I had the opportunity to attend the 5th grade program at Woods Cross earlier this month. I took video of all the songs, so I thought I'd post them to the blog. I was so impressed with the excitement and enthusiasm these children had as they sang. The last song was especially impactful, and you could tell the students had thought about the meaning of the song as they were singing. Way to go, Sharlene!
As promised, here is the link for my garage band version of Fiddle Diddle Dee (Round and Round) I used at training last week. I did extend it a little bit for you so hopefully it runs long enough for you to get through it a few times with your kids.
For those of you who were unable to attend training I have included the lesson for Fiddle Diddle Dee. This is a super fun lesson and I hope you have as much fun with it as I do.
Fiddle Diddle Dee
From: We’re Orff
Great for Kinder, 1st
grade and 2nd grade
DESK:Develop music skills through participation in hands-on activities
involving singing, playing instruments, listening activities, and simple
iconic/standard notation.
Standards:
The student will develop the voice and body as
instruments of musical expression.
The student will create music through
improvising, arranging and composing.
The students will listen to, analyze, and
describe music.
Objectives:
Explore the potential of the human voice to make
sounds and sing with a natural voice.
Sing a variety of simple songs in a natural
voice, free from strain.
Use body movement to internalize sounds.
Demonstrate the beat by using non-locomotor
movements.(pat, clap, tap)
Demonstrate the beat by using locomotor
movements. (march, walk)
Improvise together as a class a variety of
musical sounds with the body, voice and instruments.
Create simple rhythm and or melody patterns.
Perceive and respond to the messages in music
and the use of music elements.
Identify when the class listens quietly or
otherwise, as directed.
Use body movement to show when the music goes
higher or lower in pitch, when the volume changes between loud and soft.
Materials:
Fiddle Diddle Dee Music (I do not have a
recording of it, I learned it from Youtube) a notated copy is attached.
Process:
Gather
the children in a circle around the room.
Tell
the children you are going to sing a song for them and you need them to listen.
Sing
the whole song for the students and use the actions (found listed on the
notation) while you sing.
Break
the song into smaller chunks and have the students be your echo. I would
suggest either 2 or 4 smaller phrases.
Sing
the whole song again and then have the students join you with singing and
actions.
Talk
about different ways you can keep the steady beat, “I can keep the steady beat
by patting my head.”“I can keep the
steady beat by marching in place.”“I
can keep the steady beat by clapping.”Ask the students to think of ways they can keep the steady beat and try
some of their suggestions.
Sing
the song again with the children.In-between
verses practice keeping the steady beat for 16 counts by using one of the ways
the teacher or students suggested and then repeat the verse again.You can continue to sing the song several
times practicing the steady beat in between verses each time.
Lynette Winterton teaches at South Weber Elementary which is the furthest north elementary school in our district. They have the coolest campus! There are 3 (maybe 4) separate buildings and Lynette's music room is housed in the Family Recreation complex where the community recreation department is also housed. The kids come there for music and pe. Lynette has a great set up in her room. You might think it was like a hotel suite without the bed or comfy chair. She has a kitchen in her room! What? Okay...it's not for her use...but what? I bet she can keep her lunch in the fridge... in her room!
The day I visited Lynette the school had been celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday. The kids don't always dress the way they are dressed in my pictures and Lynette doesn't usually wear a pony tail on top of her head or button her shirt crooked or wear 2 different shoes...but it was WACKY WEDNESDAY!
I had so much fun with Lynette. She is another one of our master teachers! She never ceases to amaze me with what she does in her class and how well she knows and loves all of her students.
Lynette begins each of her classes, every day, with Pop Up. She uses it a little bit different than what we learned at our opening training in August, but I love what she does. Lynette uses it as an opportunity to take roll in her class, see who isn't there, reinforce alphabetical order with the kids, pitch matching and vocal exploration. When the kids are singing Pop Up they get to use any part of their voice they would like, high or low and the rest of the class is their echo. Each student can start in a different place when it is their turn. They may also stylize their voice anyway they want to. But I love what they do when someone isn't there.
Today Lynette was using a Music Express magazine in her teaching. If you attended UMEA then you will remember John Jacobsen, he is one of the contributors to this magazine. The magazine they used today talked about lots of different styles of music.
The first piece they worked on was called Spirit of America. This is a great piece that actually turns into a partner song. Lynette had everyone sing both parts and then the second time she divided the class in half and they sang both parts together at the same time.
When Lynette was working through this piece with the kids she talked about rests and had them identify the pattern of rests in the song and then put a clapping pattern where the rests were. This really helped the kids as they were reading the music to identify where there was silence...or a break in the melody. Of course they performed it twice and everyone got to sing both parts.
In the same magazine was a great piece from The King and I, Getting to Know You. I love this song! Lynette was great at telling the kids about the REAL story behind the musical. Kids love stories whether in a book or one that you tell. It can be personal or related to the subject you are studying. They don't care! They just love stories. Stories engage students socially, culturally, behaviorally and academically and Lynette is a great story teller. After the story they got sing the song and it was precious!
Some of the kids got to practice playing some simple classroom instruments to a fun song from the magazine called Gypsy in the Moonlight. It was a fun calypso piece and Lynette chose appropriate cultural instruments for the kids to play. They practiced the steady beat and had a ton of fun!
Lynette has also been working on recorders with her students. They have been playing for about 5 weeks. The book they are working from is called My Recorder Book published by PlayinTime Productions, Inc.
The kids were working on a specific song that used a 5 note scale. Lynette worked through it with them at the board by having them re-write what they saw in the book by adding appropriate stems, values, note names, etc. I was so impressed with how much the kids knew!
Once they had re-written and reviewed the song they practiced playing it. Lynette asked for volunteers to play it on their own and then she did a group practice. This ended up being a great opportunity for assessment as she created different opportunities for smaller group playing. Watch what she did.
The kids loved playing together and in smaller groups and were so excited when they got to play more than once.
I truly enjoyed my day at South Weber Elementary. There are times in the classroom where we as teachers are touched to our very soul. It could be because of how well the kids sang a song, when they finally latch onto a difficult concept, when a students tells you he/she loves you, but for me it's seeing amazing teachers like Lynette working their magic and loving the kids whole heartedly. Being in Lynette's classroom touched me as an individual and I can't wait to visit again!
Barbara Tuckett is the amazing music specialist at Ellison Park Elementary. The students there are so lucky to have her. Every time I have visited she has them singing and playing the whole time. This time was no different.
In our February training we featured a piece from the Making Music Grade 3, Wood Chuck. Barbara said she had used it with her kids before training but was now extending the lesson to include playing classroom instruments for this piece. The class I watched was a 3rd grade class. Here they are reviewing the different parts to the speech piece.
After the students had reviewed all the parts and remember the word and rhythms that went with each Barbara got out the instruments. She just used what she had in her classroom: castanets, rhythm sticks, drums, and shakers. The students were divided into 4 groups and each group was in charge of one of the ostinatos (repeated patterns from the speech piece). They played their parts and at the end of the song they put their instruments down and rotated to the next instrument and part. The kids thoroughly enjoyed getting to play this piece!
Another class I watched Barbara teach was 4th grade. They had been working on a piece from the Making Music Grade 5, pg 52 called Rock Island Line. This is a super fun song to sing for the kids but even better, it has two rhythmic patterns written out that are easily performed with the song. Barbara reviewed the song with the students and then reviewed the ostinatos (repeated patterns) separately. She divided the class in half and gave them some simple classroom instruments to play. During the chorus the students got to sing and play their pattern with the music and on the short verses they just sang. Halfway through the song the students switched parts and got to play the other ostinato. What a great to get those students reading, playing and singing at the same time!
Barbara has also been working on teaching recorders to her older students. They had been playing for just a few weeks and are working on the Recorder Karate program. I really appreciated that she had them play the Recorder National Anthem for my visit! And for just a few weeks they sure sound great!
I had the pleasure of visiting Shanda Stenger at Adelaide Elementary a week or so ago. While I was there she was working on rhythmic notation, playing and composition with her kids. I had so much fun watching what she was doing.
She gathered her 5th graders together in a circle. Each student was given a beat card with 4 hearts that represented 4 beats. They were also given a bag of popsicle sticks and asked to compose a 4 beat pattern using ta-ah, ta, ti-ti, and rest. They could put them in any order they wanted to, but they had to use all 4 beats.
I loved they way they notated a half-note (ta-ah) by putting the popsicle stick through both hearts.
After everyone had finished their composition Shanda divided the class by #'s (1-4) and asked each number to get an instrument of a different kind. Ex: 1's got a drum, 2's got a metal, 3's got a wood, and 4's got a shaker.
Shanda was using this time as an assessment to see who understood how to create a pattern using the specified beats and rhythm types and if they could also play it. Once everyone had an instrument she would ask a student to play their beat pattern for the class and then the class would play it with them. She did this 4 times and at the end of 4 times she assigned each instrument part to follow one of the students who had just played their example and they layered the beat patterns. It was sooo great! What a great opportunity to assess as well!
Something to remember when you are assessing your students on a skill you have taught...the more you make it about a game or fun, the more they will forget they are on the spot and the more engaged they will be in the process. Remember that Cindy Lauper song....Girls Just Wanna Have Fun? Well let's just say, Kids Just Wanna Have Fun!
Jen Rowbury is one of our very newest Music Specialists. She came on board with us just a few months ago. At Cook Elementary they only have prep-time music for Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade. It has been so fun working with Jen and seeing her become a master teacher! She is amazing with the kids and holds their attention so well. She plans super fun lessons and is always looking for fun new things to teach.
One of the things I love best about the way Jen teaches is that is always on the kids level. If the children are on the floor so is she. If the kids are standing she bends over to be on their level.
For some children the height difference between themselves and adults can be very intimidating and Jen calms that fear doing what she does best.
Jen is also fantastic at having a consistent routine in her classroom. The students know how to come in quietly, sit where they are supposed to and then they begin their 'gathering song'. Not only do they sing the same song each time they come to music, but they have a goodbye version of the same song they sing on their way out.
Last night in training we talked about how important routine is in the classroom, but especially for younger children. They thrive on routine and Jen has mastered it. Her kids love it and she has them eating out of the palm of her hand because of it! Great job Jen!
I was at Farmington Elementary this afternoon, and the teachers there (Nicole Burnham and Ann Bradley) have a fabulous way of recognizing Music in our Schools month. They are posting trivia questions in the school hallway. If students come into the music classroom outside of class time and correctly answer the question, they'll get a treat. Here's a picture of today's trivia in the school hallway:
Ann said that yesterday she only had a few students come in after school. Today the students just kept coming in, excited to answer the trivia. They are really catching on and getting excited about this.
What is music in the schools month? From the National Association for Music Education Website:
Music In Our Schools Month® or “MIOSM®” is NAfME’s annual celebration during March which engages music educators, students, and communities from around the country in promoting the benefits of high quality music education programs in schools.
Music In Our Schools Month® began as a single statewide Advocacy Day and celebration in New York in 1973 and grew over the decades to become a month-long celebration of school music in 1985.
It's not too late to do something for music in the schools month at your school. I loved what they are doing at Farmington, and it's a great way to build rapport with the students. If you'd like more ideas, there is a list *HERE* on the National Association for Music Education website.
