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K-12 Curriculum and Alignment

Linda M. Kiekel

Northern State University

MUS 766 School Music Administration

Boyd Perkins

April 24, 2022

 K-12 Curriculum and Alignment

A music curriculum should not be developed until after the school or teacher has

defined a music education philosophy and the goals of the program (Hedden, 2000). After

these steps have been taken, the developers can then determine the scope and sequence of

their program. The scope of a program declares the concepts that will be taught in the

curriculum. The scope should be developed while referencing the state and national

standards. Once the scope of the program is decided, the concepts should be broken down

into sequence. The sequence is the order in which the included concepts will be taught and

refined. For each grade level, objectives should be created and listed by month. Here the

focus is still on concepts, and skills should be added in later (Boler, 2021).

Swanwick likened the scaffolding of musical concepts to a spiraling funnel, moving

from small up to large rotations (Anderson, 2019). Each time the concept reappears in the

curriculum, the student is able to engage with and master the concept with a greater degree of

independence and mental development. Therefore, great care should be taken to align and

reinforce concepts throughout the duration of a K-12 music education.

Children in the earliest years of formal school training are still in their most formative

years for the development of music aptitude (Gordon, 2010). A child’s music aptitude

plateaus at age nine, and so curriculum for the youngest grades should develop the child’s

audiation ability in order to increase and maintain musical aptitude. Gordon, Orff, and

Kodaly all taught that instruction to the youngest should begin with using the voice, and that

instruments, even the simple ones, should be added when the child is older (Chosky et al.,

2001; Gordon, 2010). A child’s mental development should be considered along their

musical development, and all planned activities should be of an appropriate complexity and

length for the age of the student. Hedden recommend that a child give focus on an activity for
one minute for every age of their life (n.d). For example, the teacher should expect that a

child who is seven years old can only focus on one activity for seven minutes.

Most music teachers recognize middle school music, especially middle school general

music, to be the most difficult area of curriculum development (Giebelhausen, 2015). At this

age, students demonstrate a range of musical interests and abilities, and it is difficult to teach

well for each student during every class. Giebelhausen suggests that curriculum for this age

group must be uniquely suited to their needs as young teenagers (2015). The most important

consideration is that the environment of the classroom must be safe, so that the students feel

comfortable to participate. Special care should also be taken, because for some students, this

may be the last moment of musical training in their lives. At this age, beginning activities

should be low risk, such as playing rhythm instruments, while higher risk activities, such as

singing, should be saved for later in the learning term. Furthermore, the teacher should

remember that the students will be more willing to participate and make much of their

learning opportunities if the teacher is doing it with them. Because this is the last moment of

musical training for some, the focus of the content should be on skills and language

vocabulary.

Most high school music curriculum is focused around ensembles, though other music

electives are frequently taught (Mark & Marura, 2010). Though most ensembles focus on one

particular area of music, the class should reach all four areas of the national standards:

creating, performing, responding, and connecting with music. Teachers of ensembles have

the option to choose the repertoire first or to begin with a list of the concepts and skills that

will be taught. There are benefits and drawbacks to both approaches. Selecting repertoire first

guarantees that the students will be exposed to the best possible music, and expects that the

concepts and skills will present themselves from within the music. Those teachers who begin

with a list of concepts and skills, then select their music based on what these, will give their
students a systematic understanding of music, but the music might be chosen only for its

educational value, and not based on artistic merit. The teacher needs to decide what genres of

music to include, and strive to balance Western classical repertoire with music that represents

other cultures and ways of understanding.

 References

Boler, V. (2021, April 9). Planning ahead: Creating your ideal music curriculum. Victoria

Boler. Retrieved March 16, 2022, from https://victoriaboler.com/blog/general-music-

curriculum

Choksy, L., Abramson, R. M., Gillespie, A. E., Woods, D., & York, F. (2001). Teaching

music in the twenty-first century (2nd ed.). Prentice Hall.

Giebelhausen. (2015). In the Beginning of the Middle: Curriculum Considerations for Middle

School General Music. General Music Today, 29(1), 41–45.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1048371315593112

Gordon. (2010). Essential preparation for beginning instrumental music instruction. GIA

Publications.

Hedden, D. (n.d.). General Music Curriculum Framework Document. NAfME. Retrieved

March 16, 2022, from https://nafme.org/my-classroom/journals-magazines/nafme-

online-publications/general-music-curriculum-framework-document/

Mark, M. & Madura, P. D. (2010). Music education in your hands: an introduction for future

teachers. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203863473

McSwain, E. T. (1954). Improving the Music Curriculum in the Elementary

School. Music Educators Journal, 40(6), 23–25. https://doi.org/10.2307/3387813

Swanwick. (1988). Music, mind, and education. Routledge. https://ebookcentral-proquest-

com.ezproxy.northern.edu/lib/northernstate-ebooks/reader.action?docID=3060426