Sara Silver teaches music at Antelope Elementary and she only teaches kindergarten. How fun is that! Kindergarten is maybe my all time favorite. Some say teaching kindergarten is like herding cats, but I just love those little slobbery kiddos! Sara does such a great job with them and she is great at using the Making Music songs.
When I visited Sara's classes she had been working on steady beat with the kids as well as loud/soft. She taught them Grizzly Bear from Making Music and they practiced steady beat and their dynamics. Grizzly Bear is a perfect song for dynamics!
Sara had also been teaching the kids about drums from around the world and she had several displayed at the front of the class. She used this as a reward for the kids. If they participated and listened well then everyone got to play the drums. When it came time for them to play they each took a turn playing the steady beat on the drum while the class sang Grizzly Bear.
After everyone had a turn drumming they did some more practice with steady beat. But they also practices listening skills. Sara used a fun song from Making Music and the kids danced away! I was so impressed with how well they listened and stayed in control. Sara has done a great job with management in her kindergarten classes and they will do anything for her.
Steady beat is one of the most important music concepts and skills you can teach your students. It should be practiced every time you see them. Students should practice the beat on their body, then move their bodies to the beat and then practice that beat on instruments. Sara did all of those things! Great job, Sara!
Krista Baer at Burton Elementary has been working on a composition unit with her students. It was so fun to pop in for the day and see what they had been up to. For Krista's older classes they began by watching a silly video by Rhett and Link called Nilla Wafer Top Hat Time. These guys write songs based on 5 word suggestions from fans. Thus the silly title of the song...
Krista made her own Nilla Wafer top hat and suggestions for song titles were put in the hat. The kids pulled a title out of the hat and then had to write a song based on what they got.
Krista made sure the kids followed a specific outline: 1) Write your lyrics 2) find a beat to put your lyrics to 3) compose a melody 4) add any instrument you think will fit in your song. Krista made sure to let the kids know not to worry about the length but to make sure they had all the elements including beat, rhythm, melody, accompaniment in their piece. When the kids had finished composing their pieces Krista recorded it for them. Here are a couple of songs. I was so impressed!
I wasn't sure of their specific song titles...but this one is all about cheese.
Listen to how many kinds they name!
Narwhals and Unicorns....These guys started with a super long story format about how a Narwhal and a Unicorn meet up and discover that they are really brothers. When it was suggested they turn it into a poem this is what they came up with. So cool.
A bunny named Berkley meets an untimely demise....
For Krista's lower grades she went through the same process but together as a class instead of small groups. The classes decided on a subject and did a paired writing where they created the lyrics. After the lyrics were written Krista gave them a starting note and then each student got to choose whether the next note was higher, lower or stayed the same. Here is an example of what they came up with...
Sorry it is so dark...they had the lights off so they could see the words and notes on the projector.
STAR WARS!
Thanks for sharing your talents and your talented students with me Krista! What a fabulous day!
Renee Tanner has been doing a lot with puppetry in her music class. She made this fabulous puppet theater out of foam board. She said it was inexpensive, easy to make, and holds up well. I think it looks fabulous, too!
Last week I got to watch Jeanette Eggett in action. She did some really great things with singing that I wanted to share with all of you teachers. (Like Gayle, she also didn't know I was going to record ahead, but gave me permission to share.)
Old Man Winter: The students learned the song by itself first. Once they knew the song, Jeanette introduced an ostinato while the students sung the melody. She took the opportunity to teach music vocabulary with this experience, such as harmony, melody, and ostinato, and round.
Here are the students singing in a round by themselves.
After singing the song, she taught her students an ostinato (different than the one they sung) on the recorders. I took a video of her procedure for passing out recorders, but didn't post it here. Let me know if that is something you'd like to see, and I can send it your way. Here are the students playing the ostinato on their recorders while Jeanette sings Old Man Winter.
Jeanette used the same song with younger grades, but she brought in some different teaching ideas. Here she has the students move up and down with the melody/pitch using their bodies.
At the end of her lesson for the younger grades, Jeanette used Old Man Winter for listening and movement. She played music on her recorder and asked her students to listen and respond. If it was unfamiliar music, students matched their hands to the music. When they heard Old Man Winter they were to freeze. Once they had that down, the repeated the process moving and dancing with scarves.
I also just had to include this. Mrs. Eggett sings "Hello, Music Students" at the beginning of each class. They respond "Hello, Mrs. Eggett." It's all sung on sol and mi, and provides a fabulous reference point for teaching pitch or rhythm to lower grades, or to use to ask students as a melodic framework to ask questions about learning and have students respond while singing. Used in the question and answer format, it also provides a structure for students to improvise and create.
In this video clip, Jeanette used it for vocal play. Simple, fun, and adorable.
Vocal play is one of the steps to in tune singing. Check out how Jeanette uses vocal play in this clip to lead to pitch matching, in tune singing, and audiating (the students hear the notes in their heads).
Gayle is one of those teachers you sit back, watch, and have a smile on your face the entire time. She brings such joy as she teaches. She didn't have the advantage of knowing I was going to record her, but she did give me permission to use the recording. I didn't know I was going to record either, but I couldn't resist. I kept the camera mostly on Gayle in case any of the students had turned in the form saying they didn't want to be recorded.
Here Gayle is teaching a first grade class. I wish I would have started recording sooner, because she pulled out Sassy the puppet to help review sulfege, and it was truly magic. Just look at those students faces! If any of you need an idea to engage your lower grades while you are presenting a concept, a puppet is a sure win.
The book Gayle reads is called The Penguin that Hated the Cold.
One of the things that is really great about how Gayle teaches is her classroom management. Here are some of the great things I noticed:
specific positive reinforcement. She doesn't just say "good job," but she specifically says what the students were doing well. If most of the students are doing the desired behavior, and only one or two weren't, she'd still comment on the positive. Usually that positive reinforcement (which is also stating an expectation) was enough to bring in the stragglers without having to single them out.
Pacing. Gayle moves quickly from one thing to the next. Even when she praises, she doesn't spend too long, and it keeps the students focused and prevents behavior problems.
Students feel valued and safe to answer questions. She asks students for ideas. When Marley came up with a song, she used Marley's song again and had everyone sing it. Even though it might not have been the song Gayle had intended to use, she found room to make it work.
Movement. Gayle used solfege hand signs to keep the students moving while they were singing during the story. She brought movement into every single concept she taught.
Less Talk, More Doing - We all are guilty of talking too much when we teach. Especially if we are using movement, students will copy what we do and figure it out.
Doing The Penguin
This was adorable. When I mentioned that smile on my face, this was definitely part of that. Are you grinning, too?
This song is in the Making Music books. It's on the second Kindergarten CD. If you don't have the cd's or the books, we have some you can check out.
After the penguin dance, the students reviewed ta and ti-ti notation. (She had a 4 beat measure of each written on flash cards.) They listened for the ti-ti's in Chinese Dance, from the Nutcracker. She also had a picture of a flute and of the string family, so the students could see the instruments they were hearing. Gayle brought in movement with the listening: students moved their feet to the ti-ti rhythm during the ti-ti section, and moved in flowing moments to the flute sections. Gayle did a more complex version of this lesson with her second grade. Let one of us know if you want to know more.
(For her second grade, she used the Chinese Dance, but divided students into 3 groups instead of all of the students moving at once. One group played ta or ti-ti on rhythm sticks, one moved with the strings played, one moved when the flutes played. If I remember correctly, the flue group got to dance with ribbon streamers that Gayle made herself.)
I was at Taylor Elementary last week, and Sarah Hatch did this fun song with her kindergartners. I asked her if I could take a video and put it up on the blog.
I love the actions Sarah used, and that she pitched the song in a high range for her students.
Here's a link to the lyrics of the song: *click here*
I was surfing the web tonight for some ideas I need for some upcoming presentations and classes. Of course I frequented my favorite blog... www.ofortunaorff.blogspot.com and look what I found! She listed USOE's website as a very helpful website for ORFF based lessons! Very Cool! Of course these lessons are what you have in the 100 Favorite Songs binder in your classroom. I hope you are finding it a good resource and if not, take a look at it and check it out. It has some fantastic music in it and some great lessons to with it!
I had the privilege of spending some time at Whitesides Elementary in early December. Keri Reynolds was teaching me some fun Chanukah and Christmas dances and songs. I apologize for taking so long to get these up for you but here they are and hopefully you can use some of them next year!
Here is Keri's board at the front of her room. If you look close at the bottom she has her objectives listed for all different ages. She also listed the Rondo form which she will be teaching that week and the pattern (using iconic notation) for a Chanukah song she will be using. What a great way to start your classes by making sure both you and your students know what you will be doing.
Keri always begins her classes with the school song. She gets them warmed up with the singing and ready to listen. Here's a clip of her 6th graders singing the Whitesides Elementary school song.
The first Chanukah song Keri shared with me is found in the 3rd grade Making Music book page 379, Chanukah Games. Keri teaches her students about the dreydl, the symbols, meanings and games to play. She also teaches the melody to the refrain and practices it with them several time. Then she teaches them some very simple dance steps to accompany the song which is a grape vine step. Every time the chorus or refrain is sung the students dance the grape vine to it. Here's a clip...
The next piece Keri shared with me is from the 3rd grade Making Music books page 380, Hanuka, Hanuka. Keri first teaches the melody to the song and then shows the students how it is divided into 3 groups. The melody, refrain and interlude...all good terms our kids should know. In the book it gives some brief suggestions on how to play some instruments with this piece. But they are pretty vague. What I enjoyed about Keri's arrangement is that she created an ostinato for each part of the song and then assigned an instrument to play that part. Keri uses hand drums, tambourines and bells, but you can use whatever you have in your classroom. You can also have the students create their own ostinatos for the music and then have them perform it.
I loved the way Keri was organized about passing out her instruments...watch!
The kids knew exactly what she expected and she gave positive reinforcement where it was needed. Was there noise? Yes...but it was controlled and the kids listened because they wanted to participate.
Here is Hanukah, Hanukah...
We all know or have heard the Dreydl Song right?
I have a little Dreydl, I made it out of clay
And when it's dry and ready, my Dreydl I will play.
If you are not familiar with this song it is found on the 3rd grade Making Music Cd's #12 track #12. It is a fun little song that is easy to learn. But the great part about it is that the kids can make up their own verses. Here are some clips of Keri reviewing the Dreydl Song with her kids, then giving instructions making up their own lyrics.
Here are some of the best verses created by the 6th graders...
I made it in the pool...
I made it out of fur...
I made it our of thread...
And for your viewing enjoyment...the typical 6th grade boy....
I made it out of waste....
The whole class was amazing and very creative. Keri gave them 3 minutes to do this in. Many teachers are afraid of giving this kind of assignment out to their kids. First, they are afraid of the chaos and second they are afraid it will take too long. Remember that Keri gave them very specific instructions and a time limit so they knew how to work and for how long. They can do this! Give it a try!
Later in the day Keri's classes showed me some chair dances they had learned. The first is to Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker March and the second is to Stalia, Stalia from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Here are clips of both...
Nutcracker march is used to teach Rondo form. It has an A section, a B section and a C section and is performed ABACABA (sometimes we call it abracadabra form..lol). It also teaches body percussion and phrasing as well as gets the kids listening to the different sections. My favorite section is the C Section...Keri's poses are the best!
Nutcracker March
Stalia, Stalia teaches similar things as Nutcracker March but it adds one more thing. It teaches the difference between unison and duet. Can you find what movement they use to identify that quality?
Stalia, Stalia
At the end of the day the kids showed me one of their favorite Christmas songs, The Twelve Days of Christmas. I love the actions they put to it and the excitement they had for singing it. But I loved Keri's introduction to the song and her pointer on how to be prepared to sing correctly...
GOTTA BE ROYAL!
Here is a clip of the song with the cute actions...but watch first how they all sit up straight...OK almost all of them.
Thank you Keri so much for the fun day and for teaching me and all of our teachers your amazing lessons! Isn't great how much we can learn from each other!
