Modeligo National School Music Plan

1. Underpinning Principles

The guiding principles which inform the teaching and learning of Music in our school are:

Music is for all teachers and all children
The three strands are equally important:
- i. Listening and Responding
- ii. Performing
- iii. Composing
Active enjoyable participation is fundamental to the Music curriculum
Music enhances and enriches the child's life.

Rationale/Vision

Our school recognises that Music education is part of a balanced curriculum which aims to develop the whole spectrum of the child's intelligence. We also seek to develop the child's aesthetic, intellectual, emotional, creative and cultural development through engagement in positive musical experiences. This plan is intended to guide teachers in their individual planning for Music.

Aims

We endorse the aims of the Primary Curriculum for music, which are:

to enable the child to enjoy and understand music and to appreciate it critically
to develop the child's openness to, awareness of and response to a wide range of musical genres, including Irish music
to develop the child's capacity to express ideas, feeling and experiences through music as an individual and in collaboration with others
to enable the child to develop his/her musical potential and to experience the excitement and satisfaction of being actively engaged in musical creativity
to nurture the child's self-esteem and self-confidence through participation in music performance
to foster higher-order thinking and lifelong learning through the acquisition of musical knowledge, skills, concepts and values
to enhance the quality of the child's life through aesthetic musical experience.

2. Approaches and Methodologies

All children will be actively engaged in music education in our school. Approaches and methodologies used will be based on the active learning strategies recommended in the curriculum:

talk and discussion
active learning
collaborative learning
problem solving
skills through content
use of environment

Through engaging in the strands and strand units the child should be enabled to develop a sense of the Musical Concepts of pulse, duration, tempo, pitch, dynamics, structure, timbre, texture and style.

3. Linkage and Integration

Particular attention will be given to possibilities for integration. As a staff we see possibilities for integrating our work in music with the following aspects of other subject areas:

Oral language (English/Gaeilge)
Design and make (Science)
Energy and forces — Sound (Science)
Visual arts: Construction, Drawing, Painting
P.E: Dance — Exploration, creation and performance of dance
History — stories that go with particular songs, songs relating to historical events
Geography — songs relating to different countries or counties
Religion — Songs from religion programme, Preparation for sacraments, School Choir

Integration may also be approached through planning on a thematic basis. As a staff we will avail of opportunities for linkage between strands when planning individual music activities.

4. Assessment and Record Keeping

We will use the following assessment tools for assessing pupils:

Teacher observation
Teacher designed tasks / activities
Projects e.g. composition projects, Christmas carol service, Choir etc.

5. Children with Different Needs

It is the policy of our school that all children will participate in music activities and these will be differentiated in order to meet the needs of all the children in each class.

Where a teacher recognises that a child displays a particular ability in Music, this will be communicated to the parents, so that the child may have opportunity to take out of school music lessons, circumstances permitting. We recognise that some children in our school learn musical instruments. Teachers will encourage such children to play for their classmates, so that the other children will have opportunities to listen and respond to live music.

6. Equality of Participation and Access

Equal opportunities will be given to all children regardless of gender, ethnic background, socio-economic status across all strands and activities.

7. Timetable

All classes will have a minimum of one hour per week of Music. This time allocation may be broken down at the discretion of the individual teacher. We recognise that in the junior classes, the time allotted will be of shorter duration on a more frequent basis, while senior classes may divide the hour into longer time spans, such as two thirty-minute sessions, or three twenty-minute sessions.

Teachers may also choose to block times for music at particular times of the year. Timetables will all record the time allocation for Music.

There are two hours of discretionary time available each week that teachers can occasionally use to support the Music curriculum.

Teachers should ensure that pupils attending supplementary teaching are included for as much of the Music programme as possible.

8. Resources and ICT

Teachers may use a variety of resources / technology in their delivery of the curriculum such as the music programme "The Right Note", which covers all elements of the music curriculum.

Instruments

A wide range of percussion instruments, including chime bars, xylophones etc. Children's own instruments used where appropriate.

Assembly

We have a weekly assembly. The music programme forms a central part of assembly each week. We teach songs to the whole school on a variety of themes. We also include part singing, music and movement activities and listening exercises in assembly from time to time.

9. Specialist Teaching Support

From time to time, specialist agencies such as Waterford Music Partnership may support enhanced music education in our school. An appropriate amount of money will be requested from the Board of Management, in this case and a contribution may also be requested from the Parents' Association.

Staff Development

The specialist support outlined above will serve as a key professional development (PD) opportunity for teachers. Obviously, there may be other opportunities for PD that staff avail of, from time to time.

10. Health and Safety

Care and attention will be given to the following:

Hidden dangers if children are moving around the classroom
Storage facilities
Access to, and transport of, equipment/instruments
Ventilation of the classrooms
Amount of space for children to sit or stand when doing choral or instrumental work
Appropriate volume levels when using audio equipment and instruments.

11. Individual Teachers' Planning and Reporting

Children will have opportunities to experience aspects of all three strands of the music curriculum throughout the year.

12. Community Involvement/Links

The local community/parents and musicians living locally will be considered as valuable resources as support for the Music Curriculum.

Listed below are activities / initiatives which happen in our school annually or bi-annually:

School mass
Christmas carol service in local church
Confirmation
Communion

Occasionally, we use our school tour to enable the children to see a musical or a pantomime.

Success Criteria

Self-assessment

Have I/we covered the agreed strand units?
What do I/we need to change?

Pupil Assessment

Pupil's own self assessment — using traffic lights system
Teacher observation
Teacher designed tasks and tests
DES/outside assessment

Implementation — Roles and Responsibilities

The principal will be responsible for overall development of the music curriculum. He will delegate tasks as appropriate to the musical interests of members of staff. It will be his remit to liaise with others within the school community on the matter of music development within the school. He will also be responsible for all resources.

Review — Roles and Responsibilities

Each teacher and the staff as a group will evaluate the progress in Music by referring back to our set of stated objectives as stated in this plan.

Ratification and Communication

This school plan for music has been ratified by the Board of Management on 12 May 2021. It will be reviewed 2023–2024.

Chairperson, BoM: Sr. Veronica Casey

Appendix I — Content Objectives for each class level

Listening and Responding

Strand Unit: Exploring Sounds

1st & 2nd Classes

Environmental Sounds

Listen to, identify and imitate familiar sounds in the environment with increasing awareness
Recognise and classify sounds using differing criteria

Vocal Sounds

Recognise and demonstrate pitch differences
Identify pitch differences in different voices
Explore the natural speech rhythm of familiar words

Body Percussion

Discover ways of making sounds using body percussion

Instruments

Explore ways of making sounds using manufactured and home-made instruments
Explore how the different instruments can suggest different sounds.

3rd & 4th Classes

Environmental Sounds

Listening to and describe a widening variety of sound from an increasing range of sources
Classify and describe sounds within a narrow range

Vocal Sounds

Recognise and demonstrate pitch differences
Discover the different kinds of sounds that the singing voice can make
Imitate patterns of long or short sounds vocally

Body Percussion

Discover ways of making sounds using body percussion, in pairs and small groups

Instruments

Explore ways of making sounds using manufactured and home-made instruments
Explore how the tone colour of suitable instruments can suggest various sounds and sound pictures

5th & 6th Classes

Environmental Sounds

Listen to sounds in the environment with an increasing understanding of how sounds are produced and organised

Vocal Sounds

Explore a range of sounds that the singing voice and the speaking voice can make
Distinguish and describe vocal ranges and tone colours heard in a piece of music

Body Percussion

Identify a variety of ways of making sounds using body percussion in pairs and in small and large groups

Instruments

Explore ways of making sounds using manufactured and home-made instruments
Explore how the tone colour of suitable instruments can suggest various sounds and sound pictures

Strand Unit: Listening and Responding to Music

1st & 2nd Classes (P33/34 curriculum)

Listen to a range of short, familiar and unfamiliar pieces of music or excerpts
Respond imaginatively to pieces of music through movement
Talk about pieces of music, giving preferences, and illustrate responses in a variety of ways
Show the steady beat in listening to live or recorded music, accompanying or chants
Differentiate between steady music and music without a steady beat
Identify and show the tempo of the music as fast or slow, getting faster or getting slower
Differentiate between sounds at different dynamic levels (loud and soft, getting louder and softer)
Perceive the difference between long and short sound
Identify obviously different instruments

3rd & 4th Classes (P50/51 curriculum)

Listen to and describe music in various styles and genres, including familiar excerpts, recognising its function and historical context where appropriate
Describe initial reactions to, or feelings about, his/her compositions and the compositions, giving preferences
Respond imaginatively to longer pieces of music in a variety of ways
Show the steady beat in listening to live or recorded music, accompanying or chants
Differentiate between steady music and music without a steady beat
Recognise strong and weak beats, illustrating them through gestures
Identify and show the tempo of the music as fast or slow, getting faster or getting slower
Distinguish between sounds of different duration (long or short) while listening to music
Identify some families of instruments
Respond appropriately to obviously different sections in a piece
Discover 2-time beat and 3-time beat by using gesture to accompany music
Experience 6/8 time (like a jig)

5th & 6th Classes (P68/69/70 Curriculum)

Listen to and describe a broad range of musical styles and traditions, including familiar excerpts, recognising its function and historical context where appropriate
Listen to his/her own compositions and the compositions of others — recording or live performances — and evaluate in terms of personal response, choice of instruments and expressive qualities
Respond imaginatively to longer pieces in a variety of ways
Identify families of instruments
Examine the effects produced by different instruments
Distinguish the main instrument heard in a piece of music
Recognise and understand how tempo and dynamic choices contribute to an expressive musical performance
Recognise strong and weak beats, illustrating them through gestures
Identify two-beat or three-beat time in moving to music
Identify six-eight time in moving to music
Determine simple form and represent through gesture
Experience dotted rhythms or syncopation in familiar tunes through gestures and movement.

Performing

Performing Strand Unit: Singing

1st & 2nd Classes (P35 curriculum)

Recognise and sing with increasing vocal control and confidence a growing range of songs and melodies
Recognise and imitate short melodies in echoes
Show the steady beat when performing familiar songs, singing games or rhythmic chants
Understand the difference between beat and rhythm
Perceive the shape of melodies as moving upwards, downwards or staying the same
Select the dynamic most suitable to a song
Notice obvious differences created between sections of songs in various forms

3rd & 4th Classes (P52/53 curriculum)

Unison singing

Sing from memory a widening repertoire of songs with increasing vocal control, confidence and expression
Show greater control of pulse and tempo while singing well-known tunes
Understand the difference between beat and rhythm
Perform familiar songs with increasing understanding and control of pitch and extended vocal range
Performing familiar songs with increasing awareness of dynamics, phrasing and expression
Notice obvious differences created between sections of songs in various forms

Simple part singing

Perform a rhythmic or melodic ostinato or drone in accompanying a song
Perform, in groups, simple rounds in two or more parts

5th & 6th Classes (P71/72 Curriculum)

Unison singing

Recognise and sing from memory a more demanding repertoire of songs with an awareness of the music's social, historical and cultural contexts
Sing independently with increasing awareness and control of pulse, tempo, pitch, diction and posture
Perform familiar songs with increased control; dynamics, phrasing and expression
Relate words and mood of a song to style and performance
Notice the differences created between the sections of songs in different forms
Explore structural elements within familiar songs

Simple part singing

Perform a rhythmic or melodic ostinato or drone in accompanying a song
Distinguish individual parts in a round by singing, listening, moving or by observing notational cues
Perform a round in several different textures
Perform, as part of a group, two songs sung individually and as partner songs
Perform as part of a group, arrangements of songs that include simple countermelodies or harmony parts
Identify unison parts and harmony parts visually and aurally

Performing Strand Unit: Literacy

Teacher guidelines: P89–103 General guidelines for Literacy; P90/91 Graphic notation; P82–101 Standard notation; P93 Note values; P96–99 Pitch; P100 Pentatonic music; P95 Exemplar 16 Sequence for teaching a new element; P98/99 Exemplar 17 Stages of pitch notation; P102 Exemplar 19 Introducing a new note; P136 Handsigns; P137 A suggested sequence in rhythm; P138 A suggested sequence in melody.

1st & 2nd Classes (P36/37 curriculum)

Rhythm

Identify and perform familiar rhythm patterns from memory and from notation

Pitch

Recognise the shape of a simple melody
Recognise and sing familiar tunes and singing games within a range of two or three notes

Rhythm & Pitch

Recognise and sing simple tunes, from simplified notation, combining rhythm and pitch

3rd & 4th Classes (P54/55/56 curriculum)

Rhythm

Identify and define the rhythm patterns of well-known songs and chants
Recognise and use some standard symbols to notate metre and rhythm

Pitch

Recognise and sing familiar, simple tunes in a variety of ways
Recognise the shape of melodies on a graphic score or in standard notation
Use standard symbols to identify and sing limited range of notes and melodic patterns
Use standard symbols to notate simple rhythm and pitch

Rhythm & Pitch

Discover how pentatonic tunes can be read, sung and played in g doh, c doh or f doh

5th & 6th Classes (P73/74/75 Curriculum)

Rhythm

Recognise longer and more complex rhythm patterns of familiar songs and chants
Recognise, name and use some standard symbols to notate metre and rhythm

Pitch

Recognise and sing familiar tunes in an increasing variety of ways
Recognise the shape of a melody and movement by steps or by leaps, from a graphic score or from notation

Rhythm & Pitch

Use standard symbols to read, sing and play simple melodies from sight
Use standard symbols with increasing fluency and accuracy to notate simple rhythm and pitch
Recognise that melodies can be read, sung or played in different keys
Read, sing and play simple tunes from sight with C G F as doh
Understand the function of major key signatures as indicating the position of doh

Performing Strand Unit: Playing Instruments

Teacher guidelines: P104–109 General guidelines for playing instruments; P106 The Recorder; P109 Tin Whistle; P130/131 Musical instruments suitable for primary schools; P132–135 How to hold and play some percussion instruments.

All children will receive the opportunity to play untuned and/or tuned percussion/other instruments such as the tin whistle.

1st & 2nd Classes (P38 curriculum)

Play some percussion instruments with confidence
Use percussion instruments to show the beat or rhythm in accompanying songs or rhythmic chants
Identify and perform simple two-note or three-note tunes by ear or from simple notation

3rd & 4th Classes (P57 curriculum)

Discover different ways of playing percussion and melodic instruments
Use percussion instruments to show the beat or rhythm in accompanying songs or rhythmic chants
Identify and perform simple, familiar tunes from memory or from notation

5th & 6th Classes (P76 Curriculum)

Perform a range of playing techniques on a wide selection of percussion and melodic instruments
Use percussion instruments with increasing confidence and skill to accompany tunes, songs and chants
Identify and perform familiar tunes from memory or from notation independently.

Composing

Strand Unit: Improvising and Creating

Teacher guidelines: P110–119 General guidelines for Improvising and creating; P113 Exemplar 20 Accompanying a story, song or game; P114 Exemplar 21 Accompanying a poem; P115 Exemplar 22 Using musical elements; P116 Composing with rhythmic elements; P118 Composing using melodic elements.

1st & 2nd Classes (P39 curriculum)

Select sounds from a variety of sources to illustrate a character or a sequence of events, individually and in groups
Invent and perform short musical pieces with increasing ease and control of musical elements
Recall, answer and invent simple melodic and rhythmic patterns, using voices, body percussion and instruments

3rd & 4th Classes (P58 curriculum)

Select different kinds of sounds (voice, body percussion, untuned and tuned percussion, simple melodic instruments, electronic instruments) to portray a character, a sequence of events or an atmosphere in sound stories
Invent and perform simple musical pieces that show a developing awareness of musical elements
Recall, answer and invent simple melodic and rhythmic patterns, using voice, body percussion and instruments

5th & 6th Classes (Curriculum P77)

Select a wide variety of sound sources (voices, body percussion, untuned and tuned percussion, melodic instruments and technology) for a range of musical purposes
Invent and perform pieces that show an increasing awareness and control of musical elements
Recall, answer and invent melodic and rhythmic patterns, using voices, body percussion and instruments

Composing Strand Unit: Talking about and Recording Compositions

Teacher guidelines: P110–119 General guidelines for Improvising and creating; P120/121 Talking about and recording compositions.

1st & 2nd Classes (P40/41 curriculum)

Talk about his/her work and the work of other children
Invent graphic symbols or use standard notation to represent selected sounds
Record compositions on electronic media

3rd & 4th Classes (P59 curriculum)

Describe and discuss his/her work and the work of other children
Devise and use graphic symbols and/or use standard notation to record simple musical patterns and inventions
Record compositions on electronic media

5th & 6th Classes (P78/79 Curriculum)

Reflect upon and evaluate his/her work and the work of other children
Devise and use graphic symbols and/or use standard notation to record different lines of musical patterns and inventions
Record compositions on electronic media

Appendix II — Literacy: Sequence of Learning

	Junior & Senior Infants	1st & 2nd Classes	Introduced in 3rd / Revised in 4th	5th & 6th Classes
Rhythm	Pictorial symbols cat kit-tens	Pictorial symbols from level 1 leading to the use of these symbols ta ti ti gesture Standard notation	Symbols from level 2 & these new symbols ta-aa ta-aa-aa Standard notation	Symbols from levels 2 & 3 & new rhythm symbol and patterns ta-aa-aa-aa ta- i- ti standard notation
Pitch	Singing two and three note songs Measuring the contour of the melody (up/down)	s–m l–s–m two-line stave soh & mi in different positions i.e. on lines or spaces	l–s–m–r–d three-line stave doh in different positions on three & five-line stave	l–s–m–r–d f–t (d–r–m–f–s–l–t–d′) five-line stave key signature indicates position of doh
Rhythm & Pitch	Rhythm and pitch are combined when children have first learned each separately; children begin to recognise the symbols of rhythm patterns, and also associate pitch with dots/spots on the lines; combining both of these leads to music literacy. Further suggestions for teaching literacy can be found on pages 137/138 and 89–101 in the Teacher Guidelines.