Unit Plan 10 (Grade 4 Music): Melodic Direction & Contour

Focus: Explore melodic contour using singing, instruments, and movement, and explain how contour and pitch direction shape musical meaning.

Grade Level: 4

Subject Area: Music (General Music • Performing • Responding)

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

I. Introduction

Students explore how melodies move up, down, or stay the same and how this contour affects the way music feels and how we respond to it. Using voices, barred instruments, and simple movement, students trace melodic shapes in the air, on staff lines, and with their bodies while listening to and performing short examples. They then connect these shapes to emotion, style, and purpose (for example, why a lullaby moves gently and a fanfare leaps upward). By the end of the unit, students can describe and perform melodic contour and explain how it guides their listening and performance choices.

Essential Questions

• How does melodic contour (up, down, same) help us understand and remember a tune?
• In what ways do pitch direction and melodic shape change how a piece of music feels or what it seems to “say”?
• How can noticing melodic contour help us become better performers, listeners, and music creators?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Identify and trace melodic contour (up, down, same) in short listening examples using movement, line drawings, or manipulatives.
2. Perform simple melodic patterns on voice or instruments that demonstrate ascending, descending, and repeated pitches.
3. Describe how melodic contour connects to expression (for example, rising to build excitement, falling to feel calm).
4. Compare at least two melodic examples and explain how differences in contour and pitch direction affect their personal response.
5. Create a short “contour phrase” and explain how its shape matches a selected feeling, image, or context.

Standards Alignment — Grade 4 Music (NAfME-Aligned)

• MU:Pr4.2.4a — Demonstrate understanding of the structure and elements of music (such as rhythm, pitch, and form) in music selected for performance.
  • Example: Identifying melodic contour and repeated motives before performing a song.
• MU:Re7.2.4a — Demonstrate and explain how responses to music are informed by structure, musical elements, and context (such as social or cultural).
  • Example: Explaining how a rising melodic line and strong beat support a parade or celebration.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can show how a melody moves up, down, or stays the same using my hands, drawings, or instruments.
• I can sing or play short melodic patterns that clearly show different contours.
• I can explain how the shape of a melody changes how it makes me feel or what it seems to be about.
• I can compare two melodies and tell how their contours and pitch patterns are similar or different.
• I can create a short melody and explain how its contour matches my idea, feeling, or story.