Oaklawn Visual & Performing Arts Magnet School
Music

Kindergarten
Learn to sing songs, keep a steady beat, learn rhythmic chants, and play classroom instruments. Develop the concepts of fast/slow, loud/soft, high/low and start/stop. Develop skills of listening for sounds that are long/short, up/down, and staying the same. Begin learning instrumental playing skills, and proper performance behavior in music class and school-wide performances.

First Grade
Continue activities to help distinguish between singing and speaking. Learn a repertoire of songs and chants for movement activities and music games. Learn to identify instruments and work on improving performance techniques.

Second Grade
Refine their in-tune singing and improvisation experiences both vocally and instrumentally. Expand their understanding of music symbols and notes by reading, writing, and performing notes and rhythms on bar instruments and piano keyboards. Learn more complex movements and multicultural music games to make the global connections of movement, form, music, and the visual arts.

Third Grade
Learn the importance of unison singing and add two-part group singing. Learn to read and write music staff notation with letter names for pitches, and rhythmic values. Work on more challenging instrumental playing, improvisation, and composition. Learn to play recorders, hand bells, tone chimes, Orff bell instruments and electronic piano keyboards. Encounter more performance-based experiences.

Fourth Grade
Continue the study of basic music notation, rhythmic reading and writing skills, and vocal/instrumental techniques for performance. Exposed to a general study of music literature, historical periods, and styles of composers; and learn to identify the instrumental families of the symphony orchestra. Opportunity to be a part of a Performing Arts Showchoir.

Fifth Grade
Continue basic music instructions and skills. Study an overview of music literature, historical periods, instruments, and styles of music composers. Be a part of a Performing Arts Showchoir. Develop the head voice for solo singing and group singing. Learn fundamentals of correct breathing, good diction, and proper posture. Harmony is expanded through more complex descants, ostinatos, rounds, and 2 & 2 part songs.

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