Curriculum & Music Classes

"In Orff Schulwerk classrooms, children begin with what they do instinctively: play! 

Imitation, experimentation, and personal expression occur naturally as students become confident, life-long musicians and creative problem solvers. The Orff approach to teaching is a model for optimal learning in 21st Century classrooms.

Orff Schulwerk is designed for all children, not just the privileged, talented, or selected few. It is designed so every child can succeed! Orff-certified teachers design non-competitive atmospheres where one of the rewards is the pleasure of making good music with others."

When visiting an Orff classroom, you will see students moving, speaking and singing, listening and responding to music of different cultures and time periods, playing instruments of all kinds, reading and notating music, and creating. And all of this takes place with an emphasis on the end result being student creativity in different mediums.

Students need not be musically talented, have years of private lessons, or very involved parents. A well-built and well-taught Orff class will take the student wherever they are and expand on that learning. The structure of the class is designed so that ALL students succeed.

What does this mean for my child?

Kindergarten music is about experiencing music in a fun way and developing new skills. The most important skills that Kindergarten students learn involve steady beat and matching pitch in singing. We are constantly working on these skills because they provide a foundation for music in the upper grades. Currently, the music grade on your child's progress report is decided by the classroom teacher and is based on their participation in music activities within the general education classroom. However, feel free to email me if you would like a report on your child's progress in my class. I evaluate students based on the Nevada State Music Standards and the CCSD Objectives for their grade level.

Instruments that Kindergarten students play are usually small unpitched percussion including maracas, guiros, wood blocks, tambourines, and hand drums. Late in the Full-day Kindergarten year, students will be exposed to instruments with bars such as xylophones. They will learn how to hold mallets correctly, where on the bars to play, and how to play correctly to make the best sound.
First grade music is about building a foundation of skills that will extend into the following years. A large part of First Grade music is about reviewing and cementing the skills learned in Kindergarten.
Students in First grade earn a music score for their report card each trimester. Students are evaluated every time they come into the music room. Sometimes these scores are taken merely as a measure of their knowledge or learning up to that point, sometimes it is a measure of their improvement, and other times it is a measure of how the students are doing in relation to the grade-level music standards. 

Learning about music comes naturally with participation and experience. Students that participate consistently in class will gather a wealth of knowledge that will help them grow as musicians and good citizens.

Instruments that First Grade students play are usually small unpitched percussion including maracas, guiros, wood blocks, tambourines, and hand drums. After sufficient practice in their First Grade year, students will be exposed to instruments with bars, such as xylophones, for the the first time. They will learn how to hold mallets correctly, where on the bars to play, and how to play correctly to make the best sound.
Second grade students learn to take instrument playing to the next level, especially at the barred instruments. Second grade instrument players take their movements that were previously done in both hands at the same time and work on moving and playing with hands and feet moving at different times. Developing independent motion with the sides of the body is a key skill with regards to movement and instrument play.

Students in Second grade earn a music score for their report card each trimester. Students are evaluated every time they come into the music room. Sometimes these scores are taken merely as a measure of their knowledge or learning up to that point, sometimes it is a measure of their improvement, and other times it is a measure of how the students are doing in relation to the grade-level music standards. 

Learning about music comes naturally with participation and experience. Students that participate consistently in class will gather a wealth of knowledge that will help them grow as musicians and good citizens.
Third grade students learn to move and play instruments in ways that challenge them beyond anything they have previously studied. With regards to movement and playing at the barred instruments, students learn to develop a pattern that crosses the body's mid-line. This is an important skill in the development of coordination. The highlight of the Third grade year, however, is when students learn to play the soprano recorder in the middle of the school year.

Students in Third grade earn a music score for their report card each trimester. Students are evaluated every time they come into the music room. Sometimes these scores are taken merely as a measure of their knowledge or learning up to that point, sometimes it is a measure of their improvement, and other times it is a measure of how the students are doing in relation to the grade-level music standards. 

Learning about music comes naturally with participation and experience. Students that participate consistently in class will gather a wealth of knowledge that will help them grow as musicians and good citizens.
Fourth grade students learn to move and play instruments in ways that challenge them beyond anything they have previously studied. The highlight of the Fourth grade year is when students learn to play the alto recorder late in the school year, if time permits.

Students in Fourth grade earn a music score for their report card each trimester. Students are evaluated every time they come into the music room. Sometimes these scores are taken merely as a measure of their knowledge or learning up to that point, sometimes it is a measure of their improvement, and other times it is a measure of how the students are doing in relation to the grade-level music standards. 

Learning about music comes naturally with participation and experience. Students that participate consistently in class will gather a wealth of knowledge that will help them grow as musicians and good citizens. In addition, students who are disruptive to the learning process of others will be removed from active participation and placed on a paper/book-learning experience until they demonstrate self-control and care toward others.
Fifth grade is a display of everything the students have learned in addition to new material. Students experience playing accompaniment in chords (similar to guitar chords) and learn to feel and perform music in different meters. In addition to curriculum material, students learn several patriotic songs and perform them at their Great American Awards ceremony/program.

Students in Fifth grade earn a music score for their report card each trimester. Students are evaluated every time they come into the music room. Sometimes these scores are taken merely as a measure of their knowledge or learning up to that point, sometimes it is a measure of their improvement, and other times it is a measure of how the students are doing in relation to the grade-level music standards. 

Learning about music comes naturally with participation and experience. Students that participate consistently in class will gather a wealth of knowledge that will help them grow as musicians and good citizens. In addition, students who are disruptive to the learning process of others will be removed from active participation and placed on a paper/book-learning experience until they demonstrate self-control and care toward others.

​MUSIC STANDARDS

The CCSD Objectives and Grade Level Expectations were just revised in 2019. The objectives are separated into five elements: Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, Form, and Expressive Qualities.

CCSD Standards
Please select the link that correlates with your choice of grade level. The link will open in a PDF file. All of these files contain the new revisions. The CCSD standards are what your children are being evaluated and assessed on. The standards are posted here with permission from the Fine Arts department.
The Nevada State Standards for Music Education can be located at the Nevada D.O.E. website's Fine Arts website. The state Music Standards are currently being reviewed and, it is our hope, that the state will make changes. These standards are available in detail on the National Arts Standards website. There are specific standards for each grade level. 

The Nevada Academic Content Standards for Music are still under revision. The document has multiple spelling and grammatical errors. Please note that the document comes directly from the state. 

For your reference (or for the extra curious) I type the CCSD standard number into Infinite Campus so that parents can see exactly what students are attempting to meet.
Video is copyright 2014 American Orff-Schulwerk Association. http://aosa.org/about/what-is-orff-schulwerk/ 
Quote taken directly from the "What is Orff Schulwerk" brochure published by AOSA.
Ms. Van Eaton can be reached at Darnell Elementary during normal business hours.
Email          (702) 799-6630 Ext. 3023