Unit Plan 22 (Grade 5 Orchestra): Evaluating Performances
Grade 5 orchestra unit where students evaluate performances using steady beat, tone, bow control, and ensemble criteria with evidence-based feedback.
Focus: Evaluate orchestra performances using simple criteria (steady beat, tone, bow control, togetherness) and give evidence-based feedback to support improvement.
Grade Level: 5
Subject Area: Orchestra
Total Unit Duration: 1–2 weeks, 30-minute sessions
I. Introduction
Students become “performance coaches” who listen to orchestra performances and use simple criteria to decide what went well and what could improve. They learn to listen for steady beat, correct notes, tone quality, bow control, and starting/stopping together. Using kid-friendly rubrics and the TAG feedback routine, students practice giving specific, kind, and evidence-based feedback that helps the ensemble grow.
Essential Questions
- What makes an orchestra performance sound “good” or “strong”?
- How can we use criteria and evidence to talk about performances, not just “I liked it” or “I didn’t”?
- How can giving and receiving feedback help us become better string players and ensemble members?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Name and explain simple performance criteria such as steady beat, correct notes, tone, bow control, and starting/stopping together.
- Use a kid-friendly performance rubric to rate a short recording or live performance.
- Give at least one evidence-based comment about a performance using musical words (e.g., “steady beat,” “soft tone,” “together,” “not together”).
- Apply the TAG feedback protocol (Tell, Ask, Give) in a respectful way with peers.
- Complete a short Performance Evaluation Sheet that includes ratings and at least one written comment supported by musical evidence.
Standards Alignment — Grade 5 Orchestra (custom, NAfME-style)
- OR:Re9.5a — Evaluate an orchestra performance using teacher-provided criteria (steady beat, correct notes, bow control, tone, start/stop together) and give one evidence-based comment.
- Example: Students say, “The rhythm was steady, but the bowings were not together.”
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can name the criteria we use to judge an orchestra performance.
- I can use a rubric to decide if the beat, notes, and bowings are strong, okay, or need work.
- I can give at least one evidence-based comment about a performance (what I heard and where).
- I can give kind and specific feedback that helps my classmates know what they did well and what to improve.