing 

  • Arioso

  • Singing in tune with others

  • Call and response

  • Ostinato

  • Drone

• Form

  • Measure/bar line

  • Double bar line

  • ABA/ternary form

• Rhythm

  • 4/4 meter and conducting 

  • Quarter note rests, half notes, whole notes (sh, ta-a, ta-a-a-a)

• • Solfege

  • So and mi (2 line staff)

2nd Grade

Overview: 2nd grade students receive music instruction once every 6 days for 45 minutes with the music teacher and take part in a yearly spring concert.  Major goals are: (1) fostering musical literacy; (2) gaining an understanding of our musical heritage and those of other cultures; and (3) developing the building blocks of musicianship (in tune singing, steady beat, active listening, etc.) In 2nd grade music, we spend a lot of time learning the procedures and history, as well as the technique to play the Orff instruments like xylophones and drums. We also add to our knowledge of solfege (la) and rhythm (sixteenth notes or takadimi). Activities include: listening, creating/improvising, moving, rhythm, singing, reading and writing notation, playing Orff (classroom) instruments, and evaluating and understanding artistic culture.  

• Orff instruments (review instrument families, percussion family)

• Singing 

  • Partner song

  • Vocal mechanics

• Form

  • Repeat sign

  • Rondo

• Rhythm

  • 3/4 and 2/4 meters and conducting 

  • Whole note rest, half not rest, 16th notes (takadimi)

• Solfege

  • La (3 line staff)

3rd Grade

Overview: 3rd grade students receive music instruction once every 6 days for 45 minutes with the music teacher and take part in a yearly spring concert.  Major goals are: (1) fostering musical literacy; (2) gaining an understanding of our musical heritage and those of other cultures; and (3) developing the building blocks of musicianship (in tune singing, steady beat, active listening, etc.) In 3rd grade music, we learn about the string instrument family by playing ukulele. We also start 2-part singing and begin to use the typical 5-line staff to learn about the pentatonic scale. Activities include: listening, creating/improvising, moving, rhythm, singing, reading and writing notation, playing Orff (classroom) instruments, and evaluating and understanding artistic culture.  

Units:

• Recorder (review instrument families, woodwind family)

• Tempo (Largo, adagio, andante, moderato, allegro, presto, accelerando, ritardando)

• Singing 

  • Canon/round

  • 2 part singing

• Form

  • 1st and 2nd endings

  • Theme and variations

• Rhythm

  • 2/2 meter and conducting 

  • Fermata

  • Dotted half note, syncopated eight notes, eighth note rest, tadimi, takadi

• Solfege

  • Do

  • Re

  • Low so/low la

  • High do

  • Pentatonic

  • 5 line staff

4th Grade

Overview: 4th grade students receive music instruction once every 6 days for 45 minutes with the music teacher and take part in a yearly spring concert. Major goals are: (1) fostering musical literacy; (2) gaining an understanding of our musical heritage and those of other cultures; and (3) developing the building blocks of musicianship (in tune singing, steady beat, active listening, etc.) In 4th grade music, we learn to play the recorder as we learn about the woodwind family and how to read the G/treble clef. We lalso earn the final solfege scale degrees of fa and ti to complete our major scale. Activities include: listening, creating/improvising, moving, rhythm, singing, reading and writing notation, playing Orff (classroom) instruments, and evaluating and understanding artistic culture.  

Units:

• G clef

• Ukulele (review instrument families, string family)

• Singing 

  • 3 part singing

• Form

  • D.C. al coda

  • D.S. al coda

  • Coda

  • Segno

• Rhythm

  • 6/8, 9/8, 12/8 meters and conducting 

  • 16th note rests, tami, taka, dotted quater note, tripolet, dotted quarter/eighth

• Solfege

  • Fa and ti (major scale)