Unit Plan 14 (Grade 6 Vocal Music): Notating Vocal Music
Teach Grade 6 singers how to document original vocal ideas using basic notation and simple recording tools, helping them save, revise, and share melodies accurately and confidently.
Focus: Document original vocal ideas using basic notation and/or simple recording tools, so musical ideas can be remembered and shared.
Grade Level: 6
Subject Area: Vocal Music (Creating • Notation • Technology)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–55 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, students learn how to capture their musical ideas so they don’t disappear. Building on their work creating melodies, they practice writing simple vocal lines on the staff and/or recording them using digital tools. Students connect what they hear and sing to what they see and save, discovering how notation and recordings help performers remember, rehearse, and share music accurately.
Essential Questions
- What does it mean to “write down” music, and why is it important for singers and composers?
- How do notation symbols and recordings help us remember and share our vocal ideas?
- What are the advantages of using staff notation vs. audio recording (and how can they work together)?
- How careful do we need to be when documenting music so another person can perform it accurately?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Explain how basic notation (staff, clef, notes, bar lines) and recordings can document vocal ideas.
- Notate a short vocal melody accurately on the staff using correct noteheads, stems, and bar lines.
- Use a simple recording tool (tablet, chromebook, or voice recorder) to capture at least one original vocal idea.
- Compare their sung idea to their written or recorded version and make small corrections for accuracy.
- Produce a final documented vocal idea (notated, recorded, or both) that another singer could reasonably follow.
Standards Alignment — Grade 6 Vocal Music (custom, NAfME-style)
- VM:Cr2.6b — Use basic notation or recording tools to document original vocal ideas.
- Example: Students notate a melody on a staff or record it using a digital tool.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can explain how notation and recordings help save musical ideas.
- I can write a short melody on a staff (or label it clearly with solfege) so someone else can sing it.
- I can record my vocal idea using a simple digital tool.
- I can fix mistakes when I compare what I wrote to what I actually sang.
- I can create a final “music document” (notation and/or recording) that another person can perform.