Elementary Music Grade 3

Segment One 

• Elements of music 
• Introduction to music 
• Active listening 
• Music classroom and performance behaviors 
• Rhythm 
• Steady beat 
• Strong beat and weak beat 
• Meters of 2, 3, and 4 
• Time signature 
• Whole note and whole rest 
• Four sixteenths 
• Dotted half note 
• Matching aural and written rhythm patterns 
• Rhythmic notation 
• Improvisation over rhythmic ostinati 
• Rearranging rhythmic patterns 
• Arranging a rhythmic accompaniment 
• What is melody? 
• Step, skip, leap, and repeat 
• Pentatonic scale 
• Octave 
• Musical alphabet 
• Treble staff note names 
• Melodic ostinato 
• Extended pentatonic scale 
• Rearranging melodic patterns 
• Improvising melodies 
• Adding accompaniment 
• Tonic and dominant chords 
• Notating melodic patterns 
• Singing canons 
• What are dynamics 
• Mezzo piano and mezzo forte 
• Sforzando 
• Identifying dynamics in a song 
• How conductors show dynamics 
• Playing and singing with dynamics 
• Notating dynamics 
• Singing rounds 
• Using dynamics to blend  
• Legato, staccato, and accents 
• Describing how dynamics change the mood 
• Dynamics in the world around you 
• Changes in dynamics 
• Using dynamics to enhance a story 
• What is tempo? 
• Presto, allegro, andante, adagio, largo 
• Performing songs with tempo 
• Identifying tempo 
• Notating tempo 
• Responding to tempo through art and movement 
• Tempo in the world around you 
• Responding to tempo through art and movement 
• Describe how tempo changes the mood of a song 
• Accelerando and ritardando 
• Using tempo to bring a story or poem to life 

Segment Two 

• What is form? 
• AB, ABA, Rondo 
• Identify patterns in songs 
• Describe the form of a familiar song 
• Unison and two-part singing 
• Call and response 
• Echo songs 
• Rounds and canons 
• Comparing music to other subjects 
• Verse, chorus, and refrain 
• Listening maps 
• Song memorization 
• Creating alternate endings 
• What is timbre? 
• Orchestra sections and their instruments 
• Single reed vs. double reed 
• Band and ensemble groups 
• Identify music from different cultures 
• Compare indigenous instruments 
• Cultural folk dances 
• Listening skills  
• Baroque period 
• Classical period  
• Connecting music to other arts  
• Sharing opinions 
• Purpose of music 
• Music through American history  
• American composers 
• Performance techniques 
• Evaluating a performance 
• Role of musicians in the community 
• Role of music in daily life 
• Opportunities to make music 
• Innovative music tools 
• Traits of successful musicians 
• Using music to bring stories to life 
• Collaboration 

Students will need the following materials: printer, cell phone or scanner, headset or earbuds, notebook, pen, pencils, erasers, scissors, coloring materials (markers, crayons, colored pencils), glue, tape, stapler, ruler, printer paper, lined paper, colored-paper, and general household objects for activities. 

Besides engaging students in challenging curriculum, the course guides students to reflect on their learning and evaluate their progress through a variety of assessments. Assessments can be in the form of practice lessons, multiple-choice questions, writing assignments, projects, oral assessments, and discussions. Core courses will use the state-approved grading scale and Special Area courses will use an S or U grading scale.  

To achieve success, students are expected to submit work in each course weekly. Students can learn at their own pace; however, “any pace” still means that students must make progress in the course every week. To measure learning, students complete self-checks, practice lessons, multiple choice questions, projects, discussion-based assessments, and discussions. Students are expected to maintain regular contact with teachers; the minimum requirement is monthly. When teachers, students, and parents work together, students are successful.