Elementary Music (K-5)
Welcome to our elementary music page! I'm Mrs. Orlando, and this is my 6th year teaching here. In addition to teaching music to our Kindergarten through 5th graders, I'm also the band director at Lincoln Meadows to provide our students with more opportunities to explore their musical interests outside of class! I'm so excited to continue building our instrumental program and making music with your students. I'm very passionate about music education and how important it is to students' development, and I'm always happy to discuss that with you! Please read below to find what we're doing in music, but as always if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email me: [email protected]
Musically yours,
Mrs. Orlando
Grade Level Instruments & Curriculum Overview
Kindergarten
Concepts include: loud and quiet, keeping a steady beat, moving to music, same and different, learning to read and perform rhythms like quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes.
Instruments: piano, boomwhackers, drums, xylophones, other percussion
1st grade
Concepts include: loud and quiet, same and different, keeping a beat review from kindergarten in addition to recognizing instruments by sight and sound, making connections between music and literature, reading and performing more rhythmic values, performing in front of peers, and learning solfege.
Instruments: piano, boomwhackers, drums, xylophones, other percussion
2nd grade
Concepts include: Moving and responding to music, beginning to use solfege to learn pitches on the treble clef, making connections between music and literature, learning and performing more complex rhythms, learning practicing and critical thinking skills, and performing in front of peers.
Instruments: piano, boomwhackers, drums, xylophones, other percussion
3rd grade
Concepts include: reading pitches on the treble clef, learning to practice and refine playing for performance, performing in front of peers, providing and receiving constructive feedback, recognizing instruments by sight and sound, and making connections to literature.
Instruments: Recorder (in Trimester 2), piano, boomwhackers, xylophones, and other percussion
4th grade:
Concepts include: continuing to read and interpret notes and symbols on the treble clef and in sheet music, reading other notation styles, learning about musical structure and theory, learning about form and the "anatomy" of a song, connecting to music in their lives outside of school, making connections between music, history, and literature, and practicing independently.
Instruments: Ukulele (in Trimester 2), piano, boomwhackers, xylophones, and other percussion
5th grade:
Concepts include: continuing to read and interpret more notes and symbols on the treble clef and in sheet music, reading other notation styles, making connections between music, history, and literature, learning more complicated music theory concepts and "anatomy" of a song, learning more about different composers, practicing and refining music independently for performance, and preparing other necessary skills for middle school music.
Instruments: Ukulele (in Trimester 2), piano, boomwhackers, xylophones, and other percussion
Trimester 1 music units:
Kindergarten
1: Learning music room procedures and routines
2: Rhythm and steady beat skills, assessed by observation for progress throughout the year
3: Music and storytelling with the Nutcracker
1st grade
1: Practicing procedures/getting back into routines
2: Pre-assessment: listening skills
3: Music literacy: rhythm and pitch
2nd grade
1: Practicing procedures/getting back into routines
2: Pre-assessment: listening skills and music vocabulary
3: Music literacy: rhythm and pitch
3rd grade
1: Routines and pre-assessments
2: Rhythm skills
3: Music literacy: treble clef
4th grade
1: Routines, pre-assessments, and instrument demonstrations
2: Rhythm skills
3: Music literacy: treble clef
5th grade
1: Routines, pre-assessments, and instrument demonstrations
2: Rhythm skills
3: Music literacy: treble clef
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Trimester 2 music units:
Kindergarten
3 (continued): Music and storytelling with the Nutcracker
4: Music skills with animal themes
5: Piano
1st grade
4: Piano
5: Instruments & storytelling
6: Ensemble
2nd grade
4: Piano
5: Instruments & storytelling
6: Ensemble
3rd grade
4: Piano
5: Recorder White Belt (Hot Cross Buns)
6: Recorder Yellow Belt (Gently Sleep)
4th grade
4: Piano
5: Ukulele TAB notation
6: Ukulele chords
5th grade
4: Piano
5: Ukulele TAB notation
6: Ukulele chords
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Trimester 3 music units:
Kindergarten
6: Same & different sounds
7/final week: Assessments of Kindergarten skills
1st grade
7: Composition
8: Music vocabulary
9/final week: Assessments of 1st grade skills
2nd grade
7: Composition
8: Music vocabulary
9/final week: Post assessment
3rd grade
7: Recorder Orange Belt (Merrily We Roll Along)
8: Composition
9/final week: Post assessment
4th grade
7: Music history & composers
8: Group composition/Music analysis
9: Post assessment
5th grade
7: Music history & composers
8: Group composition/music analysis
9/final week: Post assessment
Grading policy
Both participating productively in class and completing graded work with thought and effort are part of our grade in specials!
Engagement 50%
Projects, skills, and assessments 50%
Songs we're singing!