4th Grade

Because this is the first music program in the elementary department in several years, Fourth Grade has not been able to build upon the music concepts that should have been learned from Kindergarten till now. Therefore, take a look back at 3rd Grade's learning goals here and combine them with the chart below to get a full overview of what 4th Grade will be learning this year in Music Class.

4th Grade

· I will be able to sing the scale using Solfege hand signs.

·    I will be able to sing a solo with a piano accompaniment.

·    I will be able to understand 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 time signatures.

·    I will be able to recognize and demonstrate piano, mezzo piano, forte, and mezzo forte dynamics.

·    I will be able to sing and clap to rhythmic patterns by reading music notations (eighth notes, quarter notes, half notes, whole notes.) 

·    I will be able to identify soprano, alto, tenor, and bass voices in sheet music.

4th Grade Lesson 1/Week 1: 

1. Class Rules:

2. Posture

·      Singers must be attentive to the position of their feet, knees, hips, abdomen, chest, shoulders, arms, hands, and feet. If all these arrears are correctly positioned, it will be easier for sound to be produced.

o   The chin should be about parallel to the floor. 


o   Shoulders should be held back and down, with chest held high, 
but not in a strained position. 


o   Abdomen should be flat and firm, held in an expandable position. 


o   Hands should be relaxed and still at the sides. 



o   Knees should be flexibly loose, and never locked. 


o   Feet should be slighty apart, one slightly in front of the other. 
    

o    The weight of the body is slightly forward

·      Tips to check if your posture is correct:

o   Stand up against a wall, placing heels, calves, shoulders, and head touch the wall.

o   Place one hand on the abdomen while breathing, to ensure the abdomen is expanding and relaxed.

o   Shift the weight of your body forward until almost standing on tips of the toes.

o   Stand in a slouched position, then change to the correct position, noticing the difference between the two.

(Resource: Bunch, M. (1995). Dynamics of the singing voice. Springer-Verlag: New York.)

3. Proper Breathing

·      Warm up

o   “Balloon”

o   “Creating Wings”

4. Vocal Warm Ups

·      “Ho – Ho – Ho Hosanna”

·      “Ma”

·      “Bumblebee”

5. Ta, Ti-ti

6. So- Mi

·      So – Mi in the students name.

·      Hand Signals

·      Listen to Sample

7. I want to be Faithful.

4th Grade Lesson 2/Week 2: 

1. Review Class Rules

2. Review Posture, Breathing, Mouth

3. Vocal Warm Ups

·      “Ho – Ho – Ho Hosanna”

·      “Ma”

·      “Bumblebee”

4. Review Ta, Ti-ti & So – Mi

·      Ensure the students can sing back their name “My name is Mar-y” in proper pitch and in correct rhythm

·      Look for correct hand signals (Pass out Kodaly Hand Sign Charts)

5.  Introduce Verse and Chorus (Flash cards)

·       Verse = Part of the song that TELLS A STORY. 

·       Chorus = part of the song that has the MAIN IDEA.

Ø  Have examples from songbook.

1.     Read from left to right

2.     Read the top line of music all the way through, then proceed to the next line.

6. Importance of Vocal Warm ups/Pitch Exploration (DO – RE –MI)

·      Tell students the importance of warming-up their voices before they sing.

·      Discuss the importance of exploring our high, middle, and low voice. (Will help become better singers)

Activity: Sing a short melodic phrase, and have the students match what they hear.

Ø  Do, Re, Mi Tapping Song

7. I Want to be Faithful 

4th Grade Lesson 3/Week 3: 

1. Review Voice Warm-ups

2. Review Verse & Chorus  

3. Introduce Staff

Ø  5 Lines | 4 spaces

Ø  Space Notes vs. Line Notes

Ø  Low pitch vs. High Pitch

4. Treble Clef

5. Bass Clef

6. Music Theory Worksheets (pages 2-3)

7. I Want to be Faithful