Wyoming Four-Day School Week: Art and Music Units for Grades 3–5
Wyoming Four-Day School Week: Art and Music Units for Grades 3–5
In a Wyoming four-day school, art and music often fall to the classroom teacher, and a longer day is the chance to teach them properly. The Elementary Art & Music Units Bundle gives Grades 3–5 five planned units: rhythm, singing, instruments and timbre, color mixing, and patterns and printing, for teachers with or without an arts specialist down the hall.
See the art and music unitsThe Elementary Art & Music Units Bundle ($74.99) gives Wyoming Grades 3–5 teachers on a four-day schedule five arts units: Rhythm: Listen, Read & Create; Voices & Songs; Instruments & Timbre; Mixing Color & Creating Contrast; and Patterns & Printing. It suits classroom teachers who teach their own art and music and specialists who need ready lessons. It is not written for Wyoming's arts standards, and no instruments or art supplies are included.
The resources
Elementary Art & Music Units Bundle, Grades 3–5
5 resources in one download: $74.99 instead of $124.95 bought separately.
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
Elementary Art & Music Units Bundle | Rhythm, Singing, Instruments, Color Mixing & Printing | 5 Units | Grades 3–5
Elementary Science Curriculum | Life, Earth & Physical Science | 11 Units | Grades 3–5
Music Complete – Ready-to-Use Curriculum for Middle School Music (Grades 6–8)
Art Complete – Ready-to-Use Curriculum for Middle School Art
The real problem
Arts time in long Wyoming school days
The four-day week is now common in Wyoming schools, and some of its schools are very small. In 2024, Antelope Creek School, a new one-room school, opened on a ranch in remote northern Albany County, and a rural district once opened a schoolhouse for a single student. In schools like these there is no music room down the hall and no art teacher on a cart. Whoever teaches reading and math also teaches rhythm and color mixing, or the arts quietly drop out of the week. A longer day changes the math on that. Art and music lessons lose much of their time to setup, handing out materials, warming up voices and cleaning brushes, and a short slot leaves almost nothing for the actual work. A long afternoon block finally has room for a printing project from start to finish, or for listening, reading and performing a rhythm in one sitting. The barrier is confidence and planning. A third-grade teacher who has never read rhythm notation, or who last mixed paint in college, needs lessons that explain the content, set out the steps and give students something to make, so the long afternoon becomes the part of the week students look forward to rather than one more worksheet.
Why it fits
Five units for a longer afternoon
Three music units and two art units cover the core of elementary arts without a specialist room.
- Rhythm: Listen, Read & Create moves from hearing a beat to reading and writing rhythms.
- Voices & Songs centers on singing, which needs no instruments and works well in a one-room school.
- Instruments & Timbre teaches how instruments sound different, which works with recordings when real ones are scarce.
- Mixing Color & Creating Contrast fits a long block where paint can be mixed, used and cleaned up.
- Patterns & Printing gives a full afternoon to a print project from design to finished piece.
- Grades 3–5 in one band suits multi-grade rooms where several ages share the same arts block.
Getting started
A sample arts rotation for a four-day week
Here is one way to spread five units over a semester. It is a suggestion; shape it around your other subjects and the supplies you have.
- Alternate music and art unitsTeach a music unit, then an art unit, then music again. Switching keeps interest up, and it gives you time to collect art supplies while the class sings or works on rhythm.
- Start with rhythmRhythm needs nothing but hands, voices and the unit materials, so it is an easy first unit. Students who can clap and read simple rhythms are ready for the singing and instrument units.
- Save printing for a long dayPlan Patterns & Printing on your longest afternoons. A print project needs time to set up, print, dry and clean, which a short slot cannot give you.
- Mix color before you printTeach Mixing Color & Creating Contrast before printing, so students bring color choices into their print designs. The two art units then build on each other.
- End with a small sharing eventClose the semester with a song from Voices & Songs and a display of prints. In a small rural school, families can come in for the last half hour of a long Thursday.
What to buy
Elementary arts, or a middle school course?
The Elementary Art & Music Units Bundle ($74.99, parts bought separately $124.95) is the right size for Grades 3–5 and for classroom teachers covering the arts themselves. If your long days also need a science strand, the Elementary Science Curriculum ($109.99, parts $228.62) adds eleven hands-on units for Grades 3–5. Teachers with a Grades 6–8 class should look at Music Complete – Middle School and Art Complete – Middle School, each from $149.90, which are full middle school curricula. A multi-grade K–8 room may need both levels.
Honest limits
What is not in the box
These units are not written for Wyoming. They carry no Wyoming standards codes, so compare them with Wyoming's arts standards and your district's expectations. Nothing physical is included: no instruments, paint, printing supplies or audio equipment. You gather simple materials and any recordings yourself, and you handle printing and a screen for slides. The licence covers your own teaching; for several teachers or a school, send Teach Lessons a short message first. If the bundle is not a fit, you can exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value. Cash refunds are not offered.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Does it follow Wyoming's arts standards?
No claim of that kind is made. The bundle is not aligned to, endorsed by or approved for Wyoming's arts standards and contains no Wyoming-specific content. It covers rhythm, singing, instruments and timbre, color mixing, and patterns and printing for Grades 3–5. Check those topics against your standards before you plan the year.
I cannot read music. Can I teach the music units?
The bundle is meant for classroom teachers who teach their own music as well as for specialists. Read through the rhythm unit before teaching it and practice the rhythms yourself first. Starting with clapping and voice work, rather than instruments, keeps the first lessons manageable for you and for the class.
Do we need instruments or special art supplies?
No instruments or supplies come with the bundle. The singing and rhythm units can run on voices and hands. The instrument unit is easier with some recordings or simple classroom instruments, and the art units need basic paint and printing materials that you supply. Check each unit before you start so you can gather what is needed.
Will this work in a one-room school with mixed ages?
The units are written for Grades 3–5, which suits a combined upper-elementary group. Younger children can join singing and rhythm work, and older students can lead parts of a printing project. For students in Grades 6–8 you will want the middle school art or music curriculum alongside it.
How do I receive the units?
As a digital download straight after purchase. A link arrives by email, and the files also sit in your customer account under Orders. Print the pages you need or show them on a screen. Nothing ships, which matters when the nearest post office is a long drive away.
Can our small district share one copy across schools?
The licence covers your own teaching. For use across several teachers or schools in a district, including small outlying schools, send Teach Lessons a short message before buying and explain the setup. The files may not be redistributed, resold or posted publicly, for example on a district website.
Give the arts a real place in the long day
Open the bundle page to see the five units and what each contains.
See the art and music units