Music for Learning – Unit 3
Years F-6
Good to Great Schools Australia’s range of ready-to-teach lessons and resources in Music align to the Australian Curriculum. All lessons use explicit instruction pedagogy and content that cover Australian perspectives and learning outcomes. Unit 3 lessons are formulated based on scientific evidence of how students best learn and are further informed by cognitive science.
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Year Overview
Foundation Year – Magical Creatures
Australian Curriculum Content Descriptions
Overview
In ‘Magical Creatures’, students will explore the world of magical creatures (e.g. dragons, fairies, unicorns) through music. They will discover how composers use instruments, dynamics, tempo and timbre to evoke the sounds and emotions of these creatures. Through listening, performing and composing, students will create their own magical creature-inspired pieces, using voice, instruments and movement to bring their creatures to life.
- Use play, imagination, arts knowledge, processes and/or skills to discover possibilities and develop ideas (AC9AMUFD01).
- Explore how and why the arts are important for people and communities (AC9AMUFE01).
- Create arts works that communicate ideas (AC9AMUFC01).
- Share their arts works with audiences (AC9AMUFP01).
Learning Objectives
In weeks 1-10, students learn:
- that music can tell stories about magical creatures
- how to use their voices to make magical creature music
- that music can show movement
- how to use instruments to make magical creature music
- that music can change to tell a story
- that music can have many sounds together
- that music can tell scary stories
- that music can tell funny stories
- how to practise music and perform it for others.
Assessment
Exit Tickets
Progress Test
Summative Test
Year 1 and 2 – Exploring Instrument Families
Australian Curriculum Content Descriptions
Overview
In the Exploring Instrument Families unit, students will discover the four main instrument families – strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion – through listening and hands-on activities. They will explore how each family produces sound, how instruments work together as an ensemble, and how key musical elements such as pitch (high and low), dynamics (soft and loud), and duration (short and long) are expressed on different instruments. The unit concludes with a two-week project in which students rehearse and perform in groups, applying the knowledge and skills they have developed throughout the unit.
It aligns to the Australian Curriculum Content Description:
- Develop listening skills and skills for singing and playing instruments (AC9AMU2D01).
- Explore where, why and how people across cultures, communities and/or other contexts experience music (AC9AMU2E01).
- Select and combine elements of music when composing and practising music for performance (AC9AMU2C01).
- Sing and play music in informal settings (AC9AMU2P01).
Learning Objectives
In weeks 1–10, students learn:
- about the woodwind instrument family
- to play music on the recorder
- about the string instrument family
- to play music on the ukulele
- about the brass instrument family
- about the percussion instrument family
- to play music on the glockenspiel
- about the different instrument families
- to perform music as a group.
Assessment
Exit Tickets
Progress Test
Summative Test
Year 3 and 4 – Music in Movies
Australian Curriculum Content Descriptions
In the ‘Music in Movies’ unit, students will explore the different purposes of music in the context of film. They will consider mood, characters and plot as they encounter musical examples from a variety of movie genres. Alongside developing their knowledge and understanding of musical elements, students will engage in their own music-making, building their skills on the keyboard and drum. They will choose musical elements to create music with different moods and to match various characters. The unit culminates with students performing a melody they learned on the keyboard and their own musical piece on the drums to match a character.
It aligns to the Australian curriculum content descriptions:
- Explore where, why and how music is composed and/or performed across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts (AC9AMU4E01).
- Explore how First Nations Australians use music to communicate their connection to and responsibility for Country/Place (AC9AMU4E02).
- Develop listening skills and skills for manipulating elements of music when singing and playing instruments (AC9AMU4D01).
- Manipulate elements of music to communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning when composing and practising for performance (AC9AMU4C01).
- Sing and play music they have learnt and/or composed in informal settings (AC9AMU4P01).
Learning Objectives
In weeks 1-10, students learn:
- how music is used in movies
- how musical elements are used in film
- how musical elements create different moods in film music
- how musical elements match different characters
- to listen to music that matches the plot of a film
- to create mood music
- to create character music
- to create music on the drum for a character of their choice.
Assessment
Exit Tickets
Content test
Summative assesment
Year 5 and 6 – Same Song, Different Artist
Australian Curriculum Content Descriptions
Overview
In the ‘Same Song Different Artist’ unit, students will explore how musicians re-imagine existing songs to make them their own. Inspired by the Triple J ‘Like a Version’ segment, students will develop both listening and instrumental skills as they analyse how artists transform songs and experiment with changes in genre, instrumentation and expression to create fresh interpretations of familiar pieces. Students will build creativity, collaboration and performance skills while deepening their understanding of how the musical elements shape style, mood and artistic choice. The unit culminates in a two-lesson project where students work in groups to rehearse and perform their own cover version, showcasing the skills and ideas developed throughout the unit.
It aligns to the Australian Curriculum Content Descriptions:
- Explore ways that the elements of music are combined in music across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts (AC9AMU6E01).
- Develop listening/aural skills and skills for manipulating elements of music to achieve expressive effects when composing, singing and playing instruments (AC9AMU6D01).
- Manipulate elements of music and use compositional devices to communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning when composing and practising music for performance, and notate, document and/or record the music they compose (AC9AMU6C01).
- Perform music in a range of forms they have learnt and/or composed in informal and/or formal settings (AC9AMU6P01).
Learning Objectives
In weeks 1–10 students learn:
- what a cover version is and why artists make them
- how musical elements are used to make cover versions sound different from the original
- how instrumentation changes the sound of a song
- how a song can be transformed by changing style and genre
- how musical elements communicate mood and emotion
- to practise creating a cover version together
- to play the keyboard part and bass parts together
- to sing the vocal part
- to create their own cover version by changing the instrumentation, style and mood of the original
- to compose, rehearse and perform their cover for the class.
Assessment
Exit Tickets
Content test
Summative assesment
Other Units
Lesson Design
Lesson Objective
Success Criteria
Activating Prior Knowledge
I Do
We Do
Apple Question
You Do
Revise
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