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

Focus: Experience music from different cultures and notice how it connects to stories, movement, art, and daily life in those places.

Grade Level: 1

Subject Area: Music (Connecting • Responding)

Total Unit Duration: 2–4 sessions (2+ weeks), 20–30 minutes per session

I. Introduction

In this unit, students travel on a “musical journey” to hear songs and pieces from different cultures around the world. They listen for how the music sounds (tempo, instruments, language) and see how it connects to dance, stories, celebrations, and daily routines. Through listening, moving, drawing, and simple performing, students begin to understand that music is part of many people’s lives and traditions in different places.

Essential Questions

• Where in the world does this music come from, and who might use it?
• How does music connect to stories, movement, and art in different cultures?
• How do people use music in their daily lives (work, play, celebrations) around the world?
• What can we notice that is the same and different about music from different places?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Listen to music from at least two different cultures and identify simple differences (fast/slow, loud/soft, voices/instruments).
2. Describe how a piece of music connects to movement, storytelling, visual art, or a special event in its culture.
3. Show understanding of a world song through movement, drawing, or simple performance.
4. Share one way music is part of daily life in another culture and compare it to music in their own life.
5. Create or choose a simple movement, drawing, or sound pattern to go with a world music example and explain their choice.

Standards Alignment — Grade 1 Music (NAfME-Aligned)

• MU:Cn11.0.1a — Demonstrate understanding of relationships between music and the other arts, other disciplines, varied contexts, and daily life.
  • Example: Connecting music to storytelling, movement, or visual art.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can tell that this song comes from a different place or culture.
• I can say how the music connects to dance, stories, pictures, or a special event.
• I can move, draw, or play along in a way that matches the music.
• I can explain one way people in another place use music in their daily lives.
• I can compare music from another culture to music in my own life.