Grade 1 Music Units

Explore Grade 1 Music unit plans with standards-aligned lessons that build rhythm, melody, listening skills, and confident musical expression.

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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.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 12 (Grade 1 Music): Reading Rhythm Icons

Grade 1 music unit where students read and perform 2–4 beat rhythmic patterns using icons and simple notation, then document their own rhythm ideas with symbols so they can remember, share, and perform them confidently.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 11 (Grade 1 Music): Rhythm Echoes

Grade 1 music unit where students echo short rhythmic patterns using voice and instruments, apply rehearsal strategies, and improvise rhythms with confidence.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 10 (Grade 1 Music): Classroom Instruments

Grade 1 music unit where students identify and care for classroom percussion instruments, keep a steady beat, and create simple rhythmic patterns through guided play.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 9 (Grade 1 Music): Sharing Music

Grade 1 music unit where students perform songs and chants for classmates with confident voices, clear expression, and respectful performer and audience behavior.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 8 (Grade 1 Music): Sound Exploration

First graders explore classroom instruments and vocal sounds to improvise simple patterns and sound stories, compare timbres, and use picture symbols to record and organize their musical ideas for sharing.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 7 (Grade 1 Music): Fast & Slow

First graders explore tempo by moving, singing, and playing at fast and slow speeds while keeping a steady beat, then describe how tempo changes the feeling and purpose of music in listening and performance.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 6 (Grade 1 Music): Loud & Soft

Grade 1 students explore dynamics by performing and identifying loud vs. soft contrasts in songs, movement, and instruments, describing how volume choices change musical feeling and expression.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 5 (Grade 1 Music): High & Low Sounds

Explore high and low pitch with singing, movement, and simple melodic improv in this Grade 1 music unit—build pitch direction, contour, and listening skills fast.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 4 (Grade 1 Music): Beat in Songs

Grade 1 music unit where students keep a steady beat while singing and chanting, using simple rehearsal strategies to fix tricky parts in songs.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 3 (Grade 1 Music): Steady Beat Basics

Grade 1 music unit where students keep a steady beat with body percussion and movement, exploring marches, dances, and lullabies and their purposes.

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Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 2 (Grade 1 Music): Singing & Speaking Voices

Differentiate speaking, whispering, calling, and singing voices in Grade 1 music as students keep a steady beat, explore melodic contour in simple songs, and improvise short rhythmic or melodic voice patterns for specific purposes.

Grade 1 Music Units

Unit Plan 1 (Grade 1 Music): Music Routines & Listening

Build Grade 1 music listening routines and discussion skills as students practice music-ready behavior, connect musical examples to feelings and classroom purposes, and share simple opinions using personal interests and experiences.