Fourth Grade Music Curriculum

All students must please bring a pencil, eraser and a cardboard folder to bring to their weekly music class to keep and return their music paperwork each week! Please

Grades K - 4 music classes follow the Pfeiffer House Music Christian School Elementary Music Curriculum. The Christian School edition contains lyrics and text from Scripture or that are based on belief in the Christian faith. The activities are conducive for a classroom learning environment.

Materials Required: One small folder for placement and transportation of music worksheets. One sharpened pencil with eraser.

Here is a more detailed curriculum outlook:

Lesson 1: State Capitals

Work with singing technique and breathing, head voice versus chest voice, hand signs for the major scale, scale steps with Roman numerals, major scale whole and half steps, intervals, and rhythms. Song, “I Left My Big Yellow Dog in Topeka,” state capital activity, singing in rounds.


Lesson 2: American Spirituals

Major and Minor tonality, musical form, form activity with worksheet, note names and rhythms, symbolism in music and art. Song "Wade in the Water,” creating a recipe activity.


Lesson 3: Presidents of the United States

More with minor tonality, note names and symbols,melody shape, strophic form, dancing the tango. Song, “President Tango,” puzzle activity, rhythm game activities, listening activity.


Lesson 4: American Civil War

Rhythm flash cards, simple keyboarding, chords, harmony, rondo form. Song "Brother Against Brother", rhythm clapping and Civil War era listening activities.


Lesson 5: Folk Music

Chords and cadences, primary chord progression, a capella vs. accompanied, solfege with chords, rhythms. Song “Amazing Grace” Popsicle stick activity, classical listening.


Lesson 6: Metric Measurement

Chord progressions/blues progression, triad scales, chord roots and primary chords, syncopated rhythms. Song: “Metric Blues,” chord “paddle” activity, blues creating activity, measuring, field day activity.


Lesson 7: Continents

6/8 time, solfege triads, theme and variations, creating theme and variations. Continents. Song: “In the Land,” rhythm chart activity, counting activity.

Lesson 8: Key Signatures

Circle of Fifths, Song: “There is a Circle,” keyboarding activity, shaker activity, listening activity.


Lesson 9: Dictionary

Ear training, rhythms with ties, form review, keeping the beat, melody recognition. Song, “Oh Dictionary,” word game, dictionary drill, musical terms, biography.


Lesson 10 : What is Music?

Scale steps on solfege and numbers, sixteenth notes, noise versus music, organization of music. Song:“I Believe” Recording activity.


Lesson 11: Science of Sound

Solfege, singing in tune, dotted rhythms, sound waves, frequency, science of sound experiments. Song, “Two Things”(Christian Schools and Homeschool editions only ) Museum field trip.


Lesson 12: Making Instruments

Solfege, rhythm review, science of sound as applied to musical instruments, choosing and creating an instrument. Song: “Every Child Has an Angel” Music listening activity.


Lesson 13:

Making Notation and a Composition for your Instruments

Solfege and rhythm review, study of music notation. Activity, creating your own music notation, creating a composition for your instrument, listening activity. Song: “A Bruised Reed”


Lesson 14: Band Instruments

Recognizing solfege patterns in songs, challenging rhythms, organization and instruments of bands and orchestras, composers, music eras. Listening activity. Brass Instrumental: "Just a Closer Walk.”