Strand 1 foundational skills

Substrand1.1 overview of music

Time 5 hours

Concepts

The general structure of the primary education music curriculum and the DPTE
music curriculum.
The primary education music curriculum follows the broader basic education curriculum framework
(BECF). This is a competency based curriculum which seeks to sharpen the learners’ skills or
competencies in the various learning areas rather than mere knowledge of facts. The curriculum vision is
to produce empowered, engaged, and ethical learners. It also has a mission to nurture every learner’s
potential.

The curriculum is anchored or based on three main pillars

 Values
 Principles
 Theories

values

It is a value-based education that seeks to impart to the learners the values of love, responsibility,
respect, unity, peace, patriotism, social justice, and integrity as its core values. The Basic Education
teacher is expected to infuse these values in the content, learning experiences and mode of learning
that the teacher designs for the learners.

Principles

The second pillar for the BECF is the principles that it seeks to apply in the teaching/learning process.

These include :

 opportunity to every learner

 promoting excellence in every learner
 recognizing diversity in the learners and diverse methods and approaches in teaching/learning
 recognizing that there are learners with special needs that require to be include in the learning
process
 parental empowerment and engagement
 community service learning
 differentiated curriculum and learning.
Theoretical framework

Certain theories of education and learning have helped in shaping the approach of learning applied in
CBC. These include:

 Instructional design theories

 Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory
 Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory
 Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

Core competencies.

A competence is the ability to apply appropriate knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to successfully
perform a function. The CBC curriculum focuses on acquisition of the desired knowledge, skills, values
and attitudes to enable the learner cope with life challenges. The BECF seeks to develop the following
competencies in the learners to enable them thrive in the 21st century.

 Ability to communicate effectively and collaborate with others.

 Ability to think critically, seek and provide solutions to problems.
 Ability to be creative and imaginative
 To show citizenship through knowledge, responsibilities and actions
 Digital literacy – ability to effectively and safely use digital content and devises
 To continuously acquire new knowledge and have the desire and self-drive to seek more
knowledge
 Self-efficacy – the ability to believe in one’s capabilities to perform tasks.
 The teacher is expected to use the content, context, resources and learning methods as a
vehicle to enhance the acquisition of these competencies during instruction.

Note.

It is not possible to acquire all the competencies in a single lesson. However, there are sub strands and
learning outcomes that easily lead to the acquisition of certain competencies.

Overview of the EYE and middle school music curriculum designs

Components of the curriculum design

 National goals of education: statements that describe the aspirations of a country and the needs
that are to be met through education.
 learning outcomes: the end result of what the learner is able to demonstrate upon completion
of a:
a) level,(level learning outcomes)
b) learning area,( learning area general learning outcomes)
 c) stand/sub strand,(specific learning outcomes) and lesson.

 Essence statements: a general overview of a learning area summarizing the fundamental ideas
of each learning area. It also explains the rationale for inclusion of the learning area in the
curriculum.
 Strands and substrands: a strand is a broad area of study within a learning area. It is a consistent
idea that runs through the learning area. A sub strand represents smaller concepts within the
strand.
 Suggested learning experiences
 Key inquiry questions
 Core competencies to be developed
 Values
 Assessment rubric.

In lower primary, music is taught under the broad learning area of movement and creative activities. In
a week, Movement is allocated 5 lessons, art and craft 2 lessons, and music 1 lesson.

In middle school, music is taught under the broad learning area of creative arts, which comprises art and
craft and music. Creative arts are allocated 3 lessons in a week.

Music strands and sub strands for lower primary.

Grade 1

1. Performing
o Songs
o Singing games
o Musical instruments
o Dance
2. Creating and composing
 Rhythm
3. Paying attention and responding

Grade 2

1. Performing
 Songs
 singing games
  Musical instruments
 Dance
2. Creating and composing
 Rhythm
3. Listening and responding
 Elements of music

Grade 3

1. Performing
 Songs
 singing games
 Musical instruments
 Dance
2. Creating and composing
 Rhythm
3. Listening and responding
 Elements of music

Music strands and sub strands for middle school .

The strands and sub strands for middle school follow the same order. However, they vary in terms of
content detail. They include:

Grade 4, 5, 6.

1. Performing
 Songs
 Kenyan folksongs
 Kenyan traditional music instruments
 Western musical instruments – Descant recorder
 Kenyan folk dances
2. Creating and composing
o Rhythm
o Melody
3. Listening, responding and appreciation

For each sub strand, the core competencies, PCI’s, values and CSL’s to be developed are outlined.

It is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure that they are mainstreamed as they cover the content.
The teacher is also free to mainstream other competencies, PCI’s, values and CSL’s not included but they
feel are relevant.
An assessment rubric is given at the end of each sub strand to guide the teacher in assessing the
achievement of the learning outcomes. The rubrics are holistic and the teacher is allowed to break them
according to how they have organized their learning experiences.

The DPTE music design

There is a strong correlation between the primary school music design and the DPTE design. This is seen
in the strands and sub strands. However the content of the DPTE is more elaborate covering what they
need to teach in the primary school and beyond, and also covering the strategies for teaching the
content. The strands and sub strands for DPTE include:

Strand sub strand

4. Foundational skills overview of music

Music in the society.

5. performing Songs

Kenyan Folksongs

Singing games

Kenyan indigenous musical instruments

Descant recorder

dance

6. Creating and composingrhythm

Pitch

melody

7. Listening and appreciation Kenyan indigenous songs and sounds from the environment
western and contemporary songs

The core competencies, PCI’s, values, and CSL’s are similar, however, relate to the teacher trainee and
not the PE learner.
The music essence statements for EYE and middle school level

Pre-primary

Psychomotor and Creative Activities

Psychomotor and creative activities at pre-primary level enable learners to develop both fine and gross
motor skills which are necessary for the control and co-ordination of different parts of the body. These
activities enhance exploration and development of personal talents and skills as well as appreciation of
their cultural heritage. Pre-primary physical and creative curriculum comprises play and learning
activities through which children exercise their bodies thereby facilitating blood and oxygen circulation
for healthy and strong growth and development as well creative activities through which children
develop their fine motor skills, imagination and creativity thereby developing their talents.

Lower Primary

Movement and Creative Activities

This subject encompasses art, craft and physical education. The learner will be equipped with basic
knowledge, skills and attitudes that will enable them to express themselves in creative and healthy
ways. This is anchored in Dewey's social constructivism theory which posits that learning should be
experiential, participatory and arise from the learner's interests. The activity based approach advocated
in this subject aims at giving the learner an opportunity to think for themselves and articulate their
thoughts through creativity and collaboration. This helps the learner to think for themselves and
develop critical reflection skills.

Middle School Education

This shall comprise three years of upper primary and three years of lower secondary education

Creative Arts

This is a multi-disciplinary area of study that encompasses art, craft and music. It involves acquiring and
applying discipline-specific concepts, techniques and related vocabulary to increase capacity for the
effective pursuit of artistic goals. At this level the learner will be exposed to deeper knowledge, skills and
attitudes on the three disciplines in order to build on the competencies introduced in lower primary in
the integrated subject of movement and creative Basic Education Curriculum Framework Nurturing
Every Learner’s Potential 40 Engaged, Empowered & Ethical Citizens activities (art, craft, music and
physical education). In line with Dewey's social constructivism theory, emphasis will be on an
experiential, participatory approach that will give the learner an opportunity to articulate their thoughts
through creativity and collaboration. This will prepare the learner to transit to lower secondary level.
General learning outcomes of PE vs DPTE music
By the end of the Early Year Education, the learner should be able to:

1. Appreciate own and others artwork, music, and movement activities from the past and present
within their social context and cultures.
2. Express feelings, ideas, and emotions and experiences through artworks, music and movement
activities for therapeutic purposes
3. Develop self confidence and a sense of achievement through making and responding to
artworks, music and movement activities of self and others.
4. Create artworks, perform music and movement activities to share their ideas, thoughts and
feelings and experiences for learning and enjoyment.
5. Use appropriate language in responding to artworks, music and movement activities for
communication and collaboration.
6. Obey rules and cooperate with others to accomplish individual responsibilities while paying
adequate attention to own health and safety.

By the end of the middle school, the learner should be able to:

1. Sing alone and with others different genres of music to promote cultural knowledge and
expression.
2. Create rhythms and melodies within specified guidelines for enjoyment.
3. Play musical instruments alone and with others for individual development, self fulfillment and
enjoyment.
4. Use locally available materials to make instruments and costumes for use in music making.
5. Perform Kenyan folksongs and dances for self and cultural expression.
6. Evaluate music and music performances to make meaningful connections to creating,
performing, and responding to music.
7. Use available technology to enhance learning and develop creativity in music.
8. Address pertinent and contemporary issues in society through music activities.

General learning outcomes for music in DPTE

By the end of the course, the teacher trainee should be able to:

1. Apply acquired knowledge on theory and practice of music to facilitate learning of elements of
music in primary school.
 2. Compose, improvise and arrange music for diverse developmental ability groups using voice,
percussion, and melodic instruments.
3. Choose appropriate instructional methods and materials representing a broad range of
repertoire and adapt them creatively to meet the varying needs and ability levels of the
learners.
4. Design and apply appropriate assessment and evaluation techniques in learning music.
5. Create and notate music using a music software and use ICT to enhance learning.
6. Apply acquired competences in performing music as an individual and in an ensemble.
7. Identify and nurture every learner’s music potential during the learning process.
8. Appreciate and promote Kenya’s diverse cultural heritage through music making activities.
9. Integrate values and PCI’s in the learning of music.

Relationship between the PE and DPTE music curriculum and the national goals
of Education.
 The national goals of education gives direction on what is to be taught in learning institutions’
 They are a reflection of the needs of the Kenyan society. It is envisaged that the attainment of
the National goals of education contributes to the development of the country.
 Consequently all the learning outcomes, that is, the level learning outcomes (specific to PE and
DPTE), the general learning outcomes (specific to a learning area, that is, music), and the specific
learning outcomes (specific to the strands/sub strands) work progressively towards the
attainment of the national goals of education.
 From the national goals of education, level learning outcomes for both PE and teacher
education (DPTE) are drawn.
 The level learning outcomes determines the desired general learning outcomes for each learning
area.
 The specific learning outcomes for each sub—strand are derived from the general learning
outcomes. For instance

National goal of education Promote individual development and self fulfilment

EYE Level learning Communicate appropriately using verbal and non verbal modes
Outcome. In a variety of ways

Subject general learning Express feelings, ideas, emotions and experiences through
Outcome (music Activities) music activities for therapeutic purposes.

Strand Performing: Substrand Songs

Specific learning Express ideas, feelings, and emotions through singing for
Outcome creativity.