Music 11 and 12 IRP This Integrated Resource Package (IRP) sets out the provincially prescribed curriculum for Music 11 and 12. The development of this IRP has been guided by the principles of learning:

Rationale


When students study music they interact with sound, simultaneously engaging mind, body, and spirit. Through creating, performing, listening to, and responding to music, students experience the ways in which music evokes and conveys thoughts, images, and feelings.

Music education makes an essential and unique contribution to students' lifelong intellectual, physical, and emotional development. Music also contributes to a healthier society through shared activities that respect and reflect the diversity of human experience.

Music education, as envisioned in this curriculum, contributes to the intellectual, human, social, and career development of the educated citizen by providing students with opportunities to:

Curriculum Organizers

A curriculum organizer consists of a set of prescribed learning outcomes that share a common focus. The learning outcomes for all Music 11 and 12 courses are listed under the following curriculum organizers and suborganizers:
Composition and Technology 11 and 12 has an additional organizer:

Structure (Elements of Melody)


Prescribed learning outcomes in Elements of Melody describe the learning needed to manipulate the pitch of sounds and their linear arrangement into melodic lines.

Structure (Elements of Rhythm)

Prescribed learning outcomes in Elements of Rhythm describe the learning needed to manipulate the relative duration of sounds in music in the context of a beat or grouping of beats.

Structure (Elements of Expression)

Prescribed learning outcomes in Elements of Expression describe the learning needed to manipulate the harmony, texture, dynamics, tempo, timbre, and articulation of sounds in music.

Structure (Form and Principles of Design)

Music is structured sound. In order to better understand music, students need to learn to distinguish the forms and structures found in music. These forms and structures are based on the principles of design: unity, variety, repetition, emphasis, and pattern.

Musicians use form to structure elements of rhythm, melody, and expression (which include harmony, texture, dynamics, tempo, timbre, and articulation) into a coherent whole.

Thoughts, Images, and Feelings

Students derive personal meaning from music by learning to understand and appreciate the thoughts, images, and feelings it evokes.

Context (Self and Community)

Participation in music experiences contributes to the development of self within the context of the larger community. When students interact with others through a variety of music experiences, they have opportunities to develop a sense of community. Awareness of the roles of composer, performer, and audience is integral to the transformation and balance of community.

Learning within the context of self and community includes opportunities to:


Context (Historical and Cultural)

Music is created, communicated, perceived, and responded to in historical and cultural contexts. Through the study of these contexts, students have opportunities to experience and value the richness and diversity of the human spirit.

Music Kindergarten to Grade 12 Objectives

A set of objectives for learning in music has been developed for Kindergarten to Grade 12. This may help teachers by providing a sense of the overall direction intended for the prescribed learning outcomes. The Music Kindergarten to Grade 12 Curriculum Objectives chart describes the objectives in relation to curriculum structure.

Music Kindergarten to Grade 12 Objectives
Structure

(Elements of Rhythm)

(Elements of Melody)

(Elements of Expression)

(Form and Principles of Design)

 Students create, listen to, and perform music, demonstrating an understanding of the expressive and physical properties of rhythm.

Students create, listen to, and perform music, demonstrating an understanding of the expressive and physical properties of melody.

Students create, listen to, and perform music, demonstrating an understanding of the elements of expression.

Students create, listen to, and perform music, demonstrating an understanding of the elements of form and principles of design.
Thoughts, Images, and Feelings Students create, listen to, and perform music, demonstrating an understanding and appreciation of the thoughts, images, and feelings the music expresses.
Context

(Self and Community)

(Historical and Cultural) 		Students demonstrate an understanding of the various roles and responsibilities required to create, listen to, and perform music.

Students demonstrate an understanding of the music's historical and cultural contexts.

Suggested Instructional Strategies

Instructional strategies have been included for each curriculum organizer and grade level. These strategies are suggestions only, designed to provide guidance for generalist and specialist teachers planning instruction to meet the prescribed learning outcomes. The strategies may be either teacher directed or student directed, or both.

There is not necessarily a one-to-one relationship between learning outcomes and instructional strategies, nor is this organization intended to prescribe a linear means of course delivery. It is expected that teachers will adapt, modify, combine, and organize instructional strategies to meet the needs of students and to respond to local requirements.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

The assessment strategies in this IRP describe a variety of ideas and methods for gathering evidence of student performance, and provide examples of criteria for assessing the extent to which the prescribed learning outcomes have been met. Teachers determine the best assessment methods for gathering this information.

The assessment strategies or criteria examples for a particular organizer are always specific to that organizer. Some strategies relate to particular activities, while others are general and could apply to any activity.

About Assessment in General

Assessment is the systematic process of gathering information about students' learning in order to describe what they know, are able to do, and are working toward. From the evidence and information collected in assessments, teachers describe each student's learning and performance. They use this information to provide students with ongoing feedback, plan further instructional and learning activities, set subsequent learning goals, and determine areas for further instruction and intervention. Teachers determine the purpose, aspects, or attributes of learning on which to focus the assessment. They also decide when to collect the evidence and which assessment methods, tools, or techniques are most appropriate.

Assessment focusses on the critical or significant aspects of the learning that students will be asked to demonstrate. Students benefit when they clearly understand the learning goals and learning expectations.

Evaluation involves interpreting assessment information in order to make further decisions (e.g., set student goals, make curricular decisions, plan instruction). Student performance is evaluated from the information collected through assessment activities. Teachers use their insight, knowledge about learning, and experience with students, along with the specific criteria they establish, to make judgments about student performance in relation to learning outcomes.

Students benefit when evaluation is provided on a regular, ongoing basis. When evaluation is seen as an opportunity to promote learning rather than as a final judgment, it shows learners their strengths and suggests how they can develop further. Students can use this information to redirect efforts, make plans, and establish future learning goals.

The assessment of student performance is based on a wide variety of methods and tools, ranging from portfolio assessment to pencil-and-paper tests. Appendix D includes a more detailed discussion of assessment and evaluation.

About the Provincial Learning Assessment Program

The Provincial Learning Assessment Program gathers information on students' performance throughout the province. Results from these assessments are used in the development and revision of curricula, and provide information about teaching and learning in British Columbia. Where appropriate, knowledge gained from these assessments has influenced the assessment strategies suggested in this IRP.

Provincial Reference Sets

The provincial reference sets can also help teachers assess the skills that students acquire across curricular areas. These are: A series of assessment handbooks developed to provide guidance for teachers as they explore and expand their assessment repertoires is also available:

Integration of Cross-Curricular Interests

Throughout the curriculum development and revision process, the development team has done its best to ensure that relevance, equity, and accessibility issues are addressed in this IRP. These issues have been integrated into the learning outcomes, suggested instructional strategies, and assessment strategies in this IRP with respect to the following: (See Appendix C, Cross-Curricular Interests, for more information.)

Learning Resources

The Ministry of Education promotes the establishment of a resource-rich learning environment through the evaluation of educationally appropriate materials intended for use by teachers and students. The media formats include, but are not limited to, materials in print, video, and software, as well as combinations of these formats. Resources that support provincial curricula are identified through an evaluation process that is carried out by practising teachers. It is expected that classroom teachers will select resources from those that meet the provincial criteria and that suit their particular pedagogical needs and audiences. Teachers who wish to use non-provincially recommended resources to meet specific local needs must have these resources evaluated through a local district approval process.

The use of learning resources involves the teacher as a facilitator of learning. However, students may be expected to have some choice in materials for specific purposes, such as independent reading or research. Teachers are encouraged to use a variety of resources to support learning outcomes at any particular level. A multimedia approach is also encouraged.

Some selected resources have been identified to support cross-curricular focus areas. The ministry also considers special-needs audiences in the evaluation and annotation of learning resources. As well, special-format versions of some selected resources (braille and taped-book formats) are available.

Learning resources for use in BC schools fall into one of two categories: provincially recommended materials or locally evaluated materials.

All learning resources used in schools must have recommended designation or be approved through district evaluation and approval policies.

Provincially Recommended Materials

Materials evaluated through the provincial evaluation process and approved through Minister's Order are categorized as recommended materials. These resources are listed in Appendix B of each IRP.

Locally Evaluated Materials

Learning resources may be approved for use according to district policies, which provide for local evaluation and selection procedures.

Internet Resources

Some teachers have found that the Internet (World Wide Web) is a useful source of learning resources. None of the material from this source has been evaluated by the ministry, in part because of the dynamic nature of the medium.

Organizing for Instruction



There are several educational, social, and technical issues to consider before starting a music program. The following is a general guide to issues common to all areas of music.

Considerations for Planning

A music program should include a range of opportunities for creating, listening to, and performing music. These experiences will serve as the basis for exploring music concepts articulated by this curriculum.

Instructional strategies suggested in this IRP are aimed at encouraging students to explore and express themselves through music, and to reflect on their own work and that of others. Teachers are encouraged to plan both individual and group work, and to include a range of cultural content.

In planning a music program, teachers might find it helpful to:

Creating Music

Two important broad aspects of music are creating and responding.

Depending on the particular classroom situation, initial activities in music creation may need to be very structured. Once students are familiar with the process, less-structured activities can be included. Equipment familiar to the teacher should be available to students. Found and homemade instruments can be used along with classroom instruments and technology.

The steps suggested in the Creating Music chart may help teachers structure activities that allow students to create compositions as a whole class, in small groups, or individually. These suggestions are intended to be flexible enough to suit students with varied musical backgrounds.


Creating Music

These steps may be combined or rearranged to suit the situation.

1. Provide a context or motivation for composition. Student-created compositions can illustrate a larger context. For example, students can demonstrate their understanding of the elements of expression, the principles of design, or the historical and cultural contexts of music.

2. Discuss objectives and establish criteria.

3. Guide students as they create compositions. Assist them as they:

  • decide on a focus (e.g., expressing a feeling or idea; matching sounds with visual images; interpreting a poem or story; creating a soundtrack for a cartoon; exploring specific elements of rhythm, melody, or expression; transforming a previously composed work; solving a given problem)
  • collect sounds and melodic or rhythmic ideas (e.g., animal, electronic, and environmental sounds; found objects; acoustic and electronic musical instruments; voices; body percussion)
  • explore (balance instructional time and problem-solving activities)
  • develop compositions (combine and sequence sounds into compositions or forms of expression that are personally meaningful)
  • refine and evaluate
4. Give students opportunities to rehearse and perform their compositions.

5. Encourage students to reflect on and assess their work.

6. Help students extend and redirect their experiences.

7. Encourage students to talk about their projects to composers; listen to recordings of music that illustrate the same principles they were using; attend live performances; adapt or expand their original ideas to create a new compositions; or apply their compositions to other subject areas such as dance, literature, or visual arts.

Adapted from Arts Education: A Curriculum Guide for Grade 8 (Saskatchewan Education, Training and Employment, September 1994).

Responding to Music

Listening to live or recorded music should be an active experience for audience members. Teachers should encourage students to become immersed in the music aurally, emotionally, and physically.

Students bring varied perspectives and associations, cultural and personal backgrounds, and ways of knowing to their responses to music presentations. Because these perspectives are personal and will vary from student to student, an atmosphere of trust and respect must be established. Students should be asked to express their opinions, and encouraged to realize that their unique perspectives will enhance other students' listening experiences.

People respond in different ways to the same music presentation. It is also true that one person can, and in most cases should, respond in more than one way. The following are three ways students may respond to their work, the work of peers, or professional live performances or recorded music:
Students also benefit from opportunities to research, analyse, and interpret the context of music of various cultures and time periods. The following topics might be considered: The steps suggested in the Responding to Music chart may help teachers structure formal response activities. These suggestions are intended to be flexible enough to suit students with varied musical backgrounds.

Responding to Music

These steps may be combined or rearranged to suit the situation.

1. Preparation--establish the focus for listening to the music.

2. First impressions--encourage students to respond spontaneously (no wrong answers).

3. Description--ask students to take inventory of what they heard, responding objectively rather than interpretively

4. Analysis--encourage students to:

  • use appropriate terminology to identify relationships between and within the structural elements of music and the principles of design
  • identify the structure or form
  • identify cultural influences represented in the music
  • identify how the musician used the elements and principles to achieve certain effects
  • reflect on and discuss what the music means to them (e.g., What is the work about? What does it mean? Why did the artist create the work?)
  • analyse how their responses are influenced by their experiences and perceptions of the world
5. Background information--ask students to research (or provide) biographical, historical, and cultural information about the composer or performer.

6. Informed judgment--ask students to refer back to their first impressions and support their initial opinions of the work or develop and support new opinions of the music and its value based on their discussions, research, and reflections.

Adapted from Arts Education: A Curriculum Guide for Grade 8 (Saskatchewan Education, Training and Employment, September 1994).

Introducing Controversial Content

Of particular issue to music classes is the appropriateness of music repertoire. While this curriculum advocates providing opportunities for students to play, listen to, and discuss their own music choices, teachers should ensure that unsuitable music (e.g., containing obscenities, images of violence, or gender-role stereotypes) is not played unless an appropriate context has been established.

It is recommended that teachers listen to students' musical choices before allowing them to be played, and prepare to focus discussion on any sensitive issues that may arise. Music for particular occasions or contexts (e.g., Christmas, Halloween, national anthems, political protest songs) may be religiously or culturally objectionable for some students. Teachers should ensure that a range of contexts in performing and listening repertoire be represented, and should be prepared to offer alternative strategies.

Responding to Sensitive Issues

Some students or their parents may be concerned about certain matters arising from music classroom activities (e.g., religious or cultural contexts, social pressure on adolescents, human sexuality, standards of personal behaviour, assertive communication). The following are some suggested guidelines for dealing with sensitive issues:

Working with the Music Community

To broaden the range of music opportunities for students, teachers may wish to team teach with other music instructors and musicians in the community (e.g., performers, teachers, therapists, technicians).

When working with guest composers and musicians, teachers should:

When students are working as composers or conductors with peers or younger students, encourage them to consider the following: Teachers and students should consider the following community resources for broadening the range of learning opportunities in music:

Creating a Safe Learning Environment

Teachers should address the following questions prior to, during, and after an activity:
In addition to physical safety, teachers should consider the emotional safety of students when planning a music program. Be sensitive to individual students, and be prepared to respond to unique situations and to develop creative strategies to deal with rivalry, stress, stage fright, and so on. Teachers should also be aware of activities that may cause emotional or psychological stress for individual students (e.g., public performances, performance tests) and be prepared to offer alternative strategies as necessary.

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Maintained by: Fine Arts Coordinator - Music

Revised: January 25, 1999

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