PreK – 3rd grade music program at ISB is designed to follow the strands of performing (singing, playing, movement), creating and composing, notation, listening and appreciation, and music in society in diverse cultures.

Students join together in musical activities using their voices, bodies and classroom instruments to develop concepts about sound and musical awareness.

ISB students are exposed to a wide range of musical stimuli from multiple cultures, genres, time periods and languages.

Listening skills are constantly reinforced through live and recorded performances.  At ISB, students are given opportunities to meet and work with performing artists from a variety of cultures.

Specific to music in grades 4 and 5 is the increased focus on developing musical literacy through performance. This includes teaching the fundamentals of music reading and applying it individually.   Students learn the notes of the staff as well as terminology to interpret written music.  We use Orff instruments, drums, recorders, and of course the human voice to accomplish these goals. These skills are placed in context, learning about sound production, the instruments of the orchestra, instruments of other cultures, and historically significant factors that have shaped music over time. Chief among these musical goals is the emphasis on group performance. Once individual mastery has taken place, skills are then put into a group setting where new tasks arise such as the challenges of staying together, listening and adapting to peers, and the aesthetic responsibilities of the individual to an ensemble.