Unit Plan 6 (Grade 2 Music): Loud & Soft Expression
Grade 2 music unit exploring dynamics (loud/soft) as students sing, play, and listen for changes, explaining how choices shape expression and intent.
Focus: Use dynamics (loud and soft) to change musical expression, and describe how expressive choices support a creator’s or performer’s intent.
Grade Level: 2
Subject Area: Music (Performing • Responding • Expression)
Total Unit Duration: 1–3 sessions (3+ weeks), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, students explore how dynamics—playing and singing loud and soft—change the feeling and meaning of music. Through songs, chants, and listening examples, they practice using their voices and simple instruments to perform music piano (soft) and forte (loud), and they experiment with changing dynamics within a piece. Students also listen for dynamic changes in recordings and describe how the choices support expressive intent: excitement, calm, surprise, or mystery. They begin to understand that composers and performers use expressive qualities like dynamics on purpose to communicate ideas and emotions.
Essential Questions
- What are dynamics, and how do loud and soft sounds change how music feels?
- How can I control my voice and instruments to perform piano and forte safely and clearly?
- How do creators and performers use dynamic changes to show feelings like excitement, calm, and surprise?
- How can I listen for dynamics and explain how they support the expression or story of a piece?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Demonstrate loud and soft singing and playing (piano and forte) with control and appropriate tone.
- Perform simple songs and patterns while following dynamic directions (e.g., start soft and grow louder, or begin loud and fade softer).
- Listen to short musical examples and identify when the music is loud, soft, or changing (getting louder/softer).
- Describe how dynamics help music sound excited, calm, mysterious, or surprising, connecting to the idea of expressive intent.
- Make simple dynamic choices in a class performance or activity and explain how those choices support what they want the music to show or say.
Standards Alignment — Grade 2 Music (NAfME-Aligned)
- MU:Pr4.3.2a — Demonstrate understanding of expressive qualities (such as dynamics and tempo) and how creators use them to convey expressive intent.
- Example: Singing softly to show calm or loudly to show excitement.
- MU:Re8.1.2a — Demonstrate knowledge of music concepts and how they support creators’ and performers’ expressive intent.
- Example: Identifying how tempo helps show excitement.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can sing and play loud and soft on purpose, not by accident.
- I can follow directions to change dynamics (get louder or softer) while I perform.
- I can listen to music and tell when it is loud, soft, or changing.
- I can explain how dynamics help music sound excited, calm, or mysterious.
- I can choose dynamics for a short piece and explain why I used them that way.