Unit 3 — Responding
Description
Students learn to respond to and interpret music using appropriate criteria to evaluate performances and musical excerpts. Students develop vocabulary to describe musical elements such as tempo (largo, presto) and volume (forte, piano). Students analyze how composers make artistic choices, such as instrument selection to represent different characters or emotions, to understand the relationship between musical elements and expressive intent. A diverse repertoire is presented with emphasis on discussing backgrounds of composers and the incorporation of social contexts.
Essential Questions
- How do individuals choose music to experience? How does understanding the structure and context of music inform a response?
- How do we discern the musical creators' and performers' expressive intent?
- How do we judge the quality of musical work(s) and performance(s)?
Learning Objectives
- Demonstrate and explain how personal interests and experiences influence musical selection for specific purposes.
- Describe how specific music concepts are used to support a specific purpose in music.
- Demonstrate basic knowledge of music concepts and how they support creators' and performers' expressive intent.
- Apply personal and expressive preferences in the evaluation of music.
- Use correct terminology to describe musical elements such as tempo and volume.
- Interpret composer's artistic choices and understand the connection between musical elements and emotional expression.
Supplemental Resources
- Paper and colored pencils for drawing representations of music
- Whiteboard for recording musical vocabulary and observations
- Markers for labeling musical elements in visual displays
- Printed images or visual aids to support listening activities
Music - Responding
Students apply mathematical thinking through rhythmic patterns, counting beats, understanding meter and tempo, and analyzing musical structures that involve numeric relationships and spatial organization.
Students use language skills including listening comprehension, verbal expression, and descriptive vocabulary to discuss music, composers, and expressive intent. They engage in discussions and answer questions about musical elements using appropriate terminology.
Students explore sound as a physical phenomenon, investigate how different materials and vibrations produce music, and observe patterns in nature through musical expression and environmental awareness.
Students examine diverse musicians and composers from different cultures and historical periods, learn about social issues expressed through music including spirituals and protest songs, and develop understanding of cultural contributions and community connections.
Formative Assessments
- Drawing activities while listening to represent mood and emotion
- Physical movement responses to musical elements
- Discussion of musical interpretation and composer choices
- Question and answer exchanges about musical terminology
- Teacher observation of listening engagement and response
Summative Assessment
Students listen to musical selections and create visual or movement representations that reflect the mood and character of the piece. Students explain how specific musical elements convey the composer's intent.
Benchmark Assessment
— not configured —
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding through one-on-one verbal description of musical mood and character instead of creating visual or movement representations. Adult-supported drawing, choice boards showing different moods, or simplified verbal responses with sentence stems may be provided as needed.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
Students may benefit from visual supports such as picture cards or icons that represent musical concepts like fast/slow and loud/soft, allowing them to reference vocabulary during listening and discussion activities. Oral and physical responses — such as pointing, moving, or drawing — should be accepted as demonstrations of understanding in place of or alongside verbal explanations. Directions for listening activities should be broken into brief, simple steps, and additional wait time should be provided before expecting a response. Where needed, a teacher or aide may scribe or narrate a student's expressed ideas about mood or composer intent during response activities.
Section 504
Students should be seated in a location that supports focused listening, away from distracting sounds or movement, and close to the teacher during whole-group music discussions. Extended time should be provided for any drawing or movement response activities, and visual timers can support transitions between listening and response tasks. Printed or picture-supported vocabulary references for tempo and volume terms should be available throughout the unit.
ELL / MLL
Key musical vocabulary such as tempo and volume terms should be introduced with visual cues — such as gestures, picture cards, or illustrated anchors showing fast/slow and loud/soft — before and during listening activities. Directions for response tasks should be given in short, simple language and paired with a physical demonstration so students understand what is expected without relying solely on verbal instruction. Where possible, connections to music from a student's cultural or home language background can be drawn to build familiarity and engagement with the unit's concepts.
At Risk (RTI)
Listening activities should begin with familiar, concrete contrasts — such as very fast versus very slow, or very loud versus very soft — to ensure students have an accessible entry point before introducing formal vocabulary. Drawing and movement responses allow students to demonstrate their understanding of mood and musical elements without requiring written or complex verbal output. Connecting musical selections to students' personal experiences with sound and feeling can help anchor new vocabulary and concepts in prior knowledge.
Gifted & Talented
Students can be encouraged to move beyond basic identification of tempo and volume by exploring how a combination of musical elements — such as instrument choice alongside tempo — shapes the overall feeling or story of a piece. Students may be invited to make and justify their own expressive choices, such as selecting or imagining an instrument that would convey a particular emotion and explaining their reasoning. Exposure to a broader range of composers and musical traditions, with discussion of how cultural and historical context influences artistic decisions, can deepen engagement with the unit's focus on expressive intent.