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.
Focus: Explore high and low sounds and pitch direction through singing, movement, and simple melodic improvisation.
Grade Level: 1
Subject Area: Music (Creating • Responding • Performing)
Total Unit Duration: 2–4 sessions (2+ weeks), 20–30 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, first graders discover that music can move up and down using high and low sounds. Students explore pitch direction with their voices and bodies—reaching up for high, bending down for low, and tracing melodic pathways in the air. They listen to short musical examples and notice how pitch can make sounds feel like birds, big animals, climbing stairs, or sliding down a hill. Students also begin to improvise simple high–low patterns to match pictures and stories.
Essential Questions
- What is pitch, and how can I tell when a sound is high or low?
- How can I show high and low with my voice, my body, and simple instruments?
- How do different kinds of music use pitch to show ideas, characters, or feelings?
- How can I create my own high–low patterns to fit a story or picture?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Use their voices to sing and speak high and low sounds and show pitch direction with movement.
- With limited guidance, improvise simple high–low melodic patterns using voice and/or classroom instruments.
- Demonstrate and identify how pitch is used in different styles or pieces of music for a purpose (e.g., high = bird, low = elephant).
- Trace and copy basic melodic contour (up, down, same) with hand signs or body movement while listening or singing.
- Explain in simple language how their high–low pattern matches an idea, character, or picture.
Standards Alignment — Grade 1 Music (NAfME-Aligned)
- MU:Cr1.1.1a — With limited guidance, improvise rhythmic and melodic patterns and ideas.
- Example: Students improvise short rhythm patterns using claps or drums.
- MU:Re7.2.1a — With limited guidance, demonstrate and identify how specific music concepts (such as beat or pitch) are used in various styles of music for a purpose.
- Example: Explaining why marches have a strong beat.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can tell if a sound is high or low, and show it with my voice and body.
- I can make up a short high–low pattern that matches a picture or idea.
- I can listen to music and say how pitch is used (for example, “That sounds like a bird because it is high”).
- I can follow and show the up and down shape of a simple melody.