Greetings!
Last week, all grades enjoyed playing the mallet instruments!
Kindergarten- this was our first experience playing the mallet instruments. Students played along with the song "Rover" and "Stars Shining." We also played Simon Says with the mallet instruments and had fun learning the Quiet Stick Game.
1st/2nd grade- we played the mallet instruments with the chant "Jack and Jill." We played musical Simon Says and also made sounds effects with bodies, voices, and mallet instruments to accompany the story "Louis Goes Walking." We also played the cup game with so la mi and practiced echoing patterns with sining and mallet instruments.
3rd/4th grade- we learned to play several bordun steady beat patterns on the mallet instruments to accompany the song "Son Macarone", which we learned several weeks ago to play a clap passing game. We also learned a new song called "Splishing Splashing" and divided the music into parts: bordun, melody, and color part. This was fun to perform as a class!
5th grade- we learned to play the African melody we learned several weeks ago called "Tue, Tue." We also learned an entirely new melody, "Rain on the Green Grass", and learned to play it on the instruments. These activities were great for ear training and allowed students to develop skills in audiation- hearing a melody inside your head.
We also had a great sing along on Friday morning with students from all grades. :)
Monday, February 4, 2013
Friday, January 4, 2013
Back from break!
Welcome back!
This week in....
Kindergarten- we did some fun warm ups with our voices to get started. We listened to a story about two friends called "Wiggle and Waggle" and worked on moving our voices up and down. We listened and move to a fun song called "Doot, doot" and also practiced moving and freezing to music.
1st/2nd grade- we review ALL of our musical opposites, including: loud and soft, fast and slow, high and low, long and short, steady and not steady. We listened to many varying musical examples and wrote down answer to musical opposite questions on our white boards. We also learned how to draw the note "la" on the music staff.
3rd/4th grade- we reviewed several recorder songs and learned the next song in the Recorder Karate series, "Merrily We Roll Along." We took a 7-step process to learn this new song:
1. Listen to it.
2. Sing it with the printed words.
3. Sing it with the letter names of the notes.
4. Sing the letter names and do the fingerings on recorder.
5. Practice individual measures/tough spots.
6. Play the song slowly without the recording.
7. Play the song with the recording.
Try it to learn or re-learn any song!
We also began learning to sing "Count on Me" in preparation for our spring concert on May 8th- very fun! Here is a link to the video, as I promised to the kids:
"Count on Me" -Bruno Mars
5th grade- we reviewed several recorder songs and also tried some sight-reading, which means playing a song right away without working through it first. We also reviewed our sign language for the song "Win", which we will be performing at our spring concert on May 9th. We learned an African song called "Tue, tue", and also a tricky cup passing game to go along with the song.
Enjoy the weekend!
This week in....
Kindergarten- we did some fun warm ups with our voices to get started. We listened to a story about two friends called "Wiggle and Waggle" and worked on moving our voices up and down. We listened and move to a fun song called "Doot, doot" and also practiced moving and freezing to music.
1st/2nd grade- we review ALL of our musical opposites, including: loud and soft, fast and slow, high and low, long and short, steady and not steady. We listened to many varying musical examples and wrote down answer to musical opposite questions on our white boards. We also learned how to draw the note "la" on the music staff.
3rd/4th grade- we reviewed several recorder songs and learned the next song in the Recorder Karate series, "Merrily We Roll Along." We took a 7-step process to learn this new song:
1. Listen to it.
2. Sing it with the printed words.
3. Sing it with the letter names of the notes.
4. Sing the letter names and do the fingerings on recorder.
5. Practice individual measures/tough spots.
6. Play the song slowly without the recording.
7. Play the song with the recording.
Try it to learn or re-learn any song!
We also began learning to sing "Count on Me" in preparation for our spring concert on May 8th- very fun! Here is a link to the video, as I promised to the kids:
"Count on Me" -Bruno Mars
5th grade- we reviewed several recorder songs and also tried some sight-reading, which means playing a song right away without working through it first. We also reviewed our sign language for the song "Win", which we will be performing at our spring concert on May 9th. We learned an African song called "Tue, tue", and also a tricky cup passing game to go along with the song.
Enjoy the weekend!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Winter Break
Well, break time is almost here and is well deserved for all. I have enjoyed the last few weeks, incorporating lots of winter activities into much class. My Honors Choir took a field trip to some local nursing homes in Greeley to sing and spread some cheer. They also performed at the middle school concert and were very successful.
Here's what we've been up to:
Kindergarten- we took a story book called "10 Shiny Snowflakes" and added instruments and movements to go with it. We read the story "The Jingle Bell Ball" and "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear?" We watched the classic story "Peter and the Wolf" and learned more about instrument sounds. We learned to sing "The Snowman Song", which has fun movements to go along with it. Ask your student to perform this song for you!
1st/2nd grade- we've learned many fun winter songs, including "We Will Jingle", "Mittens and Gloves", "Snowman Jump", and "Hip Hop Reindeer." We played mallet instruments with "Snowman Jump" and had fun with some winter rhythms. We created our own question and answer winter rhythms, as well. We added instruments to the story "There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Bell." We did some carol tune puzzles and some other fun SMARTboard activities.
3rd/4th grade- we learned a bit about the dreidl game played durin Hanukkah. We learned a song called "Dreidl Spin" which we sang and played on recorders. We have also been working on assessing our recorder playing on the Recorder Karate song "Gently Sleep." We have been singing other winter songs, and our favorite is "Winter Again", which we also learned to play on hand bells, boomwhackers, and mallet instruments. We also took some winter rhythms and created our own mini-compositions which we wrote on the music staff and learned to play on recorders. Encourage your student to practice his/her recorder over break!!!
5th grade- we learned several winter songs, including "Winter Again" and "Over the River." We learned to play "Winter Again" on handbells, recorders, and mallet instruments. We created ostinato patterns and movements to go with "Over the River", and we also learned a folk dance to go with the song! We learned to play a song called "Joyous Prelude" on recorders, which is based on Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." We made ostinato patterns to go with the canon song "I Love the Mountains" and performed them in groups. We have continued to work on sign language for the song "Win", as well. Encourage your student to practice his/her recorder over break!!!
Are you going to PRACTICE over break? Are you going to sing, dance, and play instruments? Enjoy.
Here's what we've been up to:
Kindergarten- we took a story book called "10 Shiny Snowflakes" and added instruments and movements to go with it. We read the story "The Jingle Bell Ball" and "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear?" We watched the classic story "Peter and the Wolf" and learned more about instrument sounds. We learned to sing "The Snowman Song", which has fun movements to go along with it. Ask your student to perform this song for you!
1st/2nd grade- we've learned many fun winter songs, including "We Will Jingle", "Mittens and Gloves", "Snowman Jump", and "Hip Hop Reindeer." We played mallet instruments with "Snowman Jump" and had fun with some winter rhythms. We created our own question and answer winter rhythms, as well. We added instruments to the story "There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Bell." We did some carol tune puzzles and some other fun SMARTboard activities.
3rd/4th grade- we learned a bit about the dreidl game played durin Hanukkah. We learned a song called "Dreidl Spin" which we sang and played on recorders. We have also been working on assessing our recorder playing on the Recorder Karate song "Gently Sleep." We have been singing other winter songs, and our favorite is "Winter Again", which we also learned to play on hand bells, boomwhackers, and mallet instruments. We also took some winter rhythms and created our own mini-compositions which we wrote on the music staff and learned to play on recorders. Encourage your student to practice his/her recorder over break!!!
5th grade- we learned several winter songs, including "Winter Again" and "Over the River." We learned to play "Winter Again" on handbells, recorders, and mallet instruments. We created ostinato patterns and movements to go with "Over the River", and we also learned a folk dance to go with the song! We learned to play a song called "Joyous Prelude" on recorders, which is based on Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." We made ostinato patterns to go with the canon song "I Love the Mountains" and performed them in groups. We have continued to work on sign language for the song "Win", as well. Encourage your student to practice his/her recorder over break!!!
Are you going to PRACTICE over break? Are you going to sing, dance, and play instruments? Enjoy.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Thanksgiving!
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!
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!
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!
Thursday, October 25, 2012
This week (10/22-10/26)
This week in...
Kindergarten- we are learning about walking and jogging to sounds in music. We heard the piece "Slavonic Dance" and got to walk and jog along with the different sections. We also played rhythm sticks to walking and jogging rhythms and played a game with the story "Little Red Riding Hood." We learned to sing the song "I'm a Little Ghost" and did some other Halloween activities. We learned the chant "Five Little Pumpkins" and made our voices match pathways of ghosts on the SMARTboard. We even created our own vocal pathway with ghosts on a piece of paper using pencils and crayons and practiced singing them as a class.
1st/2nd grade- we have been learning about steady beat versus rhythm in music. We did several activities to continue to practice the difference between those two things, and we took a quiz about steady beat and rhythm on the erasable white boards. We sang "Apples Red" and practiced clicking the steady beat and rhythm on rhythm sticks. We sang the song "I'm a Little Ghost" and "Pick a Pumpkin" for Halloween. We passed a pumpkin bean bag around the circle to the steady beat in preparation for a beanbag passing game that we will play next week in class. We also had some fun with the classic song "Monster Mash."
3rd/4th grade- we learned to sing two songs: "I Bought Me a Bat" (a spooky rendition of "I Bought Me a Cat" that we learned earlier this year!) and "Autumn Vibe." We also continued to develop our note reading skills with Mad Minutes and played a football passing game. We played a longer piece on recorders called "B A Dancing Zombies", which focuses on the notes B and A. We also played a Halloween quiz game in groups.
5th grade- we played the mallet instruments with the chant I taught last week, "Double, Double." We learned a tremolo, an ostinato, and the melody pattern. We assigned different members of the class to play different parts and turned it into a performance.
There will be a spooky sing along tomorrow morning in the auditorium at 10am! All are welcome to attend.
Kindergarten- we are learning about walking and jogging to sounds in music. We heard the piece "Slavonic Dance" and got to walk and jog along with the different sections. We also played rhythm sticks to walking and jogging rhythms and played a game with the story "Little Red Riding Hood." We learned to sing the song "I'm a Little Ghost" and did some other Halloween activities. We learned the chant "Five Little Pumpkins" and made our voices match pathways of ghosts on the SMARTboard. We even created our own vocal pathway with ghosts on a piece of paper using pencils and crayons and practiced singing them as a class.
1st/2nd grade- we have been learning about steady beat versus rhythm in music. We did several activities to continue to practice the difference between those two things, and we took a quiz about steady beat and rhythm on the erasable white boards. We sang "Apples Red" and practiced clicking the steady beat and rhythm on rhythm sticks. We sang the song "I'm a Little Ghost" and "Pick a Pumpkin" for Halloween. We passed a pumpkin bean bag around the circle to the steady beat in preparation for a beanbag passing game that we will play next week in class. We also had some fun with the classic song "Monster Mash."
3rd/4th grade- we learned to sing two songs: "I Bought Me a Bat" (a spooky rendition of "I Bought Me a Cat" that we learned earlier this year!) and "Autumn Vibe." We also continued to develop our note reading skills with Mad Minutes and played a football passing game. We played a longer piece on recorders called "B A Dancing Zombies", which focuses on the notes B and A. We also played a Halloween quiz game in groups.
5th grade- we played the mallet instruments with the chant I taught last week, "Double, Double." We learned a tremolo, an ostinato, and the melody pattern. We assigned different members of the class to play different parts and turned it into a performance.
There will be a spooky sing along tomorrow morning in the auditorium at 10am! All are welcome to attend.
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