Unit Plan 3 (Grade 7 Vocal Music): Expanding Vocal Range

Focus: Explore comfortable range expansion using healthy vocal technique, connecting pitch patterns and musical form to expressive singing while respecting ongoing voice change.

Grade Level: 7

Subject Area: Vocal Music (Choir • Technique • Vocal Health)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

In this unit, students explore how to expand their vocal range comfortably using healthy technique rather than force. They experiment with gentle slides, stepwise patterns, and short phrases that move higher and lower while paying attention to posture, breath, resonance, and vowel shape. Students also listen to and examine how composers use range and musical form (sections like A and B) to create contrast and expression. By the end of the week, each singer creates a personal range plan that honors voice change and sets realistic goals for healthy growth.

Essential Questions

• How can I safely explore higher and lower notes in my changing 7th grade voice?
• How do posture, breathing, resonance, and vowel shape help me sing across a wider range without strain?
• How do musical elements and form (melody, dynamics, sections like A/B) use range to create contrast and mood?
• What is my comfortable range right now, and how can I grow it slowly and safely over time?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate healthy, age-appropriate technique (alignment, breath, resonance, vowels) while singing within and slightly beyond their comfortable range.
2. Identify and describe their current comfortable singing range, noting spots where the voice feels more or less stable.
3. Use gentle, stepwise exercises and small extensions to explore higher and lower notes with minimal tension.
4. Listen to vocal excerpts and identify how range and musical form (A/B/ABA) create contrast and shape expression.
5. Mark and describe where a song’s melody changes range from section to section (e.g., higher B section, lower A section).
6. Create a personal range plan with at least one healthy range goal and one specific strategy to support voice change.

Standards Alignment — Grade 7 Vocal Music (custom, NAfME-style)

• VM:Pr4.7a — Demonstrate healthy, age-appropriate vocal technique (posture, breathing, resonance, vowel shape) with awareness of voice change.
  • Example: Students adjust vowel shapes to improve tone and reduce strain in higher notes.
• VM:Re7.7a — Identify and describe how musical elements and form function in vocal music selections.
  • Example: Students identify an ABA form and describe how the “B” section creates contrast.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can show healthy technique while singing in my comfortable range and when I gently explore a little higher or lower.
• I can describe where my voice feels most comfortable and where it starts to feel unstable.
• I can explain how a song’s A and B sections use different ranges or dynamics to create contrast.
• I can mark and talk about where the melody moves higher or lower in a piece.
• I can create a realistic range goal and name one or two technique strategies to help me get there safely.