VES Recorder Karate Unit
As part of the Howard County music curriculum, students gain further comprehension of music elements by learning to play the recorder.
Our recorder unit spans the intermediate grade levels and is called “Recorder Karate”. This approach offers further enrichment and higher skill level to the recorder unit and enables students to work at their own
pace to test for “belts”.
These belts/ribbons may be tied onto the bell of the recorder or onto
the recorder case. Students are assessed on their playing through use of a recorder rubric.
You can find all grade level songs and bonus songs here. These songs are used during daily unit lessons and required playing assessments. A great way to practice your recorder skills at home!
In an effort to instill respect for learning,we want students to become owners of their learning. We also want students to be able to explain teacher expectations to their parents and monitor those expectations with their parents. To this end, students may use recorder progress tracking sheets and are encouraged to share these with parents on a regular basis.
Students in all grades have a required playing assessment and written assessment. Study sheets are provided in the recorder packets and review games prior to the written assessment are part of the music lesson plan.
- Third
grade students learn the notes B, A, and G. They can also learn additional notes and earn recorder karate belts by playing songs in the Grade 3 Recorder Karate packet.
- In fourth grade, students learn the notes C’, D’ and E. They can also learn additional notes and earn recorder karate belts by playing songs in the Grade 4 Recorder Karate packet.
- Fifth grade, students will learn the remainder of the notes (D, F, F# and C) and have the opportunity to earn the rest of their belts, culminating with a Black Belt Certificate. Once a black belt is earned on this level, students may go one step further by learning an additional note (E') and playing a Mozart piece to earn a platinum belt. These songs are found in the Grade 5 Recorder Karate Packet.
You can find all grade level songs and bonus songs here. These songs are used during daily unit lessons and required playing assessments. A great way to practice your recorder skills at home!
In an effort to instill respect for learning,we want students to become owners of their learning. We also want students to be able to explain teacher expectations to their parents and monitor those expectations with their parents. To this end, students may use recorder progress tracking sheets and are encouraged to share these with parents on a regular basis.
Students in all grades have a required playing assessment and written assessment. Study sheets are provided in the recorder packets and review games prior to the written assessment are part of the music lesson plan.