Unit Plan 26 (Grade 8 Vocal Music): Vocal Storytelling
8th grade choir unit creating and performing original vocal music that tells stories, using musical choices to reflect identity, interests, and goals.
Focus: Create and present vocal music that represents clear narratives or themes, using musical decisions (text, melody, phrasing, dynamics, tone) that reflect students’ identities, interests, and goals as singers.
Grade Level: 8
Subject Area: Vocal Music (Choir • Creativity • Connections)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, students become vocal storytellers. Working individually or in small groups, they choose a story or theme (personal experience, fictional scene, social issue, or big idea) and design a short original vocal piece or arrangement that communicates it. They decide on text, melodic shape, form, and expressive tools (phrasing, dynamics, tone) and then rehearse and present their creations. Throughout, they reflect on how their identity, interests, and goals shape the kind of story they want to tell and how they choose to tell it through music.
Essential Questions
- How can vocal music tell a story or express a theme without visuals or narration?
- How do my identity, interests, and goals influence the stories and themes I want to express in music?
- Which musical choices (text, melody, form, phrasing, dynamics, tone) best support my narrative or message?
- How can I explain to an audience how my musical decisions communicate intent and connect to who I am as a singer?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Identify a narrative or theme they want to express through vocal music (personal, fictional, or issue-based) and connect it to their identity or interests.
- Develop a short vocal creation (original piece, small-group vocal scene, or mini arrangement) with clear structure and intentional use of melody, text, and expressive elements.
- Rehearse their creation to demonstrate craftsmanship (accuracy, coherence, singability) and stylistic awareness (appropriate tone, phrasing, dynamics).
- Present their vocal story to peers, showing confidence and basic performance skills.
- Explain in writing or speech how at least three musical decisions (e.g., range, tempo, articulation, dynamics, texture) support the narrative or theme for an audience.
- Reflect on how their identity, interests, and goals influenced the story they chose and the way they chose to tell it through music.
Standards Alignment — Grade 8 Vocal Music (custom, NAfME-style)
- VM:Cr3.8b — Present a final vocal creation that demonstrates craftsmanship and stylistic awareness, and explain how musical decisions communicate intent to an audience.
- Example: Students perform their composition and explain how articulation, dynamics, and tone supported the text.
- VM:Cn10.8a — Explain how identity, interests, and goals influence musical choices, growth, and leadership as a singer.
- Example: Students set a personal goal (range, confidence, sight-singing) and explain why it matters to them.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can choose a story or theme that matters to me and explain why I picked it.
- I can create a short vocal piece or arrangement where the music matches the story/message.
- I can perform my vocal story with mostly accurate pitches/rhythms and intentional expression.
- I can clearly explain how my musical choices (text, melody, tempo, dynamics, tone) support my narrative or theme.
- I can describe how my identity, interests, and goals as a singer shaped what I created and how I performed it.