Miguel Robledo
Music at Lancaster
The music program at Rey Yupanqui is modelled after the IBO music curriculum. As such, students at all grade levels, both kinder and primary, will be exposed to musical experiences in 5 categories: performing: singing; performing: playing instruments; creating and composing; notation; and listening and appreciation. The program is an example of a spiral curriculum, in which concepts that are introduced at an early age continue to be built upon at a higher level as students progress through the primary years.
KINDER: At this stage, students will explore music through activities such as: imitating vocal sounds; singing unison songs; playing basic percussive classroom instruments; creating their own instruments; using body percussion; performing creative movement to music; using sound effects to enhance a story; using informal notation (pictures and symbols) to record musical ideas; composing as a class; and listening to music from a broad range of styles, genres, cultures, and time periods.
PRIMARY: Students in the primary grades will continue to explore music through activities similar to those in kinder, except at a more in-depth and age-appropriate level. For instance, during the primary years, students will be introduced to formal notation, and they will begin to improvise. They will sing partner songs, rounds, and in the upper grades, sing in harmony. Compositional techniques will be explored, and students will be introduced to more complex and refined musical concepts, such as tone, timbre, color, texture, form, etc. Students at this level will be expected to take more responsibility for their own inquiry-based learning through various research projects.
