Dr. Michael Kester-Haynes

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 36 (Grade 1 Music): Music Sharing Day

Grade 1 music unit culminating in a “Music Sharing Day,” where students perform familiar songs for classmates with confident voices, expressive choices, and respectful audience/performer etiquette while building classroom music community.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 35 (Grade 1 Music): Preparing to Perform

Grade 1 music unit using feedback and rehearsal strategies to refine songs and perform with improved accuracy and expressive singing.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 34 (Grade 1 Music): Independent Music Centers

Grade 1 music unit with independent centers to practice steady beat, melodic contour, and improvisation while building confidence and creativity.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 33 (Grade 1 Music): Expressing Preferences

Grade 1 music unit where students share music opinions using simple vocabulary and choose songs that fit classroom purposes like reading or celebration.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 32 (Grade 1 Music): Favorite Songs

Grade 1 music unit where students rehearse favorite songs using simple strategies to sing with expression and perform for classroom purposes.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 31 (Grade 1 Music): Music & Imagination

Grade 1 music unit using imagination, movement, and improv to connect music to stories, feelings, and personal interests and share creative scenes.

Parent Tips

Parent Tips: Raising Self-Advocates—Coaching Kids to Ask for Help the Right Way

Teach kids self-advocacy with scripts, email templates, and checklists to help them ask for help, request extensions, and speak up confidently at school.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 30 (Grade 1 Music): Organizing Musical Ideas

Grade 1 music unit where students use drawings, symbols, and simple recordings to document, organize, remember, and share their own musical ideas.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 29 (Grade 1 Music): Rhythm Games

Grade 1 music unit using fun rhythm games to practice steady beat and simple patterns, helping students improve accuracy with rehearsal strategies.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 28 (Grade 1 Music): Sound Pictures

Grade 1 music unit where students create and perform sound pictures inspired by images, using voices and instruments to show expressive ideas and intent.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 27 (Grade 1 Music): Group Performance

Grade 1 ensemble performance unit focused on singing/playing together with strong start-stop cues, performance decorum, and respectful audience behavior while performing for a specific purpose (welcome/thank-you/celebration), aligned to MU:Pr6.1.1a–b.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 26 (Grade 1 Music): Musical Storytelling

Grade 1 music unit where students create and perform simple musical stories, using voice, movement, and instruments to show characters, actions, and expressive intent.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 25 (Grade 1 Music): Call & Response Songs

Grade 1 music unit where students sing call-and-response and echo songs accurately, use rehearsal strategies, and begin creating short vocal patterns.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 24 (Grade 1 Music): Cultural Movement

Grade 1 music unit where students move to music from different cultures, showing beat, high/low melodic shape, and mood through simple, respectful movement.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 23 (Grade 1 Music): Music Around the World

Grade 1 world music unit exploring songs from different cultures, helping students connect music to stories, movement, art, celebrations, and daily life while comparing similarities and differences across places.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 22 (Grade 1 Music): Music in Our Lives

Grade 1 music unit connecting music to daily routines and experiences, helping students explain how music fits activities at home, school, and in the community.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 21 (Grade 1 Music): Music & Movement Stories

Grade 1 music unit where students respond to music with creative movement and simple storytelling, performing short movement stories that show feelings, characters, and actions.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 20 (Grade 1 Music): Music Choices

Grade 1 music unit where students choose and explain music for classroom activities using personal interests and simple words like fast, slow, calm, or energetic.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 19 (Grade 1 Music): Listening for Details

Grade 1 music “detective” listening unit where students identify steady beat, high/low pitch, and expressive elements (dynamics, tempo, timbre) to describe different styles and explain how musical choices fit purposes like marching, dancing, or resting.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 18 (Grade 1 Music): Performing with Purpose

Grade 1 music unit where students perform songs for classroom purposes using expression, posture, and audience etiquette to build confidence.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 17 (Grade 1 Music): Improving Our Music

Grade 1 music unit where students use teacher and peer feedback with rehearsal strategies to improve singing, playing, and performances over time.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 16 (Grade 1 Music): Choosing Musical Ideas

Grade 1 music unit where students choose musical ideas for purposes or feelings, explain choices, and create short patterns using tempo and dynamics.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 15 (Grade 1 Music): Music & Feelings

Grade 1 music unit where students identify emotions in music, connect dynamics, tempo, and timbre to feelings, and relate musical choices to personal interests and experiences.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 14 (Grade 1 Music): Singing with Expression

Grade 1 music unit where students use dynamics and tempo to sing with expression, practice rehearsal strategies, and explain how loud, soft, fast, and slow change songs.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 13 (Grade 1 Music): Creating Rhythms

Grade 1 music unit where students create, organize, and perform short rhythm patterns using body percussion, instruments, and simple icons to document and share musical ideas.