Middle School Band Curriculum/YAG (for Small, Rural Schools!)
- Word Document File
Description
This document provides a Year at a Glance (YAG) for your Middle School Band program. It gives a list of objectives, vocabulary and activities for each grading period of the school year, based on a year with 6 6-week grading periods. Like YAGs for other subjects, it is very broad. You will need to find or create materials and lessons through which to teach the concepts to your students.
I developed this after 4-5 years of having bands fall short of Superior Ratings at UIL Contests (our state run festivals). This was a way for me to ensure I wasn't missing critical concepts throughout my student's development - and it worked. My next band earned the first UIL Sweepstakes at the school in 13 years, and next year's Varsity Band repeated! Though I moved up to High School, and later to large classifications, I believe having this background enabled me help my later bands achieve the same levels of success and beyond. I had to adjust the goals and the timelines, but it was a good foundation to build on.
This may not perfectly suit your needs. The school district I was serving had been below state standards for several years, and had an 80%+ low SES population. I had a head director that focused mostly on high school and only helped me start beginners. As such, I taught most beginner classes and both bands on my own. Considering these challenges, I aimed to make my goals achievable for low achieving students, but also comprehensive, so that when they went to UIL or other Contests, they could achieve the peak musical performances we all strive for. I now teach at a district three times this size, with two assistant directors, an auxiliary staff, a few lesson teachers, etc. This would criminally under serve my current situation. However, many rural Texas directors, and most directors outside of Texas will find themselves in similar situations to the one I was in when this was developed. If you are in such a place, you may find this useful as a foundation to build on. And it's free!
