Unit Plan 28 (Grade 5 Music): Sound & Scene Creation

Focus: Create and refine short pieces of music inspired by images or dramatic scenes, then explain how musical choices communicate mood and meaning.

Grade Level: 5

Subject Area: Music (General)

Total Unit Duration: 1–3 class meetings (50–60 minutes each; Session 1 required, Optional Sessions 2–3 for extension)

I. Introduction

Students step into the role of film and game composers, using music to bring images, stories, and dramatic scenes to life. They improvise short rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic ideas that match a given picture or scenario, then develop those ideas into a more polished piece. Along the way, they learn to talk like composers—explaining how tempo, dynamics, pitch, and texture support a scene’s mood and action.

Essential Questions

• How can music help tell the story of an image or dramatic scene?
• Which musical elements (tempo, dynamics, pitch, texture) are most powerful for creating mood?
• What does it mean to show craftsmanship in created music, not just random sounds?
• How can we explain our musical decisions so others understand our expressive intent?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Improvise short rhythmic, melodic, and/or harmonic ideas that match the mood and action of a chosen image or scene.
2. Select and develop musical ideas into a short, organized piece (clear beginning, middle, ending) that supports a story or scene.
3. Refine their piece by making at least two purposeful revisions to improve clarity, coordination, or expression.
4. Document key musical ideas using simple notation, graphic representation, and/or recording technology.
5. Present a final “sound & scene” piece and explain how specific musical choices communicate expressive intent.

Standards Alignment — Grade 5 Music (NAfME-Aligned)

• MU:Cr1.1.5a — Improvise rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic ideas and explain how they connect to a specific purpose and context (such as social, cultural, or historical).
  • Example: Improvising an 8-beat accompaniment for a historical scene and explaining how tempo and harmony match the mood.
• MU:Cr3.2.5a — Present the final version of created music that demonstrates craftsmanship and explain how it connects to expressive intent.
  • Example: Performing a completed composition and describing how musical choices communicate emotion.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can create musical ideas that match the mood or action of an image or scene.
• I can organize my ideas into a short piece with a clear beginning, middle, and ending.
• I can revise my music and explain at least one way it improved.
• I can show or record my musical ideas so someone else could perform them.
• I can explain my choices, using music words, so others understand how my music fits the scene.