The current position I am in has been the only teaching assignment I have been fortunate enough to return to. This alone makes planning so much easier and has an accessible base line for your student experiences and prior knowledge. I have found that this has let me plan long range way better now that I know what the students have actually learned and aligned with the curriculum. However, that is not always the case. The secret is scaffolding! Here is a general outline that I use for my scope and sequence in early years music. Kindergarten In Kindergarten, we play a lot of movement games like ‘Freeze Dance’, ‘Gallop’, ‘Statues’, etc. We read many stories, often more than once. Each time we reread a story, we add an element, either actions, singing or auxiliary percussion of sorts. Definitely a crowd favourite! The underlying outcome for all of these activities is developing a steady beat. We use lots of manipulatives, scarves, pop-its (more about this later), puzzles, and other activities. Grade One This is the first year that students attend school every day, so I spend a lot of time reviewing the routines we had practiced in Kindergarten. We use a lot of familiar games and build new perspectives for each. For example, Kindergarten spends a lot of time listening to the music starting and stopping in ‘Freeze Dance,’ following suit. In grade one, their movements must correspond to the beat of the music. Continuing in this fashion, grade twos must add movements depicting the dynamic while grade three then adds articulations. So-Mi Hunt A fun melodic game for all grades! Find this scavenger hunt here. In grade one, we also focus on ‘So-Mi’ songs and rhythms with quarter notes and quarter rests. Depending on my group, I will also introduce eighth notes, but this year, they will come a little later. I’ve found that we really need to work on patterns with just ‘tahs’ and ‘shushes’. Grade Two In grade two, we use lots of the things from grade one at the beginning of the year to reestablish rules and expectations. Then we add content such as half note rhythms and the note ‘La’ to our melodies. We begin to discuss why certain musical elements function the way they do or intdended for. We focus on part singing and small ensemble playing. Rhythm Posters These are some of the rhythm posters that I use in the music room. You can find them here! Grade Three Sixteenth notes, half rests, whole rests, dotted rhythms, and triplets are added to rhythms and melodies use full pentatonic scales. We play instruments such as ukuleles and recorders. The independence that comes with this grade is incredible compared to where they started. I enjoy seeing their light bulb moments there more we collaborate and make music together. The Main Goal This is just a general outline of a scope and sequence to begin with a sense of direction. In each grade, we focus on musical experiences and appreciation. My goal is to guide the learning and facilitate these musical experiences. It is exciting to see how the students progress as the scope progresses. I’m excited to make a five year plan- it feels way more attainable than ever!
