Unit Plan 23 (Grade 3 Music): Music Around the World

Focus: Explore music from different cultures and traditions, and show how music connects to other arts, school subjects, varied contexts, and daily life.

Grade Level: 3

Subject Area: Music (Connections • Culture • Listening)

Total Unit Duration: 1–3 sessions (3+ weeks), 50–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

In this unit, students “travel” through music around the world, listening to pieces from different cultures and traditions. They notice how music connects to dance, stories, clothing, celebrations, history, and places. Students compare where and how people use music in daily life—such as festivals, ceremonies, games, or work—and connect these ideas back to their own lives and community. The focus is on respectful listening, curiosity, and seeing music as part of a bigger picture that includes other arts and disciplines.

Essential Questions

• How does music from different cultures and traditions connect to dance, stories, history, and place?
• Where and how do people use music in their daily lives around the world?
• How can learning about music from other cultures help us better understand our own lives and community?
• In what ways is music connected to other arts (like dance and visual art) and school subjects (like social studies and language arts)?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Listen to musical examples from several cultures/regions and describe what they notice about sound, instruments, and use in daily life.
2. Identify at least one way music connects to other arts (dance, storytelling, visual art) in a specific cultural context.
3. Describe how music relates to other disciplines (e.g., geography: where it comes from; history: when/why it is used).
4. Compare one musical tradition from another place with how they use music in their own daily lives.
5. Create a simple “music & life” postcard or chart that shows how music, other arts, and daily life are connected in one culture or tradition.

Standards Alignment — Grade 3 Music (NAfME-Aligned)

• MU:Cn11.0.3a — Demonstrate understanding of relationships between music and the other arts, other disciplines, varied contexts, and daily life.
  • Example: Connecting music to dance, storytelling, or history.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can listen to music from another culture or region and say something I notice about how it sounds or how it is used.
• I can explain how music in one tradition connects to dance, stories, or celebrations.
• I can tell how music connects to place (geography) or history (when/why people use it).
• I can compare music from another culture with how I use music in my own life.
• I can create a simple “postcard” or chart that shows how music, arts, and daily life are connected.