Performing Arts

Kindergarten Music Curriculum Kindergarteners receive music instruction from a credentialed music specialist one day per week for 30 minutes. Students learn about music through lively activities including listening, singing, and moving to music. Children’s books, puppets, and singing games are incorporated into music lessons to help children learn basic music skills:

• sing age-appropriate songs from memory
• identify and demonstrate an understanding of singing voice/pitch matching
• identify and demonstrate an understanding of steady beat
• identify and demonstrate an understanding of the following concepts: high/low; fast/slow; loud/soft; short/long; same/different

First graders receive music instruction from a credentialed music specialist one day per week for 30 minutes. Students learn about music through lively activities including listening, singing, and moving to music. Children’s books, manipulatives, and singing games are incorporated into music lessons to help children learn basic music skills:

• sing age-appropriate songs from memory
• identify and demonstrate the difference between beat and rhythm
• match pitch through echoing of short melodic patterns
• identify and demonstrate an understanding of rhythms including ta, titi, rest
• identify and demonstrate two beat rhythm ostinati
• sing simple 2 part rounds
• identify and demonstrate an understanding of two beat meter, measure, bar line, double bar line, and repeat sign
• identify and demonstrate an understanding of melodic notes so and mi
• move to music in simple dances and singing games

Second graders receive music instruction from a credentialed music specialist one day per week for 30 minutes. Students learn about music through lively activities including listening, singing, and moving to music. Children’s books, manipulatives, and singing games are incorporated into music lessons to help children learn basic music skills:

• sing age-appropriate songs from memory
• match pitch and develop healthy singing voice/head voice
• identify and demonstrate understanding of do, mi, so, la
• identify and demonstrate rhythms including ta, titi, rest, ta-a
• identify and demonstrate four beat meter
• sing simple 2-part rounds
• identify and demonstrate understanding of steps and skips
• use musical vocabulary to describe music
• move to music through simple dances and singing games 

Third graders receive music instruction from a credentialed music specialist one day per week for 30 minutes. Students learn about music through lively activities including listening, singing, and moving to music. Children’s books, manipulatives, and singing games are incorporated into music lessons to help children learn basic music skills:

• sing age-appropriate songs from memory
• match pitch and develop healthy singing voice/head voice
• identify and demonstrate an understanding of do, mi so and la
• identify and demonstrate an understanding of rhythms including ta, titi, rest,ta-a, tiki-tiki, ti-tiki, tiki-ti (quarter, eighth, half, and sixteenth notes)
• identify and demonstrate new melodic notes re, low la and low so
• identify and demonstrate absolute pitch names of the treble staff
• identify and demonstrate the do pentatonic scale
• moving to music while playing simple dances and singing games

Fourth graders receive music instruction from a credentialed music specialist one day per week for 50 minutes. Students learn music concepts through singing games, dances, listening, reading, and writing activities. Instructional goals include:

• sing age-appropriate songs from memory
• match pitch and develop healthy singing voice/head voice
• identify and demonstrate an understanding of pentatonic scales/intervals
• identify and demonstrate an understanding of rhythms including ta, titi, rest, ta-a, tiki-tiki, ti-tiki, tiki-ti, ta-a-a-a, half rest, tum-ti (quarter, eighth, half, sixteenth, whole, dotted quarter notes)
• identify and demonstrate melodic notes d, r, m, s, l, low l, low s and high do
• identify and demonstrate absolute pitch names of the treble staff
• identify and demonstrate the do, la, so pentatonic scales
• move to music while playing simple dances and singing games

Fifth graders receive music instruction from a credentialed music specialist one day per week for 50 minutes. Students learn music concepts through singing games, dances, listening, reading, and writing activities. Instructional goals include:

• sing age-appropriate songs from memory
• match pitch and develop healthy singing voice/head voice
• identify and demonstrate an understanding of pentatonic scales/intervals
• identify and demonstrate an understanding of rhythms including ta, titi, rest, ta-a, tiki-tiki, ti-tiki, tiki-ti, syncopa, ta-a-a-a, half rest, tum-ti (quarter, eighth, half, sixteenth, whole, dotted quarter notes)
• identify and demonstrate melodic notes d, r, m, f, s, l, t, low l, low s and high do,
• identify and demonstrate absolute pitch names of the treble staff
• identify and demonstrate the do, la, so pentatonic scales and the major scale
• move to music while playing simple dances and singing games

Report Cards are designed to give you an understanding of how well your child is meeting the music standards. Although music encompasses many areas of knowledge and abilities, each grade level will only be assessed on a few integral music skills per quarter. The music score on the report card reflects an average of the specific skills that were assessed for that quarter. It is important to understand that the music grade is no longer a conduct/effort grade, but rather an assessment of your child’s ability to accomplish the given music standard.

An Advanced (4) student will:

• Consistently demonstrate the application of music standards in other situations and areas of learning
• Always participate effectively in all music activities
• Demonstrate mastery of all music skills

A Proficient (3) student will:

• Always participate effectively in all music activities
• Demonstrate mastery of most music skills

A student that is Approaching Proficiency (2):

• Sometimes participates effectively in music activities
• Demonstrates mastery of some music skills

A student that is falling Below Expectations (1):

• Rarely participates effectively in music activities
• Demonstrates mastery of few music skills