Music

Introduction

This information outlines the knowledge, language and concepts that should be taught in Music. It includes:

• A summary of the Music knowledge and principles that underpin our approach
• Long Term Sequence (curriculum map) for Music

 

Intent

We have deliberately built our Music curriculum around the principles of evidence-led practice. This is to ensure that pupils are equipped to successfully think, work and communicate like a musician. Unapologetically ambitious, our music curriculum focuses on core areas of study: performing, composing, musical notation, study of seminal musicians and compositions, study of the history of music. Our intention is unmissable; exceptional teacher instruction inspires pupils to acquire knowledge, as a musician, and enable them to skilfully attempt and apply their understanding through high-quality development as a musician. It is our intention that through studying Music, pupils become more expert as they progress through the curriculum, accumulating, connecting and making sense of the rich substantive and disciplinary knowledge.

 

Implementation

We implement our intent using CUSP Music.   A guiding principle of CUSP Music is that each study draws upon prior learning. This makes it easier to cognitively process. This helps to accelerate new learning as children integrate prior understanding.

 

Learning Sequences

We organise intended learning into modules. These group the knowledge, skills and understanding that we want children to remember, do and use.  

Each module aims to activate and build upon prior learning, including from the early years, to ensure better cognition and retention.  It includes contextual reference materials, vocabulary modules focusing on language of emotion, explanatory videos and annotated exemplifications. Teacher videos complement the content in each module and provide clear instruction. The exemplifications can be used to support assessment of pupil outcomes and to support teachers in developing their own subject knowledge. Teachers are also provided with a list of materials and resources that they will need to teach each module. 

Central to the learning modules are activities designed to develop pupils’ oracy and vocabulary skills to enable them to use artistic language meaningfully when talking about their work and the work of others. Along with this, connections to other subject areas are listed as are the links that are made, in the lesson sequences, to works of literature.

An overview of the core content provides information about the skills covered across the term in each year group. This enables teachers to see the progression of skills covered within each aspect of art.

 

Lesson Structure

Lessons typically are split into six phases:

• CONNECT This provides an opportunity to connect the lesson to prior learning from a previous module or lesson. Teachers return children’s attention to the previous lesson’s knowledge note/the big idea for the learning module, including key vocabulary. Examples of thinking harder routines include Flick Back 5, Recap questions, Quizzing. Retrieval practice allows all pupils to take time to remember things and activate their memories. Quizzing allows questions to be asked and allows pupils to carry out retrieval practice. Cumulative quizzing, allows for a few questions to be asked each lesson, which are built upon the previous lesson.
• EXPLAIN This is the explicit teaching that needs to take place. Teachers should ensure they are clear what they want children to know and remember. They plan for and explicitly address common misconceptions so they can address these in lessons as they arise. They should be clear about the substantive knowledge and the vocabulary that they want children to understand in the session.  This can be developed using key information, facts, and images so that explanations are precise.
• EXAMPLE Providing pupils with high-quality examples is essential for learning. Pupils need to see worked examples. My turn, our turn, your turn is a technique that can be used to explicitly teach vocabulary and new concepts.  Prepared examples should be carefully planned and need to be evident in teaching. An example in geography could be demonstrating how to label a map, before labelling a map together.
• ATTEMPT Guiding pupil practice allows pupils to rehearse, rephrase and elaborate their learning. Children need the chance to attempt and verbalise their understanding. Children’s own attempts are what help them to secure their understanding. Children need to have time to struggle and understand for themselves. This is not necessarily something that is recorded in books. This phase provides opportunities for teachers to check in with pupils to see who may need more challenge/support/scaffolds and if any misconceptions have arisen that need to be addressed. Extending the previous geography example, pupils could practice labelling a map.
• APPLY This is where pupils would typically begin to record in books. The number of scaffolds may vary.
• CHALLENGE Teachers get the children to interrogate their learning - summarise, explain, compare and contrast. Tools are built into routines to reduce overload and allow for hard thinking. These can be adapted for children based on their individual needs.

 

Long Term Sequence

Year Group	Term 1		Term 2		Term 3
Year 1	Being together in music Control the voice - nursery rhymes Singing	Introducing rhythm and pulse Representing sounds pictorially Untuned Percussion	Introducing pitch Identify changes in sounds (high/low) Singing	Introducing tempo and dynamic  Identify changes in sounds (Fast/slow/loud/soft) Untuned Percussion	Exploring emotions through music Responding to music Singing	Introducing tempo and dynamic 2 Control and describe tempo and dynamic Tuned Percussion
Year 2	Experimenting with sounds 2 Representing sounds pictorially Untuned Percussion	Being together in music 2 Control the voice - sing as a choir Singing	Introducing rhythm and pulse 2 Compose short patterns Untuned Percussion	Introducing pitch 2 Control and describe pitch Singing	Introducing tempo and dynamic 2 Control and describe tempo and dynamic Tuned Percussion	Exploring emotions through music 2 Choose sounds to create an effect Singing
Year 3	Introducing texture Sing parts in an ensemble (e.g. rounds) Singing	Mastering rhythm Recognise beats in a bar (time signatures/metre) Untuned Percussion	The history of singing Singing for togetherness e.g. folk songs, war chants, hymns Singing	Musical notation Introduce the staff Glockenspiel	Composition Compose in pairs Glockenspiel	Introducing timbre Perform as an ensemble Range of instruments
Year 4	Mastering rhythm 2 Follow beats in a bar (times signatures/metre) Untuned Percussion	Introducing texture 2 Sing parts in an ensemble (harmony) Singing	Musical notation 2 Revisit the staff Glockenspiel	The history of singing 2 Singing for entertainment e.g. opera, theatrical, modernism Singing	Composition 2 Perform including an element of composition Range of instruments	Introducing timbre 2 Identify and describe how sounds are combined Glockenspiel
Year 5	Musical stories One-piece, different performances Untuned Percussion	Introducing structure Identify parts of a song Singing	Musical notation 3 Follow musical notation Keyboard	Music technology Alter pitch and dynamic to create effects Singing	Composition 3 Perform including an element of composition Range of instruments	Improvisation  Improve using repeated patterns Keyboard
Year 6	Musical stories 2 Cultural and social - lyrics Singing	Music technology 2 Alter tempo and rhythm to create effects Untuned Percussion	Introducing structure 2 Identify cycle patterns inc. verse/chorus, coda Singing	Musical notation 4 Create simple notation Keyboard	Composition 4 Improvise using melodic phrases Keyboard	Improvisation 2 Perform including an element of improvisation Range of instruments

 

 

Impact

In order to identify the impact our curriculum is having on our pupils, we check the extent to which learning has become permanently embedded in children’s long-term memory in addition to looking for excellence in their outcomes. We use four main tools to quality assure the implementation and impact of our curriculum:

• Learning observations help to evaluate subject knowledge, explanations, expectations, opportunities to learn, pupil responses, participation and relationships.
• Professional growth models help to improve staff subject knowledge and evidence informed practice such as retrieval and spaced practice, interleaving and explicit instruction techniques.
• Assessment and achievement articulate the outcomes from tasks and tests, how well the content is understood and what the strengths and limitations are; it informs what to do next.
• Pupil Book Studies help to evaluate curriculum structures, teaching methods, pupil participation and response through a dialogic model.

When undertaking these we ask the following key questions:

• How well do pupils remember the content that they have been taught?
• Do books and pupil discussions radiate excellence?
• Does learning ‘travel’ with pupils and can they deliberately reuse it in more sophisticated contexts?

Teachers employ a range of strategies both at and after the point of teaching to check the impact of their teaching on the permanence of pupils’ learning. These include: retrieval practice, vocabulary use and application, deliberate practice and rephrasing of taught content, cumulative quizzing within the learning sequence, summarising and explaining the learning question from the sequence, tests and quizzes.   The assessment of pupils is formative based on pupil outcomes and questioning from each lesson. The following can be used to assess pupils’ knowledge and application of music and their understanding and use of music vocabulary:

The best form of assessment in music is in-action, while pupils are working. This helps us to understand pupils’ development as musicians, rather than their ability to produce a prescribed end outcome. By encouraging pupils to articulate their thinking and reflections, we can understand which aspects of music development they may require additional teaching in and reshape teaching to support this.

We use summative assessment is ‘to provide an accurate shared meaning without becoming the model for every classroom activity’ (Christodolou, 2017). If our curriculum is effective, it will lead to improvements in summative assessments over time. Teacher assessment judgements are against an agreed assessment model (the curriculum). We make summative judgements annually. Teachers record summative judgements on OTrack.

Pupil book study is used as a method to quality assure our curriculum by talking to the children and looking in pupils’ books. We do this after content has been taught to see the extent to which pupils are knowing more, remembering more and able to do more.  In preparation, we review the planned content, knowledge and vocabulary, so that conversations with pupils are meaningful and focused on what has been taught. When looking at books, we look at the content and knowledge, teaching sequence and vocabulary. We also consider pupils’ participation and consider the explanations and models used, the tasks the pupils are asked to do, the ability to answer carefully selected questions and retrieve information and the impact of written feedback.  We ask careful questions that probe their knowledge, understanding and skills.

The Subject Leader undertakes a range of activities to understand what the curriculum looks like across the school and how well pupils know more, remember more and can do more as a result. In addition to the above tools, they use learning walks, planning reviews and book looks.  They use their findings to support teachers to improve how they implement subjects and to make recommendations about the suitability of the intent for their subject.  The Subject Leader formally reports on impact of the curriculum termly to the Curriculum Leader, Principal and Governors.