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!
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.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
This week (10/8-10/11)
This week in...
Kindergarten- students listened to different musical selections and had to determine if each had mostly high or mostly low sounds. If they heard mostly high sounds, they circled the picture of the mountain. If they heard mostly low sounds, they circled the picture of the submarine. We also listened to and acted out the story of "Thorn Rosa."
1st/2nd grade- we played the mallet instruments with the song "Apples Red." We enjoyed playing all the same note at the same time, and playing a bordun pattern to go with the song.
3rd/4th grade- we played the note B and A on recorders to the rhythm of the poem "Warm hands, warm." We also improvised our own melodies on mallet instruments to the rhythm of "Warm hands, warm." Several students shared their improvisations as solos.
5th grade- we review a chant we learned called "Let's Play a Game." We learned that the chant is actually a song. We figured out how to play the melody on the mallet instruments. We also took another listen to the song "Win" by Brian McKnight, which we will be starting to learn sign language for next week.
Kindergarten- students listened to different musical selections and had to determine if each had mostly high or mostly low sounds. If they heard mostly high sounds, they circled the picture of the mountain. If they heard mostly low sounds, they circled the picture of the submarine. We also listened to and acted out the story of "Thorn Rosa."
1st/2nd grade- we played the mallet instruments with the song "Apples Red." We enjoyed playing all the same note at the same time, and playing a bordun pattern to go with the song.
3rd/4th grade- we played the note B and A on recorders to the rhythm of the poem "Warm hands, warm." We also improvised our own melodies on mallet instruments to the rhythm of "Warm hands, warm." Several students shared their improvisations as solos.
5th grade- we review a chant we learned called "Let's Play a Game." We learned that the chant is actually a song. We figured out how to play the melody on the mallet instruments. We also took another listen to the song "Win" by Brian McKnight, which we will be starting to learn sign language for next week.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
This week (10/1-10/5)
This week in...
Kindergarten- we have been learning all about high and low sounds in music. We stretched up high like a star when we heard high sounds, and scooted down low like a star fish when we heard low sounds. We played a listening game with high and low in which we lined up behind either a picture of a mountain (high) or a submarine (low) depending on what we heard in each musical example.
1st/2nd grade- we learned a dance to go with the song "Shoofly." This was a beginning folk dance and we will learn more difficult versions of this dance soon! We kept the "fly" theme going and listened to "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly." I then sang the students a story very similar to that called There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves. Students took a quiz with their music buddy on the erasable white boards. Questions focused on whether each musical example had a steady beat or no steady beat.
3rd/4th grade- we continued to be introduced to recorders- see post from last week. Some classes also got to do short call and response compositions with their music buddy. These were also performed for the class.
5th grade- we reviewed B and A on recorders. We also learned about the life and music of Mozart as we filled out our music logs. We learned the following poem:
Deedle deedle dumpling my son John
Went to bed with his stockings on
One shoe off and one shoe on
Deedle deedle dumpling my son John
We learned a body percussion (stomps, pats, claps, and snaps) to accompany this poem. We also made 4 beat word chains and played them on our recorders. This became a fun performance in ABA form. We also listened to the song "Win" by Brian McKnight, which we will be learning to sign in sign class this year. Here is a link to the video:
"Win" video
Happy weekend!
Kindergarten- we have been learning all about high and low sounds in music. We stretched up high like a star when we heard high sounds, and scooted down low like a star fish when we heard low sounds. We played a listening game with high and low in which we lined up behind either a picture of a mountain (high) or a submarine (low) depending on what we heard in each musical example.
1st/2nd grade- we learned a dance to go with the song "Shoofly." This was a beginning folk dance and we will learn more difficult versions of this dance soon! We kept the "fly" theme going and listened to "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly." I then sang the students a story very similar to that called There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves. Students took a quiz with their music buddy on the erasable white boards. Questions focused on whether each musical example had a steady beat or no steady beat.
3rd/4th grade- we continued to be introduced to recorders- see post from last week. Some classes also got to do short call and response compositions with their music buddy. These were also performed for the class.
5th grade- we reviewed B and A on recorders. We also learned about the life and music of Mozart as we filled out our music logs. We learned the following poem:
Deedle deedle dumpling my son John
Went to bed with his stockings on
One shoe off and one shoe on
Deedle deedle dumpling my son John
We learned a body percussion (stomps, pats, claps, and snaps) to accompany this poem. We also made 4 beat word chains and played them on our recorders. This became a fun performance in ABA form. We also listened to the song "Win" by Brian McKnight, which we will be learning to sign in sign class this year. Here is a link to the video:
"Win" video
Happy weekend!
Friday, September 28, 2012
This week (9/24-9/28)
This week in...
Kindergarten- we made animal sounds (mooing and buzzing) and learned that the beginning of the song "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" sounds same as the beginning of "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear." We kept the steady beat in many ways up high and down low, and we moved like stars and starfish during high and low sounding music.
1st/2nd grade- we learned how to draw in so and mi on erasable music staff white boards. We listened to high and low music, and made guesses about which instrument between two choices would be higher. We moved around the room to show our musical opposites (high and low, forte and piano, allegro and lento) with our music buddies. We also read and sang along with the story book called "Pete the Cat."
3rd/4th grade- We learned to play the poem "Warm hands, warm" on drums. We would play regular drum strokes for most of the words, and thumb or down strokes for the stressed words in the poem. We repeated our Mad Minutes with the notes B, A, and G and began our work with recorders. We learned about how to correctly sit and use air when we play, and we learned to play the note "B." We played the rhythm of the poem "Thomas A. Tattamus" on recorders and had conversations with our music buddy using only the word "too." This was very silly and fun! Here's the tongue twister we used:
Thomas A. Tattamus took two T's
to tie two tups to two small trees.
To frighten the terrible Thomas A. Tattamus
tell me how many T's there are in that!
5th grade- We played the rhymed we learned last week on drums. ("Let's play a game. Clap and say your name. Everyone will copy you and sound just the same.") Last week, each of us came up with a way to clap and say our name that was unique and the class would copy it. This week, we came up with a way to play on the drum while saying our name. We learned a body percussion pattern to go with this rhyme that included clapping, patting our legs, and stomping. We performed this pattern in canon (2 groups, 1 starts first and the other starts a little later). We also learned to play this rhyme on drums and we later performed it in canon. We began our work on recorders this week as well. We used the same tongue twister as the 3rd and 4th graders (see above!) to learn to correctly use our tongue to start new notes.
Kindergarten- we made animal sounds (mooing and buzzing) and learned that the beginning of the song "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" sounds same as the beginning of "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear." We kept the steady beat in many ways up high and down low, and we moved like stars and starfish during high and low sounding music.
1st/2nd grade- we learned how to draw in so and mi on erasable music staff white boards. We listened to high and low music, and made guesses about which instrument between two choices would be higher. We moved around the room to show our musical opposites (high and low, forte and piano, allegro and lento) with our music buddies. We also read and sang along with the story book called "Pete the Cat."
3rd/4th grade- We learned to play the poem "Warm hands, warm" on drums. We would play regular drum strokes for most of the words, and thumb or down strokes for the stressed words in the poem. We repeated our Mad Minutes with the notes B, A, and G and began our work with recorders. We learned about how to correctly sit and use air when we play, and we learned to play the note "B." We played the rhythm of the poem "Thomas A. Tattamus" on recorders and had conversations with our music buddy using only the word "too." This was very silly and fun! Here's the tongue twister we used:
Thomas A. Tattamus took two T's
to tie two tups to two small trees.
To frighten the terrible Thomas A. Tattamus
tell me how many T's there are in that!
5th grade- We played the rhymed we learned last week on drums. ("Let's play a game. Clap and say your name. Everyone will copy you and sound just the same.") Last week, each of us came up with a way to clap and say our name that was unique and the class would copy it. This week, we came up with a way to play on the drum while saying our name. We learned a body percussion pattern to go with this rhyme that included clapping, patting our legs, and stomping. We performed this pattern in canon (2 groups, 1 starts first and the other starts a little later). We also learned to play this rhyme on drums and we later performed it in canon. We began our work on recorders this week as well. We used the same tongue twister as the 3rd and 4th graders (see above!) to learn to correctly use our tongue to start new notes.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
This week (9/10-9/14)
What a great first sing along on Friday! I loved it!
This week in...
Kindergarten- we are learning about loud and soft sounds. We discussed the soft ways we use our voice (whispering) and the loud ways we use our voice (calling.) We moved to lots of loud and soft music- tapping or doing something small for soft music, and stomping or doing something big for loud music. We practiced playing drums to the steady beat both loudly and softly. We played a listening game- students lined up behind a picture of a lion if they heard loud sounds and a picture of a mouse if they heard soft sounds.
1st/2nd grade- we are learning about dynamics! Dynamics is the "fancy music word" that means the volume of the music. We learned about loud (forte) sounds, and soft (piano) sounds. We identified pictures that showed forte and piano sounds, and we practiced using our 4 voices- singing, speaking, whispering, and calling. We learned the fun game "Grizzly Bear", which utilizes a medium, soft, and loud singing voice. We played rhythm sticks loudly and softly and heard many examples of loud and soft music. We also explored moving around the room in soft and loud ways, e.g. tiptoeing and stomping.
3rd/4th grade- we worked on mirroring with a partner- facing each other and copying movements exactly. We also worked on shadowing- one person stands behind the other and acts as their shadow. We also did this as a class and in groups of 4 when each person got to be the leader. We learned about call and response form with the song "Way Down Yonder in the Brickyard." Some students volunteered to sing duets for the class with a friend. We began exploring hand drums, tubano drums, a djembe drums with call and response form. I created a 4-beat call, and students improvised their own 4 beat responses.
5th grade- we had another go at our Mad Minutes with the notes B, A, and G on the music staff. We played a fun stick passing game with a song we learned last week called "Zigs and Zags." We began our study of famous composers by discussing the life and some well-known pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750.) We will be completing a year-long project called "Music logs" this year. Every time we learn about a new composer, we will keep track of which pieces we listen to and our reactions to them. This will help us remember all the unique musical styles that we will hear! We also began to learn a new folk dance called the "Galopede."
This week in...
Kindergarten- we are learning about loud and soft sounds. We discussed the soft ways we use our voice (whispering) and the loud ways we use our voice (calling.) We moved to lots of loud and soft music- tapping or doing something small for soft music, and stomping or doing something big for loud music. We practiced playing drums to the steady beat both loudly and softly. We played a listening game- students lined up behind a picture of a lion if they heard loud sounds and a picture of a mouse if they heard soft sounds.
1st/2nd grade- we are learning about dynamics! Dynamics is the "fancy music word" that means the volume of the music. We learned about loud (forte) sounds, and soft (piano) sounds. We identified pictures that showed forte and piano sounds, and we practiced using our 4 voices- singing, speaking, whispering, and calling. We learned the fun game "Grizzly Bear", which utilizes a medium, soft, and loud singing voice. We played rhythm sticks loudly and softly and heard many examples of loud and soft music. We also explored moving around the room in soft and loud ways, e.g. tiptoeing and stomping.
3rd/4th grade- we worked on mirroring with a partner- facing each other and copying movements exactly. We also worked on shadowing- one person stands behind the other and acts as their shadow. We also did this as a class and in groups of 4 when each person got to be the leader. We learned about call and response form with the song "Way Down Yonder in the Brickyard." Some students volunteered to sing duets for the class with a friend. We began exploring hand drums, tubano drums, a djembe drums with call and response form. I created a 4-beat call, and students improvised their own 4 beat responses.
5th grade- we had another go at our Mad Minutes with the notes B, A, and G on the music staff. We played a fun stick passing game with a song we learned last week called "Zigs and Zags." We began our study of famous composers by discussing the life and some well-known pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750.) We will be completing a year-long project called "Music logs" this year. Every time we learn about a new composer, we will keep track of which pieces we listen to and our reactions to them. This will help us remember all the unique musical styles that we will hear! We also began to learn a new folk dance called the "Galopede."
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