Fellow music specialists, I am here to tell you two things 1) There is no cause for concern - if there ever were an area of education that was objective focused, music is it and 2) By all means, this is certainly nothing "new."
I have posted before about music teachers using the old "well, that doesn't pertain to me, I teach MUSIC!" excuse. That's what it is - an excuse. Any subject - ANYTHING worthy of being taught is done so the exact same way. If you aren't doing it that way, you may need to re-think your game plan. Further, if you perpetuate the myth that "music is different" you are going to drum your subject right out the door (both literally and figuratively). If fellow educators and administrators as well as parents fail to see the relevance of music instruction and think of it as "something different" - guess what, it will be seen as irrelevant and by some, even expendable.
Do we address multiple objectives simultaneously? You bet we do! Do other subjects do the same? Yes, indeed, they do. However, you cannot just approach the task with which you have been trusted haphazardly and cross your fingers that magically "learning will happen." You must, must, MUST have a plan in mind. If you're not 100% (or more) prepared before that class walks in, you are doing those children a disservice. Do we have programs to prepare? Do we have mandates to follow? Do we have grades to give? Yes, we do. But that doesn't mean a sequential, logical approach for good learning to occur goes out the window.
Step one: The Big Picture
You need a curriculum. I'm not talking about the state's learning outcomes that come rolling out after a committee has mulled them over and then changed them because, well, that's what education must do. After all, if we're not changing something every five years, we must not be doing our jobs, right? (yes, heavy sarcasm is intended) Putting one's trousers on one leg at a time certainly can't be effective year after year. Let's try jumping out of a tree and landing straight into them. Or maybe lying on our backs and then letting the pants slide down over our legs. My point is - the outcomes of teaching music should always and forever be the same. As new technologies (and even instruments) are developed, yes, the objectives should change to INCORPORATE those, but the basic learning should not. Music is, to over simplify, music.
Your curriculum should be a big picture with broad objectives for each grade level laid out month by month. It can and should include your state's standards. If your district hasn't handed you one or you have not served on a committee to create one, then put one together for your own (and your students') sake.
Step two: The Narrower Picture
From the curriculum comes a timeline. What should be taught, to whom, and when? Here you can lay out the outcomes week by week (as opposed to month by month). The objectives start to show up in this part - you get specific. The timeline shows specific skills that should be demonstrated in the areas of beat, rhythm, meter, melody, harmony, and tone color. This can also include other music-adjacent topics like composers of a certain era, etc.
Step three: The Nitty Gritty
Now we get to the daily lesson plans. These include all the fun stuff that we as music teachers love to impart to our students: movement, games, instrument playing, software, etc. BUT...all of these things that we love to do need to be done with a purpose - an
Let's take "Snail, Snail" as an example since I mentioned it. WHY did you put that in your plan? To keep the short people engaged? It is, in fact, engaging, but that shouldn't be the reason for teaching it. Here are just some possibilities for that one little, simple game: so-mi melodic patterns, rhythm patterns using quarter and eighth notes, stepping to the beat of the music, playing a simple ostinato on barred instruments, using singing voice. When you think of the elements of your plan in this way, they relate back to the objective for the day. If I am working on steady beat with first grade, I can write as the objective "Students will demonstrate the presence of a steady beat by successfully playing the game 'Snail, Snail.'" or "Students will play the steady beat of 'Snail, Snail' by playing a bordun on the bass xylophone."
You see, by doing the above, I don't throw out the game "Snail, Snail" - I use it as a teaching tool for reaching the goals laid out on my timeline. This can be done with any musical material. If you are preparing a performance, check your timeline and curriculum. Ask yourself, "How can I address the objectives on the timeline using the materials for the program?" and proceed from there.
Remember the Spiral
Since "Snail, Snail" seems to have taken over my post, let's look at the spiral once again (see last year's posts regarding curriculum). Remember to check back over your curriculum, timeline, and lesson plans to be sure you've hit everything you need to. The elementary music curriculum "spirals" - that is to say, you teach a topic at a low level, then address it at a deeper level the next year, then deeper still the next year. For example: meter. In early grades it can be as simple as identifying the feel of meter in 2 and meter in 3 as "march or sway." In first grade - place barlines to divide written rhythms into meter in 2 or meter in 3. By second grade, identify the time signature in a piece of music and be able to place barlines accordingly. By third grade, write the numbers under each beat in a measure. By fourth grade read time signatures using traditional (number over number) markings and explain their meaning, and by fifth grade identify meters as duple, triple, compound, or unusual.
It's a Simple Process
Every lesson follows this structure: tell them what you're about to do, do it, check to make sure they understood what you just did. Write the objective on the board. Be sure your objectives contain OBSERVABLE verbs and avoid words like "know" or "understand." How can you check to see if a student "knows" something at the end of a lesson? You really can't (except maybe by giving a paper and pencil test). Instead of "The students will know rhythm." a better objective is "Students will read and play rhythm patterns using quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter rests." By writing that as your objective, you can actually SEE them doing this and you will be able to tell if learning has occurred or not. Will you address other musical objectives during the lesson? Sure - singing voice, beat, reading simple melodic patterns, etc. will all be addressed; however, that is NOT the focus of that particular lesson. It's not what you are looking for TODAY. You can provide gentle reminders, "Remember to use your singing voice, not a yelling or speaking voice..." but that is not the focus for the day. At the end of the lesson, refer back to the objective. "Boys and girls, today did we..." and bring their own focus back to the reason they just did all the fun things you had them experience.
If you approach your lessons this way, I promise you: not only will your lessons be fun and engaging, but students will actually leave your classes saying things like "Today I learned about tempo in music class..." rather than "We played 'The Old Gray Cat' in music class today and it was fun!"
Finally, take a quick look at everything you've done with each grade level over the year. Check for "holes" in the curriculum and in your lessons. "Did I miss anything?" If you take this approach, you will have sent your students out the door with a solid foundation in musical knowledge as well as an appreciation for the art itself while simultaneously assisting them in all their academic endeavors. We are, most certainly, super teachers!
Until next time...
