Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Discovering the East of China: Chinese Music in Elementary School

Subject Area

Arts Education

Grade(s)

3, 4, 5

Overview

Students will identify Chinese instruments and perform a lullaby.  They will learn about Chinese musical elements, such as programmatic music and pentatonic scale.  The lesson includes four sections. 

    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 3 - Music

    AE17.MU.3.7

    Demonstrate and explain how the selection of music to perform is influenced by personal interest, knowledge, purpose, and context.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.3.7

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    • Bar lines
    • Measures
    Melody
    • Pitch set: Low So, Low La, High Do
    • Treble clef reading (Mi, Re, Do)
    • Middle C to high G
    • Ledger lines
    Harmony
    • Partner songs
    • Rounds
    • Ostinati
    Form
    • Theme and variations
    • Coda
    • D.S. al coda
    • Repeat sign
    • Fermata
    Expression
    • Phrase/ phrasing
    • Pianissimo (pp), fortissimo (ff)
    Other
    • Age-appropriate audience and performer etiquette
    • Orchestral instruments: 4 families
    • Age-appropriate pitch matching (Bb3 - Eb5)

    Essential Questions

    EU: Performers' interest in and knowledge of musical works, understanding of their own technical skill, and the context for a performance influence the selection of repertoire.
    EQ: How do performers select repertoire?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • Sing a varied repertoire with accurate rhythm and pitch and expressive qualities individually and with others.
    • Sing, move and respond to music from diverse cultures.
    • Sing, move and respond to age-appropriate music of various composers.
    • Play a variety of classroom instruments with proper technique.
    Creating
    • Improvise and compose short compositions using a variety of classroom instruments and sound sources.
    • Create new words for familiar songs.
    Reading/ Writing
    • Read, write and perform using two-eighth through whole note values including rhythms in 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 meter.
    • Read, write and perform extended pentatonic melodies.
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Use the head voice to produce a light, clear sound employing breath support and maintaining appropriate posture.
    • Develop criteria and use it to critique their own performances and the performances of others.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 4: Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.
    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 4 - Music

    AE17.MU.4.7

    Demonstrate and explain how the selection of music to perform is influenced by personal interest, knowledge, context, and technical skill.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.4.7

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    • Conducting patterns in
    • Syncopation
    Melody
    • Pitch set: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, Ti
    • Treble clef reading (La, So, Mi, Re, Do)
    • Middle C through High B
    • Create melodic sequences
    • Half-step
    • Whole step
    Harmony
    • Canons
    • Chord components
    • Chord progression (I, V)
    • Crossover bordun
    Form
    • Phrasing: antecedent and consequent
    • D.C. al coda
    • Fine
    Expression
    • pp through ff
    Other
    • Age-appropriate audience and performer etiquette
    • Orchestra instruments within the 4 families
    • Age-appropriate pitch matching (A3-E5)

    Essential Questions

    EU: Performers' interest in and knowledge of musical works, understanding of their own technical skill, and the context for a performance influence the selection of repertoire.
    EQ: How do performers select repertoire?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • Sing, move and respond to music from world cultures and different composers.
    • Sing a varied repertoire with accurate rhythm, pitch and expressive qualities individually and with others.
    Creating
    • With limited guidance, Improvise and compose short compositions using a variety of classroom instruments and sound sources.
    Reading/ Writing
    • Read, write and perform using rhythm patterns that include syncopated rhythms, in 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 meter.
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Use the head voice to produce a light, clear sound employing breath support and maintaining appropriate posture.
    • Use student developed criteria to critique their own performances and the performances of others.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 4: Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.
    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 5 - Music

    AE17.MU.5.7

    Demonstrate and explain how the selection of music to perform is influenced by personal interest, knowledge, and context, as well as their own and others’ technical skill.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.5.7

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    Melody
    • Pitch set: Do-centered diatonic
    • Treble clef reading (choral octavos)
    • Grand staff
    • Bass clef
    • Accidentals
    • Major scale
    Harmony
    • Part singing/ playing
    • Chord progression (I, IV, V)
    • Arpeggio
    • Descant
    • Level bordun
    Form
    • Rondo form
    • 12-Bar blues
    Expression
    • Vibrato
    • Tremolo
    • Reggae
    • Blues
    • Timbre: soprano, alto, tenor, bass
    Other
    • Age-appropriate audience and performer etiquette
    • Age-appropriate pitch matching (Ab3-F5)

    Essential Questions

    EU: Performers' interest in and knowledge of musical works, understanding of their own technical skill, and the context for a performance influence the selection of repertoire.
    EQ: How do performers select repertoire?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • Sing a varied repertoire with accurate rhythm and pitch, appropriate expressive qualities, proper posture and breath control.
    • Sing intervals on pitch within a major diatonic scale.
    • Perform melodies on recorder while reading standard and/or iconic music notation.
    • Perform, on instruments, a varied repertoire with accurate rhythm and pitch, appropriate expressive qualities, proper posture and breath control.
    • Sing partner songs to create harmony.
    • Sight-read and prepare a performance.
    Creating
    • Demonstrate appropriate use of legato and staccato in a song.
    • Create a personal playlist and explain why each piece was selected.
    • Improvise, compose and arrange music.
    • Use technology and the media arts to create and perform music.
    Reading/ Writing
    • Read, write, and perform rhythms in 2/4, 3/4.
    • 4/4. and 6/8 meter signatures using whole notes through sixteenth notes, including dotted notes.
    • Read, write and perform diatonic melodies and the major scale on the treble clef staff.
    • Identify tempo markings such as allegro, presto, largo, and andante.
    • Identify ledger-line notes A, B, and C above the treble clef staff.
    • Identify whole and half steps of the major diatonic scale in printed music.
    • Recognize the difference between major and minor tonalities.
    • Write program notes to accompany performances.
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Discuss melodic and harmonic elements used in a piece of music.
    • Explain how a performer performs a piece of music differently when he/she knows the social, cultural, or historical background of the piece, (e.g., How does knowing the history of the American Civil Rights Movement affect the performance of "We Shall Overcome?"
    • Demonstrate appropriate audience etiquette at live performances.
    • Write performance reviews of performances.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 4: Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.
    Link to Resource

    CR Resource Type

    Lesson/Unit Plan

    Resource Provider

    Smithsonian
    Accessibility
    License

    License Type

    Custom
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