This is where I'll tell you about the Kodály approach to music education, some exciting plans I have for the year, as well as share with you some of the district, State and National standards for music education!! Stay "tuned"!
Click below to see Seattle Public School's K-5 Music Education Curriculum Map. This is an overview of different concepts covered at various grade levels.
Click here to see a Seattle Public Schools General Music Curriculum Map.
A large emphasis in music at QAE will be given to a Kodaly based approach. Zoltan Kodaly was a Hungarian ethnomusicologist and music educator who advocated for quality music education in schools. More of his philosophy can be found here. The approach to teaching includes incorporating singing, movement, strong literacy components in a sequential spiral-based approach to teaching. Emphasis is put on the "made conscious" concept--much like we learn to speak before we learn to read, we should be able to sing and describe music concepts before they are given a name and made conscious. Developmentally-appropriate sequencing is emphasized as we develop our singing voices, music vocabulary, and engage our bodies.
As a certified Kodaly instructor, I value the impact of a global approach to music education in building pathways of empathy, exposure to a variety of different kids and cultures around the world, and solid connections to developing globally-minded citizens. You can expect to see and hear music from all around the world on any given week in class. Click here for an interactive Google Map detailing what countries we study over the course of the year.
My holistic approach to teaching is guided by several different Essential Questions. These include, but are not limited to:
-What role does music play in informing us about a culture?
-What makes a good performer? What makes a good song?
-What does music do for the human spirit?
-How does music tell us about history?
-How does music make us better citizens?
-How does access to music impact individuals?
Within individual grade levels and units, we will have many essential questions, but the goal for music at QAE will be to use music and its components as a catalyst of creativity, culture and compassion amongst students ready to challenge 21st Century issues upon leaving.
Along those lines, Seattle Public Schools recently created a plan for access across all schools to the Arts, falling in line with 21st Century Learning skills and needs. Read more about that plan, the Creative Advantage, here. More info can be found on the Creative Advantage Seattle website.
Here are a list of SPS Enduring Understandings and 21st Century Skills cultivated through the arts:
Enduring Understandings: These are statements which summarize important ideas and core processes that are central to a discipline and have lasting value beyond the classroom.
1. The Arts reveal who we are.
2. The Arrts are a means of communication.
3. Arts learning fosters critical thinking and creativity central to life and career.
21st Century Skills to be cultivated through Arts learning in Seattle Public Schools:
1. Growth Mindset and Perseverance
2. Creative and Critical Thinking
3. Communication Skills
4. Collaboration Skills
Here's a tiny snapshot of what to expect from each grade level:
Kindergarten: strong development of singing voice, learning songs tied in to literacy, cooperation and teamwork, beat competency
1st grade: beginnings of 2 staff notation, basic notation (quarter note, eighth note, rest, so, mi and la), beat/rhythmic artwork, musical storytelling
2nd grade: introduction to the pentatonic scale, improvisation, added notes (sixteenth notes, half notes, do, re), part-singing, instrument families/timbre
3rd grade: introduction to wind instruments (THE BIG RECORDER UNIT!) Take a look at the curriculum we'll be using formed by Carnegie Hall and run by the Seattle Symphony's education program
4th grade: Composition! We'll also talk significantly about music opening access as we look at the Singing Revolution of Estonia, musicians with disabilities defying odds, composers making statements to their communities through writing.
5th grade: 5th grade is the year for the State benchmark assessment. We will focus heavily on composition, communication/connection to musical selections, as well as analysis of form, as well as advocacy. We'll also take a look at different careers in music, looking at different jobs musicians can have. A FANTASTIC example is the documentary Alive Inside. What can music therapist and brain researchers do to help end-of-life care for aging citizens?
I'm also excited to be tying music in to Project-Based Learning across grade levels. More information about that will be coming soon! As always, let me know if you have any other questions, and stay tuned for more learning as the year progresses!
Click below to see Seattle Public School's K-5 Music Education Curriculum Map. This is an overview of different concepts covered at various grade levels.
Click here to see a Seattle Public Schools General Music Curriculum Map.
A large emphasis in music at QAE will be given to a Kodaly based approach. Zoltan Kodaly was a Hungarian ethnomusicologist and music educator who advocated for quality music education in schools. More of his philosophy can be found here. The approach to teaching includes incorporating singing, movement, strong literacy components in a sequential spiral-based approach to teaching. Emphasis is put on the "made conscious" concept--much like we learn to speak before we learn to read, we should be able to sing and describe music concepts before they are given a name and made conscious. Developmentally-appropriate sequencing is emphasized as we develop our singing voices, music vocabulary, and engage our bodies.
As a certified Kodaly instructor, I value the impact of a global approach to music education in building pathways of empathy, exposure to a variety of different kids and cultures around the world, and solid connections to developing globally-minded citizens. You can expect to see and hear music from all around the world on any given week in class. Click here for an interactive Google Map detailing what countries we study over the course of the year.
My holistic approach to teaching is guided by several different Essential Questions. These include, but are not limited to:
-What role does music play in informing us about a culture?
-What makes a good performer? What makes a good song?
-What does music do for the human spirit?
-How does music tell us about history?
-How does music make us better citizens?
-How does access to music impact individuals?
Within individual grade levels and units, we will have many essential questions, but the goal for music at QAE will be to use music and its components as a catalyst of creativity, culture and compassion amongst students ready to challenge 21st Century issues upon leaving.
Along those lines, Seattle Public Schools recently created a plan for access across all schools to the Arts, falling in line with 21st Century Learning skills and needs. Read more about that plan, the Creative Advantage, here. More info can be found on the Creative Advantage Seattle website.
Here are a list of SPS Enduring Understandings and 21st Century Skills cultivated through the arts:
Enduring Understandings: These are statements which summarize important ideas and core processes that are central to a discipline and have lasting value beyond the classroom.
1. The Arts reveal who we are.
2. The Arrts are a means of communication.
3. Arts learning fosters critical thinking and creativity central to life and career.
21st Century Skills to be cultivated through Arts learning in Seattle Public Schools:
1. Growth Mindset and Perseverance
2. Creative and Critical Thinking
3. Communication Skills
4. Collaboration Skills
Here's a tiny snapshot of what to expect from each grade level:
Kindergarten: strong development of singing voice, learning songs tied in to literacy, cooperation and teamwork, beat competency
1st grade: beginnings of 2 staff notation, basic notation (quarter note, eighth note, rest, so, mi and la), beat/rhythmic artwork, musical storytelling
2nd grade: introduction to the pentatonic scale, improvisation, added notes (sixteenth notes, half notes, do, re), part-singing, instrument families/timbre
3rd grade: introduction to wind instruments (THE BIG RECORDER UNIT!) Take a look at the curriculum we'll be using formed by Carnegie Hall and run by the Seattle Symphony's education program
4th grade: Composition! We'll also talk significantly about music opening access as we look at the Singing Revolution of Estonia, musicians with disabilities defying odds, composers making statements to their communities through writing.
5th grade: 5th grade is the year for the State benchmark assessment. We will focus heavily on composition, communication/connection to musical selections, as well as analysis of form, as well as advocacy. We'll also take a look at different careers in music, looking at different jobs musicians can have. A FANTASTIC example is the documentary Alive Inside. What can music therapist and brain researchers do to help end-of-life care for aging citizens?
I'm also excited to be tying music in to Project-Based Learning across grade levels. More information about that will be coming soon! As always, let me know if you have any other questions, and stay tuned for more learning as the year progresses!