5th-6th Grade
April 2017 Update
Students had 3 days of music this month where they had an abbreviated world drumming unit. They explored improvisation, and the multi-layered patterns of African and Latin American drumming. May will be spent doing some drumming as well as exploring how music and sounds affect mood and the impact they have in film through our end of year technology unit.
Overview of Music Class
The 5th/6th grade Fine Arts block is shared between Music and Visual Arts, with students visiting each in 3-week rotating sessions throughout the year. During each music session, students have music class three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, for 45 minutes at a time. This schedule is a great opportunity for students to engage in an in-depth study of musical concepts.
After learning how to read note names and rhythms in 3rd/4th grade, much of the 5th/6th grade years are spent applying and expanding their music knowledge with more in depth projects. Quarter-eighth note rhythms are turned into syncopation and sixteenth note rhythms. Instead of learning how to read music, students learn about musical structure and compose their own piece based on a particular musical form. Since many students play instruments at this level, they often enjoy composing and performing this piece on their instrument. In preparation for the spring music program, students work together to perform multi-part ensemble music and use their music knowledge to create their own interpretation of the piece.
Music appreciation is another component of the 5/6th grade curriculum. In the past students have taken an in depth look at their current music and compared it to music of the past, making connections between the musical components in each genre of music. The final result of this project allowed students to see how music as far back as early Jazz and blues has influenced the music we know and love today. This music appreciation curriculum and the composition projects described above typically take place during the first part of the school year, while music program preparation and technology projects take place in the second half of the school year.
Please visit the Curriculum Maps page to view a more detailed outline of the 2016-2017 5th-6th grade music curriculum.
April 2017 Update
Students had 3 days of music this month where they had an abbreviated world drumming unit. They explored improvisation, and the multi-layered patterns of African and Latin American drumming. May will be spent doing some drumming as well as exploring how music and sounds affect mood and the impact they have in film through our end of year technology unit.
Overview of Music Class
The 5th/6th grade Fine Arts block is shared between Music and Visual Arts, with students visiting each in 3-week rotating sessions throughout the year. During each music session, students have music class three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, for 45 minutes at a time. This schedule is a great opportunity for students to engage in an in-depth study of musical concepts.
After learning how to read note names and rhythms in 3rd/4th grade, much of the 5th/6th grade years are spent applying and expanding their music knowledge with more in depth projects. Quarter-eighth note rhythms are turned into syncopation and sixteenth note rhythms. Instead of learning how to read music, students learn about musical structure and compose their own piece based on a particular musical form. Since many students play instruments at this level, they often enjoy composing and performing this piece on their instrument. In preparation for the spring music program, students work together to perform multi-part ensemble music and use their music knowledge to create their own interpretation of the piece.
Music appreciation is another component of the 5/6th grade curriculum. In the past students have taken an in depth look at their current music and compared it to music of the past, making connections between the musical components in each genre of music. The final result of this project allowed students to see how music as far back as early Jazz and blues has influenced the music we know and love today. This music appreciation curriculum and the composition projects described above typically take place during the first part of the school year, while music program preparation and technology projects take place in the second half of the school year.
Please visit the Curriculum Maps page to view a more detailed outline of the 2016-2017 5th-6th grade music curriculum.