The music curriculum for fifth grade encompasses every aspect of early childhood music education: music history, theory, ear training, Orff and Kodaly techniques, composition, instrumental training, movement and dance. Each student is challenged through the curriculum to develop skills on her own level.

Each year a specific music appreciation unit is taught in each grade level. Students are exposed to the classical music of famous composers like Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn and Brahms as well as compositions by some of the great American composers like Foster, Copland and Gershwin. Students learn to identify the instrument families in the orchestra and to describe how tempo, dynamics, and timbre affect the mood of a piece by listening and contrasting the differing styles between pieces of music.

Fifth grade students build upon the basic elements of music learned in lower school through a more challenging music curriculum. Development of the singing voice and movement continue to be important components of music with children in this developmental range. Songs appropriate for the age of the child, pitch matching and proper use of the voice are the main objective when singing.

Development of motor skills becomes more complex with the introduction of alternating patterns and bilateral movements with the beat of music. Students learn to perform creative movement while exploring space, level, and direction through the development of folk dance skills. Students also enhance their performance skills by exploring the techniques of creative drama which is used to enhance children’s literature by adding instruments and songs. Middle school students act out stories, songs, folk tales, etc. and add simple props or instruments and learn to pantomime or creatively move with music to portray a story. Students share their skills with their friends and family at monthly Flag Ceremonies, annual holiday programs, the Fine Arts Festival and by participating in dramatic musical class productions, in which every student has a role.