Grade 1 Music

National Core Arts Standard:

• MU:Re7.2.Ka With guidance, demonstrate how a specific music concept (such as beat or melodic direction) is used in music.

 
 PA Arts and Humanities Standards:

• 9.1.M.1.A1 Know and use basic elements and principles of music and movement.
• 9.1.M.1.B1 Perform different forms of music and dance.
• 9.1.M.1.J1 Use a variety of technologies for producing or performing works of art.
   

• Students will know what a strong beat is.
• Students will know what a weak beat is.
   

• Discover strong and weak beats through singing and moving.

• Students will discover strong and weak beats through singing and moving.
• Students will recognize and move to the strong and weak beats in a song.

•  How do people play music in their own special way?

•  How do we discover strong and weak beats through singing and moving?
   

• Rhythm Sticks
• Non-Pitched Percussion
   

• Strong Beat
• Weak Beat
• Steady Beat

• Classroom observation and informal assessment.
   

• Know the sound and feel of a meter of 2.
• Know the sound and feel of a meter of 3.
• Know the sound and feel of a meter of 4.
   

• Be able to identify and feel the difference in meters of 2, 3, and 4.

• Identify the difference between meters of 2, 3 and 4 with movement.
• Play percussion instruments in meters of 2, 3, and 4.
• Identify the meter of 2, 3 and 4 through listening.
   

•  How do people choose songs to play?
   

• How do we identify and feel the difference in meter of 2?
• How do we identify and feel the difference in meters of 3?
• How do we identify and feel the difference in meters of 4?
   

• Mobile device (optional)
• Meter Assessment Response sheet
• Non-Pitched Percussion
   

• Meter
• Meter in 2
• Meter in 3
• Meter in 4
   

• Check if students’ movements reflect the meter of the music. 
• Students demonstrating appropriate movement patterns show their ability to perceive and respond to different meters.
• Activity: Play music with different meters (like a march for 2/4 and a waltz for 3/4) and encourage students to move accordingly. For 2/4, they could march in time; for 3/4, they could sway or take three steps in a pattern.

National Core Arts Standards:

• MU.1.1a With limited guidance, create musical ideas (such as answering a musical question) for a specific purpose.

 PA Arts and Humanities Standards:

• 9.1.M.1.A1 Know and use basic elements and principles of music and movement.
• 9.1.M.1.B1 Perform different forms of music and dance.
• 9.1.M.1.J1 Use a variety of technologies for producing or performing works of art.
   

• Definition of rhythm.
• Know the sound of an ostinato.
• Know the concept of an ostinato.
   

• How do we identify and play an ostinato?

• Define Ostinato.
• Play an ostinato within a song.
• Create movements that follow an ostinato.

• How does an ostinato make a song more interesting?
   

• Rhythm Sticks
• Non-Pitched Percussion (optional)
   

• Ostinato
• Rhythm
• Beat

• Observe if students can accurately clap back the rhythms, staying in time and reproducing the correct patterns. This shows their ability to recognize and replicate rhythms.
• Listening activities
• Formal assessments (worksheet, technology use)
   

National Core Arts Standards:

• MU.1.1 With limited guidance, apply personal, teacher, and peer feedback to refine performances.

 PA Arts and Humanities Standards:

• 9.1.M.1.A1 Know and use basic elements and principles of music and movement.
• 9.1.M.1.B1 Perform different forms of music and dance.
• 9.1.M.1.J1 Use a variety of technologies for producing or performing works of art.

• Know what a vocal cord is.
• Know your own voice and its abilities.

• Promote students' ability to control their breathing for best singing by using their diaphragm or tummy muscles.

• Define and locate Vocal Cords.
• Describe how vibrations affect the chest and face when using the voice.
• Learn the new pitches sol(so) and mi.
• Improvise vocally with the pitches sol(so) and mi.

• How do musicians think of new ideas?
   

• How can we promote our vocal abilities through singing and moving?

• Pencils
• Balloons (optional)
• Voice Assessment Response sheet
   

• Whisper, Talk and Shout and Sing
• Sol(So), Mi

National Core Arts Standards:

• MU.1.1 - With limited guidance, demonstrate knowledge of music concepts (such as tonality and rhythm) in music selected for performance.
• MU:Cr2.1.K - With limited guidance, use iconic or standard notation and/or recording technology to document and organize personal musical ideas.

 PA Arts and Humanities Standards:

• 9.1.M.1.A1 - Know and use basic elements and principles of music and movement.
• 9.1.M.1.B1 - Perform different forms of music and dance.
• 9.1.M.1.J1 - Use a variety of technologies for producing or performing works of art.
   

• Know the difference between a line and a space on the staff.
• Know what a music staff is.
• Know how the movement of a note on the staff changes its pitch.
   

•  Discover the treble clef and reinforce pitch relationships on the staff.

• Recognize that the treble clef tells us to play or sing higher notes.
• Recall the placement of sol and mi on the two line staff.
• Define mallet and demonstrate proper mallet technique.

•   How do the other arts, other disciplines, contexts, and daily life inform creating, performing, and responding to music?
   

•  How do we learn about the staff and where the notes go?
   

• Mallets
• Barred Instruments
• Whiteboard, staff paper
   

• Treble clef
• Music Staff
• Line notes
• Space notes
   

• Ask students to draw notes on a printed treble clef staff in the correct lines and spaces. Provide specific instructions, such as "Draw a note on the first line" or "Draw a note in the third space."
• Evaluate whether students can accurately place the notes on the lines and spaces as instructed.
   

National Core Arts Standards:

• MU:Pr5.1.Ka With guidance, explore and demonstrate awareness of music contrasts (such as high/low, loud/soft, same/different) in a variety of music selected for performance.

 PA Arts and Humanities Standards:

• 9.1.M.1.A1 Know and use basic elements and principles of music and movement.
• 9.1.M.1.B1 Perform different forms of music and dance.
• 9.1.M.1.J1 Use a variety of technologies for producing or performing works of art.

• Know the relationship between sol(so), mi, and la.
• Know the sound of sol(so), mi, and la within a musical key.
   

• Students will experience the aural and spatial relationship between sol(so), mi, and la on a two line music staff.
   

• Identify that if sol and mi are on a line, la is in the space above sol.
• Sing sol, mi, and la in a song.
   

• How does the way we play music change how people feel?
   

•  Where are sol(so), mi, and la on a two line music staff?
   

• Drum
• Non-Pitched Percussion
• Alto Xylophone (optional)
• Bass Xylophone (optional)
• Glockenspiel (optional)
• Rhythm Sticks (optional)
   

• Melody
• Pitch
• Higher
• Lower
   

• Conduct a call-and-response activity where you sing short phrases that include sol, mi, and la. For example, sing “sol-mi-sol” and have students echo it back.
• Observe if students can accurately replicate the pitches. This shows their ability to hear and produce the correct intervals.
   

National Core Arts Standards:

• MU:Cr2.1.K With limited guidance, use iconic or standard notation and/or recording technology to document and organize personal musical ideas.

 PA Arts and Humanities Standards:

• 9.1.M.1.A1 Know and use basic elements and principles of music and movement.
• 9.1.M.1.B1 Perform different forms of music and dance.
• 9.1.M.1.J1 Use a variety of technologies for producing or performing works of art.
   

• Know what a note is.
• Know what a rest is.
   

• Promote students' understanding of duration by singing, moving, and playing instruments.

• Recall that notes and rests have different lengths.
• Recognize a rest lasting one beat.
   

• How can musicians use differences to make their music special?
   

•  How can we better understand duration, notes, and rests, by singing, moving, and playing instruments?
   

• Non-Pitched Woods
• Shakers

• Note
• Rest
   

• Present a simple rhythmic pattern using notes and rests (e.g., clap for quarter notes, rest for quarter rests). Demonstrate the pattern first, then ask students to clap it back to you.
• Observe if students can accurately clap the rhythm, including the rests. 
   

National Core Arts Standards:

• MU:Pr4.2.K   With guidance, explore and demonstrate awareness of music contrasts (such as high/low, loud/soft, same/different) in a variety of music selected for performance.
• MU:Pr4.3.Ka   With guidance, demonstrate awareness of expressive qualities (such as voice quality, dynamics, and tempo) that support the creators’ expressive intent.

 PA Arts and Humanities Standards:

• 9.1.M.1.A1 Know and use basic elements and principles of music and movement.
• 9.1.M.1.B1 Perform different forms of music and dance.
• 9.1.M.1.J1 Use a variety of technologies for producing or performing works of art.
   

• Know tempos in music.
• Know the difference between Largo, Moderato, and Presto.
• Understanding/Key Learning:

• Experience tempo in music through singing, playing, and listening.

• Explain the meaning of tempo.
• Describe slow, medium, and fast tempos.
• Decide which of three tempos is best for a given song.
• Define Largo, Moderato, and Presto.
   

•  How do changes in the music affect how people can feel?
   

•  How does tempo change in the music when singing, playing or listening?
   

• Rhythm Sticks
• Barred Instruments (optional)
• Boomwhackers (optional)
• Non-Pitched Woods (optional)
• Hand Bells (optional)
   

• Largo
• Presto
• Moderato
• Tempo 
   

• Students demonstrate understanding through movement.
• Assign a specific tempo to a physical activity (e.g., walking for largo, marching for moderato, and running for presto). Have students move according to the tempo you call out, reinforcing the concept through kinesthetic learning.

National Core Arts Standards:

• MU:Pr4.3.Ka   With guidance, demonstrate awareness of expressive qualities (such as voice quality, dynamics, and tempo) that support the creators’ expressive intent.

 PA Arts and Humanities Standards:

• 9.1.M.1.A1 Know and use basic elements and principles of music and movement.
• 9.1.M.1.B1 Perform different forms of music and dance.
• 9.1.M.1.J1 Use a variety of technologies for producing or performing works of art.
   

• Know uses of dynamics in a piece of music.

•  Understand the use of dynamics through listening and playing instruments

• Recognize that changing dynamic levels adds interest and spice to a piece of music.
• Demonstrate different dynamics by playing instruments in a song.
   

•  How can musicians make their music even better?
   

•  How do we better understand the use of dynamics through listening and playing instruments?
   

• Barred Metals
• Barred Woods
• Non-Pitched Percussion

• Dynamics
• Loud
• Soft
   

• Play short excerpts of music with dynamic changes. Ask students to move their hands showing how the loud and soft changes occur. Create a guide showing a progression of dynamic changes and have the students play instruments to follow the changes.
   

 National Core Arts Standards:

• MU:Pr4.3.Ka -  With guidance, demonstrate awareness of expressive qualities (such as voice quality, dynamics, and tempo) that support the creators’ expressive intent.

  PA Arts and Humanities Standards:

• 9.1.M.1.A1 - Know and use basic elements and principles of music and movement.
• 9.1.M.1.B1 - Perform different forms of music and dance.
• 9.1.M.1.J1 - Use a variety of technologies for producing or performing works of art.
   

• Percussion instruments
• Instruments of the orchestra.
• The 4 families of instruments.
   

• Discern the musical creators’ and performers’ expressive intent.

• Define percussion.
• Identify two instruments in the percussion family.
• Name the four instrument families of the orchestra.
• Aurally and visually identify the members of the string family.
   

•  How do we understand the changes that musicians want to express in their music?
   

•  How do we learn/reinforce the four instrument families of the orchestra and learn the instruments of the string family?
   

• Non-Pitched Percussion
• Pitched Percussion
   

• String family
• Families of instruments
• Percussion
• Orchestra
   

• Show images or play audio clips of various string and percussion instruments. Ask students to identify the instruments by name or type (string or percussion).
• Check their ability to accurately name and categorize the instruments, assessing their knowledge of instrument families.
   

National Core Arts Standards:

• MU:Re7.2.Ka  With guidance, demonstrate how a specific music concept (such as beat or melodic direction) is used in music. 

 PA Arts and Humanities Standards:

• 9.1.M.1.A1 -  Know and use basic elements and principles of music and movement.
• 9.1.M.1.B1 -  Perform different forms of music and dance.
• 9.1.M.1.J1 -  Use a variety of technologies for producing or performing works of art.
   

• Know ABA form.
• Know binary form.
   

• Establish an understanding of AB form.

• Define Form.
• Describe song sections using letters (AB) or words (verse/chorus).
• Recall that a common music form is AB or verse/chorus (also called binary).
• Recognize that ABA or Ternary Form as another simple, yet common, musical form.
• Recall that ABA form begins with section A (verse), moves to section B (chorus), then returns to section A (verse).
   

•  How does knowing about music help us feel and understand it?
   

•  How do we establish an understanding of AB form?
   

• Non-Pitched Percussion
   

• ABA
• AB
• Form
• Binary Form
   

• Play short pieces of music that exemplify ABA and binary forms. After listening, ask students to identify which form they heard.
• Use a simple thumbs-up/thumbs-down system for them to indicate if they think the piece is ABA or binary. Check for understanding based on their responses.