Elementary Music (K-5)
Welcome to our elementary music page! I'm Ms. Birkmeier, and this is my 4th 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. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email me: [email protected]
Musically yours,
Ms. B
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 2-3), 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 2-3), piano, boomwhackers, xylophones, and other percussion
Come see what we're doing in music!
In all grades, we're reaching our last or 2nd to last rotation of the year! During this time, we assess what we've learned in music this year based on grade level-appropriate concepts.
For Kindergarten and 1st grade, we move after listening to musical examples to indicate our understanding of high and low sounds as well as same and different sounds with 3-note patterns. This tests listening skills and ability to differentiate pitch. We also sing our solfege notes (do, re, mi) to assess listening and pitch matching skills. Using this information, I design lessons for the next year that address and support these skills to continue building their music education.
For 2nd-5th grade, we take a conceptual Google Form multiple choice test to indicate understanding of terms, instrument sounds, and other concepts learned throughout the year. All grades take the same test, so these answers can indicate if a student is particularly advanced for their age group or if they may require additional support. Class and grade level averages or deficits can help guide curriculum for the following year to continue building their music education. These scores are entered into Infinite Campus to monitor progress, but are not calculated for a grade.
After we're done with our tests and assessments, we get to revisit some of our favorite music games and activities! I've so enjoyed working with your students this year, and I'm looking forward to continuing to see them grow.
With love,
Ms. Birkmeier