Sixth - Eighth Grades

Vocal, Choral Music

Levels I and II

 

back to Fine Arts

 

Lesson Plans / Units

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Read Alouds / Book Studies

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Online Resources

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Teachers to Connect With

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Sing, Read

 

 

Students will

 

1. Sing a varied repertoire employing proper vocal techniques.

 

• Posture

• Breath control

• Tonal production

• Diction

• Articulation

• Intonation

Level I: Accurately in solo, unison, and two parts

 

Level II: Accurately in solo, advanced two-parts, and three-parts

2. Interpret note, rest values and meter signatures.

 

Level I: Note and Rest Values: whole, dotted half, half, dotted quarter, quarter, eighth, and sixteenth

 

Meter Signatures:

 

Level II: Note and Rest Values: Level I plus dotted quarter followed by eighth and dotted eighth followed by sixteenth

 

Meter Signatures: Level I plus

 

3. Interpret standard symbols and terms related to:

• Pitch

• Dynamics

• Tempo

• Articulation

• Expression

 

Level I: Examples: dynamics–pianissimo, forte, crescendo

tempo–allegro, ritardando, presto

expression–dolce, legato, staccato

articulation–legato, staccato

 

 

 

Level II: Examples: dynamics–ppp, fff

tempo–adagio, vivace

expression–morendo

articulation–marcato

 

4. Listen, sing, and describe changes in musical events of a musical score using standard terminology.

 

Level I: Changes in rhythm, tempo, and dynamics

Level II: Changes in meter, modulation, and design

5. Sight-sing simple melodies and rhythms.

 

Level I: Accurate rendering of major scale, stepping and skipping, intervals and rhythm patterns in unison, and two-part literature

Level II: Accurate rendering of all intervals within the major scale in unison to three-part literature

 

6. Sing whole and half-step patterns of the major and minor scales.

 

Level I: Major scales: C, F, G

Level II: Major scales: B Flat, E Flat, D

Minor scales: a, e, d

 

7. Sing forms that represent interpretive and expressive qualities of diverse genres, cultures, and languages.

Examples: Israeli folk song, Caribbean calypso

 

 

 

Analyze, Describe

 

 

8. Compare the use of musical elements of diverse genres, stylistic periods, cultures, and languages.

Example: comparing Negro spiritual to English madrigal

 

9. Distinguish various combinations of vocal sounds.

Examples: barbershop quartet, madrigal

 

 

 

Create, Improvise, and Compose

 

 

10. Improvise simple melodic embellishments to a given melody.

11. Compose vocal rhythmic and melodic variations of given melodies.

Example: changing the melody of “Mary Had A Little Lamb”

Level I: Sing

Level II: Notate

 

12. Compose harmonic accompaniment to be sung with a melody using I, IV, V, VI chords.

 

Level I: Two-part songs

Level II: Three-part songs

 

13. Compose songs using standard symbols and terms to establish balance, unity and contrast, tension and release.

Example: ABA

 

14. Compose melodies to be sung over rhythmic ostinatos.

 

 

 

Evaluate

 

 

15. Evaluate vocal performance using established criteria of vocal technique.

 

16. Develop criteria to evaluate vocal technique and various styles.

 

17. Exhibit appropriate audience behavior. (See Appendix A.)

 

18. Exhibit appropriate performance behavior. See Appendix B.)

 

 

 

Connect

 

 

19. Relate music to history and culture.

 

20. Recognize and sing a variety of vocal styles and forms from various historical periods and ethnic cultures.

 

Examples: Renaissance madrigal, vocal jazz, art songs from the Romantic Period

 

21. Introduce the relationship between music, the other arts and the disciplines outside the arts.

 

22. Relate ways ideas in songs are found in other arts disciplines.

 

 

23. Relate musical skills and concepts to concepts of other core disciplines.

 

Examples: relating rhythm to math, sound phenomena to physics, battle songs to history settings

 

24. Discuss distinguishing characteristics of songs

 

• Style

• Language

• Composer

 

25. Exhibit appropriate audience behavior. (See Appendix A.)

 

26. Exhibit appropriate performance behavior. See Appendix B.)