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

Focus: Use drawings, symbols, and simple recordings to document and organize musical ideas so they can be remembered and shared.

Grade Level: 1

Subject Area: Music (Creating • Notating • Organizing Ideas)

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

I. Introduction

In this unit, students learn that musical ideas don’t have to disappear once they are played or sung—they can be saved using simple pictures, symbols, and recordings. Through “sound maps” and short class recordings, students practice drawing what they hear, organizing sounds in order, and connecting their drawings back to the music they create. With limited guidance, they begin to see how notation and recording help musicians remember and share ideas.

Essential Questions

• How can we remember a rhythm or sound pattern we like?
• What kinds of pictures or symbols can show musical sounds?
• How does putting sounds in order help us play them again?
• How can drawings or recordings help us share our music with others?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Create simple sound maps using drawings or symbols to show short rhythm or sound patterns.
2. Organize musical ideas in a clear left-to-right or top-to-bottom order on paper.
3. With limited guidance, use icons, lines, shapes, or simple marks to document their own musical ideas.
4. Perform music by reading their own sound maps and/or listening back to simple recordings.
5. Explain in simple language how their drawing or recording helps them remember and organize their music.

Standards Alignment — Grade 1 Music (NAfME-Aligned)

• MU:Cr2.1.1b — With limited guidance, use iconic or standard notation and/or recording technology to document and organize personal musical ideas.
  • Example: Drawing symbols or recording a rhythm pattern to remember it.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can draw or use symbols to show my own sounds or rhythms.
• I can put my sounds in order so I know what comes first, next, and last.
• I can read and perform from my sound map.
• I can tell how my drawing or recording helps me remember my idea.