NAfME Teaching with Primary Sources Curriculum Units for the 2014 Music Standards

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Curriculum Units for the 2014 Music Responding Standards

Created through the Teaching with Primary Sources program of the Library of Congress

Scroll down to access the curriculum units.

In July 2016, NAfME received a three-year project grant from the Library of Congress to participate in the Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) program. The project was focused on helping educators connect to the Library’s digitized archives, as well as learning how to incorporate primary sources into their classrooms. NAfME has used the TPS funds to create curriculum units connected to the Library’s vast resources in music, including audio, video, still images, and sheet music files. And through the largess of the Library, we were able to increase funding for an additional three years, so that all content strands of our Standards could benefit. All of the units are free to download and use, with credit given to NAfME if shared outside the music classroom (www.nafme.org).

singing
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In Year 1, teachers created curriculum units in General Music and Chorus. You can find these modules using the links below. Each unit contains multiple lesson plans based on an inquiry model of teaching, and with many opportunities to incorporate primary sources from the Library of Congress’ online collections such as the National Jukebox, featuring archival recordings. The units are based on the 2014 National Music Standards, featuring the Responding Artistic Process, where students are engaged in listening to, analyzing, and responding via written work, dialogue, research, composition, and performance to music.

Years 2 and 3 of the project focused on Responding as a catalyst for carrying out the Performing and Creating processes. After NAfME’s follow-up proposal to the Library was accepted for additional years of funding, more writing teams met to investigate the application of Responding understandings to songwriting in middle school general music and harmonizing instruments, and to the interaction of all of the artistic processes in traditional ensembles. With the completion of this now six-year project, units are available for all content strands and found in the links below. They include streamable links, sequential lessons and teaching prompts, classroom activities, and formative and summative assessments that are all aligned with their specific National Music Standards.

Responding to the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, many of the units have been expanded to involve strategies for teaching in different venues and meeting frequencies. Particular notice should be given to the category below of “Instrumental and Vocal Ensembles for Various Sizes”; these units were designed to be taught in multiple contents and flexible groupings. Student worksheets and activity pages include fillable areas for use in online and individual use.

Click here to learn about the writing and leadership teams for this project.

General Music

The General Music units are available at the 2nd, 5th, and 8th grade levels. Teachers are welcome to modify up or down to fit the needs of their classroom.

The following General Music units are focused on using the Responding process to inform the Creating of new music.

Chorus

The Chorus units are arranged by each level in the Performing Ensembles standards – Novice, Proficient, Accomplished, Advanced. 

Band

The Band units are arranged by each level in the Performing Ensembles standards – Novice, Intermediate, Proficient, Accomplished, Advanced. The first two levels are typically pre-high school, with the last three levels typically high school.

Orchestra

The Orchestra units are arranged by each level in the Performing Ensembles standards – Novice, Intermediate, Proficient, Accomplished, Advanced. The first two levels are typically pre-high school, with the last three levels typically high school.

Instrumental and Vocal Ensembles of Various Sizes

District responses to the 2020–2021 COVID-19 pandemic necessitated major changes to the traditional chorus, band, and orchestra organization, performance, meeting frequency, and membership. These units for ensembles of various sizes have been designed to provide flexibility in accommodating those changes, and they can be used with multiple-sized performing ensembles.

Harmonizing Instruments

District responses to the 2020–2021 COVID-19 pandemic indicated a need to create units for multiple venues: in-person traditional classrooms as well as for students and teachers working virtually. The Harmonizing instrument Units have been designed to provide flexibility in accommodating diverse settings, with suggestions for online learning embedded in each unit.

High School Music Theory/Composition

The Composition/Theory units are organized by high school proficiency levels (Proficient, Accomplished, Advanced), and, while they focus on the language of those standards, are also appropriate for high school composition classes or lessons. They apply the tenets of the Responding process to personal Creating, and also include attention to Technology standards.

Questions?

If you are interested in learning more about this project and its design processes, please contact Johanna Siebert, Project Director.

For More Information

Content created and featured in partnership with the TPS program does not indicate an endorsement by the Library of Congress.