orchestra
fifth graders do not receive a grade for or- chestra on their report card, middle school orchestra students are graded on our five priority standards of create, perform, music literacy, respond and connect. We aligned our learning targets to the priority standards and ensured each category was covered at least once during the school year.
By the end of our time with the instructional coach, we had a solid grades 4–8 orchestra curriculum map outlining what students would learn in each grade, how they would be assessed, and how each target fit into the gradebook. Everyone knew what was hap- pening in each grade, and we had a shared philosophy of what we wanted student learning to look like.
Benefits of Having a Curriculum Map
We are in the first year of implementing our curriculum map, and there are already so many benefits! Lesson and unit planning has become so much faster, easier and con- nected across buildings. We can refer to the plan, see what learning targets need to be covered each quarter, and have the assess- ments and rubrics right at our fingertips. When it comes time to enter grades, we copy and paste the rubrics into the grading system and don’t have to waste precious time creating rubrics ourselves.
Multiple teachers teach each grade level across multiple buildings. The curriculum plan does not force us to teach the les- sons exactly the same way, and we don’t necessarily perform the same repertoire. However, we gathered resources everyone has access to and agreed on what skills and knowledge students should be learning. We often visit each other’s classes and can im- mediately step in to help as we know what skills students are working on.
In addition to being useful to us, the cur- riculum map also shows stakeholders exactly what is happening in the orchestra room. Sometimes administrators may not be fully aware of what is going on in music classrooms, especially if they have no ex- perience with music classes. A curriculum map is a clear way to demonstrate student learning in a language they understand.
Wisconsin School Musician Amery, Appleton, Beloit, Cable, Cambridge, DeForest, Dodgeville, Green Bay, Hayward, Kenosha, Land
O' Lakes, Madeline Island, Madison, Marshfield, Middleton, Monona, Oshkosh, Sun Prairie, Spooner/Shell Lake, Stevens Point, Verona
Thank you to Create Wisconsin, Wisconsin Public Radio, and Wisconsin School Music Association for their sponsorship and support!
With clear rubrics worded in family and student friendly language, families and students know exactly how students are evaluated and the meaning behind the grade. Grading feels more strategic, and we’re aligning expectations and learning outcomes across multiple schools so that grading is fair and comparable no matter where you go to school. Once students enter high school, the high school teacher knows the skills and knowledge students covered in previous years and can build upon prior learning.
Creating a curriculum map may seem time consuming and a lot of work, but our entire
team agreed that a weight had been lifted off our shoulders. Instead of scrambling to create lessons or reinvent the wheel, we now have a concrete resource to guide our lesson planning, assessments, and grading. Additionally, we have a document we can easily share with stakeholders to advocate for ourselves and show exactly what is happening in the classroom. I highly rec- ommend this process to all music teachers!
Kristen Flak-Solom is a grades 6-8 orchestra teacher in the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District.
Email:
kflak-solom@mcpasd.k12.wi.us
MAKE MUSIC DAY Saturday, June 21
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