Year 3-4 (Year B) Performing Arts Learning Challenges

Y3/4 (Year B) The Language of Music Introducing the Stave This learning challenge builds directly onto the skills and knowledge learned in Year 2 (Higher or Lower?). It consolidates the language of pitch and gives children the opportunity to recognise higher and lower sounds in recorded and live music. It introduces a standard method of writing down staff musical notation and teaches aspects of basic music theory.

Opening Listen to a variety of musical instruments and describing the range of their sounds.

Investigations 1. Higher or lower? What is pitch?

2. Can you show changes in pitch within a melody by using your own signs and symbols?

3. What is a stave? Introducing the lines of the stave.

(EGBDF) 4. FACE spells ‘face’! Introducing the note ‘in between’!

5. Can you remember which notes live in which places?

6. Can you write words using your new musical language?

Reflection Children to write a story using ‘note’ words as much as possible. Can your friend read your story?

English LC1 -6 There is considerable ‘subject specific’ vocabulary extension in this unit of work.

Art LC2  Children could draw pictures of their favourite nursery rhyme or simple song, showing how the melody moves up and down.

Reflection task  Display opportunity showing ‘note’ stories.

Children could illustrate their story, or make it into an ebook.

Digital Literacy LC3 – 6  ITP ‘(particularly ‘Day Dream) are very useful for introducing the concept of musical notation.

Reflection task  Children could use iPads to create an ‘ebook’ for this reflection task.

Y3/4 (Year B) Making and Enjoying Music Dragons and Monsters An opportunity to create short melodies and accompaniments using the pentatonic scale. In this learning challenge, children learn what the pentatonic scale is. They experiment with the five notes from which it is made using a range of pitched instruments, both individually and together. They use the scale to compose a simple song and range of accompaniments.

Opening Recap basic notation ideas from ‘The Language of Music’ Investigations 1. What is the pentatonic scale?

English LC1  Looking at root words: ‘pent’ from pentatonic LC4  Children writing adjectival phrases or longer pieces of poetry to form the basis of a set of ‘class lyrics’ for later composition.

2. Can we use the notes of the pentatonic scale to make music?

LC5  Looking at the rhythm of language

3. Can we work as a class to fit our individual pentatonic melodies together, to form a longer pentatonic composition?

Art Throughout  Children could draw pictures of monsters and dragons to accompany their work from LC5 and LC6.

4. Can we write lyrics?

5. Can we compose a piece of music to match the shape of the lyrics we have written?

6. Can we write a simple accompaniment to our dragon song?

Reflection Reflection  why did some aboriginal tribes use pentatonic scales? Sometimes a means of identifying other tribes.

Digital Literacy LC6  Use a music program such as audacity to record finished class composition.