Composition & Music Theory Responding Unit—Proficient Level

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

This Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Unit is aligned with the Artistic Processes of (1) Responding, defined as understanding and evaluating how music conveys meaning, and (2) Creating, the application of musical concepts to develop original musical ideas. Through application of inquiry-based instructional strategies linked to essential questions embedded in the Responding ad Creating Process components (select, analyze, interpret, evaluate/imagine, plan and make, revise and evaluate, present), students understand how creators manipulate the elements of music to convey expressive intent related to specific contexts (social, cultural, historical). Acquisition of music knowledge and skills leads to students’ becoming independent thinkers and creators.

The Process components need not be linear in instruction and student learning; rather, they can be presented in an order appropriate to the integration of specific content and knowledge as determined by each grade level and curricular focus.