Rhythm: steady beat including strong and weak beats, tied notes, dotted notes, time signature, music organized into 2's, 3's and 4's, bar lines and double bar lines
Melody: treble clef, treble clef staff's lines and spaces, solfege: do`,la,sol, mi, re, do, and low la and sol patterns, home tone
Harmony, Tone Color and Texture: ostinato, bordun, accompanied or unaccompanied music, woodwind and brass instruments and their unique sounds
Form: AB, ABA, call and response, introduction, repeat signs
Expression: crescendo and decrescendo, phrase, tempo, accelerando and ritardando, music can communicate mood
History and Culture: music as it relates to the world around us, audience behavior, performing responsibilities
Third graders do an extensive unit on reading music. In this unit we use recorders to demonstrate their ability to read music, including rhythmic and melodic notation on a treble staff. The students read songs in the "Recorder Karate" method book by Barb Philipak. The each have a goal of learning 3 songs independantly, although they may each choose to go further than this standard. For each song they master, children are awarded a karate belt to place on their recorder.
The children also have a number of assessments within the school year for reading melody and rhythm as set by our district music standards.
