MusicFirst Elementary - Fifth Grade (Texas Edition)

Evaluation for 1.1a
Materials include a scope and sequence outlining the TEKS, ELPS, and concepts taught in the course.

The materials include a “Grade Level Scope and Sequence—Fifth Grade Curriculum Map” with a chart listing all the TEKS covered in each thematic area for the entire program. It includes content to be taught that matches each of the TEKS and when/where each TEKS and concept are addressed. For example, “Understanding Music” includes TEKS 117.118.2A, 117.118.2B, 117.118.3C, 117.118.4A, 117.118.4B, and 117.118.6D, and the concept of pitch/melody including: staff (reading pitches), standard notation, treble clef, major and minor keys/scores: C major, F major, G major, A minor, D minor, Bb major, sharps, flats, tonic pitch.

The materials include a Fifth Grade TEKS Aligned Activity Guide that includes a table that maps each TEKS code and TEKS standard to a corresponding MFE Student Activity. For example, the TEKS Code 117.118 (1A) is mapped to the TEKS standard “Distinguish among a variety of musical timbres,” including those of children’s voices and soprano, alto, tenor, and bass adult voices. The MFE Student Activity column lists seven activities for use with students, including “The Lousy Miner: Unit 4 Listen and Respond Activity.”

Evaluation for 1.1b
Materials include suggested pacing to support effective implementation for various instructional schedules (e.g., rotational schedules) and various instructional calendars (e.g., varying number of instructional days).

The “Schedule, Pacing, and Rotation: Making MusicFirst Work For You” guide contains a variety of implementation strategies for various class lengths (30-, 45-, and 60-minute lessons), rotation schedules (once-weekly, twice-weekly, and daily classes), and differing instructional calendars (34 and 36 weeks). Additionally, a section called “Adapting to School Calendar Challenges” delves further into how to schedule around interruptions such as assemblies, events, and testing.

MusicFirst Elementary: An Overview focuses on effective implementation within a lesson. For example, chapter 7, “Flexibility: Teaching Your Way,” provides educators with flexible lesson structures, pacing options, and instructional supports that can be adapted to different schedules, teaching contexts, instructional approaches, and levels of educator experience.

Evaluation for 1.1c
Materials include an explanation for the rationale of unit order as well as how concepts to be learned connect throughout the course.

The materials include an explanation for the rationale of unit order and how concepts connect throughout the course in both the scope and sequence and Pacing Guide documents. For example, when the concept of steady beat is introduced in Unit 1, it continues to be reinforced and applied in subsequent units.


The materials include a Curriculum tab that takes you to a “Fifth Grade Year at a Glance: The Artistry Stage” document, which provides an explanation for the rationale of unit order and how it builds on students’ grade 4 music literacy skills, as well as describes the spiral progression of learning across units, demonstrating how the unit sequence supports a coherent progression of learning through the intentional revisiting and expansion of musical concepts to increase student proficiency and understanding over time.

Evaluation for 1.1d
Materials include protocols with corresponding guidance for unit and lesson internalization.

The “Designing Musical Connectivity: How MusicFirst Elementary Sequences and Connects Learning” document includes a five-step unit protocol with guidance for unit internalization. Educators are directed to know the unit arc, internalize the songs, map the concept journey, consider student readiness and differentiation, and prepare materials, instruments, visual aids, technology, and “Enrich and Extend” resources before beginning instruction.


Teaching with the MusicFirst Elementary Platform: A Facilitation Guide for Teachers helps educators internalize and facilitate each lesson component using the seven instructional activity types, reflecting the platform’s embedded instructional approaches.

Evaluation for 1.1e
Materials include resources and guidance for instructional leaders to support teachers with implementing the materials as designed.

MusicFirst Elementary: An Overview—A Complete Guide for Teachers and Leaders includes a section for instructional leaders that explains the program structure and identifies leader-facing supports for implementation. It provides guidance for educator onboarding, including using the Course Level Curriculum Guide and Teacher Assessment Guide, pairing new educators with experienced users, and ensuring educators can access grade-level resources before instruction begins. The guide also provides implementation guidance for instructional leaders through coaching and observation look-fors, progress monitoring recommendations, and questions for instructional conversations. Leaders are directed to look for student engagement, educator modeling, formative check-ins, use of assessment data, and student reflection through “My Music Passport.”

Teaching with the MusicFirst Elementary Platform: A Facilitation Guide for Teachers provides guidance for facilitating MusicFirst Elementary’s seven instructional activity types, reflecting the variety of instructional approaches embedded in the platform.

Evaluation for 1.2a
Materials include comprehensive unit overviews that provide the background content knowledge and academic and discipline-specific vocabulary necessary to effectively teach the concepts in the unit.

The materials include comprehensive unit overviews that provide background knowledge and academic vocabulary. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 1 Overview: Finding the Groove” provides background content knowledge by identifying the unit theme (“Musical Spotlight”), cross-curricular focus, lesson structure, learning objectives, TEKS coverage, and a “Unit Learning Map.” The “Musical Spotlight” explains syncopation, pickup notes/anacrusis, cut time, 12-bar blues, modal harmony, and chromatic color as grade 5 rhythm and harmony concepts. The overview also includes unit vocabulary with definitions for new and revisited terms. For example, new vocabulary includes syncopation, pickup note, cut time, 12-bar blues, modal harmony, and chromatic. Revisited vocabulary includes legato, expressive phrasing, and chord progression.

The “Grade 5, Unit 3 Overview: Writing Melodies” provides the background knowledge needed to teach the unit concept of melody composition. The “Musical Spotlight” explains that writing a melody involves intentional choices about pitch, rhythm, phrase shape, range, and expression. It also explains that student melodies should begin and end on the tonic, use a given scale, fit within a given time signature, and have a clear sense of phrase. The “Unit Vocabulary” section provides academic and discipline-specific vocabulary with definitions, including vamp, slash chord, modulation, key change, extended chord, compound time, chord progression, harmony, I-IV-V, and timbre.

Evaluation for 1.2b
Materials contain supports for families in both Spanish and English for each unit with suggestions on supporting the progress of their student.

The materials contain supports for families in Spanish and English. For example, the “Fifth Grade Family Connection Sheet” for the song “Do What You Want To” is broken down into the following: “About This Song,” which describes the style of the song in the unit and how it helps the student learn the unit concepts; “Did You Know?”, a fun fact about the concept; “Key Vocabulary,” including definitions; “Try This at Home,” a guide to activities families can do together to reinforce concepts taught; and “Talk Together,” questions that families can ask their children to reinforce concepts taught. The sheet is printed in both English and Spanish.

MusicFirst Elementary: An Overview explains that “Family Connection” resources are available for every unit and grade level. The lesson plans link to them directly and provide them in both English and Spanish. The “Family Connection” materials introduce families to what students are learning in music, identify the songs students are working on, and provide ways families can support and extend music learning at home. For example, the “Unit 6, Song 1 Lesson Plan: Heal the Earth” includes four ELPS support documents: the bilingual song lyrics and song structure document, the ELPS Standards Activity guide, the “Family Connection” document, and the ELPS Sentence Stems. The ELPS Standards Activity guide includes song context, key words, musical vocabulary, ELPS standards addressed, guidance for the ELPS activity, and sentence frames. All four ELPS documents are provided in both English and Spanish.

Evaluation for 1.3a
Materials include comprehensive, structured, detailed lesson plans that include objectives, questions, tasks, materials, and instructional assessments required to meet the content and language standards of the lesson (aligned with the TEKS and the ELPS).

The materials include lesson plans that include objectives. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 3, Song 1 Lesson Plan: Disco Fever” identifies the music style, materials and instruments, supporting documentation, vocabulary, sheet music, the TEKS, the ELPS, and scheduling options. The lesson also includes Big Ideas and Student Outcomes aligned to the TEKS. These outcomes address steady beat, musical terminology, vocal rehearsal, performance on a tuned instrument using standard notation, improvisation using given pitches, and describing the expressive purpose of an improvisation. However, the lesson plan does not include questions, tasks, or formative assessments that are specific to each lesson component. Instead, it provides general questions and a worksheet that appear to be adaptable for use across multiple lessons.


In the student-facing materials, a “Listen and Respond” section includes questions for students, and a “Did You Know?” tab provides background information about an aspect of the song. Although these questions appear when you click the Teach button, they do not appear in the written lesson plan for the educator to view. The questions do not have specific TEKS notated with them to show alignment.

Evaluation for 1.3b
Materials include a lesson overview listing the teacher and student materials necessary to effectively deliver the lesson (e.g., equipment, supplies, technology) and the suggested timing for each lesson component.

The materials include guidance for use of the materials for extended practice. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 3, Enrich and Extend: Writing Melodies” document states that it accompanies the unit and provides activities that “enrich and extend musical learning across performance, listening, creativity, and cultural understanding” for students in the classroom or at home. The document includes extended-practice options such as Orff-inspired activities, instrumental play-alongs, Kodály activities, musical concepts, artist-focused videos, patriotic songs, creative tools and composition activities, Listen/Move/Respond activities, seasonal music, and YuStudio projects.

The “Grade 5, Unit 5, Song 1 Lesson Plan: You Belong With Me” includes an overview of the student materials needed for the lesson, as well as a clear chart that organizes the timing for each lesson component. However, the lesson plan does not include a specific list of educator materials needed to effectively deliver the lesson.

Evaluation for 1.3c
Materials include guidance on the effective use of lesson materials for extended practice (e.g., homework, extension, enrichment).

The materials include guidance for use of the materials for extended practice. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 2 Enrich and Extend” document states that it accompanies the unit and provides activities that “enrich and extend musical learning across performance, listening, creativity, and cultural understanding” for students in the classroom or at home. The document includes extended-practice options aligned to the unit 2 focus, “Beyond the Staff,” including “Orffestration,” Kodály activities, instrumental play-alongs, musical games, “Focus on Sound” activities, creative tools, and artist-focused videos.

The “Grade 5, Unit 6 Overview: Building with Chords” explains that “Enrich and Extend” activities are designed to deepen and extend learning across every lesson length and for a range of learners. The overview states that these activities may include Orff arrangements, Kodály activities, creative tools, additional listening experiences, project work, and cultural exploration. It also explains that “Enrich and Extend” activities are intended for flexible use within 30-, 45-, or 60-minute lessons. These resources provide opportunities for differentiation by supporting students who are ready for greater challenges, as well as students who need deeper engagement with the unit concepts.

Evaluation for 2.1a
Materials include a variety of instructional assessments at the unit and lesson level (including diagnostic, formative, and summative) that vary in types of tasks and questions, including skills demonstration.

The materials include instructional assessments (diagnostic, formative, summative), but do not include skills demonstrations or a variety of types of tasks and questions. For example, the “Unit 1 Overview” includes a baseline diagnostic tool (the same across all elementary grade bands), but it does not include a performance task or skills demonstrations, nor does it vary the types of questions asked.


The materials include summative assessments; however, they are not embedded at the unit level. For example, the summative rubric in the “Assessment Tools” specifies an “End-of-Year Rubric.” However, the rubric has no specific performance tasks to accompany it, and it is not aligned in a way that allows it to be embedded in each unit.



The material includes a “Formative Assessment Checklist” that provides a general lesson- and unit-level form across multiple instructional activity types, including “Understanding Music,” “Listen and Respond,” “Learn to Sing the Song,” “Play Instruments with the Song,” “Improvise with the Song,” “Compose with the Song,” “Perform the Song,” Music Notepad, and “Enrich and Extend.” The checklist identifies observable skills, such as moving in time with a steady beat, echo-clapping rhythmic patterns, reading and performing notation, playing designated instrumental parts, improvising with provided pitches, composing melodies, performing with accurate musical elements, and using technology to create music. However, the material does not provide explicit student-facing questions, tasks, or directions. As a result, it functions more as an educator checklist than as an assessment that requires students to independently demonstrate mastery of the lesson or unit objectives.

Evaluation for 2.1b
Materials include the definition and intended purpose for the types of instructional assessments included.

The materials include the MusicFirst Elementary Assessment Guide K–5, which outlines the intended purposes of the instructional assessment types. For example, this guide contains formative checklists, peer assessment tools, “My Music Passport”s, quizzes, and end-of-year rubrics. The “Assessment Guide” also labels each assessment type as diagnostic, formative, or summative.



The materials include MusicFirst Elementary: An Overview, which identifies instructional assessments and defines their intended purposes. For example, in chapter 12, the guide states, “The baseline quiz gives a snapshot of each student’s entry-level musical knowledge, end-of-unit quizzes summarize musical learning from the unit, and end-of-grade quizzes summarize the theory and listening skills across the grade level.”

Evaluation for 2.1c
Materials include teacher guidance to ensure consistent and accurate administration of instructional assessments.

The K–5 materials include an “Administration Guide: When, Who, How Long” with a table that specifies, for each assessment type, when it is administered in the learning cycle, how students are grouped, how long it takes, and what resources are needed. It includes educator guidance on diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments and indicates that these instructions will be included in each unit across the program offering, allowing consistent, accurate assessment administration.

The MusicFirst Elementary Assessment Guide K–5 includes guidance for educators on interpreting student performance, not just assigning a score. In the “Administration Guide: When, Who, How Long,” there is an interpretation table that can be used with every rubric or checklist. It offers four bands (Beginning, Developing, Achieving, Mastering) that tell the educator both how to interpret the results and what next steps to take with the student.

Evaluation for 2.1d
Diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments are aligned to the TEKS and objectives of the course, unit, or lesson.

The materials include “Fifth Grade Formative Assessment Checklists” that provide evidence that formative assessments are aligned to the TEKS and lesson/activity objectives. The checklists are organized by instructional activity, including “Understanding Music,” “Listen and Respond,” “Learn to Sing the Song,” “Play Instruments with the Song,” “Improvise with the Song,” “Compose with the Song,” “Perform the Song,” Music Notepad, and “Enrich and Extend.” Each checklist includes student outcomes, performance levels ranging from beginning to mastery, and TEKS references for the assessed skill.



The materials do not contain diagnostic or summative assessments aligned with the TEKS or the objectives of the course, unit, or lesson. The “Music Passport” is listed as a summative assessment and a place to record what students can do, and it includes prompts such as “My favorite song is _____” and “My favorite activity was _____.” The TEKS are listed on the last page by category (warm-up, listening, singing, etc.), but are not linked to specific knowledge or skills. The materials provide no guidance on how students should demonstrate knowledge or skills.

The materials include a baseline diagnostic quiz; however, it is not aligned to the TEKS or the course, unit, or lesson objectives. For example, the Unit 1 baseline quiz asks generic questions such as “Is this loud or soft?” or “Are these notes the same or different?”, which are the same questions asked in other grade levels.

Evaluation for 2.1e
Instructional assessments include TEKS-aligned items at varying levels of complexity.

The materials include “My Music Passport: Fifth Grade,” which is intended to serve as a unit-level summative assessment with student reflection, educator-scored “I can” statements, point totals, and a TEKS alignment chart connected to the platform’s embedded instructional activity types. Although the “Passport” contains a variety of item types, it does not include TEKS-aligned items at varying levels of complexity. Instead, the material indicates broad TEKS alignment without showing how individual items assess specific TEKS or reflect increasing complexity.


The materials include “Fifth Grade Formative Assessment Checklists,” which provide a general lesson- and unit-level format across multiple instructional activity types. The checklists identify TEKS-based skills, such as moving in time with a steady beat, echo-clapping rhythmic patterns, and reading and performing notation. However, the “Formative Assessment Checklist” does not include tasks or items that increase in complexity. While the checklists include skill mastery levels, these levels reflect educator observations of mastery rather than varying levels of task complexity. Additionally, the material lacks student-facing tasks and does not provide a variety of TEKS-aligned assessment items at different complexity levels.

Evaluation for 2.2a
Instructional assessments and scoring information provide guidance for interpreting student performance.

The materials include the MusicFirst Elementary Assessment Guide K–5, which provides guidance on how educators may interpret assessment data from “End-of-Grade Rubrics,” “Formative Assessment Checklists,” “My Music Passports,” quizzes, peer assessments, and the Yumu platform data. However, it does not provide scoring guidance for each assessment option. The guide explains how assessment results can be used to identify skill gaps, monitor progress, plan reteaching or extension, and make instructional decisions; however, it does not clearly indicate how educators should consistently score the assessments.



The materials include an “End-of-Grade Performance Rubric” that provides a scoring system for student performance through score ranges, performance levels, and category-specific descriptors. However, the rubric does not guide educators in interpreting the results beyond assigning a score.

Evaluation for 2.2b
Materials provide guidance for the use of included tasks and activities to respond to student trends in performance on assessments.

The materials include the MusicFirst Elementary Assessment Guide K–5, which provides guidance for reviewing assessment data, such as identifying students marked Beginning or Developing, revisiting a skill when most of the class demonstrates need, and using an “Assessment-to-Differentiation Loop.” However, the materials do not provide specific guidance, tasks, or activities to help educators respond directly to trends in student performance on assessments. Additionally, the guide does not explain when to use specific assessments, when to provide whole-group reteaching versus small-group support, or which tasks and activities to use in response to particular assessment outcomes.


The material includes lesson plans, which provide differentiation supports within each lesson component, such as visual supports, peer buddy modeling, adapted movement, sentence starters, graphic organizers, simplified parts, templates, and advanced leadership opportunities. However, the materials do not provide guidance for using these tasks and activities in response to trends in student performance on assessments. The lessons do not identify which assessment evidence or performance trends indicate the need for specific support, or explain how educators should adjust instruction based on those needs.

Evaluation for 2.2c
Materials include tools for teachers to track student progress and growth and tools for students to track their own progress and growth.

The materials include a “Fifth Grade Music Theory Quiz Log” that an educator can use to track student progress throughout the course. The log includes space to record each student’s name, baseline quiz scores, unit scores for units one through six, and the end-of-grade score.

The “My Music Passport: Fifth Grade” provides a unit-level tool for student reflection. It includes both in-unit and across-unit opportunities for students to monitor their growth. For example, within a unit, students use sentence stems to respond, such as “My favorite song is _____.” Across the unit, students complete a running “Skills I can do” ladder to monitor their growth throughout the year.

Evaluation for 3.1a
Materials include teacher guidance for differentiated instruction, activities, and/or paired (scaffolded) lessons for students who have not yet reached proficiency on content and skills in the course TEKS.

The materials include individual lesson plans, each with a “Differentiation at a Glance” section offering instruction and activities to support students who have not yet reached proficiency in the lesson’s content and skills. However, the materials do not provide guidance for educators on differentiated instruction. Additionally, there are no resources, such as anchor charts or graphic organizers, and no suggestions for small-group instruction to support students below grade level.

The materials contain a MusicFirst Elementary Assessment Guide K–5 that includes an “Assessment-to-Differentiation Loop” section that provides possible strategies for differentiated instruction, activities, and/or paired (scaffolded) lessons. The guide suggests using a formative assessment checklist to mark students as Beginning, Developing, or Achieving, then adjusting their task complexity accordingly. However, the guide’s strategies are not aligned to specific lessons and are the same for each unit overview. For example, the guide says the educator should “note which students or skills need attention before the next lesson,” then adjust their lesson accordingly. Moreover, the guide does not tell educators when to use which strategies, how to provide differentiated activities, or when to use paired/scaffolded lessons for students who have not yet reached proficiency in content and skills.

Evaluation for 3.1b
Materials include pre-teaching or embedded supports for unfamiliar vocabulary and references in text (e.g., figurative language, idioms, academic and discipline-specific language).

The materials include unit overviews with “New Vocabulary” and “Revisited Vocabulary” sections that provide terms used in the lesson. However, the materials do not provide pre-teaching or embedded support strategies within the unit overview. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 2: Discover Your Voice” section includes new vocabulary words such as swing rhythm, extended harmony, and 7/8 time, but does not include educator guidance for pre-teaching the vocabulary.


The materials include lesson plans that include new key vocabulary. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 2, Song 5 Lesson Plan: One World” includes the terms 7/8 time and ritardando but does not define them in the lesson, nor does it include pre-teaching or embedded supports for unfamiliar vocabulary.

Evaluation for 3.1c
Materials include teacher guidance for differentiated instruction, enrichment, and extension activities for students who have demonstrated proficiency in content and skills in the course TEKS.

The unit plans include an “Enrich and Extend” plan that provides options for additional songs or activities to extend the lesson for those who have demonstrated proficiency in the content and skills in the course TEKS. For example, it offers Kodály or Orff activities, a graphic score, and a Music Notepad. However, it does not include guidance for educators on effectively using the materials to differentiate instruction for students who have demonstrated proficiency in content and skills. The materials also include an “Extend and Enrich” document for each unit that states, “These activities enrich and extend musical learning across performance, listening, creativity, and cultural understanding — for all students in the classroom or at home.” No guidance is provided for the educator on how to use the songs and activities listed to differentiate instruction.


The materials include a Music First Elementary Assessment Guide K–5 that provides guidance on using assessment data—for example, how to identify students ready for extension and enrichment. However, it does not provide specific guidance for educators on enrichment or extension activities for students who have demonstrated proficiency in content and skills. The guidance is not tied to specific skills, nor does it connect these extension activities to a proficiency-based instructional pathway.

Evaluation for 3.1d
Materials include teacher guidance for providing specially designed instruction (SDI) for students receiving supports and services through special education.

The materials include a “Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) Guidance” document that guides educators in implementing supports for students who need special education services. For example, the document includes adaptation examples based on the area of need and IEP goals, such as simplifying prompts, reducing instruction to a single concept, or allowing visual or nonverbal prompts. Additionally, a note at the top of the document helps educators align adaptations with their students’ specific IEP and 504 plan goals.


The materials include a MusicFirst Elementary Assessment Guide K–5 that provides additional guidance for educators on adapting assessments for students with disabilities and those receiving special-education services. For example, it suggests using observable, activity-based criteria in formative assessments rather than written responses. It also advises educators to allow for alternative demonstrations of skills such as pointing, moving, using assistive devices, or responding verbally. Finally, it suggests using portfolio evidence when live observation is challenging.

Evaluation for 3.2a
Materials include explicit (direct) prompts and guidance to support the teacher in modeling and explaining the concept(s) to be learned.

The material includes an “Enrich and Extend” section at the end of every unit, which contains a document titled “Mini-Projects Involving Form Grade 5.” This document contains project ideas that guide the educator in modeling and explaining concepts to be learned. However, the material does not include explicit prompts to support the educator.

The materials include a “Guided Questions Bank” document that offers explicit (direct) prompts to support the discussion of musical concepts being learned. The questions are grouped by activity (e.g., “Listen and Respond,” “Play Your Instruments with the Song”) and grade level (K–1, 2–3, 4–5). However, the questions are identical throughout the entire K–5 program and do not directly align with a specific lesson or unit. The materials do not include any guidance to support the educator in modeling and explaining the concept(s) to be learned.

Evaluation for 3.2b
Materials include teacher guidance and recommendations for effective lesson delivery and facilitation using a variety of instructional approaches.

The materials include a variety of instructional approaches. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 4, Song 4 Lesson Plan: Simple Gifts” suggests using kinesthetic movement, modeled practice, creative expression, guided inquiry, collaborative discourse, reflection, and performance. However, the material does not include educator guidance and recommendations for effective lesson delivery and facilitation using a variety of instructional approaches. For example, while the lesson includes notes on timing, materials, sequencing, and differentiation, it does not provide facilitation tips, protocols, scripted delivery, educator moves, potential misconceptions, or grouping guidance.


The materials provide a variety of instructional approaches. In Grade 5, Unit 4, Lesson 4, an “Orff-inspired activity” provides performance resources with a vocal melody and multiple instrumental parts, including glockenspiels, metallophones, xylophones, and unpitched percussion. However, the document is primarily a musical score for ensemble performances rather than educator-facing guidance for lesson delivery. The scores do not include facilitation tips, instructional approaches, scripted delivery, grouping recommendations, sequencing guidance, educator moves, or recommendations for how to effectively deliver or facilitate the lesson.

Evaluation for 3.2c
Materials support multiple types of practice (e.g., guided, independent, collaborative) and include guidance for teachers and recommended structures (e.g., whole group, small group, individual) to support effective implementation.

The materials include lesson plans that support multiple types of student practice. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 6, Song 6 Lesson Plan: So Amazing” includes activities that let children listen and move, respond to music, sing a song, and play instruments. However, the material primarily identifies activity types and student tasks rather than providing educator guidance for structuring practice. It does not explain when or how to use whole-group, small-group, partner, or individual practice to support effective implementation.


The section Teaching with the MusicFirst Elementary Platform provides facilitation guidance for MusicFirst Elementary’s seven instructional activity types, addressing the variety of instructional approaches embedded in the platform and following the same sequence as the platform’s activity menu: “Understanding Music,” “Listen and Respond,” “Learn to Sing,” “Play Instruments,” “Improvise,” “Compose,” and “Perform.” Each section follows a consistent structure: platform resources, instructional approaches, educator facilitation (Before/During/After), key things to watch for, and suggested groupings. The second section of this document, “Listen and Respond,” provides educator guidance and recommended structures for movement-based “Listen and Respond” activities, which are found in each song activity throughout the platform. However, the evidence is limited to one activity type and does not show that the materials support multiple practice types, such as guided, independent, or collaborative practice, within the grade 5 instructional sequence.

Evaluation for 3.3a
Materials include teacher guidance on providing linguistic accommodations for various levels of language proficiency [as defined by the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)], which are designed to engage students in using increasingly more academic and discipline-specific language.

Each song’s lesson plan lists “Teachers’ Supporting Documents,” including ELPS support and a song-specific “ELPS Sentence Stems” document. The sentence stems are organized by level, connect to the specific activity in the lesson, and are provided in English and Spanish. The stems increase in complexity and support EB students in using academic and discipline-specific music language. The document also includes a “How to Use this Sheet” section with guidance for educators on implementing optional ELPS scaffolds by selecting songs, proficiency-level supports, and language stems that best align with students’ English-language proficiency and the instructional activity.

The materials include “ELPS Standards Activities” for each song throughout the curriculum, which provide linguistic support for EB students, including bilingual key song words, bilingual musical vocabulary, ELPS standards, a short activity sequence, and sentence frames by proficiency level. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 6, Song 6 Lesson Plan: So Amazing” includes terms such as harmony. The document also includes educator guidance on linguistic accommodations, directing educators to select the proficiency level that matches students’ abilities and choose sentence stems aligned to the lesson activity. The bilingual sentence stems are organized by Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced/Advanced High levels and connect to “Warm-Up,” “Listen,” “Sing,” “Play,” “Compose,” and “Perform” activities. The stems increase in complexity and support EB students in using academic and discipline-specific music language.

Evaluation for 3.3b
Materials include implementation guidance to support teachers in effectively using the materials in state-approved bilingual/ESL programs.

Under the Curriculum tab, the materials include an “ELPS Support Summary” document that describes each ELPS document used throughout the MusicFirst Elementary program. For example, the document includes descriptions for the “ELPS Standard Activity Sheets,” “ELPS Activity,” “Sentence Stems,” “Interactive Vocab/ELPS Support Tab,” “Bilingual Family Connection Sheets,” how ELPS align across the program, and a summary of ELPS deliverables. However, this document does not include implementation guidance to support educators in using the materials in state-approved bilingual/ESL programs.

The materials include documents to support EB students, such as the “ELPS Standards Activities” for each song, which provide linguistic support for EB students. For each song, the document provides key song words and musical vocabulary in English and Spanish. The document includes the ELPS standards addressed, along with sentence frames in English and Spanish for each proficiency level. However, these materials do not include implementation guidance to support educators in using the materials in state-approved bilingual/ESL programs.

Evaluation for 3.3c
Materials include embedded guidance for teachers to support emergent bilingual students in developing academic and discipline-specific vocabulary, increasing comprehension, building background knowledge, and making cross-linguistic connections through oral and written discourse.

The materials include embedded guidance for educators to support EB students in developing academic and discipline-specific vocabulary through oral discourse. For example, the “Extended ELPS” document directs educators to select the proficiency level that best matches students and use sentence stems aligned to lesson activities. The stems are organized by proficiency levels and are provided in English and Spanish. The materials do not provide guidance for developing vocabulary through written discourse.

The materials include embedded guidance for educators to support EB students in developing academic and discipline-specific vocabulary through oral discourse. For example, the MusicFirst Elementary platform provides bilingual lyrics and song sheets for each curriculum song. These song sheets present the song text in English and Spanish side by side (e.g., Grade 5, Unit 1, Lesson 2: “Danny Boy”). The document also notes that bold text highlights key vocabulary from the corresponding “ELPS Support Activity.” However, the material functions primarily as a bilingual lyric and does not support comprehension. The materials do not provide embedded guidance for educators to support EB students in increasing comprehension, building background knowledge, or making cross-linguistic connections through oral or written discourse.

Evaluation for 3.3d
If designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs, materials include resources that outline opportunities to address metalinguistic transfer from English to the partner language.

This guidance is not applicable because the program is not designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs.

Evaluation for 4.1a
Materials include guidance for teachers to provide explicit (direct) instruction in discipline-specific artistic literacy in alignment with the course TEKS.

Within each grade-level lesson, the “Musical Spotlight” and “Lesson Focus” guidance sections include scripted sentences educators can use to facilitate instruction. However, the guidance does not support educators in providing explicit (direct) instruction in discipline-specific artistic literacy aligned with the course TEKS. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 1, Song 4 Lesson Plan: Wade in the Water” identifies the song as gospel in D minor and lists revisited vocabulary such as note values, rhythm, minor, and slurs. The “Musical Spotlight: Finding the Groove” references the concepts of note values, rhythmic notation, dynamic markings, crescendo, decrescendo, legato, staccato, steady beat, standard notation, time signatures, simple patterns, and dotted rhythms. However, the educator provides no guidance on explaining note values and rhythmic notation, distinguishing simple and dotted rhythms, or teaching the relationship between slur markings and connected legato singing. The directions to echo-clap standard-notation rhythms, notice dotted rhythms, find slurs in the vocal score, sing with a smooth connected tone, and feel the music in two beats per bar do not include educator modeling, scaffolds, checks for understanding, or feedback guidance. Relatedly, while the lesson provides artistic literacy vocabulary and general concept statements, these concepts are not clearly explained, reinforced, or assessed elsewhere in the lesson.


Each grade level includes a “TEKS Aligned Activity Guide” that provides a TEKS-aligned list of student activities and the skills students should be able to demonstrate. It also provides educator scripts for what to say. For example, the Fifth Grade TEKS Aligned Activity Guide discusses reproducing rhythmic patterns using standard notation, including syncopated patterns in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 meters; reproducing previously learned note values; reading and writing extended pentatonic and diatonic melodic patterns using standard staff notation; and creating melodic phrases through improvisation or composition. While these activities are aligned to the TEKS, the sentence stems do not provide educator guidance on explicit instruction related to discipline-specific artistic literacy.

Evaluation for 4.1b
Materials explicitly connect new discipline-specific artistic literacy to prior learning across lessons and units within the course and across courses as applicable.

The MusicFirst Elementary: Grade 5 materials include a program-wide “Designing Musical Connectivity” document that outlines a “Prepare-Present-Practice” model for learning new artistic literacy skills, and indicates that the program will reiterate these skills throughout the units to support the spiral curriculum design. For example, it explains how the program builds vocabulary and develops notation, and how it bridges prior knowledge, including review from previous lessons, to the next lesson in the sequence. However, the materials do not include this beyond description. In this document, there are no explicit connections between new music literacy and prior learning across lessons or units, or across courses as applicable.


The materials include a “Fifth Grade Curriculum Overview” that describes connections to prior learning within each unit overview. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 1 Overview” states, “MusicFirst Elementary is built on a spiral curriculum—knowledge and skills are repeated over time in different musical contexts; every unit builds on the last. What students discover in unit 1 becomes the foundation for everything that follows across K–5.” However, this unit overview and the larger curriculum overview provide no examples that demonstrate explicit connections between new music literacy and prior learning across lessons or units, or across courses, as applicable.

Evaluation for 4.1c
Materials consistently provide opportunities for students to develop and use discipline-specific artistic literacy vocabulary.

The curriculum materials at each grade level include a “Listen and Respond Activity Form” that gives students consistent opportunities to use discipline-specific artistic literacy vocabulary. For example, students are asked to answer questions like “Is the music fast like a cheetah, slow like a turtle, or somewhere in between like a dog?” and “Does the music sound mostly loud or mostly quiet?” However, there is no opportunity to develop discipline-specific artistic literacy vocabulary in these “Listen and Respond” forms. This form does not show the ongoing process of learning new words and their meanings, or how to use them appropriately in different contexts. Students have no opportunities to build deeper knowledge by continuously engaging with vocabulary through reading, writing, and speaking.

In every lesson, the materials include teaching slides with a “Listen and Respond” section that gives students consistent opportunities to use discipline-specific artistic literacy vocabulary. For example, in the “Grade 5, Unit 2, Song 4 Teach Slides: La Bamba,” students answer questions such as “Is the music in 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6/8 time?” and “Can you hear a melody? Can you sing any part of that melody?” However, the lesson offers no opportunity for students to develop discipline-specific artistic literacy vocabulary. While the “Teach Slides” also include a “Vocab/ELPS Support” section, it only lists vocabulary words used throughout the grade level. Students have no opportunities to build deeper knowledge by encountering the words repeatedly, in varied contexts, or through active engagement.

Evaluation for 4.1d
Materials include activities and tasks that require students to demonstrate understanding of discipline-specific artistic literacy in alignment with the course TEKS.

The MusicFirst Elementary Grade 5 materials include “Formative Assessment Checklists” that list the performance tasks expected for that grade. For example, the “Fifth Grade Formative Assessment Checklist” lists “Move in time with and keep a steady beat” and “Demonstrate warming up face, body, and voice” as two of its expectations. However, the checklist includes no activities or tasks that give students opportunities to demonstrate understanding of discipline-specific artistic literacy. While the performance tasks are all TEKS-aligned, the checklist provides no guidance on how students should demonstrate these skills.


Every lesson includes a composition tool called “Compose with the Song” that provides students with a composition workspace where they can choose a scale or note set, select an instrumental group, and work with pulse, rhythm, pitch, rhythm notation, a note grid, notation with note names, and standard notation. The standard notation workspace includes treble clefs, 4/4 meter, bar lines, repeat signs, and selectable note values such as whole note, dotted half note, half note, and quarter note. These features connect to discipline-specific artistic literacy because students encounter concepts such as scale, note set, pitch, rhythm, pulse, standard notation, meter, and note values. However, the interactive platform does not clearly show how students demonstrate understanding of these concepts through activities or tasks because it lacks a required student-facing prompt, explanation, reflection, rubric, success criteria, or completed response that shows how students apply and explain their understanding of discipline-specific artistic literacy. Further, the composition activity is the same across all K–5 grade levels and is therefore not TEKS-aligned with the appropriate grade level. Many available tools or activities are above the intended grade level.

Evaluation for 4.2a
Materials include guidance for teachers to provide explicit (direct) instruction in discipline-specific artistic skills at developmentally appropriate levels and in alignment with the course TEKS.

The MusicFirst Elementary Grade 5 curriculum includes individual lesson plans for each song, providing educators with activities that require students to demonstrate discipline-specific artistic skills. Each lesson contains a “Musical Learning Pathway” section that lists activities and uses labels such as “direct instruction,” “modeled practice,” and “independent practice.” However, the materials do not provide sufficient guidance for educators to deliver explicit (direct) instruction in discipline-specific artistic skills aligned to the course TEKS.

Each unit overview describes the artistic skills to be learned in the lessons. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 1 Overview” describes how students will listen to, move to, and respond to songs, as well as sing and perform them. However, the document does not provide educator-facing guidance for explicit (direct) instruction in those skills. The unit overview identifies what students will experience and what they should be able to do, and it provides unit-level planning support and TEKS-aligned artistic skill outcomes, but it does not provide educator guidance for explicit, direct instruction in discipline-specific artistic skills, nor does it address how to deliver that instruction in a developmentally appropriate way.

Evaluation for 4.2b
Materials explicitly connect new discipline-specific artistic skills to prior learning across lessons and units within the course and across courses as applicable.

The MusicFirst Elementary–Grade 5 curriculum explicitly connects new discipline-specific artistic skills to prior learning across lessons and units in “Designing Musical Connectivity—How MusicFirst Elementary Sequences and Connects Learning.” This document describes a spiral curriculum in which concepts are introduced, revisited, and deepened across units and grades, such as introducing a steady beat in unit 1 and reinforcing it later, adding pitches from sol-mi to la and beyond, and moving from aural and kinesthetic experiences to terminology, notation, and application. The “Prepare-Present-Practice” model also explains that students experience concepts through singing, listening, movement, or playing before formally naming and practicing them through reading, writing, improvising, composing, singing, moving, or playing. However, these connections do not explicitly appear within or across courses because the materials do not identify a specific new grade 5 discipline-specific artistic skill and connect it to a named skill from an earlier grade 5 lesson or unit or from grade 4. The materials also lack educator directions, student prompts, reflection stems, comparison tasks, or cumulative demonstrations that require students to make or apply those connections.

Lesson plans throughout the curriculum do not provide opportunities to review previously learned artistic skills before introducing new content. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 3, Song 1 Lesson Plan: Disco Fever” lists question-and-answer phrases and tonic as revisited vocabulary. The “Musical Spotlight” explains antecedent and consequent phrases and asks students to compose a four-measure question followed by a four-measure answer. The “Lesson Focus” also asks students to improvise a two-measure question and answer that resolves on the tonic. During “Warm-Up” and “Review,” students imitate rhythmic and melodic phrases and create question-and-answer responses through clapping and instrumental performance. However, the materials do not identify where question-and-answer phrasing, tonic, or related improvisation and composition skills were previously defined or taught, or explicitly connect those skills to the new antecedent-and-consequent task. The lesson also does not include student prompts, comparison tasks, or cumulative demonstrations requiring students to apply prior learning to the new skill.

Evaluation for 4.2c
Materials provide opportunities for students to develop discipline-specific artistic skills through performing, exhibiting, or presenting artistic works at developmentally appropriate levels and in alignment with the course TEKS.

Students have multiple opportunities to develop discipline-specific artistic skills through performing and presenting musical work throughout the curriculum. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 4, Song 1 Lesson Plan: Let’s Rock!” includes outcomes for moving in time with and keeping a steady beat; singing in rehearsal to refine technical accuracy, expressive qualities, and performance challenges; playing a designated part on a tuned instrument using standard notation; generating spontaneous musical ideas with three or five pitches; improvising with a backing track; experimenting with harmony; improvising for others; sharing reasons for musical choices; and performing an improvisation while describing what it is meant to express. Students also imitate and create rhythmic and melodic responses, use movement to show musical elements, rehearse with vocal and instrumental techniques, and follow a score while singing or playing. In the “Perform” section, students introduce, perform, record, and reflect on their work.

The materials give students opportunities to develop discipline-specific artistic skills through an online instrumental workspace. In the “Grade 5, Unit 4, Song 1 Lesson Plan: Let’s Rock!” students select an instrumental part, such as a barred instrument part or Boomwhackers, and use note sets, standard notation, note names, score view, 4/4 meter, playback controls, and visual instrument supports. These features support grade 5 instrumental music skills, including reading notation, identifying pitches, following a score, selecting an appropriate part, and preparing to play an instrumental part. The activity provides students with opportunities to apply and develop these discipline-specific skills through interactive instrumental practice.

Evaluation for 4.2d
Materials provide opportunities for students to refine discipline-specific artistic skills through activities and tasks that progressively increase in rigor and complexity over lessons and units within the course.

The materials include opportunities for students to refine discipline-specific artistic skills through the Fifth Grade TEKS Aligned Activity Guide, which provides multiple examples of activities that engage students in music-specific tasks throughout the course. For example, students write and reproduce rhythmic patterns using standard notation with tools such as Rhythm Grids, Music Notepad, and Music Explorer. They sing while practicing good posture and breath support to improve intonation, play instruments while rehearsing to strengthen technique and intonation, and perform using dynamics indicated in vocal and instrumental scores. Students also compose and perform melodies using previously learned note values, note names, and dynamics, and create rhythmic and melodic phrases through improvisation and composition activities using digital and classroom music tools. However, the guide is primarily a TEKS correlation and activity-location document. It identifies multiple aligned activities, but does not clearly show how activities and tasks progressively increase in rigor and complexity over lessons and units.


The “5th Grade Year at a Glance: The Artistry Stage” provides a broad yearlong overview of grade 5 music learning, stating that grade 5 students extend prior work in reading, writing, performing, and creating standard notation into more complex rhythmic and melodic patterns, independent notation, expressive interpretation, and multi-measure melodies. It also describes spiral learning across the concepts of rhythm, pitch/melody, expression, form/structure, and texture/harmony, and identifies six units across the year. These sections describe artistic skill areas students may encounter, including singing, playing, improvising, composing, performing, reading notation, and interpreting expression. However, the document does not provide the actual activities or tasks for students to complete. It does not show how students refine artistic skills through rehearsal, feedback, revision, reflection, performance criteria, or repeated improvement. It also does not show a specific progression of tasks that increase in rigor and complexity over lessons and units.

Evaluation for 4.2e
Materials include activities and tasks that require students to demonstrate mastery of discipline-specific artistic skills through performing, exhibiting, or presenting artistic works at developmentally appropriate levels and in alignment with the course TEKS.

The materials provide a “My Music Passport: Fifth Grade,” a unit-level reflection and scoring tool for students to document learning across instructional activity types, including keeping a steady beat, echo-clapping rhythms, creating rhythmic and melodic phrases, singing and playing with accuracy, improvising, composing, performing, and using feedback to refine performance. However, the document does not include an activity or task requiring students to perform, exhibit, or present an artistic work to demonstrate mastery of these discipline-specific skills. The tool also lacks a rubric, performance descriptors, scoring criteria, or other means to determine mastery of specific unit learning objectives.

The “End-of-Grade Performance Rubric: Fifth Grade” identifies an overall end-of-grade performance level and evaluates six broad skill areas: “Music Reading and Rhythm,” “Singing and Vocal Performance,” “Listening and Critical Response,” “Instrument Technique,” “Improvise and Compose,” and “Performance and Self-Reflection.” Each area includes Developing, Achieving, and Mastering descriptors with point values and discipline-specific language related to notation, rhythm, ensemble pulse, vocal performance, instrumental technique, improvisation, composition, presentation, reflection, and goal-setting. However, the rubric does not include a required activity or task in which students demonstrate mastery by performing, exhibiting, or presenting an artistic work. It is not aligned to a specific unit, lesson, song, composition, improvisation, or performance task, and does not include TEKS alignment or directions for demonstrating mastery of unit-level musical skills.

Evaluation for 4.3a
Materials provide opportunities for students to explore a variety of discipline-specific art forms (e.g., variety of media, variety of performance genres and styles).

The MusicFirst Elementary Grade 5 curriculum provides information about multiple opportunities for students to explore a variety of discipline-specific music genres and styles across each grade level and subsequent unit. For example, “Fifth Grade Songs and Styles” identifies 36 songs distributed across six units and representing numerous contrasting musical genres and styles: soul, folk, pop, orchestral music, ranchera, jazz, swing, rock ’n’ roll, South African music, country, reggae, hip hop, and blues.


In grade 5, the materials give students opportunities to explore a variety of discipline-specific art forms through the online platform. For example, the materials include a “Global Connections” collection with additional genre-specific six-week units that let students explore a variety of discipline-specific art forms. This collection includes the “Darbar Indian Music Experience,” a six-week unit that introduces elements of Indian musical tradition through listening, singing, playing instruments, and composing. The cited Darbar resources show students exploring Indian music through multiple discipline-specific experiences. The “Darbar Indian Music Experience Teacher’s Handbook” explains Indian music concepts such as sargam, raga, tala, drone, tanpura, performance practice, and improvisation, and states that students may learn a short two- to three-minute composition on keyboard or piano, may sing the composition, and may perform with some students playing instruments while others sing, demonstrating student opportunities to explore a discipline-specific music tradition through listening, identifying, describing, comparing, singing, playing, performing, and improvising.

Evaluation for 4.3b
Materials provide opportunities for students to create, adapt, or extend discipline-specific artistic works for performance, exhibition, or presentation (in line with appropriate fair use and copyright).

The grade 5 materials give students opportunities to create, adapt, or extend discipline-specific artistic works for performance, exhibition, or presentation (in line with appropriate fair use and copyright). In the Collections tab, under the “Instrumental Instruction and Composition” section, a “Resources for Composition” section includes “Fifth Grade Extension Activities for Composition,” containing seven extension activities for students to expand their learning. Extension Activity 7 is connected to the “Grade 5, Unit 3, Song 4 Lesson Plan: Freedom Is Coming.” This activity asks students to create their own freedom song, using “Freedom Is Coming” as inspiration. The activity provides educator guidance through questions that help students make artistic decisions about the theme, title, style, and accompaniment for their new song. The activity then encourages students to perform their original creation for an audience, supporting opportunities for students to create discipline-specific artistic works for performance or presentation.


Additionally, the MusicFirst Elementary Grade 5 curriculum provides other opportunities for students to create, adapt, or extend discipline-specific artistic works for performance, exhibition, or presentation (in line with appropriate fair use and copyright). For example, the Music Explorer Teacher Guide describes Music Explorer as supporting a range of musical activities, including notation, improvising, and composing. Through the Music Explorer tool, students can create, adapt, or extend musical works.

Evaluation for 4.3c
Materials include guidance for teachers on promoting student agency in making or selecting discipline-specific artistic works for study, performance, exhibition, or presentation.

The MusicFirst Elementary Grade 5 curriculum gives students opportunities to exercise agency by creating or selecting discipline-specific artistic works for study. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 3, Song 4 Lesson Plan: Freedom Is Coming” includes a section entitled “Compose with the Song” with a list of choices students may make to promote student agency, including: “Choose to work by yourself or with friends,” “Create your own musical ideas and melodies, “Make your music better using ideas from your educator and friends,” and “Talk about how you made your music and which sounds you chose.” However, the materials do not provide educator guidance on promoting student agency, working with students through the process, or using the materials.

The materials give students opportunities to create or select discipline-specific artistic works for study, performance, exhibition, or presentation. For example, the “Guided Questions Bank: Grades K–5” includes questions for musical activities found within lesson plans. The “Compose with the Song” questions ask students what story their composition tells, how they could use the shape of the melody to tell a story, what could make the composition unique or interesting, what note they should start or end on, what the feeling or mood of the song is, and what they can add or take away to improve the song. However, the cited questions do not connect the student-created composition to study, performance, exhibition, presentation, sharing, or audience-facing use, nor do they include guidance for educators on promoting student agency in making or selecting discipline-specific artistic works for study, performance, exhibition, or presentation.

Evaluation for 5.1a
Materials include guidance for teachers to provide explicit (direct) instruction in interpreting, evaluating, and responding to discipline-specific artistic works of other artists at the level of depth and complexity required by the course TEKS.

The Music First Elementary Grade 5 curriculum does not include the educator guidance needed to provide explicit instruction in interpreting, evaluating, and responding to discipline-specific artistic works of other artists at the level of depth and complexity required by the course TEKS. For example, MusicFirst Elementary: An Overview describes the “Listen and Respond” activity as a recurring part of the MusicFirst Elementary curriculum, and states that students will listen and respond to the weekly song, discuss historical and cultural context, learn about elements of music, and use tabs such as Listen, Respond, Extended Listening, Understand, and Connect. However, the overview does not include guidance for educators to provide explicit/direct instruction in interpreting, evaluating, and responding to discipline-specific artistic works of other artists at the level of depth and complexity required by the course TEKS. The cited overview does not provide educator-facing instructional steps, modeling, criteria, or prompts for explicit instruction. It does not show all three required actions: interpreting, evaluating, and responding to direct instruction.

The materials do not include educator guidance to provide explicit (direct) instruction in interpreting, evaluating, and responding to discipline-specific artistic works as appropriate for grade and TEKS alignment. For example, while the “Grade 5, Unit 2, Song 3 Lesson Plan: Roll Alabama” provides short sentences within the Listen, Move, and Respond options section, these are only bulleted lists sequencing the steps in the lessons, with a few questions like “Is it fast or slow?” as options to ask students. Also, it provides no explicit instruction on interpreting or evaluating music, and it lacks the depth and complexity to match the course TEKS.

Evaluation for 5.1b
Materials emphasize the use of discipline-specific vocabulary in interpreting, evaluating, and responding to artistic works.

Throughout the program, the materials emphasize the use of discipline-specific vocabulary in interpreting, evaluating, and responding to artistic works. The “Discipline Specific Vocabulary Progression” document contains a table that sequences the vocabulary across K–5 so that every unit’s “Evaluating & Responding” activities draw from and build on an explicit, cumulative word list. For example, the Grade 5 vocabulary list includes the terms syncopation, texture, interpretation, musical intent, and style vs. genre, and provides student-friendly definitions to use alongside them.

Additionally, the materials contain “Listen and Respond” tasks built directly from a specific lesson’s own vocabulary and aligned to the TEKS for each lesson. These tasks will include a list of the vocabulary being used in that specific lesson, as well as a script for educators to use that incorporates the vocabulary when talking to students.

Evaluation for 5.1c
Materials provide opportunities for students to practice interpreting, evaluating, and responding to discipline-specific artistic works of other artists through activities and tasks that progressively increase in rigor and complexity over lessons and units within the course.

The materials include opportunities for students to practice interpreting, evaluating, and responding to discipline-specific artistic works of other artists. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 2, Song 3 Lesson Plan: Roll Alabama” includes questions for students to answer at the end of the lesson. However, these activities and tasks do not progressively increase in rigor or complexity, as these questions are identical to the “Respond” questions used throughout the other lessons and units within this grade level.

The MusicFirst Elementary Grade 5 curriculum gives students opportunities to practice interpreting, evaluating, and responding to discipline-specific artistic works by other artists. For example, the “Third Grade Listen and Respond Activity Form” enables students to practice interpreting, evaluating, and responding to musical works by answering basic questions such as “Do you hear high sounds or low sounds in the music, or both?” and “Does the music sound mostly loud or mostly quiet?” Despite these opportunities, the activities and tasks do not progressively increase in rigor or complexity throughout the lessons or units, as these questions remain the same across lessons and units.

Evaluation for 5.2a
Materials include guidance for teachers to provide explicit (direct) instruction in giving and receiving feedback on discipline-specific artistic works to self and other students.

The “Explicit Instruction: Giving & Receiving Feedback” document guides educators in teaching students to give and receive feedback on discipline-specific artistic works with peers. The document includes educator scripts and structured processes for teaching students to give feedback to peers and respond to peer feedback. While it guides students in giving feedback to others, the materials do not provide explicit instructional guidance for educators to teach students how to give themselves feedback.

Additionally, the materials include a “My Music Passport: Summative Assessment” document that provides a general overview of its use. However, these materials do not include guidance for educators on how to have students receive peer feedback.

Evaluation for 5.2b
Materials provide opportunities for students to give feedback on discipline-specific artistic works created by other students.

MusicFirst Elementary—Grade 5 materials give students opportunities to give feedback on discipline-specific artistic works created by other students. For example, the “Fifth Grade Peer Assessment Tool” provides a list of sentence stems for students to use when giving feedback to peers. Students are encouraged to identify what worked in others’ work, explain what they noticed, and offer a specific suggestion for next time.

The Grade 5 materials include opportunities for students to give feedback on discipline-specific artistic works created by other students. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 5, Song 5 Lesson Plan: Breathe” includes a “Perform” section with a “Musical Learning Pathway” that states, “Talk about how you made your performance better using ideas from others.” Additionally, the learning objectives by activity section suggests “Use teacher, peer, and personal feedback to improve, refine, and reflect on the performance.”

Evaluation for 5.2c
Materials provide opportunities for students to receive feedback on their discipline-specific artistic works from teachers and other students.

The MusicFirst Elementary Grade 5 materials provide opportunities for students to receive feedback on their discipline-specific artistic works from peers. For example, the “Peer & Teacher Feedback Protocols” include structured peer-feedback opportunities, such as the “Listening Partners” protocol, that support students in exchanging and responding to feedback. However, the materials do not provide planned opportunities for students to receive feedback on their discipline-specific artistic works from educators. Although the “Protocols” include a general “Teacher Feedback Conference” protocol, it does not identify when or where students receive educator feedback during instruction.

The grade 5 materials do not include guidance for educators to provide feedback that allows students to refine their discipline-specific artistic works. For example, the “Fifth Grade Formative Assessment Checklist” contains educator-facing rating scales for musical knowledge and artistic skills. However, the materials do not include guidance for educators to share ratings, provide comments, or communicate strengths and areas for growth to students.

Evaluation for 5.2d
Materials include guidance for teachers to provide feedback to students to refine their discipline-specific artistic works.

The MusicFirst Elementary Assessment Guide K–5 summarizes optional assessments and how educators can use the resulting data to provide student feedback and refine discipline-specific artistic work.

The “Teacher Feedback to Refine Student Work” document gives educators a structured process for providing timely, specific, and actionable feedback to help students refine their discipline-specific artistic work. The document also includes discipline-specific examples that show how educators can identify an area for improvement, provide targeted feedback, and give students an opportunity to apply it through a re-attempt.

Evaluation for 5.2e
Materials provide opportunities for students to engage in self-reflection or self-evaluation to refine their discipline-specific artistic works.

MusicFirst Elementary Grade 5 materials do not give students opportunities to reflect on artistic works. For example, “My Music Passport—Fifth Grade” gives students sentence stems to describe how they feel about the activities or songs and to draw a picture of something they learned. However, students have no opportunity to self-reflect on their musical skills or skill development.



The materials do not give students opportunities to engage in self-evaluation. For example, a “Guided Question Bank” offers a list of questions students may ask themselves after a song or lesson, but does not provide a structured process for students to record responses, evaluate their artistic work against criteria, or use their reflections to revise and improve their performance or creation. Additionally, the materials also do not include student response forms, reflection tools, or follow-up activities that connect self-evaluation to artistic refinement.

Evaluation for 6.1a
Materials include guidance for teachers to provide explicit (direct) instruction on cross-curricular connections within and across the fine arts disciplines and between fine arts and core academic subjects (e.g., literacy, math, social studies, science) as applicable.

The grade 5 materials include lessons with cross-curricular connections between fine arts and core academic subjects. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 1, Song 6 Lesson Plan: Cuatro Milpas” includes a section labeled “Cross-Curricular Focus” with a paragraph for students to read about California heritage, the Gold Rush, ranchera music, geography, and folk traditions. However, the materials do not include guidance for educators on providing explicit (direct) instruction on cross-curricular connections within and across the fine arts disciplines and between the fine arts and core academic subjects. The materials also do not specify when to use this paragraph in the lesson. Additionally, this paragraph does not connect to any specific part of the lesson.

Although the grade 5 materials include lessons with cross-curricular connections between fine arts and core academic subjects, they do not provide guidance for educators to give explicit (direct) instruction. For example, MusicFirst Elementary: An Overview lists cross-curricular connections embedded throughout the grade levels, such as history, social justice, communities, traditions, and science. However, the materials do not provide educator guidance for explicitly teaching these elements to students.

Evaluation for 6.1b
Materials provide opportunities for students to explore cross-curricular connections within and across the various fine art disciplines and between fine arts and core academic subjects (e.g., literacy, math, social studies, science) as applicable.

The grade 5 materials include opportunities for students to explore cross-curricular connections across the various fine arts disciplines and between fine arts and core academic subjects. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 1, Song 6 Lesson Plan: Cuatros Milpas” includes student-facing opportunities to explore cross-curricular connections. The “Valuable Corn” resource relates the song’s Spanish title and Mexican context to the development of corn from teosinte, Indigenous migration, historical economic value, modern products, and agricultural production.


The grade 5 materials provide opportunities for students to explore cross-curricular connections within and across the various subjects. For example, within the MusicFirst Elementary Collections tab, a section entitled “Global Connections” provides musical examples from other countries, like Ghana, Brazil, and India, providing students with the opportunity to explore different genres and styles of music from around the world.

Evaluation for 6.2a
Materials include guidance for teachers to provide explicit (direct) instruction on relevant discipline-specific historical and cultural context in alignment with the course TEKS.

The materials do not include guidance for educators to provide explicit (direct) instruction on relevant discipline-specific historical and cultural context in alignment with the course TEKS. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 1, Song 4 Lesson Plan: Wade in the Water” identifies relevant historical and cultural information about gospel music, African American history, coded messages, enslavement, and the Underground Railroad. However, the lesson plan does not direct the educator where or how to teach the content.



Although the materials include lessons that offer discipline-specific historical and cultural context aligned with the course TEKS, they do not include guidance for educators to provide explicit (direct) instruction on these topics. For example, the MusicFirst Elementary Collections tab includes an “American Patriotic Music” section with six slide decks and student-facing materials featuring songs and activities. At least one song per slide deck contains information about the historical and/or cultural context of the song. However, materials do not include educator guidance on how to use the Collection. Additionally, these materials are the same for each grade level and do not align to grade-level TEKS.

Evaluation for 6.2b
Materials provide opportunities for students to explore a variety of discipline-specific artistic works and traditions (e.g., variety of historical and contemporary artistic works, artistic traditions from diverse cultures).

The materials give students opportunities to explore a variety of discipline-specific historical and contemporary artistic works. For example, the “Grade 5, Unit 3, Song 6 Lesson Plan: El Sombrero Blanco” provides interactive materials that let students listen, move, and respond to a traditional musical work while exploring ranchera, older folk music, fandango, ranch-dance practices, and related repertoire. The resource connects the music to its 18th-century development, Mexico and California, ranch life, cultural celebration, characteristic instruments, form, meter, and tonality.

The grade 5 materials give students opportunities to explore a variety of discipline-specific artistic traditions. For example, the Collections tab includes a “Listen and Respond” section with eight subcategories that explore different music styles. Each slide deck includes songs, activities, and information about the song’s historical and/or cultural context. Additionally, a Connect tab includes information about the music style and its origin, and connects the song to other styles in music history.

Evaluation for 6.2c
Materials include activities and tasks that require students to demonstrate understanding of relevant discipline-specific historical and cultural context in alignment with the course TEKS.

The MusicFirst Elementary Grade 5 materials do not include activities and tasks that require students to demonstrate understanding of relevant discipline-specific historical and cultural context in alignment with the course TEKS. For example, the “Fifth Grade Listen and Respond Activity Form” includes questions for students to answer about the piece of music such as “Does this have a steady beat?” or “Is the music fast like a cheetah, slow like a turtle, or somewhere in between like a dog?” However, the form does not include prompts or questions that ask students to examine the historical or cultural context of the music they hear. The materials do not provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate understanding of how historical and cultural influences shape a musical work.

Although the materials include lessons that provide historical and cultural context aligned with the course TEKS, they do not include activities and tasks that require students to demonstrate understanding of these concepts. For example, the “Fifth Grade Formative Assessment Checklist” includes information about what students should be able to do and shows a list of skills they should have. However, it does not include tasks that would require students to demonstrate their understanding of relevant discipline-specific historical and cultural context.