Unit Plan 2 (Grade 3 Music): Steady Beat & Meter

Focus: Reinforce a steady beat and introduce duple vs. triple meter, helping students feel how beat is grouped in 2s and 3s and how this structure affects both performance and listening responses.

Grade Level: 3

Subject Area: Music (Beat • Meter • Listening • Performance Structure)

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

I. Introduction

In this unit, students deepen their understanding of steady beat and learn to notice how beats are grouped into duple (in 2s) and triple (in 3s) meter. Through movement, clapping, body percussion, and simple performance patterns, they explore how the structure of music (beat groupings, strong vs. weak beats, repeated patterns) shapes what they feel and how they want to move. They listen to short musical excerpts and describe whether the music feels more like “walk-walk” (2) or “waltz/1–2–3” (3), and they connect these meters to different contexts (marching, dancing, game music). Students also perform short patterns and songs, demonstrating understanding of how beat and meter fit into the structure of music they perform.

Essential Questions

• What is a steady beat, and how can I keep it in my body and music?
• What is the difference between duple meter (in 2s) and triple meter (in 3s), and how can I feel and show that difference?
• How does the structure of music (beat groupings, repeated patterns) affect how we want to move, listen, and perform?
• How can I describe my response to music using words about beat, meter, and context (where the music might be used)?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Maintain a steady beat using body percussion, movement, and simple classroom instruments.
2. Demonstrate and distinguish between duple (in 2) and triple (in 3) meter through movement, clapping, and simple conducting gestures.
3. Show understanding of the structure of selected music by identifying beat groupings and simple repeated patterns that support performance (e.g., 1–2, 1–2–3).
4. Describe how their responses to music (wanting to walk, march, sway, or spin) are influenced by meter, musical elements, and context (march, dance, lullaby, etc.).
5. Perform short patterns or songs in duple or triple meter with a steady beat, explaining how the meter and feel match the musical purpose.

Standards Alignment — Grade 3 Music (NAfME-Aligned)

• MU:Pr4.2.3a — Demonstrate understanding of the structure of music selected for performance.
  • Example: Identifying verses and choruses in a song.
• MU:Re7.2.3a — Demonstrate and describe how responses to music are informed by structure, musical elements, and context.
  • Example: Noticing how a repeated rhythm helps define a style.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can keep a steady beat with my hands, feet, or instrument.
• I can feel and show whether a piece is in duple (2) or triple (3) meter.
• I can describe how the beat and meter make me want to move (walk, march, sway, spin) and what kind of event it might fit (parade, dance, game).
• I can perform a short pattern or song with a steady beat and say whether it feels like “in 2” or “in 3.”
• I can use words like beat, meter, duple, triple, and pattern when I talk about the music.