Standards and Backwards Mapping

Here is the standard I am using to create a unit for my first grade Music class,  the National Core Arts Anchor Standard # 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.

I choose this standard to teach students how to organize pitch and rhythm into musical ideas and further develop the ideas into a musical work.

At the end of this unit, first graders will be able to achieve the following three proficiencies:
1) Use musical pitches and rhythms to organize sounds into short four - beat musical ideas or patterns called motif.
2) Describe an emotion such as happy or sad in the motif through organizing the tempo ( fast and slow), dynamics (loud and soft), pitch and rhythm.
3) Organize the motifs to develop a musical work.

The students' progress and success will be evaluated through the following three assessments: 
1) Students demonstrate their work through playing on the instruments.
2) Teacher records students' performances via digital devices.
3) Students show their musical ideas using iconic notation.

The students will work on the following three activities to achieve the target.
 1) To organize a motif:
Students will explore  la, so, mi pitches on the xylophone to create a four-beat pattern using quarter and eighth notes.
2) To describe an emotion
Students further explore and focus on  the combination of tempo, dynamics, pitch and rhythm to specifically create a happy or sad mood.
3) To develop a musical work:
Students plan on developing a structure for a musical work by creating two motifs, and then repeat or alternate the motifs. For example: AB, AABB, ABAB.


Examples of iconic notation