We LOVE Stomp!

Our annual Stomp Trash Percussion Projects are complete! The 4th and 5th graders had a great time putting together these performances as they practiced composing and performing layering rhythm patterns. They were in charge of every aspect of their performance - from rhythms, to instruments, to form! It is amazing to see their growth from year to year when completing these projects.

If you are new to the blog, you can find out information about these projects here, here, and here. :)

Here is a quick video compilation of some of my favorite projects:

Learning about Long and Short

First grade students are finishing up a unit on musical opposites. The last two opposite words they have been learning about are long and short. They discovered that long and short sounds can be made into patterns that create rhythms! Here are a few of the ways they experienced long and short sounds:

Students put these pictures into the correct category according to the kind of sound it made:

 

They really enjoyed using scarves to help show long and short. They pretended their scarf was a paintbrush and they painted long or short strokes as they listened to the "Long and Short Dance" (from the Share the Music curriculum).

Students used rhythm sticks to show long and short as well. As they listened to music, they used their rhythm sticks like drum sticks on the floor if they heard short sounds...

And pretended to play violins if the sounds were long...

Then, we read the book, Otto Goes to the Beach, by Todd Parr:

 In the story, Otto is having a really rough day and they hear the repeated phrase, "Poor, Otto!" 

The students quickly discovered that the word "Otto" has two short sounds and "Poor" has a long sound!

With our own dog pictures, we created patterns on the board with long and short sounds such as "Poor, Poor, Otto, Poor."

Then, they worked with a partner to create and perform their own patterns.

Finally, the students were introduced to the real musical symbols: the quarter note (long sound) and eighth notes (short sounds). They were able to make patterns with the newly learned symbols, otherwise known as "tah" and "ti-ti."

Next up... rests! Stay tuned for more rhythm work in 1st grade music! :)

Dinostars!

So.... I started this post back in May and then the end of school happened... and then the summer happened... so better late than never right?? ;)

HSES 1st graders presented the musical, Dinostars, this past Spring and did a fantastic job! They loved the music and choreography and did a wonderful job creating their dinosaur costumes. I was so proud of their hard work! I can't believe these kids are in 2nd grade already!

 



Pass the Pen - A Listening Game

During the first 5 minutes of music class for 4th and 5th grades, we spend some time learning about our Composer of the Month. The first week, we usually read a story about the composer (my favorite is Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times, and What the Neighbors Thought). The second week we recap the facts that we learned from the story and following weeks we listen to (and watch!) various compositions by the composer. To help focus student listening, I created a game called "Pass the Pen" which is a version of SQUILT (Super Quiet Un-Interrupted Listening Time). 

While the students listen to the piece, they take turns writing words and phrases on the SMARTboard that describe the music they are hearing. They list the instruments they hear, how the music is moving, the mood or emotion of the song, the style of the composition, what it reminds them of, or any other adjectives that come to mind. It is a great way to utilize music vocabulary and it also gets some great discussions going. I think this technique really focuses their listening on the details within the piece and helps them to recognize and remember the music later. Our 4th and 5th graders enjoyed playing "Pass the Pen" while listening to "Mood Indigo" by our composer of the month, Duke Ellington: 

Pizza Rondo and Rhythm War

Our third graders have been reviewing our music note values and discovering how they got their names - through fractions! They learned the Pizza Rondo and created the different layers of the pizza as they performed the song. Here is a video of one of our third grade classes performing the song:

After this lesson, I thought they would really enjoy learning how to play Rhythm War! I found this game on the "Just a Little More" music blog - she has a free download of the game. Most of the students already know how to play this card game so it is a very easy transition and a great way to reinforce note values. Let me tell you - this game is a CROWD PLEASER! The students could play this all day! :) Here are a few quick snapshots of the game:

Dancing Snowflakes

To celebrate winter, Fourth and Fifth grade classes have been working on an Orff piece called, "Dancing Snowflakes." It is very appropriate that we've been working on this song because we've had two snowstorms so far - unheard of in this part of Georgia! This is one of my favorite pieces to teach because it incorporates so many difference elements: mallet technique, improvisation, playing on special words, ABA form, and poetry. After learning the song and instrument parts, students work in groups to create haiku poems that describe snowflakes. Then, we use these poems to create the contrasting sections in our performances. Here is a video of one of the 4th grade classes performing the song:

I also created a display in the hall using their haiku poems and some snowflakes that one of my classes made. Check out some of my favorites:

(Music Teachers: This song and arrangement is located in Gameplan Curriculum - Grade 3)