Standards

Enduring Understandings - important ideas that students should carry with them years beyond the instruction received this year.

• Using a variety of musical skills and techniques learned from diverse genres and styles will give a song a new personality
• Identifying, reading and comprehending various musical notations and terms are a necessity when reading and writing music
• Improvising and writing replicable melodies and rhythms are important skills that allow me to think like a composer
• Describing and analyzing music allows a deeper understanding of the technical aspects of music
• Movement and dance of diverse genres and styles are important in today's America

Essential Questions - most important “big picture” questions students should be able to answer after completing learning activities.

• As a famous composer, why would I write a descant or a countermelody into my music?
• As a member of the Pikes Peak Philharmonic Orchestra, what do I need to remember so I can perform a rhythmic/melodic ostinato in a layered/multi-part piece?
• How will being able to identify and describe different notes and musical elements help me in reading a dn writing music?
• Why is it important that I learn how to notate music as it is clapped or played?
• How will sight singing help me in reading and writing music?
• Why is improvising important to a composer?
• Why is being able to create a replicable melody important when composing?
• What does improvising a rhythmic variation on a familiar melody mean, and how will it help me when I am composing my own song?
• How does identifying a variation in pitches help me when composing?
• Why does the "form" change a song, and why are there so many different types of form?
• What makes a performance excellent?
• How will evaluating a performance help me become a better musician?
• How do singing, movement and dance of different cultures compare to movement and dance in my life?
• How has music from a given period evolved into the music we have today?
• How does music in another culture compare to music in my culture?
• How has music affected the traditions in my community?

Standards-Based Assessment items
Standard I. Sings and plays instruments, alone and with others. (Sings from memory a repertoire of songs representing diverse genres and styles.  Sings a descant/countermelody as part of a group.  Performs a rhythmic or melodic ostinato in a layered/multi-part piece.)
Standard II.  Reads and writes musical notation. (Identifies dotted half notes and dotted quarter notes.  Identifies symbols or markings that indicate crescendo, decrescendo/diminuendo, and first and second endings.  Explains how to perform first and second endings.  Describes the function of a tie.  Describes the function of a time signature.  Reads to play rhythmic examples containing quarter notes, eighth notes, half notes, dotted half notes, whole notes, quarter rests, and whole rests.  Reads to play a melodic example consisting of 5-8 different notes in a treble clef with any of the following rhythmic values: quarter notes, eighth notes, half notes, dotted half notes, whole notes, quarter rests, half rests, and whole rests.  Notates rhythmic patterns which include dotted half notes.)
Standard III.  Creates music. (Creates a rhythmic pattern using any of the following: quarter notes. eighth notes, half notes, dotted half notes, and whole notes.  Creates a replicable melodic phrase using at least five pitches.  Improvises a rhythmic or melodic phrase within a given structure.  Improvises a simple rhythmic variation on the melody of a familiar song.)
Standard IV.  Analyzes/describes and evaluates music. ( Identifies the form heard in a given piece as AB, ABA, or rondo.  Identify the second of two pitches a s "higher than," "lower than," or "the same as" the first.  Identifies criteria to use when evaluating compositions.  Evaluates a personal performance based on established criteria.)
Standard V.  Demonstrates an understanding of music in relation to history, culture, and community traditions. (Compares and contrasts the music of a given historical period with today's music.  Performs movements/dances from various countries/cultures.  Performs/identifies music that reflects community traditions. Performs/identifies music associated with Colorado.  Describes audience behavior appropriate for various contexts (e.g. symphony concert, jazz concert, rock and roll concert, and spirituals.)

Unit 1