4th Grade Music: Grade Level Expectations

4th Grade Students Will Understand That …

  • Individuals within a performing group share a common beat.
  • Manipulating rhythms creates patterns.
  • Rhythmic patterns exist in orderedsets.
  • Melodies are organized into tonalities.
  • Combining two or morepitches creates harmony in different ways.
  • Layers of sounds createinterest within music.
  • Musical structure is caused by repetition andcontrast of same and different parts.
  • Dynamics, tempo, articulation, andtext express and enhance the message of music.
  • Sounds have distinguishingand recognizable characteristics.
  • Timbre reflects mood and culture.
  • Combing musical elements creates aesthetics in music.
  • Music facilitates the communication of emotions and ideas.
  • Musical cultures exhibit both change and continuity over time.
  • Music is a product and reflection of thelives and experiences of people.
  • Performance fosters personal growth and development.
  • Participation in a performing group facilitates the development of lifetime coping skills: ability to work with others, problem solving, respect and analytical ability.

4th Grade Students Will Know …

  • How musical notation shows groups of bests.
  • The importance of sharing a common beat.
  • What patterns can be found in a melody.
  • Howharmony is created.
  • How a round is different from a single melody.
  • Howsolos, small groups and large groups create interest within music.
  • Whatcommon forms are used in musical composition.
  • How expressive elements canbe used to communicate an idea.
  • Why various timbres remind you of aspecific culture.
  • Why people react differently to the same piece ofmusic.
  • That musical traditions have remained constant throughout a culture's history.
  • Why performances are given.
  • What life skills aredeveloped through performance.
  • What manners are expected from performers and the audience.

4th Grade Students Will Be Able To …

  • Recognize and understand meter signatures, bar lines, and measures.
  • Recognize and experience the following: 2 sixteenths plus an eighth; triplet eighths.
  • Recognize and demonstrate, aurally and kinesthetically, a skip and a leap.
  • Sing simple partner songs and/or rounds.
  • Create andarrange music to accompany readings and dramatizations.
  • Recognize aurallysolo, small group, and large groups.
  • Recognize aurally andkinesthetically rondo.
  • Recognize and demonstrate mezzo forte, mezzopiano, fortissimo and pianissimo.
  • Identify specific instruments of theorchestra.
  • Choose musical elements for use in students' music andorganize them for expressive purposes.
  • Create and/or manipulate music todemonstrate emotions and ideas.
  • Experience cultural similarities anddifferences of music, history, art, drama, literature and dance.
  • Identifyvarious uses of music in their lives.
  • Sing in groups blending vocaltimbres, matching dynamic levels, and responding to the cues of a conductor.
  • Perform for and with others.
  • Demonstrate appropriate performanceskills, i.e. correct posture, stage deportment, riser etiquette,attentiveness and memorization.
  • Demonstrate appropriate concert manners.