From CTE's Specials Teachers

Kinder- Students will take their first steps in music exploration. Every music class, we will sing, dance and play instruments and great singing games that change with the seasons. Students will work independently, in small groups and whole group while exploring music from all over the world.

1st grade

First grade is a continuation of music skills first developed in kinder. We continue the sense of exploration and adventure through stories and taking our first steps with the barred instruments and reading music.

Unit 1-Welcome to Music!

We will learn the expectations in music while learning how to safely use the space in the music room. We will play fun games and develop a strong sense of beat and rhythm.

Unit 2-Rhythm and steady beat

This unit will give us a sturdy foundation in feeling the beat and distinguish the difference between beat and rhythm.

Unit 3-Identify Rhythms

We will begin a multi year journey in learning to read music this week. We will begin with basic Ta Ta-Tay and Rest.

Unit 4-Barred Instrument Introduction

The time has come for us to get to play the barred instruments! This will be accompanied with plenty of singing, movement, games and of course playing instruments.

Unit 5-Expression

We will be focusing on music expression while singing, playing and moving to some familiar and some new songs.

Unit 6-Reflection and Games

This unit is so we have time to reflect on the year and revisit some of our favorite games and songs.

2nd Grade

Second grade music continues the foundations learned in 1st grade with basic rhythms, form and expression. In second grade, we will explore more complex rhythms and forms while continuing to explore the space and different meters for the beat.

Unit 1-Welcome to Music!

We will understand the expectations in the music room while remembering how to travel safely in our own space. We will also review 1st grade material such as simple beat, rhythms and form through songs and games.

Unit 2-Movement identification

We will explore music through different forms of expression. We will have different songs to sing, play and listen to that evoke different moods. We will also respond to the moods through movement, singing, saying and playing.

Unit 3-New rhythms

This unit is all about reviewing 1st grade rhythm and then add triplets, whole notes, half notes and their rest counterparts.

Unit 4-Solfeggio Singing

This unit is the beginning of a very important music concept. We will be focusing on Sol/Mi/La based songs

Unit 5-Adding Re and Do

This unit builds off of the previous unit adding two more notes for a full pentatonic scale.

Unit 6-Full Pentatonic

Now that we have our full pentatonic scale, we will be singing and playing songs that use the entire scale.

Unit 7-Reflection and Games

This unit gives us an opportunity to reflect on the year and revisit all of our fun games and songs from the school year

3rd grade

Third grade is a big year in elementary music. This is the year that we develop a full pentatonic scale and practice our improvisation skills and of course we play recorders in the spring! Students can expect more challenging barred instrument pieces and more creative license with our music.

Unit 1-Welcome to Music!

The first week of music, we will have an understanding of the classroom expectations while exploring the space of the music room. We will be playing simple keep the beat games while exploring music that changes the beat from duple to triple.

Unit 2-Beat, Rhythm

This unit is focused on reviewing 2nd grade music while adding to our knowledge of rhythms. We will be learning about 16th notes and the 6/8 time signature.

Unit 3-Pentatonic

Students will develop an understanding what makes music sound the way it does through singing first then playing on the barred instruments.

Unit 4-Expanded Pentatonic

This unit will be focused on expanding our pentatonic scale by adding low La and low So.

Unit 5-Music Expression

This unit is designed to allow students to not just "sing/play the right notes" but feel the music that is being performed. There will be expressive movement, games, playing and listening to music.

Unit 6-Recorders!

In the spring, we will be playing recorders! I will communicate how to order these recorders at the beginning of the spring semester.

Unit 7-Reflection and Games

We will reflect on the year and review the fun music that we played.

4th grade

Fourth grade music is active and full of expanding our music knowledge from third grade. We will take our pentatonic scale and make it diatonic (where most pop music comes from) and we explore folk dances from around the world. We will also be expanding our recorder playing technique.

Unit 1-Welcome to Music!

This unit is all about reviewing expectations in the music room, learning how to travel safely by ourselves, in small groups and as a whole class. We will play some fun games, sing songs, and begin to explore the many instruments.

Unit 2-Pentatonic Review

This unit is a review of our 3rd grade year. We are going to review pentatonic music while adding a few new notes lower than Do.

Unit 3-Hexatonic

We will be building off of our solid foundation of pentatonic music and adding the 4th scale degree (Fa) making our music hexatonic.

Unit 4-Diatonic

We will be building off of our solid foundation of hexatonic music and turn it to diatonic by adding Ti.

Unit 5-Recorder

The focus of this unit is to review 3rd grade recorder and build on those skills to learn new notes, and songs.

5th grade

Fifth grade is where music gets familiar in our pop music world. With a solid foundation, we begin work on simple chord progressions I IV V. We also learn about mixed meter songs and more complex music from other cultures like Africa, Israel and many more.

Unit 1-Welcome to Music!

This unit is all about reviewing expectations in the music room, learning how to travel safely by ourselves, in small groups and as a whole class. We will play some fun games, sing songs, and begin to explore the many instruments.

Unit 2-Mixed Meter Fun

As a whole class, we will explore different ways to play Un-tuned percussion instruments and learning about mixed meter music. This will lead to small group in class performances using a variety of instruments.

Unit 3-Mixed Meter Estatic Dance

This unit, we will be building off of our previous unit of learning of mixed meter and playing a more formal piece of music in the time signature of 5/4.

Unit 4-Pentatonic and Diatonic Review

This week we are going to be reviewing our pentatonic scale from last year. This will include a few new notes (lower than Do). We will also be doing expressive movement and folk dancing.

Unit 5-Modal Music

During our modal music unit, students will experience music beyond major and minor modes. This will include dorian, lydian and mixolydian. During this time, we will sing, play and dance songs from all around the world.

Unit 6-Chords

This unit is all about chord changes. After the previous unit, we have a solid understanding of diatonic music and it is time to learn about I IV V chord changes. This unit ends with a wonderful piece of music using the barred instruments.

Unit 7-Reflection and Music Fun

This unit will take us to the end of the year as we reflect on our progress and music that was made.

6th grade

Sixth grade is the cumulative year of general music. We use all of our past years of learning together to make music together. We sing, dance, play and create the most complex pieces of music and smile while doing so! This is also the performance year for students. In the spring there will be a 6th grade performance (date TBA).

Unit 1-Welcome to Music!

This unit is all about reviewing expectations in the music room, learning how to travel safely by ourselves, in small groups and as a whole class. We will play some fun games, sing songs, and begin to explore the many instruments.

Unit 2-Solfeggio

This week will be focused on reviewing (or learning if new) what makes music sound good and why. We will be focusing on a pentatonic scale first with some expressive movement and folk dancing thrown in!

Unit 3-Expanding Our Music Scale

Building from last weeks pentatonic learning, we will move to diatonic music. This means we will be adding Fa and Ti still adding in the expressive movement and folk dancing.

Unit 4-A Song From the Past

This week, we will be reviewing a song from our 5th grade year but with a better understanding how it works and a better understanding of the building blocks for the way it sounds.

Unit 5-Modes

This week, we will be expanding our diatonic music knowledge and begin to move to modes. These scales are typically more popular in folk, jazz and middle eastern music.

Unit 6-Performance

This unit is all about our performance.

Unit 7-Reflection and Fun

This unit will take us to the end of the school year reflecting on our performance and school year as a whole.

Eligibility

Open to Grades 1-6, as well as staff and parent mentors (K only if parent is a mentor)

Mondays & Wednesdays (Aug 24-Sept 14)

7:40 am to 8:25 am

$25.00 per participant (Paid via MySchoolBucks) Search "Run Club" under the School Store on MySchoolBucks to pay.

August 23, 2026 (Strictly no late entries!)