Unit Plan 18 (Grade 5 Orchestra): Notating Music

Focus: Notate musical ideas using basic pitch, rhythm, and dynamic symbols.

Grade Level: 5

Subject Area: Orchestra (Notation • Creativity • Literacy)

Total Unit Duration: 1–2 weeks, 30-minute sessions

I. Introduction

Students learn how to write down music they can play and hear in their heads. Using a classroom staff, simple patterns, and familiar rhythms, they practice placing notes, rests, and dynamics on the staff so that others can read and perform their ideas. By the end of the unit, students create a short notated pattern or melody that shows they can connect sound to symbols.

Essential Questions

• How do notes, rests, and dynamics on the staff show what music should sound like?
• Why is it important for musicians to be able to write and read music, not just play by ear?
• How can I use simple notation to share my musical ideas clearly with others?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Identify and name basic notation symbols (staff, bar line, measure, quarter note, half note, whole note, quarter rest, simple dynamic markings).
2. Place notes and rests on the staff to show correct pitch location (lines/spaces) and rhythm values in simple 2- or 4-measure patterns.
3. Add basic dynamic symbols (such as p and f) to show loud/soft changes in a short pattern.
4. Read and perform a notated pattern they wrote, matching pitch, rhythm, and dynamics.
5. Create and notate a short pattern or melody (4–8 beats or measures) using basic notes, rests, and at least one dynamic marking.

Standards Alignment — Grade 5 Orchestra (custom, NAfME-style)

• OR:Cr2.5b — Use basic notation and/or recording tools to document musical ideas, including pitch, rhythm, and simple expressive markings.
  • Example: Students notate quarter notes, rests, and p/f dynamics for a short pattern.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can name basic notation symbols and say what they mean.
• I can place notes and rests on the staff to show simple patterns.
• I can add dynamics (like p and f) to show loud and soft.
• I can play what I wrote so it matches the notes, rhythms, and dynamics on the page.
• I can create and write a short musical idea that someone else can read and play.