Kindergarten General Music Units

September: October: November: December: January:

Music Elements Music Elements Music Elements Music Elements Performance

Rhythm Tempo Dynamics Pitch Performance

 Beat
 Steady Beat
 Irregular Beat
 Pulse
 Move to a beat
 Fast/Slow  Loud/Soft  Same vs. different  Practice using drum
Pitch
 Rabbit/Turtle  Soft Sounds  High , medium and
Sticks& Pads
Counting procedures
Performance  Loud Sounds Low pitch
 Practice performing
 Effects  Changing pitch
original rhythmic
Special Celebrations: 
(Songs & Activities)  Purpose Vocal pitch
compositions
 Instrumental pitch
Fire Safety Songs  Lullaby vs March  Add other rhythm band
Bus Safety  Add dynamics to Performance instruments
Columbus Songs  Perform composition for
Halloween Songs familiar stories Special Celebrations;
class
(Songs & Activities)
Red Ribbon Songs
Hanukkah  Graded performance
Character Ed Songs Performance Kwanzaa
(Special Celebrations) Christmas Performance
-Thanksgiving Songs Character Ed Special Celebrations:
-Veteran’s Day Parade (Songs & Activities)
-Turkey Songs -Month of the Year Rap
-Character Ed -Bundled Up
-Martin Luther King Songs
-Winter Songs

February: March: April: May: June:

Performance Music In Our Schools Instruments Music Elements Music Elements
Kazoo Band Performances Rhythm Band Meter Rhythm
 Playing a Kazoo  “Prepare for Music Instruments  Dalcroze Movement  Intro to rhythmic
 Changing Pitch in our Schools  Identify Methods notation/symbols
 Changing Dynamic performances and instruments by  Movement enacting and values
 Changing Tempo solos name, appearance meter changes  Basic rhythms
 Kazoo Band  Good audience and sound  Fast/Slow movement (Whole, half, quarter)
Performance etiquette  Play various
Special Celebrations: instruments  Move to rhythms
(Songs & Activities) Performance  Play steady beat Performance  Play and sing
Valentines Songs
President’s Day Songs Special Celebrations:  Perform dynamic Special Celebrations:
rhythms
(Songs & Activities) (Songs & Activities)
Parade with Kazoos and tempo changes Mother’s Day Song
Character Ed Songs -It’s March Song May Day Song Performance
-Spring Songs Special Celebrations:
-Music In Our Schools
Performance Cinco De Mayo Song
Special Celebrations: Character Ed Songs (Songs & Activities)
-Character Ed Songs -Flag Day Songs
(Songs & Activities) Memorial Day Songs
-St. Patrick’s Day Songs -Author Day Songs
_Irish Jig Easter Songs
Earth Day Songs -Character Ed songs
Songs about Music -Summertime songs
Composers Songs/Listening
Character Ed Songs
Topic: Rhythm Grade K
Essential Questions: Why is music so much fun? What makes music?
Performance Indicators
Standards 1,2,3 & 4
Connections to Text (Resources) Various Music Supplemental Methods, Silver Burdett, “The Music Connection” Series
Connections to Technology: CD player , VCR
Key Vocabulary: Stop, Go, Fast, Medium, Slow, Tempo, rest, vibration, sound, beat, running, skipping, galloping, hopping, walking, quarter note, half note, eighth note,
long, short waltz, march, pattern, musician, beat, pulse, steady, same, different, and rhythm
Time:
Guided Questions
-What is sound?
-What is a beat?
-What is a steady beat?
- What is long and short
sound?
-What is a strong beat?
-What does music that
sounds like walking,
marching, hopping,
running or skipping look
like?
-What does Stop and Go
mean?
-What does silence look
and sound look like in
music?
-Why do musicians need
to have rests in music?
-What is a rhythmic
pattern?
-What is fast, medium and
slow tempo?
-What does 2, 3, and 4
4 4 4 -Identify rhythmic patterns that are the
meter feel like?
Essential Knowledge & Skills Classroom Ideas Assessment Ideas
Students will be able to: -Feel vibration of drum or -Can feel and
-Feel vibration and know that gong. Stop vibration with experience vib-
Vibration = sound. hand which stops sound. ration.
-Identify and move to a steady -Pass ball on the beat. -Ability to move to a
-Clap on the beat
beat. steady beat.
-Explore different locomotor
-Keep a steady beat while listening, singing Movements moving on beat. -Ability to identify,
& playing a rhythm instrument. -Perform steady beat on create and perform long
-Identify long and short sounds rhythm instruments. and short sounds
-Demonstrate a strong beat -Create long and short sounds -Movement and Dance.
through movement and performance. using voice, body or rhythmic -Development of
instruments. listening skills
- Match locomotor movements -Dramatize song moving on -Can identify quarter,
the strong beat.
to the feel of a section of eighth and half note
-Sway on the strong beat
music. -“Mr. Piano Says” Movement notation and can enact
-Identify rhythmic Game. Students listen and each
notation for specific movements. move accordingly to the rhythm through
Ex. = Running music being performed. movement or
-Respond to quarter, eighth and half notes - Intro to Mr. Quarter note instrumental –
patterns thru movement. (Walking), Mr. Eighth Note performance.
-Understand the concept of a (Running) and Miss Half -Can identify and
Note (Slow Poke).
musical rest. perform a musical
-Create movements to suggest various
-notice and respond to repeated rhythmic characters in a book. rest.
patterns through movement. -Create simple rhythmic accompaniment to -Can create and perform
enhance stories, poems etc. original rhythmic
same or different . -Brass Instrument demo patterns.
-Clap and perform rhythmic (Brass Players need a -Development of
patterns. Rest) listening skills
-Identify musical tempos -Intro to Mr. Whole Rest -Participation in a rhythm
-Mrs. Music May I? Rhythm
in terms of fast and slow. band.
Game.
-Identify changes in tempo. -Musical Pac Man and Rhythmic Fishing -Participation in singing,
-Enact through movement Game games, dances and
changes in tempo. -Listen and identify musical performance
-Perform tempo changes on rhythmic patterns. activities.
instruments and through -Sing, clap and perform on -Demonstrate progress in
movement. rhythm band instruments. moving well with other
-Identify and move to meter -Movement and performance children in playing and
activities. How is the music
changes in a musical example. singing games
telling you to move?
Ex. 2 = March, 3 = Waltz -Move to music in different
4 4 meter.
Topic: Melody: Kindergarten
Essential Questions:
-What do you hear when you listen to Music?
-What makes a song interesting and fun to listen to and sing?
Performance Indicators Guided Questions
Standards 1.2.3.& 4 -What is the difference between
high, middle and low voices?
-What animals make high, middle
and low pitched sounds?
Ex. Bird: High
Cat: Medium
Pig: Low
_What kind of voice does Baby Bear,
Mama Bear and Papa Bear Have in
the story of “The Three Bears?”
-(Listening Examples)
_What does upward movement
sound like?
-What does downward movement
sound like?
-What does it sound like when the
note does not move at all? What is a
repeating note/pitch?
-What does it sound like when the
music hops and jumps all around on
different pitches?
Connections to Text (Resources) Various Music Supplemental Methods, Listening Examples, Silver Burdett, :The Music Connection” series
Primary Literature/Nursery Rhymes.
Connections to Technology: DVD, Videos, Music Recordings, Listening Examples
Key Vocabulary: Tone, Pitch, skip, leap, upward motion, downward motion, high, medium, low, same, different.
Essential Knowledge & Skills Classroom Ideas Assessment Ideas
(Instructional Strategies) (Evidence of
Learning)
Students will be able to: -Create sound compositions using high, -Student’s ability to
-Perceive and respond to the difference low and middle pitched sounds. identify high, middle and
between high, medium and low tones within -Enact stories and poems assigning high, low pitches/tones.
a song. medium and low voices to each character. -Student’s ability to
-Differentiate between high, medium, and -Movement/dance exercises enacting dramatize a story using
low sounds and find a pattern with high and high/Med/low tones. high/medium/low voices.
low tones. -Movement/Dance exercises enacting -Student’s ability to enact
-Catagorize animals sounds in terms of high, upward and downward tonal movement. tonal movement through
low and medium pitch. -Creative Dance dance and body/hand
-Enact the Story of “The Three Bears: using -Listening Activities movement.
high, medium and low voices/pitch. -Activities: (1) Draw What You Hear. -Student’s participation
-Identify upward and downward movement (2) Create Dances and movements to in musical activities and
in music. accompany listening examples.(3) Puppet games which call upon
-Follow the upward or downward direction Shows (4) Mini Skits their knowledge of tonal
of a melody using hand signals. movement and direction.
-Respond to the upward and downward
movement of a melody through movement
and dance.
-Identify same pitch. Repeated pitch.
-Identify pitches that jump and hop around.
-Respond to leaps and jumps in tone through
movement and dance..
Time: On Going
Topic: Grade K: Performance Time: On-Going
Essential Questions:
1. How does music embrace, enhance and support all other subject areas?
2. What makes one piece of music sound different from another?
3. What basic music elements are essential to music?

Performance Indicators
Standards 1,2,3 &4
Guided Questions
-What Makes Music
-What do we hear when we hear
music?
-What is Vibration?
-Can you see, hear and feel
vibration?
-What happens when you stop the
vibrating string with your hand?
-What is the difference between
noise/random sounds and music?
-What sounds so we hear around us
every day?
-Why is your voice unique?
-What are some different types of
voice qualities? (Breathy, Guttural,
Sweet, Nasal, Soft, Loud, etc.)
-What is the difference between a
talking voice, a singing voice and a
yelling voice?
-What is a band? What is a chorus?
-What is a conductor? What is the
job of the conductor?
-What Character Traits must you
have to been a valuable member of a
band or chorus?
-What is the difference between long
and short sounds?
- What is rhythm?
Essential Knowledge & Skills
Students will able to:
-Understand the role that vibration plays in
making sound.
-See, hear and feel vibration
-Identify the difference between
noise/random sounds and music.
-Understand the qualities which make their
individual voice unique.
-Understand the term unique.
-Identify different voice types/qualities:
Ex. Guttural, Breathy, Sweet, Nasal, Soft,
Harsh, loud, High, Medium and Low
pitched etc.)
-Identify differences between talking voice,
singing voice and yelling voices.
-Identify rhythm band instruments by name,
sight and sound.
-Understand how sound is produced on each
of the rhythm band instruments.
-Understand how vibration is produced on
each instrument.
-Play long and short sounds using rhythm
band instruments.
-Will accompany primary songs with
rhythm band instruments.
-Understand and demonstrate positive
character traits which valuable ensemble
members should possess.
Classroom Ideas Assessment Ideas
(Instructional Strategies) (Evidence of
Learning)
-Feel vibration on drum or gong. See, -Can feel and experience
hear and feel a vibrating string. vibration.
-Demonstrate different vocal qualities -Ability to differentiate
and characteristics. between a singing,
“Your Voice Is You” speaking and yelling
-Games: Button Button voice.
_I Have a Valentine For You -Ability to differentiate
( Students try to disguise voice and between long and short
classmates try to guess who’s voice it is) sounds.
-Experiment with examples of speaking Ability to perform as a
voice, singing voice and yelling voices. member of a classroom
rhythm band ensemble.
-Introduction to rhythm band -Ability to identify
instruments. Demonstrate how sound is rhythm band instruments
produced. Students will recognize each by:
instrument by name and sound. (Triangle, Name, sound and how
Cymbals, Tambourine, Wood Blocks, sound is produced.
Small Drums, Rhythm Sticks, bells, -Ability to sing in tune.
Castanets, Maracas, etc.) -Participation in musical
-Mr/Mrs. Conductor Game games, singing and
-Students will play in a rhythm band. playing activities.
-Students will participate in singing
games and activities. -Participation in musical
-Discuss positive character traits such as skits and enacting
teamwork, cooperation, consideration, primary songs.
tolerance etc and how each trait is
important for success in music and life!.
-Musical skits and mini plays.
-Acting out lyrics or story lines to songs.

Connections to Text (Resources) Various Music Supplemental Methods, Silver Burdett, “The Music Connection” Series
Connections to Technology:DVD, Videos, Listening Examples
Key Vocabulary:Vibration, Unique, Different, Long, Short, Guttural, Breathy, Nasal, Sweet, Soft, Loud, Harsh, Music, Rhythm, Band, Chorus, Maracas, Bells, Triangle,
Castanets, Cymbals, Rhythm Sticks, Wood block, and Conductor.