National Core Arts Music Standards Written as "I Can" Statements

In many situations, elementary general music teachers are required to tie their lessons back to the National Core Arts Standards or local standards for music education. In the case of local standards, these have most often developed in reference to the National Core Arts standards.

For some of us, aligning our active music experiences to the National Standards can feel tricky. This may feel like one of the highest priorities for our administrators to see in our lesson plans. Yet, it might be an area that was overlooked in teacher training courses.

Today we’ll look at the National Standards for Music Education. We’ll talk about what they are. We’ll talk about what they aren’t. And we’ll talk about translating them into student-voice “I Can” statements.

Download the 20-page printable PDF with all standards at the bottom of this post.

Here we go!

 
 

What Are the National Music Standards?

The National Core Arts Standards (NCAS) outline four artistic processes that all Artists engage in.

These four musical processes are Performing, Responding, Creating, and Connecting.

In other disciplines, Performing is called presenting for visual arts, or producing for media arts.

Artistic Roles: Doer, Thinker, Inventor

We might think of these processes - performer, responder, creator, and connector - as the different hats we wear as musicians.

Musicians might take on several different roles relating to music, depending on their experience and the setting. A guitar player on stage in front of an audience will take on a different musical role than the person who programmed the lights for the show to match the key musical moments. The person who programmed the lights has a different role than the song-writer who created the song.

Each of these people is engaged in the music, though only one of them is on stage. These three roles illustrate the three artistic processes outlined in the Standards. I think of these three roles as the musical doer, thinker, and inventor.

Performer (Doer)

A musical performer is a doer. They actualize music by carefully selecting songs or pieces, interpreting a score, making thoughtful performance decisions, working to improve their performance, and tailoring their presentation for their audience.

Responder (Thinker)

A responder is a thinker. A responder considers things like what gives music its meaning, what musical expressions lead us to feel certain ways, and how we might evaluate music based on the context.

Creator (Inventor)

A creator is an inventor. A creator spends their time imagining ideas, finding a way to preserve them, and reworking them again and again until their final product is complete.

Connector (All three)

In the connecting processes, an artist shows how music is connected to other experiences, contexts, and subjects.

Connecting is the artistic process that at first glance may seem to be overlooked. However, the authors of the standards point out that the process of connecting is embedded in each of the other roles.

To use our example earlier, the guitar player considers the performance venue and context in their presentation of the song. The person programming the lighting synthesizes their technical training with lights and their musical thinking to create the lighting map. The songwriter would have a backstory about how and why the song was written, and perhaps a personal experience or story they heard that shaped the final song.

Each process includes opportunities to show how music is interconnected with many other areas.

“I can theorize” vs “I can do”

One of the challenges music teachers can face is how to apply the standards to an active music room.

Nowhere in the standards are the words, “sing” or “speak” used. Movements and instruments are only mentioned once in preschool and kindergarten as media students can use to create ideas.

Instead of words like sing, speak, play, or move, the standards are full of words like “discuss” “consider” “state” “demonstrate” “describe” and “explain.”

Why might that be?

For many music teachers, this can strike us as odd - why do the music standards seem to lack active music-making language?

The reason is that the standards are not intended or designed to primarily focus on musical performance skills. That is not the purpose of these standards. This is a distinction between musical skills and musical literacy.

Expanding Notational Literacy

Literacy is a term we often use in its connection to notational literacy. The goal of notational literacy is for students to read and write.

However, the authors of the standards are using it to describe literacy beyond notation. They define artistic literacy as:

knowledge and understanding required to participate authentically in the arts

Music literacy is defined as:

knowledge and understanding required to participate authentically in the discipline of music by independently carrying out the artistic processes of creating, performing, and responding

This is a much more broad way of thinking about literacy.

The Arts standards are unique from other subjects in that they show the transferable understandings between artistic disciplines: music, visual arts, dance, theater, and media arts.

In the Classroom: Breaking it Down

Because the standards are not designed to be actionable skills, there may be some interpretive steps necessary when they are applied to an active music room.

Here’s one example for 1st Grade, working on the concept of fast and slow.

Standard:

  • MU:Re7.2.1 - With guidance, demonstrate awareness of expressive qualities (such as dynamics and tempo) that reflect creators’/performers’ expressive intent.

Standard “I Can” Statement:

  • I can show how different musical elements express musical meaning

Activity:

(This activity is from The Planning Binder 2021 - 2022 curriculum)

  • Students speak the rhyme, Bee Bee Bumblebee with a fast or slow tempo, depending on what the bee is doing.

  • Pretend that the bee is in a hurry to get home because it’s family game night! (Speak the rhyme with a fast tempo)

  • Now pretend the bee wants to fly home slowly because he knows he has to do his chores. (Speak the rhyme with a slow tempo)

  • The teacher asks what other reasons the bee might move fast or slow.

  • Students share ideas and the class speaks with an appropriate tempo.

Lesson “I Can” Statements:

  • I can play fast and slow

  • I can play fast and slow for different reasons

The lesson activities point to the standards, but the standards are not the activity in and of themselves.

“I Can” Statements for the National Music Standards

You can download the “I Can” Statements document with the link at the bottom of this post.

Big Idea Pages

The first page of the document shows the big picture overview of the artistic process. It includes the anchor standards and a “too long; didn’t read” version of the grade-level performance standards.

This is our zoomed out, standard-at-a-glance resource.

 
 

Grade-Level Details

These anchor standards are broken down in to more detailed descriptions (performance standards) by grade-level. The performance standards can get a little wordy, so I’ve gone through each individual descriptor and translated it into an “I Can” statement as well. The “TL:DR” (“too long; didn’t read”) headings are included for each standard.


Let’s look at each process of the standards and break them down.

Performing

The performing strand has three anchor standards that outline the role of the performer, or the doer in music.

Something interesting to note is that the performance strand has the most performance descriptors of the four artistic processes. The anchor standards are broken down into nine performance standards.

Responding

The responding strand has three anchor standards as well.

Those anchor standards are broken down into four performance standards.

Creating

The creating process uses three anchor standards.

These anchor standards are broken down into six performance standards.

Connecting

The document for Connecting is structured a bit differently from the others since connecting is included in the other artistic processes.

There are two anchor standards and two performance standards. Unlike the other processes, these performance standards apply to all grade-levels.

 
 

What the standards are and are not

The standards are not the curriculum.

The standards are not an actionable set of musical skills.

The standards are not music pedagogy.

The standards are outlines of artistic processes.

The standards are pathways toward music literacy.

The standards give us a framework of transferrable understandings that can apply across the Arts. They are designed to guide us in creating lifelong, literate musicians who engage in music through the processes of performing, responding, creating, and connecting. The way we apply the standards will look different from classroom to classroom, and that flexibility is what makes them so valuable.

When we break down these standards into “I can” statements in students’ voices, we essentialize the information and bring the wording into our vernacular.

This is a practice that will undoubtedly benefit students. But the process of shifting through each individual standard in this way may benefit us as teachers even more.

One Song, Three Teaching Processes: Sea Shell

There are times we come across a song or rhyme we know students would enjoy, but we might not be sure where it fits in the curriculum.

How can we step back and imagine musical possibilities? What if we were to treat songs like musical prompts?

In this post we talked about some ways to explore one rhyme with several different pedagogical lenses. 

Today we’ll do the same for a song, Sea Shell. Here’s an example of how one song might be used for three different pedagogical outcomes and three different age groups.

This also shows how we might approach the song in different areas of learning: The first activities are for students who don’t know the song. The next two, it’s expected that students would know the song already. The 2nd grade activities are in preparation, before students are aware of the notation and label for half note. The 3rd grade activities are in practice, after students consciously know low sol. 

Each grade objective includes student choice in the activities.

Let’s jump in!

 
 

The Song

This song is sourced from the collection at Holy Names University.

 
 

Echo Singing & Vocal Exploration

Kindergarten / 1st Grade

This activity is designed for young musical learners in the early grades.

Before the Activity: Previous Knowledge and Experience

This activity doesn’t require any previous knowledge or experience! Consider using this as an introduction to vocal exploration and add it to your collection of echo songs.

Learning Experiences

Experience #1: Introduce

In this first learning experience, the teacher introduces the song through movement and active listening.

  • Seated, the teacher sings the song and leads students in swaying side to side as they listen. 

  • In between rounds of the song, the teacher asks questions: “What is our song about?” “What do you think the sea shell is singing about?” “Wait, can sea shells actually sing?”

  • Sing while moving hands like the waves of the ocean, showing the melodic contour of the song. Students echo each four-beat phrase with ocean movements.

    • Sea shell, sea shell (sea shell sea shell), Sing a song for me (sing a song for me)

Experience #2: Ocean Movements

In this second experience, students extend their ocean movements and continue echoing the song. This learning experience is primarily a review and reinforcement of the previous class, giving students more opportunities to listen and move to the song.

  • Review the previous class: Sing while moving hands like the waves of the ocean, showing the melodic contour of the song.

  • Students echo each four-beat phrase with ocean movements.

    • Sea shell, sea shell (sea shell sea shell), Sing a song for me (sing a song for me) 

  • “What if you could make your ocean movements while standing on your spot?” 

  • Repeat the activity with students echo singing and showing the melodic contour with stationary movement

Experience #3: Whole-Class Pitch Exploration

There are many possibilities for the pitch exploration here! Feel free to write your own on the board.

  • Echo sing and move to the song as review 

  • “What do you think the sea shell’s song sounded like?” Show several options of melodic contour on the board, and lead students in performing with vocals and movements

Experience #4: Partner Pitch Exploration

Students have sung the song and explored many examples of pitch exploration. Now it’s time for them to create their own sea shell songs. Asking for four different options encourages students to invent variations, instead of stopping after one idea.

  • Echo sing and move to the song as review 

  • Review pitch exploration ideas on the board 

  • With their shoulder partner, students use a piece of yarn to create their own vocal explorations 

    • Ask students to come up with four different options 

  • Students take turns sharing their ideas with the class

 
 

Half Note & Form

2nd Grade

Many music curricula explore one sound over two beats in the 2nd grade year. The ocean theme of this song can make it convenient for exploring elongated sounds, like ocean waves. We can also experiment with the form of the song.

Before the Activity: Previous Knowledge and Experience

  • Previous Knowledge: Before this activity, students should have conscious knowledge of steady beat, quarter notes, and eighth notes. Even though the activity focuses on one sound over two beats, students don’t need to have conscious knowledge of half notes. In future classes, students will be introduced to the half note vocabulary and symbol we’ll use in this class.

  • Previous Experience: Students should have plenty of independent and collaborative experiences singing, playing instruments, speaking, moving, reading, writing, improvising, arranging, and aurally identifying the rhythmic set listed in the knowledge section above. For these activities, students should have heard the song before, though it does not need to be memorized for the first learning experiences.

Learning Experiences

Experience #1: Rhythm Movement

In this first learning experience, students use movement to show the duration of the rhythm. This happens as a whole class at first, then with pairs of students. There is an opportunity for formative assessment as students tiptoe, step, and slide with a partner at the end of this experience.

  • The teacher sings the song with movement directions for tiptoe, step, and slide. Students echo sing and move (locomotor or non-locomotor)

    • Step step step step (students echo)

    • Tiptoe tiptoe sliiiiiiide (students echo)

    • Tiptoe tiptoe step step (students echo)

    • Tiptoe tiptoe sliiiiiiide (students echo)

  • The teacher sings the song on text. Students echo sing and move, translating to tiptoe, step, and sliding movements

    • Sea shell sea shell (student sing text and step step step step)

    • Sing a song for me (students sing text and tiptoe tiptoe sliiiiiiide)

    • Sing about the ocean (students sing text and tiptoe tiptoe step step)

    • Sing about the sea (students sing text and tiptoe tiptoe sliiiiiiide)

  • Divide the class in half. One half sings and moves first, then pauses for the other partner to sing and echo

Experience #2: Aurally Identify

The movement work from the previous class is extended here, as the teacher takes away the movement directions and replaces them with an instrument or neutral syllable. Students use their aural awareness to identify one sound that lasts for two beats.

  • Review previous class. Students echo sing the song on text

  • “Let’s take out the echo and sing it straight through.” Students sing the song straight through, without echoing.

  • Students sing the whole song and clap the words, remaining seated 

  • Seated with their feet in front of them, students sing and put the rhythm of the words in their feet

  • Students stand, and sing the whole song while tiptoeing and stepping in open space

  • As a B section, the teacher plays four or eight-beat rhythms on a recorder (or sings on a neutral syllable), using a combination of two sounds on a beat, one sound on a beat, or one sound elongated over two beats. Students echo move.

    • Example: ta ta ta-a (students step step sliiiiiiide), ta-di ta-di ta-di ta (tiptoe tiptoe tiptoe step) ta-a ta-di ta (sliiiiiiide tiptoe step) ta-di ta-di ta-a (tiptoe tiptoe sliiiiiide)

  • Students sing the song as they tiptoe, step, and slide back to their spots.

  • “How many times do we slide in this song?” Students inner hear and pat a steady beat (we slide two times)

  • “How many sounds do you hear in the word, ‘me’?” (one sound) “How many beats does it last?” Students sing and pat a steady beat (it lasts two beats)

Experience #3: Visual & Form

Students have identified one sound that lasts for two beats. Now they use their aural awareness and translate it to a visual representation of the rhythm. Iconic notation is used here to show the elongated sound. In later lessons, the label and symbol for a half note may be used. At the end of the learning experience, students mix up the form to create a new order of the song.

  • Review previous experiences as necessary

  • “Which phrases of the song have matching rhythms?” Students sing and pat a steady beat (phrases 2 and 4 have matching rhythms)

  • Help the teacher put the phrases of the song in the correct order.

  • “How do you know this is the correct answer? Talk to your shoulder partner.”

  • Students explain their thinking, then share their answers as time allows

 
 

  • “I’m tired of giving the correct answer all the time. Let’s mix up the form so it’s the incorrect answer.”

  • Mix up the form to create new version of tiptoeing and sliding. Students speak the new combination while moving their feet in front of them (staying seated) or turning their fingers into people and moving on the floor in front of them.

  • Repeat the activity, with students arranging the form for the class

  • Students repeat the activity with a partner and move around the room to their arrangement.

  • Share combinations as time allows 

 
 

Low Sol & Partwork

3rd Grade

By the 3rd grade year, many students are ready to work on the extended pentatone, including low sol. As melodic vocabulary grows, students can apply their knowledge to their developing partwork skills.

Before the Activity: Previous Knowledge and Experience

  • Previous Knowledge: Before this activity, students should have conscious knowledge of solfege pitches, do, re, mi, sol, la, low la, low sol. These learning experiences would fall in to the “practice” phase of learning.

  • Previous Experience: This activity is for students who are ready to sing a bass line to a known song. Consider previous experiences students have had with bass lines and partner melodies to prepare them for these experiences. You can find more information about scaffolding vocal partwork skills here. Students should also already know the song for these experiences.

Learning Experiences

These are adapted from the low sol concept plan in the 2021 - 2022 Planning Binder.

Experience #1: Partner Melody & Movement

In this learning experience, students listen to the new partner melody with the song. After hearing the melody, students learn it by rote through a combination of movement and aural skills. Aurally decoding the melody is one of the reasons this experience should fall in the practice phase of the learning process. When students have learned the melody, they sing it as the teacher sings the main song.

  • Students walk in a circle, singing the song without teacher assistance

  • “I’ll try to mess you up this time. Listen to each other.” The teacher walks inside the circle in the opposite direction, singing the partner melody:

  • Students sit in place. The teacher teaches the partner melody by rote. Students echo sing eight beats at a time, showing the high and low movements of the melodic contour

  • The teacher sings eight beats at a time. Students echo on solfege with Curwen hand signs or with the movements they just created

    • “Hey there, let me hear your song” (do do do do sol sol sol)

    • “Hey there, then we’ll sing along” (do do sol sol do do do)

  • Students walk around in a circle, singing the partner melody without teacher assistance. The teacher walks around the inside of the circle singing the main melody of Sea Shell.

Experience #2: Partwork

This lesson experience reviews the melody from the previous class, and expands partwork skills. Instead of the teacher singing one part and the whole class singing the other, students work toward partwork interdependence by dividing the partner melody and main melody between half the class.

  • With a partner, students decide if they’ll sing the partner melody on solfege with hand signs, or on text with movement that matches the melodic contour.

  • Seated with their partner, students perform their choice, then switch jobs

  • Students walk around in a circle, singing the partner melody without teacher assistance. The teacher walks around the inside of the circle singing the main melody of Sea Shell.

  • The teacher “tags” a few volunteers to be on the inside circle team and sing the main melody. The rest of the class continues to sing the partner melody.

  • Continue tagging singers until the inside and outside groups are approximately even

Experience #3: Transfer to Barred Instruments

Students have already aurally identified low sol in the partner melody. When it’s time to transfer their understanding to a barred instrument, students use their knowledge of steps and skips to identify low sol and figure out the partner melody by ear.

  • With a partner, students decide if they’ll sing the partner melody on solfege with hand signs, or on text with movement that matches the melodic contour.

  • Seated with their partner, students perform their choice, then switch jobs

  • Using a barred instrument visual on the board, students work with their partner to figure out where do and low sol live if do is F.

  • Students help the teacher notate the melody of the partner song on the board

  • Students read the notation on the board, pointing to the notation or pointing to a barred instrument visual

  • With a partner, students sit behind a barred instrument and figure out how to play the partner melody by ear.

  • One partner plays and sings the partner melody. The student without mallets sings the main Sea Shell melody. Switch jobs.

 
 

When we step back and look at our classroom materials as musical prompts, we see many pedagogical possibilities.

Today we looked at how one song might be used for vocal exploration, half notes, and low sol. But there are so many more ways this song might be re-imagined in our teaching.

There are many possibilities with one simple musical invitation!