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My Voice

First graders discover the different voices they can use — whisper, speaking, singing, and calling — and learn that singing uses a special, gentle voice that makes music sound beautiful.

Grade 1Voice30 minutes1 class periodArtistic ProcessExplicit teaching4 StandardsNCAS
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Use different voices.
  • ✓Find your singing voice.
  • ✓Tell singing from shouting.
  • ✓Sing nicely.
Essential Question

Your voice can do so many things — whisper, talk, call, and SING! In music, we use a special singing voice. What are your different voices?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Explore · Interactive

The My Voice Explorer

Project this and tap each voice. Have children learn the different voices, including the singing voice.

🎤 Explore your voices — tap eachTry it

The Lesson · Artistic Process (Listen · Explore · Create · Perform · Reflect)

30 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Listen — So Many Voices

4 min

Your voice can whisper, talk, call, and SING — what are they?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Try a whisper and a call.
  • Ask which is which.
  • Warm up voices.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Try it.
  • Guess.
  • Warm up.
2

Explore — Explore Voices

8 min

Children explore.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send children to the My Voice Explorer.
  • Note each voice.
  • Find the singing voice.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Tap each.
  • Note them.
  • Find it.
3

Create — Create

9 min

Children create.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Whisper a word.
  • Sing a word.
  • Use the singing voice.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Whisper.
  • Sing.
  • Use it.
4

Perform — Perform

6 min

Children perform.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Sing a short song.
  • Use your singing voice.
  • Be kind.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sing it.
  • Use it.
  • Be kind.
5

Reflect — Reflect

3 min

Children respond.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a voice.
  • Show your singing voice.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Show it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the National Core Arts Standards (Music).

NCAS
MU:Pr4.2.1

Use the singing voice.

NCAS
MU:Pr6.1.1

Sing expressively.

NCAS
MU:Cr1.1.1

Explore vocal sounds.

NCAS
MU:Re7.1.1

Recognize different voices.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Voice picture cards.
  • Sentence frame: “This is my ___ voice.”
  • Model each voice.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with whisper vs. sing.
  • Copy the leader.
  • Sing one note.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Sing high and low.
  • Make voice patterns.
  • Explain when to use each.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🎵A simple song
  • 💻The My Voice Explorer
  • 🎤A pretend mic
  • 🖍️Crayons
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

voicethe sound you makewhispera very soft voicespeakingyour talking voicesingingthe music voicecallinga loud outside voicesoftquietloudstrong soundtunea little song
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
Name one of your voices.
Whisper, speaking, singing, or calling.
QUESTION 2
What voice do we use to make music?
The singing voice.
QUESTION 3
Should you sing with a shouting voice?
No — use a gentle singing voice.

Reflect: use your voice.

Have children sing a short song at home using their singing voice (not a shouting voice). A printable voice sheet is in the Arts library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 My VoiceFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 My VoiceQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ My VoicePrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: calling, loud, singing, soft, speaking, tune, voice, whisper
  1. your talking voice
  2. quiet
  3. the music voice
  4. a little song
  5. the sound you make
  6. strong sound
  7. a very soft voice
  8. a loud outside voice

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Name one of your voices.
  2. What voice do we use to make music?
  3. Should you sing with a shouting voice?
Answer key — Part A: 1) speaking · 2) soft · 3) singing · 4) tune · 5) voice · 6) loud · 7) whisper · 8) calling
Part B: 1) Whisper, speaking, singing, or calling. 2) The singing voice. 3) No — use a gentle singing voice.