Our Curriculum › Music › 1st Grade
Music 1
A full year of 1st-grade music: musical question-and-answer games, major and minor sounds, music in twos and threes, writing and reading rhythms in pictures and on the staff, music from Germany and the Philippines, and choosing music to fit a purpose.
180 lessons
One a day for a school year
10 units
Each opens to its lessons
Two ways to write music
Pictures and real staff notation
Standards
National Core Arts Standards (music)
What's taught, unit by unit
Musical questions and answersDays 1–10
A call-and-response game: a family member claps or hums a question and the student answers with claps, voice or taps. They vary length, speed and loudness, take turns asking, and end with a family concert.
- 1 · What Is a Musical Question?
- 2 · Answering With Your Voice
- 3 · Long Questions, Short Answers
- 4 · Fast Question, Slow Answer
- 5 · Question and Answer With Tapping Sounds
- 6 · Loud Questions, Soft Answers
- 7 · Take Turns Being the Asker
- 8 · Silly Animal Question and Answer
- 9 · Matching Answers vs. Surprise Answers
- 10 · Family Concert of Questions and Answers
Major and minor, duple and tripleDays 11–30
Hearing major (bright, happy) and minor (mysterious) tonality, then meter: marching in twos and swaying in threes. They play question-and-answer in each, guess which they hear, and finish with a family game night.
- 11 · A New Music Word: Tonality
- 12 · Major = Happy Sounding
- 13 · Minor = Mysterious Sounding
- 14 · Famous Mysterious Music
- 15 · Question and Answer in Major
- 16 · Question and Answer in Minor
- 17 · Switching Between Major and Minor
- 18 · A Story Told in Major and Minor
- 19 · Guess the Tonality Game
- 21 · A New Music Word: Meter
- 22 · Duple Meter = Marching in Twos
- 23 · Triple Meter = Swaying in Threes
- 24 · Question and Answer in Duple Meter
- 25 · Question and Answer in Triple Meter
- 26 · Guess the Meter Game
- 27 · Mixing Tonality and Meter
- 28 · Question and Answer, Mixing It All
- 29 · Family Music Game Night
- 30 · Celebration: You're a Music Idea-Maker!
Plus 1 review day, not listed.
Writing music downDays 31–60
Moving from invented music pictures to the five-line staff: notes on lines and spaces, high and low, rests for silence, and written melodies and rhythms. They choose between notation styles and finish with a notation showcase.
- 31 · Welcome to Unit 2: A New Way to Write Music
- 32 · Meet the Staff
- 33 · Shapes and Pictures: Iconic Notation Review
- 34 · What Does a Note Look Like?
- 35 · Real Musicians Use Real Notation
- 36 · High and Low on the Staff
- 37 · You Get to Choose!
- 38 · Recording Technology: A Third Option
- 39 · Spaces Have Notes Too
- 40 · Comparing Iconic and Standard Side by Side
- 41 · Sorting: Iconic or Standard?
- 42 · Building a Melody Idea
- 43 · Rhythm Ideas on Paper
- 44 · A Staff Just for Rhythm
- 45 · Halfway Check-In: Notation Review
- 46 · Notes That Sit Close Together
- 47 · Major and Minor Ideas, Written Down
- 48 · Duple and Triple Ideas, Written Down
- 49 · My Notation Toolbox
- 50 · A Bigger Look at Beethoven's Score
- 51 · Organizing a Two-Part Idea
- 52 · Rests: Notation for Silence
- 53 · Comparing Your Idea to a Friend's
- 54 · Notation Scavenger Hunt
- 55 · Organizing an Idea for a Purpose
- 56 · Sharing Your Written Idea
- 57 · Mixing Both Notations Together
- 58 · Notation Detective: Find the Staff
- 59 · Planning My Final Notation Project
- 60 · Unit 2 Finale: My Notation Showcase
Music from Germany and the PhilippinesDays 61–70
Exploring the bouncy German polka and the Filipino bamboo-pole dance tinikling. Children compare each one's steady beat and melody shape, and why dancers need a strong beat.
- 61 · Music From Around the World
- 62 · Steady Beat: The Heartbeat of Music
- 63 · Germany's Bouncy Polka
- 64 · Polka's Melody Shape
- 65 · Why a Steady Beat Helps Dancers
- 66 · Bamboo Poles and Music: Tinikling from the Philippines
- 67 · Tinikling's Steady Beat Pattern
- 68 · Tinikling's Melody Shape
- 69 · Comparing Beat and Melody: Polka vs. Tinikling
- 70 · Music From Two Places: What We Learned
Reading rhythm patternsDays 71–90
Reading and clapping patterns in picture symbols and standard notes: claps, quiet beats (rests) and long held claps, up to eight beats. Includes reading the polka and tinikling beats, spotting differences and checking their own performance.
- 71 · Marks That Mean Music: Meet Rhythm Notation
- 72 · Reading Big Dots and Little Dots
- 73 · Practice Reading: Clap It Out
- 74 · A New Way to Write Claps: Standard Notes
- 75 · Standard Notation: The Quiet Mark
- 76 · Choose Your Notation: Iconic or Standard
- 77 · Long Claps and Short Claps
- 78 · Reading a Mixed Pattern
- 79 · Reading a Polka Beat Pattern
- 80 · Reading a Tinikling Beat Pattern
- 81 · Longer Pattern: Two Rows to Read
- 82 · Perform for Your Family
- 83 · Spot the Difference
- 84 · Rhythm Reading Check-In
- 85 · Reading Practice: A Familiar Tune's Claps
- 86 · More Practice: Eight Beats, Four Symbols
- 87 · Reading Speed Challenge
- 88 · What Does This Mark Mean?
- 89 · Read, Clap, Check
- 90 · Unit Wrap-Up: Beat, Melody, and Reading Rhythm
Loud, soft, fast, slow and singing with purposeDays 91–120
Dynamics (loud and soft) and tempo (fast and slow) in sounds and songs, then choosing them on purpose. Children match songs to jobs such as celebrations and naptime, sing with feeling, and perform for family.
- 91 · Welcome to Loud and Soft Sounds
- 92 · Finding Loud Sounds Around You
- 93 · Finding Soft Sounds Around You
- 94 · Loud and Soft in Songs
- 95 · Practice: Clap Loud, Clap Soft
- 96 · Loud and Soft Storytime
- 97 · Which Is Louder? Comparing Sounds
- 98 · Loud and Soft Voices When We Sing
- 99 · Making a Loud and Soft Pattern
- 101 · Welcome to Fast and Slow Music
- 102 · Finding Fast Sounds Around You
- 103 · Finding Slow Sounds Around You
- 104 · Fast and Slow in Songs
- 105 · Practice: Clap Fast, Clap Slow
- 106 · Comparing Speeds: Which Is Faster?
- 107 · Fast and Slow Animals in Music
- 108 · Changing Speed: Speeding Up and Slowing Down
- 109 · Making a Fast and Slow Pattern
- 111 · What Is a Purpose for Music?
- 112 · A Happy Song for a Celebration
- 113 · A Soft Song for Naptime
- 114 · Practice: Match the Song to the Job
- 115 · Singing with Feeling, Not Just Words
- 116 · Practice for Your Family: A Celebration Song
- 117 · Practice for Your Family: A Naptime Song
- 118 · Combining Loud/Soft and Fast/Slow with Purpose
- 119 · Perform for Family Day!
- 120 · Unit Review and Celebration
Plus 2 review days, not listed.
Choosing music for a reasonDays 121–135
Why people pick the music they do: for waking up, calm time, dancing, marching, hobbies, family traditions, holidays and cheering up a friend. Ends with building a personal music-for-a-purpose playlist.
- 121 · Why Do We Pick Certain Music?
- 122 · Music for Waking Up Happy
- 123 · Music for Calm Quiet Time
- 124 · Music for a Dance Party
- 125 · Music for Marching Like a Parade
- 126 · Picking a Song About Your Favorite Animal
- 127 · Picking a Song About Something You Love
- 128 · Family Music Traditions
- 129 · Holiday and Celebration Music
- 130 · Music That Matches Your Mood
- 131 · Picking Music to Help You Focus
- 132 · Picking Music for a Rainy Day
- 133 · Picking Music to Cheer Up a Friend
- 134 · Your Favorite Kind of Music and Why
- 135 · Unit Review: My Music-for-a-Purpose Playlist
Beat and pitchDays 136–150
Beat in marching, lullaby and dance music, and pitch (high and low sounds). Children see how each sets a mood, compare two styles, and hear the beat in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
- 136 · What Is a Steady Beat?
- 137 · Feeling the Beat in Marching Band Music
- 138 · Feeling the Gentle Beat in Lullabies
- 139 · Bouncy Beat in Dance Music
- 140 · What Is Pitch? High and Low Sounds
- 141 · High Pitch Sounds Around Us
- 142 · Low Pitch Sounds Around Us
- 143 · Beat and Pitch Together in a Song
- 144 · Beat in a Famous Old Symphony
- 145 · Pitch That Sounds Exciting vs Calm
- 146 · Fast Beat Means Energy, Slow Beat Means Calm
- 147 · Comparing Beat in Two Different Styles
- 148 · Comparing Pitch in Two Different Styles
- 149 · Beat and Pitch for a Purpose: Putting It Together
- 150 · Unit Capstone: Beat and Pitch Detective
Is this music a good fit?Days 151–164
Judging whether a piece fits a job, such as bedtime, a party, calm time, cleaning up, a car ride or feeling brave, and explaining why. Compares two songs for the same job and picks the better one.
- 151 · Is This Music a Good Fit?
- 152 · Music for Bedtime
- 153 · Music for a Party
- 154 · Music for Quiet, Calm Time
- 155 · Music for Moving and Dancing
- 156 · Music for a Rainy Day
- 157 · Music for Cleaning Up
- 158 · Music for a Car Ride
- 159 · Music for Starting the Day
- 160 · Same Job, Two Songs
- 161 · Music for Feeling Brave
- 162 · Wake-Up Music or Bedtime Music?
- 163 · You Pick the Purpose!
- 164 · Music Fit-Detective Review
Year in review and celebration showDays 165–180
About twelve days of revisiting the year's skills, one per day (patterns, questions, notation, world music, performing, listening), then planning, rehearsing and giving a family show. Mostly review, little new content.
- 165 · Welcome to Our Music Year Celebration!
- 166 · Remembering: Making Up Your Own Pattern
- 167 · Remembering: Answering a Musical Question
- 168 · Remembering: Writing Music Down
- 169 · Practicing Simple Notation Again
- 170 · Remembering: Music From Other Places
- 171 · A Song From Somewhere Else, Once More
- 172 · Remembering: Performing With Feeling
- 173 · Remembering: Performing for a Purpose
- 174 · Remembering: Listening Carefully
- 175 · Remembering: Comparing Two Pieces of Music
- 176 · Choosing the Best Fit, One More Time
- 177 · Planning Our Music Year Celebration
- 178 · Rehearsing Our Celebration Show
- 179 · Music Year Celebration Show Day!
- 180 · Look How Much You Learned!
By the end of the year, your child can
- Answer a clapped or hummed musical question with their own answer
- Tell major from minor and duple from triple by ear
- Read and clap simple rhythm patterns with claps, rests and long notes
- Write a short melody or rhythm in pictures or on the staff
- Sing or play loud or soft, fast or slow, to fit a purpose
- Explain why a piece of music is a good fit for a job or mood