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Elementary Music Scope And Sequence (Ideas And Outline)I’m a nerd, for many reasons, as my wife will happily tell you.

One of those reasons is how I love to dig into curriculum planning in my music classes.

This front-loading will definitely pay off in the long run by making your lessons more intentional, engaging, and inspirational!

But to do this, one of the places you need to start is with the elementary music scope and sequence.

This isn’t my first rodeo, and I know a lot of people who develop their own. Today, I wanted to take a look at some different ideas to help inspire you in your music making.

The “Ideal” Elementary Music Scope And Sequence

Listed below is what some consider the “ideal” general music scope and sequence.

It’s based on the Kodaly approach to music education and my own experience.

Scope and Sequence Sample (1)Download

Now, truth be told, this probably isn’t as “practical” as a lot of music teachers would like it. After all, we know how things go in schools.

We can make all the best plans in the world, but something always comes up. Snow days, getting pulled to sub, illness, concerts, assemblies, testing, etc.

Still, the scope and sequence is useful because it informs your goals for the year and beyond.

It also unifies your instruction and year-by-year plan into something more cohesive.

I’ve never known anyone who actually gets through everything on this list, but it’s still good to keep it all in mind.

What Is Scope And Sequence In Music Education?

Scope and sequence are crucial components of educational planning and curriculum development.

They provide a framework for organizing and sequencing the content, skills, and concepts that students will learn over a period of time.

In education, scope refers to the breadth and depth of the curriculum, while sequence refers to the order and progression of the curriculum.

Let’s take a closer look at what scope and sequence entail and why they are important in educational settings.

What is Scope?

Scope refers to the extent or range of content, skills, and concepts that are covered in a curriculum. It defines what will be taught and the depth to which it will be taught.

Here are some key points to understand about scope:

Scope outlines the breadth of the curriculum, encompassing all the topics or areas of study that will be covered.

It identifies the content, skills, and concepts that students are expected to learn during a specific period of time, such as a school year or a grade level.

Scope defines the boundaries of the curriculum, specifying what is included and what is excluded.

It is determined by the curriculum standards, learning objectives, and educational goals that are set by educational institutions or governing bodies.

What is Sequence?

Sequence, on the other hand, refers to the order and progression in which the content, skills, and concepts are presented to students.

It defines the logical and developmental flow of the curriculum.

Here are some key points to understand about sequence:

Sequence determines the order in which the content, skills, and concepts are introduced and built upon.

It ensures that students progress from simpler to more complex ideas, and from foundational to advanced skills.

Sequence considers the developmental readiness of students, aligning instruction with their cognitive, emotional, and social abilities.

It helps students build a solid foundation of knowledge and skills, providing a scaffold for their learning.

Importance of Scope and Sequence in Education

Scope and sequence are essential in educational settings for several reasons:

Clear Organization: Scope and sequence provide a clear and organized framework for educators to plan and deliver instruction.

They ensure that teachers cover all the necessary content, skills, and concepts, and that they do so in a logical and structured manner.

Progression of Learning: Sequence ensures that instruction is presented in a progressive and developmentally appropriate manner.

It helps students build on their prior knowledge and skills, and progressively advance to more complex and challenging concepts.

Consistency and Coherence: Scope and sequence ensure that instruction is consistent and coherent across different grade levels, classrooms, and schools.

They provide a common roadmap for educators to follow, ensuring that all students have access to a quality education.

Alignment with Standards: Scope and sequence ensure that instruction is aligned with curriculum standards, learning objectives, and educational goals.

They help educators ensure that all required content and skills are covered, and that students are adequately prepared for assessments and future learning.

Differentiation: Scope and sequence provide a foundation for differentiated instruction.

Educators can adjust the pace, depth, and complexity of instruction based on the needs and abilities of individual students, while still maintaining the overall progression of the curriculum.

Monitoring and Evaluation: Scope and sequence provide a framework for monitoring and evaluating student progress.

Educators can use them to assess student learning, identify areas of improvement, and make adjustments to instruction as needed.

Steps For Building A Scope And Sequence In General Music Classes

If you want to build or adapt your own S&S, it’s worth it to keep these steps in mind.

Sure, you can probably short-cut through this process, but to do so means you might miss something along the line.

Also, pay close attention to the steps where you revisit the S&S. Nothing is perfect and adaptation is expected. Plus, the teacher you are now won’t be the teacher you are in a year or five or ten or twenty.

Identify Curriculum Standards: Review the national, state, or district-level curriculum standards for elementary music education. These standards outline the knowledge, skills, and concepts that students should learn at each grade level.

Conduct Needs Assessment: Assess the needs and abilities of the students in your specific school or district. Consider factors such as their prior musical experiences, cultural backgrounds, and developmental levels. This information will help you tailor the scope and sequence to meet the needs of your students.

Define Learning Objectives: Based on the curriculum standards and needs assessment, clearly define the learning objectives for each grade level. These objectives should be specific, measurable, and achievable, and aligned with the standards.

Determine Content and Skills: Identify the content and skills that need to be covered at each grade level to meet the defined learning objectives. This may include concepts such as rhythm, melody, form, notation, vocal techniques, and instrument playing skills.

Establish Sequence: Determine the logical and developmental progression of the content and skills. Consider the order in which concepts and skills should be introduced and built upon to ensure a smooth and effective learning progression.

Consider Resources: Identify the instructional resources, materials, and equipment that will be needed to support the scope and sequence. This may include textbooks, music recordings, instruments, technology, and other materials that will enhance the learning experience.

Review and Revise: Continuously review and revise the scope and sequence based on feedback from teachers, students, and other stakeholders. Ensure that the scope and sequence remain aligned with curriculum standards, learning objectives, and student needs.

Incorporate Differentiation: Consider how to differentiate instruction to accommodate the diverse needs and abilities of students. This may include modifying the pace, depth, or complexity of instruction, and providing additional support or enrichment opportunities as needed.

Communicate and Train: Clearly communicate the scope and sequence to teachers, administrators, and other stakeholders involved in the music education program. Provide training and support to ensure that teachers understand and can effectively implement the scope and sequence in their instruction.

Monitor and Evaluate: Continuously monitor and evaluate student progress and the effectiveness of the scope and sequence. Use assessment data, student feedback, and other measures to identify areas of improvement and make adjustments to the scope and sequence as needed.

Other Examples Of Scope And Sequence In The Music Classroom

This is a scope and sequence from Wallington, CT.

1-5_Music_Scope_and_SequenceDownload

This one comes from Plymouth, MA and is an adaptation of the prior one.

1-5_Music_Scope_and_Sequence-1Download

Here’s a very detailed one but just for 1st grade.

Music_SS_1Download

This is a K-8 elementary music scope and sequence.

Charter-Renewal-MUSIC-SCOPE-AND-SEQUENCE-K-8-2Download

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Produced in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab’s Opera of the Future Group and Boston’s self-conducted chamber orchestra A Far Cry, “FUTURE PHASES” was the first event to be presented by the MIT Music Technology and Computation Graduate Program in MIT Music’s new space.“FUTURE PHASES” offerings included two new works by MIT composers: the world premiere of “EV6,” by MIT Music’s Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor Evan Ziporyn and professor of the practice Eran Egozy; and the U.S. premiere of “FLOW Symphony,” by the MIT Media Lab’s Muriel R. Cooper Professor of Music and Media Tod Machover. Three additional works were selected by a jury from an open call for works: “The Wind Will Carry Us Away,” by Ali Balighi; “A Blank Page,” by Celeste Betancur Gutiérrez and Luna Valentin; and “Coastal Portrait: Cycles and Thresholds,” by Peter Lane. Each work was performed by Boston’s own multi-Grammy-nominated string orchestra, A Far Cry.“The ICMC is all about presenting the latest research, compositions, and performances in electronic music,” says Egozy, director of the new Music Technology and Computation Graduate Program at MIT. When approached to be a part of this year’s conference, “it seemed the perfect opportunity to showcase MIT’s commitment to music technology, and in particular the exciting new areas being developed right now: a new master’s program in music technology and computation, the new Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building with its enhanced music technology facilities, and new faculty arriving at MIT with joint appointments between MIT Music and Theater Arts (MTA) and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS).” These recently hired professors include Anna Huang, a keynote speaker for the conference and creator of the machine learning model Coconet that powered Google’s first AI Doodle, the Bach Doodle.Egozy emphasizes the uniqueness of this occasion: “You have to understand that this is a very special situation. Having a full 18-member string orchestra [A Far Cry] perform new works that include electronics does not happen very often. In most cases, ICMC performances consist either entirely of electronics and computer-generated music, or perhaps a small ensemble of two-to-four musicians. So the opportunity we could present to the larger community of music technology was particularly exciting.”To take advantage of this exciting opportunity, an open call was put out internationally to select the other pieces that would accompany Ziporyn and Egozy’s “EV6” and Machover’s “FLOW Symphony.” Three pieces were selected from a total of 46 entries to be a part of the evening’s program by a panel of judges that included Egozy, Machover, and other distinguished composers and technologists.“We received a huge variety of works from this call,” says Egozy. “We saw all kinds of musical styles and ways that electronics would be used. No two pieces were very similar to each other, and I think because of that, our audience got a sense of how varied and interesting a concert can be for this format. A Far Cry was really the unifying presence. They played all pieces with great passion and nuance. They have a way of really drawing audiences into the music. And, of course, with the Thomas Tull Concert Hall being in the round, the audience felt even more connected to the music.”Egozy continues, “we took advantage of the technology built into the Thomas Tull Concert Hall, which has 24 built-in speakers for surround sound allowing us to broadcast unique, amplified sound to every seat in the house. Chances are that every person might have experienced the sound slightly differently, but there was always some sense of a multidimensional evolution of sound and music as the pieces unfolded.”The five works of the evening employed a range of technological components that included playing synthesized, prerecorded, or electronically manipulated sounds; attaching microphones to instruments for use in real-time signal processing algorithms; broadcasting custom-generated musical notation to the musicians; utilizing generative AI to process live sound and play it back in interesting and unpredictable ways; and audience participation, where spectators use their cellphones as musical instruments to become a part of the ensemble.Ziporyn and Egozy’s piece, “EV6,” took particular advantage of this last innovation: “Evan and I had previously collaborated on a system called Tutti, which means ‘together’ in Italian. Tutti gives an audience the ability to use their smartphones as musical instruments so that we can all play together.” Egozy developed the technology, which was first used in the MIT Campaign for a Better World in 2017. The original application involved a three-minute piece for cellphones only. “But for this concert,” Egozy explains, “Evan had the idea that we could use the same technology to write a new piece — this time, for audience phones and a live string orchestra as well.”To explain the piece’s title, Ziporyn says, “I drive an EV6; it’s my first electric car, and when I first got it, it felt like I was driving an iPhone. But of course it’s still just a car: it’s got wheels and an engine, and it gets me from one place to another. It seemed like a good metaphor for this piece, in which a lot of the sound is literally played on cellphones, but still has to work like any other piece of music. It’s also a bit of an homage to David Bowie’s song ‘TVC 15,’ which is about falling in love with a robot.”Egozy adds, “We wanted audience members to feel what it is like to play together in an orchestra. Through this technology, each audience member becomes a part of an orchestral section (winds, brass, strings, etc.). As they play together, they can hear their whole section playing similar music while also hearing other sections in different parts of the hall play different music. This allows an audience to feel a responsibility to their section, hear how music can move between different sections of an orchestra, and experience the thrill of live performance. In ‘EV6,’ this experience was even more electrifying because everyone in the audience got to play with a live string orchestra — perhaps for the first time in recorded history.”After the concert, guests were treated to six music technology demonstrations that showcased the research of undergraduate and graduate students from both the MIT Music program and the MIT Media Lab. These included a gamified interface for harnessing just intonation systems (Antonis Christou); insights from a human-AI co-created concert (Lancelot Blanchard and Perry Naseck); a system for analyzing piano playing data across campus (Ayyub Abdulrezak ’24, MEng ’25); capturing music features from audio using latent frequency-masked autoencoders (Mason Wang); a device that turns any surface into a drum machine (Matthew Caren ’25); and a play-along interface for learning traditional Senegalese rhythms (Mariano Salcedo ’25). This last example led to the creation of Senegroove, a drumming-based application specifically designed for an upcoming edX online course taught by ethnomusicologist and MIT associate professor in music Patricia Tang, and world-renowned Senegalese drummer and MIT lecturer in music Lamine Touré, who provided performance videos of the foundational rhythms used in the system.Ultimately, Egozy muses, “'FUTURE PHASES' showed how having the right space — in this case, the new Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building — really can be a driving force for new ways of thinking, new projects, and new ways of collaborating. My hope is that everyone in the MIT community, the Boston area, and beyond soon discovers what a truly amazing place and space we have built, and are still building here, for music and music technology at MIT.”