Third Grade

1.0:  PERCEIVING, AND RESPONDING: AESTHETIC EDUCATION – Students will develop the ability to perceive, perform, and respond to music.

1:  Develop awareness of the characteristic of musical sounds and the diversity of sounds in the environment

a.  Categorize band and orchestra instruments by sight and sound according to the string, woodwind, brass, or percussion family

b. Identify ABA and call-and-response musical form, when presented aurally

c.  Listen to, perform, and describe music that illustrates fast/slow, loud/soft (quiet), long/short, high/ low

d. Describe environmental sounds heard, with attention to tempo, dynamics and pitch

e. Distinguish between major and minor modes presented aurally

2:  Experience performance through singing and playing instruments in general, vocal and instrumental settings

a.  Perform accurately simple rhythms at sight from standard notation: whole notes and whole rests, half notes and half rests, quarter notes and quarter rests, two eighth notes connected

b.  Sing and play a variety of music at a given tempo, using correct singing posture and clear diction

c.  Sing two-and-three part rounds accurately

d. Perform ostinatos to support given melodies

e.  Explain appropriate performance behavior

3:  Respond to music through movement

a.  Create movement patterns to communicate meaning or feeling in music

b.  Conduct music in two meter

4:  Experiment with standard and individually created symbols to represent sounds

a.  Indicate the occurrence of chord changes presented aurally (I and V chords)

b.  Write simple rhythm patterns from dictation using quarter notes, two connected eighth notes, half notes and corresponding rests in 4/4 time (2 measures)

c.  Notate short improvised melodies using non-standard symbols such as icons, dashes and dots, or any system created by and meaningful to the student (2 measures)

2.0:  HISTORICAL, CULTURAL, AND SOCIAL CONTEXT: Students will demonstrate an understanding of music as an essential aspect of history and human experience

1:  Develop the ability to recognize music as a form of individual and cultural expression through experiencing music as both personal and societal expression

a.  Describe how music reflects daily experience in the local community

b.  Listen to and perform folk and composed music that is used to celebrate holidays in various cultures

c.  Listen to music examples from various world cultures and describe how tempo, dynamics and pitch are used

 d.  Identify and describe roles of musicians in the local community

e.  Use movement to describe roles of musicians in the local community

f.  Discuss ways in which creating and performing music bring personal satisfaction

g.  Demonstrate audience behaviors that are respectful of the performer(s)

2:  Become acquainted with the roles of music in the lives of people

a.  Listen to a variety of musical works and relate them to specific historical events

b.  Perform songs and dances from a variety of historical periods and world cultures including some connected to general classroom studies

c.  Listen to musical examples that represent styles and traditions from various historical periods and world cultures

3:  Explore the relationship of music to dance, theatre, the visual arts, and other disciplines

a.  Demonstrate individual and creative expression through music, dance, drama and the visual arts

b.  Demonstrate ways in which the processes and content in music correlate with those of other subject areas taught in the school

4.  Develop knowledge of a wide variety of representative musical styles and genres through the study of music history

a.  Listen to and perform songs, games and dances representing a variety of composers, styles, genres, and world cultures to develop awareness of music history

3.0:  CREATIVE EXPRESSION AND PRODUCTION: Students will develop the ability to organize musical ideas and sounds creatively      

1:  Develop the ability to improvise music through experimentation with sound

a.  Use selected classroom instruments or voices to improvise short melodies that answer in the same style to given rhythmic and melodic phrases (Q & A)

b.  Improvise vocal or instrumental music using non-traditional sounds

2:  Develop readiness for composing and arranging by experimenting with sound

a.  Use environmental sounds to enhance the mood and/ or words of a musical composition

b.  Create simple rhythms in forms which show contrast; whole notes and whole rests, half notes and half rests, quarter notes and quarter rests, two eighth notes connected (2 measures)

c.  Compose and use traditional notation to preserve (write) ostinatos which enhance given melodies

4.0:  AESTHETIC CRITICISM: Students will demonstrate the ability to make aesthetic judgments.

1:  Evaluate selected musical compositions using established criteria

a.  Discuss musical characteristics as they relate to the listener’s feelings and preferences

2:  Develop personal aesthetic criteria for evaluating musical performances

a.  Discuss characteristics of a good performance, such as singing or playing in tune, proper tempo, and effective expression