Dr. Michael Kester-Haynes

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 25 (Grade 4 Music): Ensemble Evaluation

Grade 4 music unit where students use criteria and musical evidence to evaluate ensemble performances and explain judgments based on accuracy, expression, and context.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 24 (Grade 4 Music): Cultural Performance Practice

Grade 4 music unit where students explain how cultural context shapes tempo, dynamics, tone, movement, and expressive performance choices.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 23 (Grade 4 Music): Music Around the World

Grade 4 music unit exploring world cultures through listening, connecting music to other arts, school subjects, varied contexts, and daily life.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 22 (Grade 4 Music): Music in Daily Life

Grade 4 music unit connecting school, home, and community music experiences to students’ interests, choices, identities, and purposeful musical intent.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 21 (Grade 4 Music): Expressive Listening

Grade 4 music unit where students analyze how dynamics, tempo, tone color, and articulation communicate mood and meaning using musical evidence.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 20 (Grade 4 Music): Music Preferences & Evaluation

Grade 4 music unit where students explain how experiences and interests shape music choices and evaluate songs using clear criteria and musical evidence.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 19 (Grade 4 Music): Musical Form

Grade 4 music unit where students identify musical form (ABA, verse–chorus, rondo) and explain how repetition and contrast shape listening and performance.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 18 (Grade 4 Music): Melodic Performance

Grade 4 music unit where students perform melodies with accuracy, expression, style, and proper performance decorum as both performers and respectful audience members.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 17 (Grade 4 Music): Revising Musical Ideas

Grade 4 music unit where students revise compositions using criteria and feedback, refining accuracy, organization, and expression through multiple drafts.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 16 (Grade 4 Music): Selecting Music for Purpose

Grade 4 music unit where students choose music for specific events and audiences, using musical evidence to justify selections based on purpose, context, and skills.

Parent Tips

Parent Tips: Organization Makeover to Prevent Behavior Blowups

Disorganization fuels behavior blowups. Learn simple school–home systems—Home folders, photo packing lists, and quick audits—to prevent missing work stress.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 15 (Grade 4 Music): Expressive Singing & Playing

Grade 4 music unit where students use tempo, dynamics, and timbre to shape expressive melodic performances in singing and playing.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 14 (Grade 4 Music): Notating Melodic Ideas

Grade 4 music unit where students use iconic and standard notation to write simple melodic ideas, connecting what they hear, sing, and play to what they see on the page.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 13 (Grade 4 Music): Melodic Improvisation

Grade 4 music unit where students improvise short melodies to express mood and context, then select and organize ideas into simple structures they can perform and explain.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 12 (Grade 4 Music): Simple Harmony & Accompaniment

Grade 4 music unit where students create simple accompaniment patterns, exploring drones, borduns, and harmony to support melodies and change musical meaning.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 11 (Grade 4 Music): Major & Minor Tonality

Grade 4 music unit where students create melodies in major and minor, using tempo and dynamics to shape mood and explain expressive meaning.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 10 (Grade 4 Music): Melodic Direction & Contour

Grade 4 music unit exploring melodic contour through singing, instruments, and movement, helping students explain how pitch direction shapes musical meaning.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 9 (Grade 4 Music): Rhythm Performance Etiquette

Grade 4 music unit teaching performance decorum and audience etiquette through rhythm performances, modeling posture, focus, listening, and appropriate applause.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 8 (Grade 4 Music): Rhythm Ensemble Performance

Grade 4 music unit where students rehearse and perform rhythm ensemble pieces with accuracy, steady beat, expressive dynamics, and strong performance etiquette.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 7 (Grade 4 Music): Expressive Rhythm

Grade 4 music unit where students change rhythm mood using dynamics and tempo, performing, listening, and explaining expressive choices with music vocabulary.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 6 (Grade 4 Music): Notating Rhythm & Harmony

Grade 4 music unit where students document rhythmic and simple harmonic ideas using notation or recordings, adding drones and explaining how ideas can be recreated.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 5 (Grade 4 Music): Creating Rhythmic Ideas

Grade 4 music unit where students improvise rhythmic ideas for a purpose, organize patterns, perform with steady beat, and explain rhythm–context connections.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 4 (Grade 4 Music): Rhythm in Context

Grade 4 music unit exploring how rhythm supports style, dance, and purpose, and how context shapes performance choices through listening and movement.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 3 (Grade 4 Music): Reading Rhythm Patterns

Build Grade 4 rhythm literacy with this unit on reading and performing standard rhythmic notation in duple and triple meter, using counting strategies, body percussion, instruments, and collaborative practice to strengthen steady beat and ensemble accuracy.

Paid-members only

Grade 4 Music Units

Unit Plan 2 (Grade 4 Music): Steady Beat & Meter Review

Explore steady beat and duple vs. triple meter through movement, instruments, and listening in this Grade 4 music unit focused on rhythm, structure, and musical response.