Unit Plan 21 (Grade 4 Music): Expressive Listening

Focus: Analyze how expressive qualities (dynamics, tempo, tone color, articulation) communicate mood and meaning in vocal and instrumental music.

Grade Level: 4

Subject Area: Music (General Music)

Total Unit Duration: 1–3 sessions, 50–60 minutes each

I. Introduction

Students become “expression detectives” who listen for how music sounds (loud/soft, fast/slow, smooth/bouncy, bright/warm) to figure out what it is trying to say or make us feel. They compare different performances and styles, noticing how changes in dynamics, tempo, and tone alter the emotion or story of the music. By the end of the unit, they can describe expressive choices and support their ideas with specific musical evidence instead of just saying, “I like it” or “It sounds sad.”

Essential Questions

• How do dynamics, tempo, tone color, and articulation help music communicate feelings or ideas?
• Why might two performances of the same piece make us feel different emotions?
• How can we use musical words and evidence from the sound to explain what we hear?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Identify and describe expressive qualities (dynamics, tempo, articulation, tone color) in a variety of listening examples.
2. Compare at least two performances of the same piece and explain how expressive choices change the mood or meaning.
3. Use music vocabulary (e.g., crescendo, staccato, legato, bright, dark) to explain how performers show expressive intent.
4. Write or draw a short listening response that uses specific musical evidence (what they heard) to support their interpretation.
5. Create a simple “expressive listening guide” that highlights key moments and expressive changes in one selected piece.

Standards Alignment — Grade 4 Music (NAfME-Aligned)

• MU:Re8.1.4a — Demonstrate and explain how expressive qualities are used in performers’ interpretations to reflect expressive intent.
  • Example: Comparing two recordings and explaining how tempo changes mood.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can point to moments in the music and say how loudness, speed, and tone changed.
• I can explain how expressive choices made the music sound happy, calm, excited, serious, or something else.
• I can compare two performances of the same piece and describe how they feel different and why.
• I can use music words (like legato, staccato, crescendo, forte, piano) to describe what I hear.
• I can create a simple listening map or notes that show important expressive moments in a piece.