This plan guides students through an investigation of cross-disciplinary connections between music, dance, visual art, and creative writing within the context of choral repertoire.

This plan will provide students with the resources to clean, restring, and tune a classical guitar. Students will also learn about different string types and which kinds of knots are used to string guitars.  

Students will demonstrate understanding of rhythmic symbols and their values (whole, half, quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes/rests). Students will create note trees to make connections between musical rhythms and mathematics. Students will apply their knowledge of rhythm to express their musical ideas and engage more deeply with music.

This lesson introduces students to composition through the application of rhythms being used in daily sight-reading and/or repertoire. Students will notate and perform short rhythmic/melodic examples individually and in pairs and groups.

Students will experiment with and compose rhythmic grooves to use with their warm-up exercises. Using an online tool, students will create their own backing tracks to put the “fun” back in fundamentals!

Students will learn the basics of rhythmic literacy by correlating the number of syllables in a word to a rhythmic value. Students will select their favorite food that has toppings (pizza, ice cream sundae, cake, cookie, or sandwich) and create rhythmic patterns using words with varying numbers of syllables.

This plan will introduce beginning choral students to the basics of sight reading using solfege. Students will find success through the application of solfege by understanding why and how it impacts them as independent musicians. 

This plan will introduce the foundational skills and methods to develop successful sight-reading through guided practice. These methods provide students with the awareness and confidence to become capable and independent at the sight-reading process.

This plan combines rote learning with a simplified, one-line tab staff to introduce tablature. Elements of passive learning are included (major and minor scales, triads, common rhythmic figures, etc.) that can be referenced later when pedagogically appropriate. The plan is meant to eventually function as a flexible warm-up that can be expanded according to the ambitions of the instructor.

This nine-week unit builds music literacy skills and supports connections to outside content. It is intended to co-exist with the secondary choral classroom and strengthen music literacy skills. Students will engage in small groups to collaboratively write a song together. Students will use melodic, harmonic, and aural skills to identify chord progressions, hear and sing melody lines over chord progressions, write  lyrics, and sing together in unison and harmony. Students may also use accompanying instruments during this project.

Students will listen to three contrasting listening examples to describe how music makes them feel. They will use these emotions to create a collaborative short story, then assign movement to each part of that story. Students will perform their creative movement piece as a class.

Students will develop listening skills and identify differences in forte and piano dynamics. The teacher will tell an imaginative story to accompany a piece of music such as, Haydn’s “Surprise Symphony.” Students will respond to music with movement, as they reenact the story.

Using the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. strategy (substitute, combine, adapt, modify, put to another use, eliminate, and reverse), students will be able to take a well-known song and create a variation by isolating one element of music literacy. It is a technique that is adaptable to English learners, learners with special needs, advanced academic students, and the general population.

Students will be introduced to diatonic chords for major and minor keys, learn about primary chord progressions and circle of fifth progressions, and apply their understanding in the creation of new music. Visual references are provided to aid student understanding.

This instructional plan teaches young students how to demonstrate leadership in a chamber music setting. This outline can be used to develop efficient rehearsal strategies with the proper resources for younger students to have consistent, meaningful rehearsals in the classroom with minimal teacher assistance.

This plan will provide the instructor with an outline and resources to direct students through the formation of a student virtual performance portfolio. Students will use their virtual performance portfolio to collect both individual and ensemble performing artifacts throughout the year to evaluate and critique performances, formulate and justify personal responses to music, and monitor individual practice and progress toward goals.

Students will learn the symbols representing Virginia (flag, flower and bird). Students will create a personal symbol. Students will create their own song/chant about a symbol or flag they created.

This plan will provide the teacher and student with the resources to engage in kind and constructive feedback. Students will use music terminology to evaluate, define, and provide feedback to peer performances.

The teacher will lead students through a sequence of vocal exercises, highlighting major categories in order to deepen intent on specific skill development. Using your own favorite vocal warm-up exercises, encourage students to consider the benefits and intentions behind each warm-up exercise. Students will engage their creative process in generating new warm-up exercises to share with their peers.

This plan identifies six key elements of musicality for singers. Students will apply each principle to their current choral repertoire to improve and develop musicality.