10624 : Music Listening Journal — 2 Differentiated Versions | Active Listening Activity

Help your students listen more deeply, think more critically, and connect more meaningfully with music using these two beautifully designed, differentiated Music Listening Journals!

Whether you teach elementary general music, middle school band, high school orchestra, or anything in between — these journals give every student the tools to engage actively with any piece of music at their own level.

What's included — 2 differentiated journals:

? Listening Journal — Beginner/Elementary Version Designed for younger or beginning listeners with visual, accessible prompts:

• Tempo — fast, slow, medium with circle options
• Tempo changes — stays the same, gets faster, gets slower
• Dynamics — fill in the circles scale from soft to loud
• Dynamic changes — change or stay the same
• Tone Color — what instruments do you hear?
• Voices — yes/no with child/man/woman/other options
• Creative Response — if you could paint this piece what colors would you use?

? Listening Journal — Intermediate/Advanced Version Designed for older or more experienced listeners with nine analytical categories:

• Medium of the piece — vocal/voice, chamber ensemble, orchestra, band, other
• Tempo — mostly fast/moderate/slow plus change or remain the same
• Dynamics — dynamic scale from ppp to fff plus change or remain the same
• Tone Color & Instrumentation — instruments heard plus timbre description
• Musical Elements — melody, rhythm, beat analysis
• Expression & Structure — mood, personal connections, musical structure (A-B-A, rondo, verse-chorus, through-composed)
• Composer's Techniques — how is the composer conveying story or feeling?
• Personal Response — what did you like or not like and why?
• Overall Rating — five star rating with written justification

Print as many copies as you need! One download gives you unlimited prints for your classroom all year long. Use the beginner version with younger classes and the advanced version with older or more experienced students — or use both in the same class for differentiation!

Who this is for: ✔ General music teachers — elementary and middle school ✔ Band directors ✔ Orchestra directors ✔ Chorus and choir directors ✔ Music appreciation teachers ✔ Any music teacher who uses listening as part of their curriculum ✔ Grades 2–12

When to use it:

• Active listening lessons
• Substitute teacher plans
• Concert attendance follow-up
• Composer or composer study units
• Music history lessons
• Any time you play music and want students to really listen

Standards connections: ✔ National Core Arts Standards — Responding ✔ Common Core ELA — Writing and Speaking & Listening ✔ Critical thinking and analytical writing

Designed by a National Board Certified Music Educator with two master's degrees and 22 years of classroom experience.