Planning for music: units of work in the new (2008) secondary curriculum

A focus on Key Concepts

Year
Cultural Understanding 1.2a
What is this music you want to explore with the pupils: locate its place in society and culture precisely
Expectation of understanding: Level relationship
Cultural Understanding 1.2b
What is this music for – what is its purpose, its context, what does it try to achieve
Critical Understanding 1.3a
What do you want pupils to learn about this music (and develop personal views about as they work through the unit)
Integration of Practice 1.1a /
  • The range of musical conventions, processes and devices that make it unique
  • A feature of one musical element, providing key knowledge about the distinctive character of the music
  • How to develop one skill that is required to access the music practically
  • How to develop listening, reviewing and evaluating skills; and how to integrate these with other learning so that they inform practical work

Critical Understanding 1.3b
What sort of learning do you want the pupils to engage in: closed, guided or open?
How will you bring in references to or chances to explore other, related music?
Assessment criteria:
Understanding (see key concepts above)
Knowledge of elements
Practical skills
(Pupils’ work outside the classroom?)
Integration of Practice 1.1a
‘interrelated skills and processes that enable the development and demonstration of musicianship and musical understanding’ / Essential processes and activities
(a list of core activities for learning) / Are there planned opportunities for:
  • Working with other musicians Integration of Practice 1.1b
  • Working with other subjects Creativity 1.4b
  • Performance contexts
  • Music technology, sometimes as a performing tool
  • Leadership skills
  • Music and musicians in society, music industry, property rights
Are there planned opportunities for:
  • Creativity 1.4a
  • Communication 1.5a

Are there alsoopportunitiesfor:
Additional range / content
  • a range of live and recorded music from different times and cultures
  • staff notation and other relevant notations
Additional curriculum opportunities
  • develop listening and aural perception skills in practical activities, including composing and performing
  • develop creative and compositional skills, including songwriting, arranging and improvising
  • work individually, in musical groups of different sizes and as a class
New opportunities
  • Peer-to-peer learning
  • Pupil-centred or inclusive strategies for personalisation
PLTS
  • independent enquirers
  • creative thinkers
  • reflective learners
  • team workers
  • self-managers
  • effective participators
NB opportunities in these columns are not a requirement for every unit; but they should all be experienced over the key stage