Music

Music Curriculum:

Quaver's Marvelous World of Music

Overview of music at Columbia Crest A-STEM Academy:

SEPTEMBER - DECEMBER
  • KINDERGARTEN through 5TH GRADE MUSIC: Each class meets once a week for 45 minutes. We spend a majority of our rehearsals preparing for two major programs during this time period: our Veterans Day program and our Winter program. The kindergarten and 1st grade classes perform at the latter program; the 2nd - 5th grades perform for both programs. Our primary focus is to developing singing and performance skills based on state and national standards. We also practice performer etiquette with the goal of making the audience feel special, and audience etiquette with the goal of making the performer feel special.
JANUARY - JUNE
  • KINDERGARTEN through 2ND GRADE MUSIC: We use Quaver Music curriculum, a cloud-based program, to learn music reading, listening and creativity skills as set by grade-level state and national music standards.
  • 3RD GRADE MUSIC: We focus primarily on developing music reading and ensemble skills through the playing of Suzuki Tone Chimes.
  • 4TH GRADE MUSIC: We focus primarily on developing music reading and ensemble skills through the playing of soprano recorders using the Quaver Music recorder curriculum.
  • 5TH GRADE MUSIC: We prepare to attend the interactive concert sponsored by The Carnegie Foundation and presented by the Tacoma Symphony entitled "The Orchestra Moves". We learn how music moves and is never stagnant and how that movement affects and moves us cognitively, emotionally and physically in a wide variety of ways.
ALL YEAR
  • BEGINNING BAND (5th Grade): Each instrument family meets once a week for 30 minutes. The goal for 5th grade members is to learn and develop foundational skills on their instruments that they will continue to develop at the middle school level.
  • MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND (6th-8th Grades): Middle School band students meet four days per week for 40 minutes each day. Because the band consists of mixed grades representing a wide variety of skill sets, the focus of rehearsals is individual work where students work towards goals of mastery using a process called Steps to Mastery to develop individual skill sets, especially in the first and third quarters. During the second and fourth quarters, rehearsal focus is based more on developing the band as an ensemble as we prepare for programs in December and May.