It's Thanksgiving break! Are you practicing?!?!?!
I had a WONDERFUL time at the Orff National Conference for music teachers in St. Louis this past weekend. I will be coming back to school full of inspiration and new ideas that I cannot wait to try.
So, 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders, you should PRACTICE!
Listen to music, sing, dance, play, enjoy. Happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
This week (10/29-11/2)
Happy end of the trimester!
A word about grades....
All specials teachers have made a change this year with our grading scale. In the past, we used a numbering system similar to the classroom teachers, 1-4. This year, the specials teachers have decided to make a change to benefit students and families in terms of understanding the grades. We will be using an ESU grading scale. E=Excellent (above expectations.) S=Satisfactory (meets expectations.) U=Unsatisfactory (below expectations.) This should make grades easier to understand for all.
This week in...
Kindergarten- we continued to learn about walking and jogging sounds in music. We reviewed high and low sounds, and we wrapped up the week with a quiz about some of the major concepts covered so far this year: high and low, identifying simple musical patterns, and walking versus jogging music.
1st/2nd grade- students performed a chant from the story Shake Dem Halloween Bones in groups using the expressive characteristics of music (loud and soft, fast and slow, high and low, and also some emotions- e.g. happy, sad, mad.) These were fun to watch! We also played a game with a pumpkin beanbag called "The Pumpkin Picker."
3rd/4th grade- we began to examine our recorder playing and graded ourselves in the 4 categories of tone, rhythm, fingerings/posture, and tonguing. Students used the song "Hot Cross Buns" (the white belt song on Recorder Karate) to gauge their current level of playing. We also had some fun playing a football passing game.
5th grade- we learned about Beethoven and wrote reactions to some of his compositions on our music logs. We also completed another Mad Minutes, which focuses on reading the notes B, A, G, and E on the staff. We reviewed our sign language for the song "Win" (see the link at the bottom of the page under 'Other useful links') and worked on some new recorder songs.
HAPPY PRACTICING!
A word about grades....
All specials teachers have made a change this year with our grading scale. In the past, we used a numbering system similar to the classroom teachers, 1-4. This year, the specials teachers have decided to make a change to benefit students and families in terms of understanding the grades. We will be using an ESU grading scale. E=Excellent (above expectations.) S=Satisfactory (meets expectations.) U=Unsatisfactory (below expectations.) This should make grades easier to understand for all.
This week in...
Kindergarten- we continued to learn about walking and jogging sounds in music. We reviewed high and low sounds, and we wrapped up the week with a quiz about some of the major concepts covered so far this year: high and low, identifying simple musical patterns, and walking versus jogging music.
1st/2nd grade- students performed a chant from the story Shake Dem Halloween Bones in groups using the expressive characteristics of music (loud and soft, fast and slow, high and low, and also some emotions- e.g. happy, sad, mad.) These were fun to watch! We also played a game with a pumpkin beanbag called "The Pumpkin Picker."
3rd/4th grade- we began to examine our recorder playing and graded ourselves in the 4 categories of tone, rhythm, fingerings/posture, and tonguing. Students used the song "Hot Cross Buns" (the white belt song on Recorder Karate) to gauge their current level of playing. We also had some fun playing a football passing game.
5th grade- we learned about Beethoven and wrote reactions to some of his compositions on our music logs. We also completed another Mad Minutes, which focuses on reading the notes B, A, G, and E on the staff. We reviewed our sign language for the song "Win" (see the link at the bottom of the page under 'Other useful links') and worked on some new recorder songs.
Here's a photo of my pup Wilson and I enjoying the Halloween parade at school!
HAPPY PRACTICING!
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