This unit traces jazz from its African roots and influence through to the years of George Gershwin. Students will learn to identify key jazz features such as improvisation, syncopation, soloists and solos. Music listened to and critiqued includes African music, spirituals, gospel, ragtime, blues, swing, bebop, and early jazz. Students will write and perform original blues lyrics, and share musical critiques and biographies.

In this series of lessons students will become familiar with the composer Antonin Dvorak
and his Ninth Symphony From The New World. Students will learn about the
significance of Dvorak in America during the 1890s and will use creative skills to
compose melodies based on familiar folk tunes, increasing understanding of nationalism
in music.

This unit focuses on music from the Classical period by teaching students about Mozart and his
music. Students will learn to read and identify notes and rhythms, expand their musical vocabulary and perform on a recorder.

Students will create basic spoken sequences and progresses through the creation of a twelve-measure song based on a major scale. By learning to create simple sequences of sound, students begin to understand the basic elements in musical composition.

Art music in Europe is widely known for its mathematical structure and theoretic brilliance. What is often left unnoticed is the indigenous side of musical Europe. Rhythmic flamenco, intense Sardinian harmony, hilltops ringing with alphorns, and the wild yodel at the end of a phrase are all indigenous sounds of European music. By exploring these musical elements from Sardinia, Austria, Spain and Switzerland, students will become familiar with indigenous instruments, musical forms and styles.

This unit is designed to give students an in-depth look at the four basic instruments of the brass family: trumpet, french horn, trombone and tuba. Learning to recognize the sight and sound of each instrument is emphasized.

This unit takes students through an exciting exploration of the expressive qualities of music. Step by step the students will grow in their understanding as they listen and explore creative movement, and finally create music of their own.

This unit focuses on music from the Baroque period by teaching students about J.S. Bach and his
music. Advancing the student’s musical knowledge and ability will be a key
component of this unit, which will culminate with a recorder performance.

In this first grade music unit, students are introduced to opera using Humperdinck's opera Hansel and Gretel. Students will sing, dance and act, to experience for themselves that opera is a combination of all these art forms.

This unit is designed to help teachers introduce Aztec culture in the areas of Music, Spanish, and Physical Education in the first grade. By teaching specific skills through song and instrumental music, range and movement through space, and through various forms of cultural pedagogy, the students will be presented with an introductory knowledge of the intelligence, creativity, and mystical aspects of the Aztec civilization.

The three-fold goal of this unit is to introduce the students to the piano, the harpsichord and the organ; to enable each student to experience the joy of playing the piano; and to learn to recognize six beautiful piano works. It is hoped that these lessons will kindle in each student a life-long love of the piano and music-making.

This unit is a brief study of Richard Wagner and his revolutionary idea of “Music Drama.” Through the use of listening examples, pantomimes, and student led “music dramas,” classes will discover an exciting new side of Wagner’s world of composition and drama.

Students will become familiar with notation in treble clef, and will understand that pitch can be high and low. By playing and listening, students will understand that melodies move up and down. Students will have several opportunities to play melodies connecting the kinesthetic, aural and visual experiences of music.

This unit on Native American Music combines the performance skills of singing, playing instruments and dancing with an understanding of the important place music holds in all Native American tribal culture. Each student will learn appropriate vocabulary and performance techniques designed to instill understanding of and respect for the music of Native Americans.

This unit will focus on the ballet, "The Nutcracker", by Peter Tchaikowsky. In this unit, the students will learn that a ballet is a story told in dance. They will recognize melodies that occur during the ballet and will be able to demonstrate beat and accent through body movement. The students will experience "The Nutcracker" by using multi media options for various learning styles.

Oh, say, can you sing "The Star Spangled Banner"? It can be tricky for second graders to grasp the meaning of the unfamiliar words in the lyrics of "The Star Spangled Banner". This unit is designed to create an understanding of the events that led up to the writing of the poem that became our National Anthem. The learning will be able to sing "The Star Spangled Banner" with the lyrics pronounced correctly and a clear understanding of the meaning of the song.

Through participation, students will become familar with the basic elements of music. They will recognize and play a steady beat, recognize short and long sounds, and move responsively to music.

This three lesson unit introduces students to the world of Scheherazade, the Sultan and Sinbad, the Sailor. It highlights the relationship between the tales of the Arabian Nights and the great musical work,
Scheherazade, by Rimsky-Korsakov. Students will increase their listening, music reading and dancing skills.

This unit will focus on the ballet, Swan Lake, by Peter Tchaikowsky. The students will learn that a ballet is a story told in dance. They will recognize melodies that occur during the ballet. The students will move responsively to music and identify the instruments used as a representation of characters and events.

This unit will give students an opportunity to explore with and listen to the sounds of various
instruments. Students will also make instruments representing the elements of percussion, string
and wind.