sical programs and learning objectives around them right from the start. So how is that accomplished?


Begin with the end in mind.


Start with your curriculum. You should be looking at a scope and sequence for each grade and each skill. Tis looks different for each teacher and district, but somehow, some- where, you need one. Here is an example of a 2nd grade scope and sequence:


ELEMENT/ GRADE


RHYTHM MELODY HARMONY FORM


TONE QUALITY AND EXPRESSIVE QUALITIES


Second Grade Meter: Duple/triple patterns including Half note Half rest


Melodic Direction Melodic Phrase Low Do High Do


Unison Harmony


Verse & Refrain


Identify instrument families


Once you have a set of skills you want to teach, and a plan for which ones will be assessed formally and informally, the next step is to choose the vehicle in which you will teach and assess these skills. In many cases, this is the song or activity you will use.


An excellent scope and sequence is spiraled, so a teacher never teaches one skill and then leaves it for the rest of the year. But if it was your first time introducing the skill, you would want to make sure that all the other skills involved in that lesson are secure enough to focus on the one new skill. Tis ensures that your lesson has the best chance of success. Be sure to choose high quality music that will be engaging and authentic to the children outside of the assessment value. When a song or activity is inserted just for the sake of assessment, it lacks authenticity. And while children might not be able to articulate this, it can be felt and heard in the quality of the music they make.


Tis is a part of the larger scope and sequence that leads a student from Kindergarten through 5th grade in my district. All skills are cumulative, so as students learn and master skills in each grade, they are not leſt behind but are constantly being expanded and spiraled with one another. Tis is the list of areas where 2nd graders will expand their learning, broken down by musical elements. While the list above is in no way exhaustive, it gives you a clear vision of where you want to go with the kids and which skills need to be consistently spiraled in. If this is the goal from the begin- ning, then assessment is created with these in mind. Next is a sequential action plan to develop this authentically:


Decide which elements are going to be formally assessed and which are going to be informally assessed.


Depending on your district and grading system, align this as best as possible with the report cards or data that is pre- sented to administration. If your district reporting is out of your control, then make sure your data can at least speak to the areas assessed. Here is an example of a simple skill list (created from curriculum seen above) showing what will be formally and informally assessed. Te formal assessments for each grade line up to the SMART goals created by the music department as well as the report card system.


Steady simple bordun Reading rhythm notation


Melodic direction Melodic phrases


Instrument identification


Formal x


x


Informal x


x x x x


Finally, choose the method of assessment. You have an en- tire toolbox of choices at your fingertips; the key is to have them all ready to go. Decide whether you are going to assess individually or in small groups, using a simple notation sys- tem or a more specific rubric, etc. Will you tell the children you are going to assess them or not? How long will/should the assessment take? All of these questions need to be an- swered in your planning phase, not in the moment.


I always advocate for assessments that are innate to the music, that take as little time as possible (while still giving me the information I need) and cause as little disruption to the music and creative experiences as I can. For this reason, I most oſten use a game or activity to single out individuals or small groups and assess them without their knowledge. Also, I regularly use a straightforward 4-3-2-1 system of as- sessing that I learned from Brian Burnett, National Confer- ence Director for the American Orff Schulwerk Association:


4- Yes 3- Yes, but…. 2- No, but…. 1- Not yet


In essence, this gives me a clear picture of where my kids are. 4 means they have mastered it, 3 means they haven’t mastered it but only a few things are missing, 2 means they haven’t mastered it but they are getting some of it correct, and 1 means they aren’t ready for this skill yet. I match these 4 levels to our more specific tonal and rhythmic rubrics for each grade, as well as the students’ “I can” statements, but the simplicity of this process allows me to regularly assess 28-35 students in 5-10 minutes tops! I have an app on my iPad called iDoceo and it allows me to import and export right from PowerSchool. I have all my students listed, their


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