MusicFirst Elementary - Third 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: Third 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 117.112.2A, 117.112.3C, 117.112.4A, 117.112.4B, and 117.112.6D, 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, sharps, flats, tonic pitch.

The materials include a “Third Grade TEKS Aligned Activity Guide” with a table that maps each TEKS code and standard to a corresponding MFE Student Activity. For example, the TEKS Code 117.112 (1A) is mapped to the TEKS standard “Categorize a variety of musical sounds,” including those of children’s voices. The MFE Student Activity column lists two activities that can be used with students, including “Dragon Song, RSNO Children’s Choir: Unit 6 Enrichment Extended Listening.”

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.

The MusicFirst Elementary: An Overview document focuses on implementing lessons effectively. 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 explain the rationale for the 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 “Third Grade Year at a Glance: Fluency Stage” document that explains how grade 3 builds on concepts introduced in grade 2 and 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 Connect 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.

The Teaching with the MusicFirst Elementary Platform: A Facilitation Guide for Teachers guides educators in internalizing and facilitating each lesson component using the seven instructional activity types, reflecting the variety of instructional approaches embedded in the platform.

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 on facilitating MusicFirst Elementary’s seven instructional activity types, reflecting the platform’s variety of instructional approaches.

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 “Third Grade Unit 1 Overview” provides the unit focus and explains the musical concepts students will develop throughout the unit. It also describes how those concepts are applied across the songs and lesson activities. In addition, the overview includes a vocabulary chart that identifies both new and previously learned vocabulary, supporting educators in building student understanding across the unit.

The “Third Grade Unit 2 Overview” continues this structure while providing additional support for educator preparation. The unit overview includes a “Musical Spotlight” box that summarizes the background knowledge educators need to teach the lesson content effectively. It also lists academic and discipline-specific vocabulary, along with the lesson in which each word is introduced or taught.

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 “Third Grade Family Connection Sheet” for the song “Bringing Us Together” 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, linked directly to lesson plans, and available in both English and Spanish. These resources introduce families to what students are learning in music, the songs they are working on, and ways families can support and extend learning at home. For example, the “Unit 4, Song 4 Lesson Plan: “Go Tell It on the Mountain” contains four ELPS documents—the bilingual song lyrics and song structure document, an ELPS “Standards Activity” guide that contains “Song Context,” “Key Words,” “Musical Vocabulary,” ELPS standards addressed, guidance on the ELPS activity, and sentence frames, the “Family Connection,” and the ELPS Sentence Stems.

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 3, Unit 5, Song 3 Lesson Plan: Oh Happy Day” includes a structured lesson plan with music style, materials and instruments, supporting documentation, vocabulary, sheet music, TEKS, ELPS, and scheduling options. The lesson also identifies Big Ideas and Student Outcomes aligned to the TEKS, including outcomes for creating rhythmic and melodic phrases, identifying form or structure, using music terminology, describing musical concepts, singing in a rehearsal setting, and demonstrating audience behavior. The lesson plans do not include lesson-specific questions, tasks, or instructional assessments; instead, they provide general questions and a worksheet that can be used with any lesson.

In the student-facing materials, there is a “Listen and Respond” section (under the Teach tab in each lesson) with questions to ask students and a Did You Know? tab that gives background information about some 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 the 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 a lesson overview that lists the student materials needed and the timing for each lesson component. For example, the “Grade 3, Unit 2, Song 2 Lesson Plan: No More Dinosaurs” 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 deliver the lesson effectively.

The “Grade 3, Unit 6, Song 1 Lesson Plan” 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 3, Unit 2 Overview” 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 is aligned to the unit 2 focus, “Reading Note Names.” It includes extended practice options such as Orff-inspired activities, Kodály activities, instrumental play-alongs, musical games, “Focus on Sound” activities, creative tools, composition projects, “Listen/Move/Respond” activities, seasonal music, and YuStudio projects.

The “Grade 3, Unit 2, Enrich and Extend” document provides examples of extended practice connected to the unit objective of reading note names. For example, the “Great Big House in New Orleans” Kodály activity revisits the song, focusing on note-name reading across the do-pentatonic scale and directing students to identify and name every note in the melody from staff notation before singing. The “I Fed My Horse” Kodály activity also develops note-name recognition across the pentatonic scale through a clear, singable folk-song context.

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 the 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, no specific performance tasks accompany the rubric, 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 & 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 a MusicFirst Elementary Assessment Guide K–5 that outlines the intended purposes of the instructional assessment types. For example, this guide contains formative checklists, peer assessment tools, the “My Music Passport,” 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 notes that these instructions will appear in each unit across the program, ensuring consistent and accurate assessment administration.

The overall MusicFirst Elementary Assessment Guide K–5 provides 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 performance 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 “Third 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 & 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 “My 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 also 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: Third 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 “Third Grade Formative Assessment Checklists,” which provide a general lesson- and unit-level format across multiple instructional activity types. The checklist identifies TEKS-based skills, such as moving in time with a steady beat, echo-clapping rhythmic patterns, and reading and performing notation. However, the “Checklist” does not include tasks or items that increase in complexity. While it includes skill mastery levels, these reflect educator observations of mastery rather than varying task complexity. Additionally, the material does not include student-facing tasks or 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 a MusicFirst Elementary Assessment Guide K–5 that guides educators in interpreting assessment data from “End-of-Grade Rubrics,” “Formative Assessment Checklists,” “My Music Passport,” quizzes, peer assessments, and 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 materials include 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 “Third 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: Third 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, the materials include no resources, such as anchor charts or graphic organizers, and no suggestions for small-group instruction to support students below grade level.

The materials include a MusicFirst Elementary Assessment Guide K–5 with an “Assessment to Differentiation Loop” section that offers 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 aren’t 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. However, the guide does not tell educators when to use which strategies, how to provide differentiated activities, or when to provide 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 the terms used in the lesson. However, the materials do not provide pre-teaching or embedded support strategies within the unit overview. For example, the lesson “Grade 3, Unit 2: Reading Note Names” includes new vocabulary such as note names, pentatonic scale, improvise, and mariachi, but it does not provide educator guidance for pre-teaching the vocabulary.


The materials include lesson plans that include new key vocabulary. For example, the “Grade 3, Unit 2, Song 3 Lesson Plan: Take Time in Life” includes the terms ritardando and treble clef 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.

Within the unit plans, the materials include an “Enrich and Extend” plan that includes 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 how to use the materials effectively 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 MusicFirst 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. Additionally, it does not 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 on implementing supports for students who need special education services. For example, the document includes adaptation examples based on the area of need and Individualized Education Program (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 3” that includes 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 3, Unit 4, Song 3 Lesson Plan: El Florón” 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 3, unit 4, lesson 3, an Orff-inspired activity serves as performance material 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 3, Unit 6, Song 1 Lesson Plan: The Dragon Song” includes activities that let children listen and move, respond to music, sing, 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 “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 within this guide 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 types of practice, such as guided, independent, and collaborative practice, within the grade 3 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 levels and connect to the specific activity within the lesson. They are provided in English and Spanish, increase in complexity, and support EB students in using academic and discipline-specific music language. Additionally, the document 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 3, Unit 2, Song 3 Lesson Plan: Take Time in Life” includes terms such as ritardando. The document also includes educator guidance for linguistic accommodations by 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 the “ELPS Support Summary” document, which 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 provide linguistic support to EB students, such as the “ELPS Standards Activities” for each song, which provide key song words and musical vocabulary in English and Spanish. The materials include the ELPS standards and 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’ abilities 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 lyric and song sheets for each song in the curriculum. These song sheets provide the song text in English and Spanish side by side (e.g., Grade 3, Unit 6, Song 5, “Hoedown”). The document also notes that bold text highlights key vocabulary from the corresponding “ELPS Support Activity.” However, the material functions primarily as bilingual lyrics 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.

Each grade-level lesson includes “Musical Spotlight” and “Lesson Focus” guidance sections for educators, including scripted sentences they 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, in the “Grade 3, Unit 1, Song 4 Lesson Plan: Four White Horses,” the lesson identifies the song as calypso in 4/4 and lists vocabulary such as meter, time signature, beat, and tempo. The “Musical Spotlight: Feel the Meter” states that time signatures organize the steady beat and that students will explore duple and triple meter. However, the lesson provides no guidance on how time signatures organize the beat, how to distinguish duple from triple meter, or how students should use the vocabulary during the lesson. The directions ask students to listen for the metallic sound of steel pans, feel the four-beat meter through a hand-clapping game, identify instrument families, and use movement to show beat, mood, or melodic shape, but they do not include educator modeling, scaffolds, checks for understanding, or guidance on feedback. Relatedly, while the lesson provides artistic literacy vocabulary and general concept statements, it does not clearly explain, reinforce, or assess these concepts 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. The document provides educator scripts for what to say. For example, the “Third Grade TEKS Aligned Activity Guide” covers identifying instrument families, explaining musical sounds, using known music symbols for rhythm and melody, writing extended pentatonic melodic patterns using standard staff notation, identifying dynamic symbols, and creating rhythmic or 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.

MusicFirst Elementary Grade 3 includes 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. This document includes no explicit connections between new music literacy and prior learning across lessons or units, or across courses as applicable.


The materials include a “Third Grade Curriculum Overview” that describes connections to prior learning within each unit overview. For example, the “Grade 3, 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, there are no examples provided in this unit overview or in the larger curriculum overview 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, these forms offer no opportunity to develop discipline-specific artistic literacy vocabulary. They do not demonstrate the ongoing process of learning and acquiring new words and their meanings, and 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 3, Unit 2, Song 4 Teach Slides: Sweet Potatoes,” students answer questions such as “Is the tempo fast, slow, or steady?” and “Can you remember one of the rhythms you heard in the music?” However, the lesson gives students no opportunity 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 3 materials include “Formative Assessment Checklists” that list the performance tasks expected for that grade. For example, the “Third Grade Formative Assessment Checklist” lists “Move in time with the beat” and “Respond to music with movement” 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,” which 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 of the 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 3 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 TEKS.

Each unit overview describes the artistic skills to be learned in the lessons. For example, the “Grade 3, 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. The unit overview shows unit-level planning support and TEKS-aligned artistic skill outcomes, but 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 3 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 3 discipline-specific artistic skill and connect it to a named skill from an earlier grade 3 lesson or unit or from grade 2. The materials also do not include educator directions, student prompts, reflection stems, comparison tasks, or cumulative demonstrations requiring 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 3, Unit 2, Song 1 Lesson Plan: Big Bear Funk” introduces the pitch fa after stating, “You already know the pentatonic scale: Do-Re-Mi-Sol-La.” The lesson identifies note names and treble clef as new vocabulary, and staff and space notes as revisited vocabulary. Warm-up activities ask students to review line and space notes, echo-sing pentatonic patterns, and copy melodic phrases before engaging with new content. However, the materials do not identify where the pentatonic scale and related skills were previously taught, or explicitly connect those skills to the new learning involving fa. The lesson also lacks student prompts, comparison tasks, or cumulative demonstrations that require 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 3, Unit 3, Song 2 Lesson Plan: Old Texas” includes outcomes for keeping a steady beat; refining singing through attention to tempo, rhythm, pitch, vocal technique, style, dynamics, and expression; performing instrumental parts with accuracy and expression; and explaining musical genre, structure, significance, and performance context. 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 3, Unit 3, Song 2 Lesson Plan: Old Texas,” 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 3 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 give students opportunities to refine discipline-specific artistic skills through the “Third 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. In addition, they 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 “3rd Grade Year at a Glance: Fluency Stage” section provides a broad yearlong overview of grade 3 music learning, and states that grade 3 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 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: Third 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 another means to determine mastery of specific unit learning objectives.

The “End-of-Grade Performance Rubric: Third 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 3 curriculum provides information about multiple opportunities for students to explore a variety of discipline-specific art forms across each grade level and subsequent unit. For example, the grade 3 curriculum includes a “Third Grade Songs and Styles” document that contains 36 songs distributed across six units and representing numerous contrasting musical genres and styles: disco, New Orleans jazz, calypso, rock, folk, mariachi, gospel, klezmer, salsa, reggae, and electronic dance music.


In grade 3, the materials give students opportunities to explore a variety of discipline-specific art forms through the online platform. For example, the online platform includes 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 “Arabic Music and Singing with Saied Silbak,” which introduces students to Arabic music through listening, singing, composing, and performing. In the “Listen to Arabic Music” activity, students use lesson videos and music guides to explore Arabic instruments, rhythm, and maqam. Students learn about instruments such as the oud and riqq and practice the Iqa‘ Maqsoum rhythm by clapping and saying “doum” and “tak.” The collection also includes the “Darbar Indian Music Experience,” a six-week unit that introduces elements of Indian musical tradition through listening, singing, playing instruments, and composing. In the “Darbar Indian Music Experience, Lesson 1 Knowledge Organizer,” students identify and label Indian instruments, including the sitar, tabla, sarod, tanpura, flute, dholak, santoor, and manjeera. Students also create a poster for an Indian concert using information learned during the lesson.

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 3 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). In the Collections tab, under “Instrumental Instruction and Composition,” the “Resources for Composition” section includes “Third Grade Extension Activities for Composition,” which contains five extension activities to help students expand their learning. Extension Activity 5 is connected to “Grade 3, Unit 2, Musical Spotlight: Melody—Reading Note Names.” This activity builds on the discipline-specific skills introduced in Unit 2’s “Musical Spotlight” by asking students to compose a short melody using staff notation. Through this task, students apply their understanding of note names and staff notation to create an original musical work.

Additionally, the MusicFirst Elementary—Grade 3 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 3 curriculum gives students opportunities to exercise agency by creating or selecting discipline-specific artistic works for study. For example, the “Grade 3, Unit 6, Song 1 Lesson Plan: The Dragon Song” includes a section entitled “Compose with the Song,” which provides a list that includes some 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” row provides questions that 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 MusicFirst Elementary Grade 3 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, the document “MusicFirst Elementary: An Overview” describes the “Listen and Respond” activity as a recurring part of the MusicFirst Elementary curriculum, and the overview states that students 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 3, Unit 4, Song 2 Lesson Plan: Let Your Spirit Fly” provides short sentences within the “Listen, Move, and Respond Options” section, these are only bulleted lists sequencing the steps in the lessons and a few questions like “Is it fast or slow?” as options to ask students. However, it provides no explicit instruction on interpreting or evaluating music, nor does it include the depth and complexity needed 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 using discipline-specific vocabulary to interpret, evaluate, and respond 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 3 vocabulary list includes meter, form (AB), and timbre and provides student-friendly definitions to use alongside them.

Additionally, the materials include “Listen and Respond” tasks built directly from each lesson’s vocabulary and aligned to that lesson’s TEKS. These tasks include a list of the vocabulary being used in that specific lesson, as well as a script for educators 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 give students opportunities to practice interpreting, evaluating, and responding to discipline-specific artistic works by other artists. For example, the “Grade 3, Unit 4, Song 2 Lesson Plan: Let Your Spirit Fly” 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 match the “Respond” questions used throughout other lessons and units at this grade level.

The MusicFirst Elementary Grade 3 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” provides an opportunity for 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 across the lessons or units, as these questions remain the same throughout.

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, but it does not provide explicit instructional guidance for educators on teaching students to give self-feedback.

Additionally, the materials include a “My Music Passport: Summative Assessment” document, which provides a general overview of how to use it. However, these materials do not include guidance for educators on providing explicit (direct) instruction on how students receive feedback from their peers.

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

The MusicFirst Elementary Grade 3 curriculum materials give students opportunities to provide feedback on discipline-specific artistic works created by other students. For example, the “Third Grade Peer Assessment Tool” provides 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 3 materials include opportunities for students to give feedback on discipline-specific artistic works created by other students. For example, the “Grade 3, Unit 5, Song 4 Lesson Plan: Uncle Jesse” includes a “Perform” section that includes 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 3 materials give students opportunities to receive peer feedback on their discipline-specific artistic work. For example, the “Peer & Teacher Feedback Protocols” document includes 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 educators to give students feedback on their discipline-specific artistic work. 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 3 materials do not include guidance for educators on providing feedback that helps students refine their discipline-specific artistic work. For example, the “Third Grade Formative Assessment Checklist” contains educator-facing rating scales for musical knowledge and artistic skills. However, the materials do not include guidance on how educators can 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 guides educators in giving students feedback to refine their discipline-specific artistic work. It provides a structured process for giving timely, specific, and actionable feedback and includes discipline-specific examples showing 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.

The MusicFirst Elementary Grade 3 materials do not give students opportunities to reflect on their artistic work. For example, the “My Music Passport: Third Grade” offers students sentence stems to complete about how they feel about the activities or songs and draw a picture of something they learned. However, students have no opportunity to reflect on their musical skills or how those skills develop.


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 the materials do 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 lack 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 3 materials include lessons with cross-curricular connections between fine arts and core academic subjects. For example, the “Grade 3, Unit 5, Song 5 Lesson Plan: A World Full of Sound” includes a section labeled “Cross-Curricular Focus” with a paragraph for students to read about sound, vibration, and inclusion. 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 3 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 educators with guidance on 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 3 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 3, Unit 5, Song 5 Lesson Plan: A World Full of Sound” includes student-facing opportunities to explore the connection between music and science. “The Balloon Experiment” directs students to use a balloon to investigate how different sounds feel.


The grade 3 materials give students opportunities to explore cross-curricular connections within and across subjects. For example, the MusicFirst Elementary Collections tab includes a section titled “Global Connections,” which provides musical examples from countries such as Ghana, Brazil, and India, allowing students 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 3, Unit 2, Song 4 Lesson Plan: Sweet Potato” identifies relevant cultural content by explaining that folk songs preserve traditions and that this Caribbean song celebrates family food traditions. 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 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, “Grade 3, Unit 3, Song 4, Toembaï” offers interactive materials that let students listen, move, and respond to a Jewish song and circle dance while exploring its connection to klezmer music and Ashkenazi Jewish culture. The Understand and Connect tabs address historical origins, migration, cultural identity, instrumentation, ornamentation, expressive characteristics, and performance practices.

Additionally, the grade 3 curriculum gives 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 with different 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 3 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 “Third Grade Listen and Respond Activity Form” includes questions 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 music’s historical or cultural context. The materials do not give students an opportunity to demonstrate 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 “Third Grade Formative Assessment Checklist” describes what students should be able to do and lists the 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.