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Second Grade

Second grade students cover a variety of information.  There are nine units throughout the year.  Each unit focuses on one aspect of music. 

Unit 1-Rhythm--Students learn to read basic rhythms with notes and rests including: paired eighth notes, quarter, half and whole notes, quarter, half and whole rests.
                                            Rhythm Practice:

Unit 2-Dynamics and Tempo--Students learn the various Italian words for dynamics and five tempo terms.  We apply these terms to different rhythms and songs.

Unit 3-Note Reading--Students learn the notes of the treble clef staff.  FACE for the spaces and Elvis' Guitar Broke Down Friday for the lines.  Students have the opportunity to practice their knowledge in a variety of methods including the use of Staff Wars, an app by the Music Interactive on the iPad cart.
                                            Note Identification Practice:

Unit 4-Concert--Students learn concert performance techniques and to critique themselves and others during this unit.  We prepare three songs for the Winter Concert and discuss proper concert etiquette for a performer and audience member.  Students watch the video of their performance and critique it and that of other classes.  While watching the video students demonstrate proper audience behavior, we also discuss the behavior of the audience on the video, if they followed proper concert etiquette.

Unit 5-Instrument Families--Students learn how to identify which family an instrument belongs to.  We study each of the instrument families, watch videos on how instruments are made and experience some of the instruments in person.  Students discover what makes each of the families different and how to decide where to place an instrument.

Unit 6-Drum Circle--Students learn to apply concepts from earlier in the year to a real instrumental performance.  We do a variety of drum circle activities and the students have the opportunity to play a variety of percussion instruments.

Unit 7-Form--Students will learn how to find the building blocks of a song.  Every song has some type of form.  Through this unit students learn to look at piece of music to see where the song changes and find the form.  They also learn to listen to a piece of music and hear when it changes and what to label the sections they hear.

Unit 8-Melody--Students will learn to use their ears to identify the melodic direction of a song, tonic and general age of a piece of music.  Music is explored visual and aurally to determine the melodies direction and begin to develop an "inner ear," to hear a song simply by looking at the printed music.

Unit 9-Musical--Students learn what the basics of a musical are.  We discuss the difference between a musical, play and opera.  Then we watch a musical and discuss how the songs intwine with the spoken words to tell the whole story.