Colorado Academic Standards Online

Use the options below to create customized views of the Colorado Academic Standards. For all standards resources, see the Office of Standards and Instructional Support.

Music - 2022

First Grade, Standard 1. Expression of Music

| Read the Colorado Essential Skills | Expand Set of GLEs Below

Prepared Graduates:

1. Apply knowledge and skills through a variety of means to demonstrate musical concepts.

Grade Level Expectation:

1. Perform/Demonstrate music that exhibits learned rhythmic and melodic patterns.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Demonstrate melodic patterns that include same/different and three-pitch melodies.
Demonstrate rhythmic patterns that include quarter note, paired eighth notes, and quarter rest.
Demonstrate a steady beat while contrasting rhythms are being played.
Apply the concept of steady beat to music with contrasting rhythms and tempos.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Build on personal experience to specify a challenging problem to investigate. (Creativity and Innovation)
Recognize and describe cause-and-effect relationships and patterns in everyday experiences. (Critical Thinking and Analysis)
Demonstrate a willingness to try new things. (Creativity and Innovation)

Inquiry Questions:

Why is it important to keep a steady beat in certain situations?
Why are patterns important in music?

Expand and Connect:

Use of culturally diverse nursery rhymes and songs to enable varying ways to teach content skills and concepts.
Musicality is the ability to perform and respond to music in meaningful ways.
When performers respond to patterns and symbols of music, they are communicating a composer’s message just as a reader is communicating an author’s message.

Prepared Graduates:

2. Perform with appropriate technique and expressive elements to communicate ideas and emotions.

Grade Level Expectation:

2. Perform/Demonstrate developmentally appropriate songs with accurate pitch, rhythm, tone and expressive elements.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Demonstrate a variety of culturally diverse songs while maintaining steady beat.
Demonstrate appropriate tempo and dynamic levels.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Communicating a variety of ideas and emotions through performance demonstrates a willingness to try new things. (Adaptability and Flexibility)
Consider purpose, formality of context/audience, and distinct cultural norms when planning content, mode, delivery, and expression of a performance. (Social Awareness)
Articulate musical ideas using different forms of communication to express themselves. (Interpersonal Communication)

Inquiry Questions:

How can music tell a story?
Why are there changes in tempo and dynamic level in music?
Why is it important to keep a steady beat in certain situations?

Expand and Connect:

Singing songs focusing on phonemic awareness and songs that use cross body movements aid in the physiological needs of beginning reading skills.
Musicality is the ability to perform and respond to music in a variety of ways.
Responding to patterns and symbols in music communicates a composer’s message just as a reader is communicating an author’s message.

Prepared Graduates:

3. Demonstrate practice and refinement processes to develop independent musicianship.

Grade Level Expectation:

3. Apply teacher and peer critique and self-reflection to refine individual technique and performance of basic songs.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Engage in refinement and feedback processes to prepare music for performance.
Self-evaluate to refine musical performance.
Critique expressive elements performed by others.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Evaluating progress through practicing and adapting musical skills to attain performance goals aids in developing musicianship. (Perseverance and Resilience)
Recognizing where performance problems can be identified, as well as possible solutions can be created within musical practice and refinement processes, increases critical thinking within a musical context. (Critical Thinking and Analysis)
Implementing a variety of task and time management strategies through musical practice and refinement processes supports development of high-quality musical products. (Self-Management)
Synthesizing information from multiple sources helps to demonstrate understanding of a topic. (Problem Solver: Critical Thinking and Analysis)

Inquiry Questions:

When is a musical work ready to share?
Why is it important to interpret music symbols accurately and consistently in certain musical situations?
Why is it important to follow the person leading the group (e.g., director, conductor, teacher)?

Expand and Connect:

Musicality is the ability to perform and respond to music in a variety of ways.
Understanding responsible personal and social behaviors in musical settings gives insights to societal expectations in similar group settings.
When performers respond to patterns and symbols of music, they are communicating a composer’s message just as a reader is communicating an author’s message.

Music - 2022

Second Grade, Standard 1. Expression of Music

| Read the Colorado Essential Skills | Expand Set of GLEs Below

Prepared Graduates:

1. Apply knowledge and skills through a variety of means to demonstrate musical concepts.

Grade Level Expectation:

1. Perform/Demonstrate music that exhibits learned rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic patterns.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Demonstrate and connect melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic patterns using expressive elements.
Demonstrate rhythmic and melodic ostinati in small groups.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Build on personal experience to specify a challenging problem to investigate. (Creativity and Innovation)
Demonstrate flexibility, imagination, and inventiveness in taking on tasks and activities. (Adaptability and Flexibility)
Resist distractions, maintain attention, and continue the task at hand through frustration or challenges. (Perseverance and Resilience)

Inquiry Questions:

Are silences as important as sounds in music?
How do accompaniments change a song?
How do patterns in math connect with patterns in music?

Expand and Connect:

Mathematic patterns can be identified in music.
Music can communicates a message.

Prepared Graduates:

2. Perform with appropriate technique and expressive elements to communicate ideas and emotions.

Grade Level Expectation:

2. Perform/Demonstrate developmentally appropriate songs with accurate pitch, rhythm, harmony, tone and expressive elements.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Demonstrate while using an instrumental accompaniment (e.g., bourdun).
Demonstrate a variety of developmentally appropriate and culturally diverse melodies with accurate rhythm, tempo and dynamics.
Make observations and draw conclusions about the rhythms, tempos, and dynamics of the music to which students are singing, playing, and moving.
Apply the concepts of rhythm, tempo, and dynamics to the music to which students are singing, playing, and moving.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Communicating a variety of ideas and emotions through performance demonstrates a willingness to try new things. (Interpersonal Communication)
Consider purpose, formality of context/audience, and distinct cultural norms when planning content, mode, delivery, and expression of a performance. (Social Awareness)
Articulate musical ideas using different types of communication to express themselves. (Interpersonal Communication)

Inquiry Questions:

Why is it important to understand how to perform using the accurate notes and rhythms?
How does music make you feel?
How does playing technique alter the quality of sound?

Expand and Connect:

Singing songs focusing on phonemic awareness and cross body movements develop reading skills.
Learning to express music along with others demonstrates teamwork.
Musicality is the ability to perform and respond to music in a variety of ways.

Prepared Graduates:

3. Demonstrate practice and refinement processes to develop independent musicianship.

Grade Level Expectation:

3. Apply teacher and peer critique and self-reflection to refine individual technique and performance of simple songs.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Engage in refinement and feedback processes to prepare music for performance.
Self-evaluate to refine musical performance.
Critique expressive elements performed by others.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Evaluating progress through practicing and adapting musical skills to attain performance goals aids in developing musicianship. (Perseverance and Resilience)
Recognizing where performance problems can be identified, as well as possible solutions can be created within musical practice and refinement processes, increases critical thinking within a musical context. (Critical Thinking and Analysis)
Implementing a variety of task and time management strategies through musical practice and refinement processes supports development of high-quality musical products. (Self-Management)
Synthesizing information from multiple sources helps to demonstrate understanding of a topic. (Critical Thinking and Analysis)

Inquiry Questions:

When is a musical work ready to share?
Why is it important to interpret music symbols accurately and consistently?
How will knowing musical symbols help me in performing music?

Expand and Connect:

Learning to express music along productively with others demonstrates teamwork.
Understanding responsible personal and social behaviors in musical settings gives insights to societal expectations in similar group settings.
When performers respond to patterns and symbols of music, they are communicating a composer’s message just as a reader is communicating an author’s message.

Music - 2022

Third Grade, Standard 1. Expression of Music

| Read the Colorado Essential Skills | Expand Set of GLEs Below

Prepared Graduates:

1. Apply knowledge and skills through a variety of means to demonstrate musical concepts.

Grade Level Expectation:

1. Perform/Demonstrate music that exhibits learned rhythmic, melodic, and introductory accompaniment components.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Demonstrate learned melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic phrases using expressive elements.
Demonstrate and connect songs with multiple rhythmic or melodic ostinati in small groups.
Demonstrate and interpret melodies based on the pentatonic scale.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Build on personal experience to specify a challenging problem to investigate. (Creativity and Innovation)
Demonstrate flexibility, imagination, and inventiveness in taking on tasks and activities. (Perseverance and Resilience)
Resist distractions, maintain attention, and continue the task at hand through frustration or challenges. (Perseverance and Resilience)

Inquiry Questions:

How are beat and rhythm different?
Do you think repetition and/or patterns are important to music? Why?
How does identifying patterns help with memorization?

Expand and Connect:

Recognizing that patterns occur in music as in other parts of life builds the ability to find connections in the world.
Identifying patterns in music from various cultures, historical periods, genres, and styles enables listeners to find similarities and differences in each.
Musicality is the ability to perform and respond to music in meaningful ways.

Prepared Graduates:

2. Perform with appropriate technique and expressive elements to communicate ideas and emotions.

Grade Level Expectation:

2. Perform/Demonstrate notated songs with accurate pitch, rhythm, harmony, tone and expressive elements.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Use accurate vocal and instrumental techniques when singing and playing instruments.
Demonstrate two-part songs (e.g., rounds, partner songs) using speech, body percussion, singing, movement, or instruments.
Use notation to accurately perform rhythms and melodic direction.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Synthesize connections between information gathered and personal experiences to communicate a variety of ideas and emotions through performance. (Critical Thinking and Analysis)
Apply knowledge to set goals, make informed decisions and transfer to a performance. (Self-Management)
Model positive behaviors for others in rehearsals and performances. (Social Awareness)

Inquiry Questions:

Why are there changes in tempo, dynamics, and articulations in music?
What is the purpose of notating music?
Why is it important for ensembles to work as a team?

Expand and Connect:

Understanding the physiological aspects of posture, breathing, and technique leads to an understanding of the biological aspects of effective music production.
Musicality is the ability to perform and respond to music in meaningful ways.

Prepared Graduates:

3. Demonstrate practice and refinement processes to develop independent musicianship.

Grade Level Expectation:

3. Apply teacher and peer critique and self-reflection to refine individual technique and performance of simple notated songs.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Engage in refinement and feedback processes to prepare music for performance.
Self-evaluate to refine musical performance.
Critique expressive elements performed by others.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Evaluating progress through practicing and adapting musical skills to attain performance goals aids in developing musicianship. (Perseverance and Resilience)
Recognizing where performance problems can be identified, as well as possible solutions can be created within musical practice and refinement processes, increases critical thinking within a musical context. (Critical Thinking and Analysis)
Implementing a variety of task and time management strategies through musical practice and refinement processes support development of high quality musical products. (Self-Management)
Synthesizing information from multiple sources helps to demonstrate understanding of a topic. (Data Literacy)

Inquiry Questions:

When is a musical work ready to share?
What knowledge is needed to read and perform music?
How does identifying patterns help with memorization?

Expand and Connect:

Performance skill can be isolated and adjusted using technological devices to record, compare, and/or evaluate the result of different techniques.
Understanding the physiological aspects of posture, breathing, and technique leads to an understanding of the biological aspects of effective music production.

Music - 2022

Fourth Grade, Standard 1. Expression of Music

| Read the Colorado Essential Skills | Expand Set of GLEs Below

Prepared Graduates:

1. Apply knowledge and skills through a variety of means to demonstrate musical concepts.

Grade Level Expectation:

1. Perform/Demonstrate music that exhibits learned rhythmic, melodic, and chordal accompaniment components.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Demonstrate three-part vocal and/or instrumental rounds.
Demonstrate learned melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic patterns using expressive elements.
Demonstrate and differentiate between songs in major and minor keys.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Make connections between information gathered and personal experience to apply and/or test solutions. (Data Literacy)
Build on personal experience to specify a challenging problem to investigate. (Creativity and Innovation)
Follow a process identified by others to help generate ideas, negotiate roles and responsibilities, and respect consensus in decision-making. (Collaboration and Teamwork)

Inquiry Questions:

How do changes in musical elements affect the way we interpret music?
How do accompaniments affect music?
How is music and language similar?

Expand and Connect:

Patterns in rhythm changes can be related to fractions in mathematics.
Music from various cultures, historical periods, genres, and styles vary in their use of melodic and rhythmic patterns.
Mass media uses melodic and rhythmic patterns to make music memorable.

Prepared Graduates:

2. Perform with appropriate technique and expressive elements to communicate ideas and emotions.

Grade Level Expectation:

2. Perform/Demonstrate complex notated songs with accurate pitch, rhythm, tone, harmony and expressive elements.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Demonstrate melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic patterns with attention to tempo, dynamics, and articulation learned from notation.
Demonstrate tempo, dynamic and articulation indications in musical examples.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Synthesize connections between information gathered and personal experiences to communicate a variety of ideas and emotions through performance. (Critical Thinking and Analysis)
Apply knowledge to set goals, make informed decisions and transfer to a performance. (Self-Management)
Demonstrate leadership skills (e.g., organizing others, taking initiative, self-confidence in performance) in rehearsals and performances. (Self-Advocacy and Initiative)

Inquiry Questions:

How do changes in tempo, dynamics, articulations, tonality, and timbre change a message in music?
How can people communicate through music?

Expand and Connect:

Musicality is the ability to perform and respond to music in meaningful ways.
Musical creations can represent the main idea of a message.

Prepared Graduates:

3. Demonstrate practice and refinement processes to develop independent musicianship.

Grade Level Expectation:

3. Apply teacher and peer critique and self-reflection to refine individual and ensemble technique and performance of notated songs.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Engage in refinement and feedback processes to prepare music for performance.
Self-evaluate to refine musical performance.
Critique expressive elements performed by others.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Evaluating progress through practicing and adapting musical skills to attain performance goals aids in developing musicianship. (Perseverance and Resilience).
Identifying performance problems within musical practice and refinement processes, increases critical thinking within a musical context. (Critical Thinking and Analysis)
Implementing a variety of task and time management strategies through musical practice and refinement processes support development of high-quality musical products. (Self-Management)
Synthesizing information from multiple sources helps to demonstrate understanding of a topic. (Data Literacy)

Inquiry Questions:

When is a musical work ready to share in a formal performance setting?
How do individual musicians improve the quality of their performance?
How does a leader help support the refinement process?

Expand and Connect:

Musical creations can represent the main idea of a message.
Following a conductor leads to a synthesis of visual and auditory stimuli.
Demonstration of responsible personal and social behaviors in musical settings can be used to assess a fundamental understanding of societal norms.

Music - 2022

Fifth Grade, Standard 1. Expression of Music

| Read the Colorado Essential Skills | Expand Set of GLEs Below

Prepared Graduates:

1. Apply knowledge and skills through a variety of means to demonstrate musical concepts.

Grade Level Expectation:

1. Perform/Demonstrate music that exhibits learned rhythmic, melodic, and accompaniment components.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Demonstrate and compare and contrast harmonic changes in songs (e.g., major vs. minor, blues, chord progressions, etc.).
Demonstrate learned melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic patterns using expressive elements.
Demonstrate songs in major and minor keys.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Make connections between information gathered and personal experience to apply and/or test solutions. (Critical Thinking and Analysis)
Build on personal experience to specify a challenging problem to investigate. (Creativity and Innovation)
Follow a process identified by others to help generate ideas, negotiate roles and responsibilities, and respect consensus in decision making. (Collaboration and Teamwork)

Inquiry Questions:

How do harmony and modes and/or tonalities affect music?
How is music like a language?
How will identifying melodic and rhythmic patterns improve knowledge and performance skills?
How is the human voice like other instruments?

Expand and Connect:

Music contains a theme just as a story contains a main idea.
Rhythmic patterns in music can be related to patterns found in mathematics.
Awareness of basic chord structures shows how basic harmony follows a distinct, repeatable pattern.

Prepared Graduates:

2. Perform with appropriate technique and expressive elements to communicate ideas and emotions.

Grade Level Expectation:

2. Perform/Demonstrate extended notated songs with accurate pitch, rhythm, tone, harmony and expressive elements.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Demonstrate multi-layered rhythmic and melodic pieces and songs (e.g., rounds, partner songs, descants) learned from notation.
Demonstrate following the director's indications for expressive elements.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Synthesize connections between information gathered and personal experiences to communicate a variety of ideas and emotions through performance. (Critical Thinking and Analysis)
Apply knowledge to set goals, make informed decisions and transfer to a performance. (Self-Management)
Demonstrate confidence in rehearsals and performances while recognizing personal actions impact others. (Social Awareness)

Inquiry Questions:

How is music similar to other spoken languages?
How do different rhythm patterns affect the feel of music?
How does music stimulate visual ideas, feelings, and perception?

Expand and Connect:

Using a variety of musical techniques allows for exploration of how cultures express similar ideas in different ways.
Knowledge of how expressive elements are used gives insight and predictability to musical structure.
Proper care of instruments, including voice, aids in the success of the performance.

Prepared Graduates:

3. Demonstrate practice and refinement processes to develop independent musicianship.

Grade Level Expectation:

3. Apply teacher and peer critique and self-reflection to refine individual and ensemble technique and performance.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Engage in refinement and feedback processes to prepare music for performance.
Self-evaluate to refine musical performance.
Critique expressive elements performed by others.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Evaluating progress through practicing and adapting musical skills to attain performance goals aids in developing musicianship. (Perseverance and Resilience)
Recognizing where performance problems can be identified, as well as possible solutions can be created within musical practice and refinement processes, increases critical thinking within a musical context. (Critical Thinking and Analysis)
Implementing a variety of task and time management strategies through musical practice and refinement processes support development of high-quality musical products. (Self-Management)
Synthesizing information from multiple sources helps to demonstrate understanding of a topic. (Data Literacy)

Inquiry Questions:

When is a musical work ready to share?
Why is it important to practice for accuracy?
What is the role of a leader?

Expand and Connect:

Relating music used in historical and societal events to genre and style can give insight to music’s role in society and how cultures choose to express things.
Demonstration of proper care of instruments, including voice, and response to the conductor aids in the understanding of music ensemble protocol.
Technology increasingly occupies a place in music performance as well as composition.

Need Help? Submit questions or requests for assistance to bruno_j@cde.state.co.us