Grade 6 Music Syllabus - SAU 14

EPPING MIDDLE SCHOOL
COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Title:
Course
Description
District
Competencies
for Learning
District Skills
Competencies
for Learning
6 th Grade General Music
In 6th grade, students continue to explore and strengthen basic musical concepts.
They begin their journey learning the tools and language of rhythm. As they gain
understanding of rhythmic notation, students will simultaneously develop their
playing and composition skills, with a strong emphasis on steady beat. Each student
will be given the opportunity to perform on a variety of classroom rhythm
instruments on an individual, small group, and class-wide scale. Students are
encouraged to work together to explore and create unique sounding rhythms.
Students will also develop critical listening skills as they analyze and distinguish
specific musical characteristics.
Additionally, students will continue their education in music literacy by learning to
read, write, sing, and play short melodies and songs together. Lastly, students will
learn about instrument families of the orchestra and how they are grouped.
Students will understand concepts and demonstrate ability to transfer skills across
content areas and apply concepts and skills to real-life situation.
Communication - Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate in
meaningful and appropriate ways within the context of their own unique
experiences, values, and perspectives.
Experiences - Students will understand that the processes of creating and/or
performing work are essential to the life experience of the individual and the
community.
Global Connections - Students will understand
that the unified arts have a fundamental connection with cultures and
history.
Evaluation - Students will understand
that the products of the unified arts are created to convey a point of view
realistically, abstractly, or digitally, and as a result can be critically and constructively
evaluated.
Integration - Students will understand that the unified arts integrate with other
content areas and these interdisciplinary connections enhance their experience.
Students will become a:
Collaborator – Students will understand that respect, collaboration, and leadership
are critical to interacting and working effectively with others.
Communicator – Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate clearly using
the most appropriate and effective means.
Contributor – Students will demonstrate the ability to contribute toward a better
world through community service, acceptance and tolerance of diverse people, and
responsibility for the environment.
Evaluator – Students will demonstrate the ability to access, evaluate, use, and
The Epping Middle School community educates and empowers students within a safe environment to
become respectful, involved, and knowledgeable 21 st century learners and citizens.

EPPING MIDDLE SCHOOL
COURSE SYLLABUS
School Based
Course
Competency
Statements
(CCS linked to
DCL)
manage information.
Learner – Students will demonstrate the ability to be flexible, adaptable, and
accountable throughout the learning process.
Producer – Students will demonstrate the ability to manage projects, produce
results, and create media products.
Technology User – Students will demonstrate the ability to use technology
respectfully and apply it effectively.
Thinker – Students will demonstrate the ability to think critically, creatively, and
systemically to define and solve problems.
(CCS1) Students will be able to sing alone and with others, a varied repertoire of
music. (Communication, Experiences)
(CCS2) Students will be able to perform on instruments, alone and with others, a
varied repertoire of music. (Communication, Experiences)
(CCS4) Students will be able to compose and arrange music within specified
guidelines. (Communication, Experiences, Evaluation)
(CCS5) Students will be able to read and notate music. (Communication, Integration)
(CCS6) Students will be able to listen to, analyze, and describe music.
(Communication, Evaluation).
(CCS7) Students will be able to evaluate music and music performances.(Evaluation)
(CCS8) Students will be able to understand relationships among music, the other
arts, and disciplines outside the arts. (Integration)
(CCS9) Students will be able to understand music in relation to history and
culture.(Global Connections, Integration)
1.
Units of Study 1. Rhythm
2. Pitch/Melody
Course Unit
Content and
Skills
3. Instruments of the Orchestra
Rhythm
1. Students will be able to find and show the steady beat in music.
(Communication)
2. Students will be able to compare and contrast music from noise. (Evaluation)
3. Students will be able to identify, read, and write common note values and
rests. (Communication, Integration)
4. Students will be able to describe the parts of a time signature (4/4) and use
it to properly count rhythms. (Communication, Integration)
5. Students will be able to compose and play rhythms including 8 th and 16 th
notes. (Communication, Experiences)
The Epping Middle School community educates and empowers students within a safe environment to
become respectful, involved, and knowledgeable 21 st century learners and citizens.

EPPING MIDDLE SCHOOL
COURSE SYLLABUS
6. Students will be able to write down (notate) rhythms that are played aloud
(dictated) using proper notation symbols. (Experiences, Integration)
7. Students will be able to compose and play with a peer a two-part rhythm to
the steady beat that use differing rhythmic patterns. (Communication,
Experiences)
8. Students will be able to relate music to mathematical ideas (counting, numeracy,
fractions, multiples).(Integration)
Melody/Pitch
1. Students will be able to identify the lines and spaces of the Treble Clef.
(Communication)
2. Students will be able to differentiate between a step, skip, and jump
movement on the staff (visually and aurally). (Evaluation)
3. Students will be able to compose and play a short Pentatonic melody on a
classroom instrument. (Communication, Experiences, Global Connections)
4. Students will be able to play a short harmonic accompaniment/ostinato on
the classroom instruments. (Communication, Experiences)
5. Students will be able to compose and play a short melody on a classroom
instrument that uses the C Major scale. (Communication, Experiences)
6. Students will be able to sing a classroom melody using solfeggio or neutral
syllables. (Communication, Experiences)
Instructional
Strategies
Instruments of the Orchestra
1. Students will be able to distinguish between the five classifications of
instruments (Communication)
2. Students will be able to determine how instrument classifications are seated
in the orchestra in the past and present.(Global Connections)
3. Students will be able to identify and classify global instruments by sight and
sound. (Communication, Global Connections)
4. Student will be able to create the blueprint for a new instrument of their
own design. (Experiences, Integration)
5. Students will be able to compare and contrast instrument classifications and
families. (Evaluation)
6. Students will research and report on one instrument of the Orchestra in the
first person. (Integration, Global Connections)
7. Students will be able to analyze a new or animated instrument and place it in
the proper classification. (Evaluation, Integration)
Students will gain musical knowledge and skill through listening activities,
teacher/student modeling, class discussion, video presentation, movement, online
The Epping Middle School community educates and empowers students within a safe environment to
become respectful, involved, and knowledgeable 21 st century learners and citizens.

EPPING MIDDLE SCHOOL
COURSE SYLLABUS
Assessment
Strategies
Approved February 2012
games/resources, and the creation of written notation. Additionally, the hands-on
use of rhythm sticks, classroom Orff instruments, and student demonstration of
band/orchestra instruments are essential to students making connections with the
units being studied.
Classroom participation, student compositions, performance assessments, playing
tests, student LOGS, exit tickets, think/pair/share, quizzes, flash cards, reflection
questions, brainstorm lists, stations, presentations.
The Epping Middle School community educates and empowers students within a safe environment to
become respectful, involved, and knowledgeable 21 st century learners and citizens.