"Today was music.
Today was music.
We said "Hi"!
We said "Hi"!
I was glad to see you!
I was glad to see you!
Wave goodbye!
Wave goodbye!"
Thank you Mary Whitney for this gem!
Friday, May 31, 2013
Welcome Song
I learned this great little welcome song during my student teaching placement, and I found it a great way to start my Kindergarten and 1st grade classes! It is to the tune of Frere Jacque. I typically repeat it at then of class with the lyrics changed to:
Cheap White Boards
I found on pinterest this great way to get 32 individual white boards for under $20, and I tried it out! I am beyond happy with the results. I went to Home Depot and found a 4ftx8ft panel of white board ($11.78) and had it cut into 1ftx1ft sections. Home Depot was the only store I went to that would cut the board for free, Menards was outrageous for a cutting fee. After the boards were cut, I found some cool colored duct tape to frame the boards (3.50 per roll). Easy peasy!! I washed a batch of unmatched socks and have the students use them as erasers, and watch them when they get gross!!
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| My boards! |
Super Secret Rhythmic Agents
This is a fun way to rhythmic dictation, and I am sure it can be used for melodic dictation as well. I use it as a pretest, when I first meet a class, to evaluate where they fall rhythmically. If you have any suggestions, ideas, modifications, please share!!!!!
I start of the class with presenting top secret envelopes. The envelopes are your typical everyday manila envelopes (About 10), with a label that I printed off of the Internet that says top secret. (Inside the envelopes are rhythms, four beats in length. They contain rhythms that the specific set of students should be working on.) I explain to the class that some very valuable item has been stolen, for my particular school I said the stuffed animal mascot of a cougar found in the office. The villain was caught putting the said item in a large safe. To open the safe, we have to decipher a series of codes. I will clap the series of codes, and you will need to write the correct rhythm. I typically clap the rhythm two times.
I know what you are thinking, this is a bit much. But it has worked successfully on 2nd graders, 5th graders, and even 7th graders. I believe the key is to sell it from the start. I play the James Bond theme song as they walk in, accompanied with some sweet shades.
The students form groups and each has a particular job, as listed below. I tell the students I will play
I display these rules on the White Board:
I start of the class with presenting top secret envelopes. The envelopes are your typical everyday manila envelopes (About 10), with a label that I printed off of the Internet that says top secret. (Inside the envelopes are rhythms, four beats in length. They contain rhythms that the specific set of students should be working on.) I explain to the class that some very valuable item has been stolen, for my particular school I said the stuffed animal mascot of a cougar found in the office. The villain was caught putting the said item in a large safe. To open the safe, we have to decipher a series of codes. I will clap the series of codes, and you will need to write the correct rhythm. I typically clap the rhythm two times.
I know what you are thinking, this is a bit much. But it has worked successfully on 2nd graders, 5th graders, and even 7th graders. I believe the key is to sell it from the start. I play the James Bond theme song as they walk in, accompanied with some sweet shades.
The students form groups and each has a particular job, as listed below. I tell the students I will play
I display these rules on the White Board:
- Form a team of three students.
- Assign one person as the:
- Encryption Specialist
- Head of Operations
- Human Bug
Once they have decided who is who, I explain the jobs. These jobs are rotational, and every student must take turns with each job.
- The Encryption specialist
- Is in charge of writing the first draft of the secret rhythm.
- They must obtain the essential materials from Mr. M at the beginning of the game
- I hand them a white board (see my post about cheap white boards!!)
- An expo marker
- An eraser (socks I couldn't find the match for)
- The Head of Operations
- Is in charge of editing the first draft.
- The Human Bug
- Must attempt to memorize the pattern and repeat it to their teammates.
I clap the rhythm for them a couple times, and have them show their boards to me. I circle rhythmic problems that occur consistently and make note of what we need to work on. I record the scores of the students and the teams, and have them form the same teams later in the school year. This seems to be a favorite activity of the students!
I also have used a smart board to play this game. If you would like a copy of the smart board file, send me an email and I can share it via Google! I somehow maneuvered the envelopes to reveal the secret code when I touch it!
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Planning for the year!
I am beginning to plan for the upcoming year, and am a little apprehensive about solidifying units for each quarter. I teach kindergarten through third grade, and I would like to do a broad unit for each quarter. I am currently in the draft process, but this is what I have so far. Please comment with your ideas and suggestions!
Kindergarten 1st 2nd 3rd
Quarter 1 Rhythm Rhythm Rhythm Rhythm
Quarter 2 Melody Melody Melody Melody
Quarter 3 Expression/Timbre Form/Texture Choral Recorder
Quarter 4 Intro to Instruments Percussion Movement Composition
Of course, these are preliminary ideas! I will be touching on a little bit of everything in each unit, but the ultimate emphasis will be on the said topic.
Kindergarten's main rhythmic concept is steady beat, with an introduction to ta and ti-ti near the end of quarter one. The melody unit will be comprised of sol-mi songs with seeing the pattern on a two line staff. The expression/timbre unit will be focusing on Loud vs. Soft, High vs. Low, Fast vs. Slow. The Introduction to instruments will be based off the orchestra explorers and Orff instruments, and activities will involve listening and playing.
First grade's main rhythmic concept will be ta, ti-ti, rest, and ta-a. The melody unit will focus on Sol-Mi-La with a slight introduction to the pentatonic scale without labeling.The Form/Texture unit will be comprised of identification of same and different, with an emphasis on labeling of instruments in listening activities. The percussion unit will focus on the "Strike, Scrape, Shake" and identification of instruments with some basic drumming determined by their capabilities!
Second grades rhythm will focus on whole, half, quarter, two eighth notes, and four sixteenth notes. They will be using the Kodaly counting system, but the notes will be labeled as whole, half, quarter, etc. The melody unit will consist of the pentatonic scale with introduction to fa and ti. The choral unit will focus on partner songs, rounds, canons, with basic instrumentation added. The movement section will be mostly folk dance, exploration of music via movement, loco-motor vs. non-locomotor, and form dancing.
The third grade was the toughest for me to plan. We will be doing a MTI Kids show in the spring (Most likely Annie), and it will include all of the third grade classes. These songs and numbers are tentatively going to be taught during class, which will be incorporated into each unit appropriately. I believe it will be better for the students to learn the songs a little at a time, instead of a rush during the later half of the year. Their rhythm unit will consist of complex rhythm combinations and introduction to meter. Their melody unit will include the entire scale. Their recorder unit will be based off of Recorder Karate, with their composition unit being a composition using their recorder, voice and Orff instruments.
Kindergarten 1st 2nd 3rd
Quarter 1 Rhythm Rhythm Rhythm Rhythm
Quarter 2 Melody Melody Melody Melody
Quarter 3 Expression/Timbre Form/Texture Choral Recorder
Quarter 4 Intro to Instruments Percussion Movement Composition
Of course, these are preliminary ideas! I will be touching on a little bit of everything in each unit, but the ultimate emphasis will be on the said topic.
Kindergarten's main rhythmic concept is steady beat, with an introduction to ta and ti-ti near the end of quarter one. The melody unit will be comprised of sol-mi songs with seeing the pattern on a two line staff. The expression/timbre unit will be focusing on Loud vs. Soft, High vs. Low, Fast vs. Slow. The Introduction to instruments will be based off the orchestra explorers and Orff instruments, and activities will involve listening and playing.
First grade's main rhythmic concept will be ta, ti-ti, rest, and ta-a. The melody unit will focus on Sol-Mi-La with a slight introduction to the pentatonic scale without labeling.The Form/Texture unit will be comprised of identification of same and different, with an emphasis on labeling of instruments in listening activities. The percussion unit will focus on the "Strike, Scrape, Shake" and identification of instruments with some basic drumming determined by their capabilities!
Second grades rhythm will focus on whole, half, quarter, two eighth notes, and four sixteenth notes. They will be using the Kodaly counting system, but the notes will be labeled as whole, half, quarter, etc. The melody unit will consist of the pentatonic scale with introduction to fa and ti. The choral unit will focus on partner songs, rounds, canons, with basic instrumentation added. The movement section will be mostly folk dance, exploration of music via movement, loco-motor vs. non-locomotor, and form dancing.
The third grade was the toughest for me to plan. We will be doing a MTI Kids show in the spring (Most likely Annie), and it will include all of the third grade classes. These songs and numbers are tentatively going to be taught during class, which will be incorporated into each unit appropriately. I believe it will be better for the students to learn the songs a little at a time, instead of a rush during the later half of the year. Their rhythm unit will consist of complex rhythm combinations and introduction to meter. Their melody unit will include the entire scale. Their recorder unit will be based off of Recorder Karate, with their composition unit being a composition using their recorder, voice and Orff instruments.
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