Colorado Academic Standards Online

Supportive Teaching Practices/Adults May:

1. Model and talk about why they chose to listen to a particular musical selection.
2. Plan classroom experiences in which children are exposed to a variety of culturally diverse musical styles.
3. Provide children with access to an organized music area and supply with a range of culturally diverse recorded music and props (e.g., scarves, ribbons, bells) for children to access independently to explore ways to move to music.
4. Provide children with opportunities to express opinions about music through verbal response, movement, and play.

Examples of Learning/Children May:

1. Children move, dance, sing, and/or play instruments in response to music.
2. Children indicate preference for certain songs or styles of music.
3. Request their favorite music.

Supportive Teaching Practices/Adults May:

1. Play a variety of culturally diverse music styles for children.
2. Demonstrate movement to music (e.g., marching, skipping, walking, rocking).
3. Encourage free movement to music of various styles.

Examples of Learning/Children May:

1. Move in different ways to different styles of music (children's songs, lullabies, jazz, marches, mariachi, etc.).
2. Bounce, sway, walk, march, skip to music.

Colorado Essential Skills:

1. Discerning musical preferences allows individuals to make connections between information gathered and personal experiences. (Self-Awareness)

Inquiry Questions:

1. Why do we choose different music for different events?
2. Why does some music make you want to move?

Expand and Connect:

1. Connecting music to other art forms (painting, sculpting, dancing) provides children with another way to express thoughts and emotions.

Colorado Essential Skills:

1. Experiencing and analyzing music of different cultures helps to identify and explain cultural perspectives. (Global and Cultural Awareness)

Inquiry Questions:

1. Why do we choose different music for different occasions?
2. What causes various instruments and voices to sound different from each other?
3. What makes one genre different from another?

Expand and Connect:

1. Discussing ways that we listen to music in daily life (in the car, headphones, in an audience, on the computer or television) provides a connection to the many purposes and functions music serves in daily life.
2. Providing diverse examples of the use of music in society builds a beginning understanding of the role music plays in individual experiences, family events.

Colorado Essential Skills:

1. Articulating the mood of a particular piece of music requires interpretation of aural information to draw conclusions. (Critical Thinking and Analysis)

Inquiry Questions:

1. How can certain movements be more appropriate for one type of music than another?
2. What are some specific elements in music that can change the feelings that are communicated?
3. How do the basic elements of music communicate thoughts or emotions?

Expand and Connect:

1. Looking at a variety of dance styles (e.g., ballet, samba, hip-hop, tap, flamenco) can bring clarity to the idea that different styles of music make us feel and move differently.
2. Ideas and moods expressed through music are conveyed in other areas of the arts (books, movies, theater, dance, performances, commercials.)

Colorado Essential Skills:

1. Experiencing and analyzing music of different cultures helps to identify and explain cultural perspectives. (Global and Cultural Awareness)

Inquiry Questions:

1. How does music that is created for various purposes contribute to a specific experience?
2. How can instruments be used to convey various emotions?
3. How does movement differ from one musical style to another?

Expand and Connect:

1. Observing and imitating movement to a variety of musical styles (including cultural and historical excerpts) provides an understanding of the multitude of ways people can express themselves through music and movement.
2. Using pictures, books and the internet to recognize various instruments by shape and sound develops an initial ability to identify the instruments and their contribution to different musical sounds and styles.

Colorado Essential Skills:

1. Discerning musical preferences allows individuals to make connections between information gathered and personal experiences. (Self-Awareness)

Inquiry Questions:

1. How can movement reflect the expressive qualities of music?
2. How does music affect emotions and feelings in general?
3. How do individuals experience music in different ways?

Expand and Connect:

1. Using common language helps people communicate with and understand one another. Using music vocabulary can be compared to vocabulary used in other areas (art, sports, or math).
2. Individuals make choices about musical preferences based on many reasons, such as family preferences, popular media, and a wide or limited exposure to diverse genres of music. Understanding the reasons for their own preferences can open students' receptiveness to the opinions and choices of others.

Colorado Essential Skills:

1. Experiencing and analyzing music of different cultures helps to identify and explain cultural perspectives. (Global and Cultural Awareness)

Inquiry Questions:

1. How often do people listen to and move to music for enjoyment?
2. Why is it important to experience a variety of music from different cultures?
3. How does music that is composed for various purposes contribute to a specific experience?

Expand and Connect:

1. America was created as a mosaic of people from around the world. The foundation for understanding and appreciating music is an understanding and appreciation of music from around the globe.
2. The importance of music goes beyond entertainment and is also used to express things such as strong emotions or celebrations, and to document important events in history.
3. Each family has their own musical traditions. Students can connect the music of their family (e.g., birthdays, holidays) to those celebrations around the world.

Colorado Essential Skills:

1. Discerning musical preferences allows individuals to make connections between information gathered and personal experiences. (Self-Awareness)
2. Articulating the criteria to evaluate a particular piece requires interpretation of aural information to draw conclusions. (Critical Thinking and Analysis)

Inquiry Questions:

1. Why is it beneficial to experience a wide variety of musical styles as a listener and a performer?
2. How can individuals show respect toward different music preferences?
3. How can an appropriate music vocabulary help in discussing musical evaluation with others?

Expand and Connect:

1. Assisting students in developing a wider vocabulary helps them build deeper convictions and rationales for their personal preferences.
2. Comparing two audio or video recordings of the same musical work by different performers can aid in building discernment skills and articulating preferences.
3. Respect for others' opinions and preferences exemplifies a fundamental respect of others that will carry over to all aspects of life.

Colorado Essential Skills:

1. Experiencing and analyzing music of different cultures helps to identify and explain cultural perspectives. (Global and Cultural Awareness)

Inquiry Questions:

1. How does understanding music of different cultures impact your musical preference?
2. What do people listen for when choosing music for enjoyment?
3. How is music used in various cultures the same or differently from your own?

Expand and Connect:

1. Experiencing music from a variety of cultures helps students draw connections to their learning about the world they live in.
2. Articulating the importance of music in a family or cultural heritage creates an appreciation for how individuals contribute to local communities and influence the availability of musical experiences within the community.