If you've read any of my lesson planning content you already know I am forever and always a proponent of concept-based planning. I map out what to teach when based on the skills and concepts that I'm teaching through the lessons. But that doesn't mean I don't teach thematic units that are centered around a topic rather than a skill or concept! Today I'm sharing how I incorporate thematic units into my concept-based curriculum.
I've had a few conversations with other general music teachers over the years where the other teacher said they couldn't plan their lessons and long-range plans based on skills and concepts because they like to plan based on themes or topics. In their minds there was a clear dichotomy between topic-based lesson planning and concept-based lesson planning. I can see how there can be 2 different approaches- one that starts with topics and builds in skills and concepts within those, and one that starts with skills and concepts and builds in topics within those- but I certainly don't think you have to choose one over the other!
When I'm creating my long-range plans, I start with a list of skills and concepts that need to be addressed in that grade level, and decide when I will address each of them throughout the year (usually covering each multiple times to review and practice). So while I am definitely starting with the skills and concepts, and those are the top priority when I'm deciding what to teach, a lot of my decisions about when to teach what are actually based on the units and topics I want to incorporate. For example in December I plan lessons on year-round holidays around the world, so I think about the skills and concepts I can address through those lessons and plan for those to be taught in December. In March I do a lot of specific Music In Our Schools Month activities, so I save those skills and concepts that will be addressed by those activities for March.
Most of the time, though, a topical or thematic unit will happen organically as I build out lessons that tie into a specific song or activity I've planned to address a certain skill or concept. This year, for example, I set out to find a song for 2nd graders to practice triple meter and found the Puerto Rican song about a frog called "El Coquí", which I knew would be perfect because it was spring time. Then I remembered the Japanese frog song that I like to use to introduce canon singing, which is something I also teach at the end of 2nd grade. That got me excited about finding more frog songs and I ended up planning a whole unit around frogs, pulling in other skills and concepts I had introduced earlier in the year to review while keeping students engaged with the fun and timely theme. Because I already have my long-range plans mapped out for the year, I know when I can allow myself the time to expand on lessons like this without taking away from time I need to make sure all the other skills and concepts are addressed- for me that's the key reason why starting with skills and concepts is important.
I hope this helps anyone who is stuck between planning lessons based on seasonal / thematic / topical material and concept-based planning to see that you can do both in an effective and engaging way! I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you think about lesson planning, thematic units you've done, and other ideas and questions you have in the comments below.
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