Eighth Grade Music

PEIMS Course Title/Number:
Music 8/03153001

Prerequisite Requirements:
None.

Course of Instruction/Lesson Description:
Music Appreciation is for eighth grade elementary students who are new to the K12 Music program. This course presents the basics of traditional music appreciation through singing and through the study of music in history and culture.

Major course expectations include the following:
Students will:

• Define the elements of music (melody, rhythm, harmony, timbre, and form).
• Identify consonance and dissonance in music.
• Identify the basic form of a piece of music.
• Describe how the elements of a piece of music contribute to its overall effect.
• Describe how composers use elements of music to express emotion, paint a picture, illustrate a poem, or tell a story.
• Describe the characteristics of various styles of music.
• Categorize music by its predominant style.
• Identify the scientific properties of sound (frequency, volume, and wave form).
• Identify ways in which instruments make sound.
• Create a basic musical instrument.
• Identify the five main classifications of musical instruments.
• Make a musical instrument and classify it according to one of the five main classifications.
• Describe the influence of Greek culture on the development of music in various periods.
• Describe how the function of music affected composition in various style periods.
• Identify the characteristics of music from different historical periods.
• Identify the historical period of various composers.
  

Lesson Numbers/Duration:
32 total

Online Importance:
The K12 Music Appreciation course provides step-by-step guidance in each lesson.

Each lesson provides detailed instructions for each online and offline activity. Activity Instructions provide an outline of the lesson as well as information about assessment and supplemental material. Activity Instructions are available to print from the Online Lesson.

Monitoring Student Progress:
Each Music lesson ends with an assessment. The assessment generally includes two or more questions or problems based on the lesson objectives.

Students and parents can access student-specific screens to determine (1) progress in the number of lessons completed, (2) the lesson assessment (percentage mastered), (3) the semester assessment (percentage mastered), and (4) the number of times the student has taken the assessment instruments. Families who enroll their children in the eCP program have the benefit of help and guidance from an experienced teacher. The teacher will contact students daily through email and phone conferences. Consistent progress monitoring by the teacher will be utilized throughout the project period.

Schedule for Monitoring Student Progress:
Each teacher will establish a daily contact schedule for their assigned students at a time of day that is reasonably convenient for both parties. Contacts may be asynchronous/synchronous or one-on-one/groups. The avenues of teacher-initiated contact will be adjusted as determined by the progress a student makes through their learning plan. Parent- and student-initiated contact with teachers can happen at any time. The Acting Director, or their designee, will monitor the communication logs to ensure that parents are being routinely supported and informed regarding the student's ongoing progress and participation.

In addition, teachers will monitor progress in mastery of objectives and lesson completion on a weekly basis. Continuous progress monitoring by the assigned teacher ensures that parents are informed on a regular basis regarding progress and participation.

Required Instructional Materials:
Materials K12 provides:

• Music Appreciation 6 CD set

Grading/Credit Award Criteria:
The Texas Virtual Academy at Southwest Schools issues formal report cards every nine weeks. Students who complete a significant amount of coursework after the conclusion of the final term will receive a supplemental report card in July. The final grade in each content subject, English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science, is determined by a combination of the grades from each reporting period and the proctored course completion (CCE) exam. The average of the grades for each reporting period is comprised of 90% of the final grade. The scores of the CCE comprise 10% of the final grade.

The final grade for electives is based on cumulative progress recorded in the Online School (OLS). A grade of Completed, or C, is reported for 80% or more of the lessons marked as completed. A grade of Incomplete/Unacceptable, or I, is reported when less than 80% of the lessons are marked as completed. No Grade, or NG, is assigned if the student has administrative approval to waive the course requirements in a particular elective course.

To be promoted to the next grade, the student must meet the Student Success Initiative requirements for that grade. Additionally, the student must have a final score of 70 or above on at least three content courses and the average of the four content courses must be at least 70. For each reporting period, the grade in a content area subject is the average of at least six distinct grades. Those grades include, but are not limited to, the progress in the OLS converted to a numerical grade, response to the daily questions, online quizzes following the weekly grade-level study halls, work samples, and benchmark assessments.

Contact Information:
Students will be assigned a teacher upon acceptance into TXVA@SW. The teacher will provide the student and family telephone and email contact information. The student and/or family may contact a help desk at 1-886-YOUR K12 for additional technical, material, or logistical support. Students will be provided with online assistance 24/7 through the TXVA website.