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Pre-Kindergarten Music Units

Unit Plan 8 (PreK Music): Sound Exploration Stations

PreK sound exploration unit where children play instruments and found sounds, copy patterns, and create simple sound pieces while practicing sharing and listening.

Dr. Michael Kester-Haynes

• 7 min read
Unit Plan 8 (PreK Music): Sound Exploration Stations

Focus: Children explore classroom instruments and found sounds to discover how they can make, change, and combine sounds in playful ways.

Grade Level: PreK

Subject Area: Music (Exploring • Creating • Responding)

Total Unit Duration: 3–4 sessions (2+ weeks), 20–25 minutes per session

I. Introduction

Children rotate through sound exploration stations using classroom instruments (shakers, drums, triangles) and simple found sounds (cups, boxes, paper). They discover how to play loud/soft, fast/slow, long/short sounds and learn to take turns, share, and listen to others’ sound ideas. The class practices copying simple patterns, inventing new ones, and organizing sounds into short “mini pieces” to share.

Essential Questions

  • How can we use instruments and objects around us to make different sounds?
  • What happens when we copy, change, or repeat sound patterns?
  • How can we share, take turns, and listen kindly at music stations?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

  1. Explore at least three different sound sources (instruments and found objects) and describe how they sound (e.g., “scratchy,” “ringing,” “boom”).
  2. Copy a simple sound pattern (e.g., clap–clap–tap) made by the teacher or a peer.
  3. Work with a partner or small group to organize sounds into a short pattern and repeat it together.
  4. Show safe, kind instrument use and station behavior (gentle playing, waiting turns, listening).

Standards Alignment — PreK Music (NAfME-Aligned)

  • MU:Cr1.1.PK — Explore musical ideas through play and improvisation.
    • Children experiment with sounds using voice, body, and classroom instruments.
    • Example: Making up sounds for animals or weather.
  • MU:Cr2.1.PK — Organize sounds into simple patterns.
    • Children repeat, echo, and vary short musical ideas.
    • Example: Copying a teacher’s clapped rhythm.

Success Criteria — Student Language

  • “I can try different ways to play instruments and other sound-makers.”
  • “I can copy a sound pattern my teacher or friend makes.”
  • “I can put sounds in an order and do my pattern more than one time.”
  • “I can use gentle hands, listening ears, and kind words at music stations.”