Rules and Rhythms!

It's the beginning of the new school year and the time to talk about rules and procedures in the music room. I took some advice from Aimee from "O For Tuna Orff," and combined our rules talk with reviewing rhythms!

First, the students were divided into 6 different groups and they were given one of our music rules. They were asked to work together to figure out what the rhythm of their phrase was and they displayed their answer on their beat sheets using rhythm cards.

After practicing their rhythms, they performed them for the class. Next, was their favorite part: adding instruments! We were even able to perform these rhythms together as ostinato patterns. This will lead wonderfully into our first unit about performing contrasting rhythm patterns together.

This activity made learning and reviewing the rules so much more fun and meaningful!

Oconee County Elementary Honors Chorus

My fabulous colleagues and I were so fortunate to be able to start a county-wide Honors Chorus this year and it was a great success! We have had this vision for quite a while and were so excited to see it come to fruition. It was definitely hard work and a lot of hours to organize, but so worth it to provide such a rich choral experience for the finest young singers in our county.

Twenty-five 4th and 5th graders were selected from each school through an audition process. The students rehearsed together at each school to prepare the music and then rehearsed the music together on a Saturday in March. We were honored to have Mrs. Carol Reeves, the artistic director of the Georgia Children's Chorus, as our guest clinician. She worked with the students throughout the day on their 6 selected pieces and then they presented a concert that afternoon for parents and community members. We were so proud of our Oconee County singers!

  

E-I-E-I Oops!

Our 1st graders did such a fabulous job of presenting this year's Spring Musical, "E-I-E-I Oops!" by John Jacobson and John Higgins. They were such a precious group of farmers and farm animals! Check out a few pictures from the show...

Instruments of the Orchestra Centers

Here is a sneak peak into some centers that 2nd graders recently did to help them practice identifying the Instruments of the Orchestra!

John Kanaka!

My third grade classes have been focusing on folk songs. We have added Orff accompaniment, learned the cross-over technique, and performed line dances. They really enjoyed our activity with the song John Kanaka!

First we talked about the history of the sea shanty:

Then, we learned the song and discussed how the steady beat of the song might have helped sailors get their work done more efficiently. As we listened, the students identified the macro and micro beats and we practiced by using a pat-clap-pat-clap pattern.

Next, the students transferred the macro/micro beats to a hand clapping game. First we practiced with paper plates:

Holding the plate flat with their left hands, students pat the plate with their right. Then, they clap their right hands beneath and plate, pat the plate again, and clap their hands above the plate. They continue this pattern throughout the song feeling the macro beat (patting the plate) and the micro beat (clapping hands below and above): plate, below, plate, above, plate, below, plate, above.

After they had a the movements down, we added tambourines and turned it into a circle dance!

We got really fancy and rotated our outer circle on the fermata! Great job, third graders!

Instruments of the Orchestra

Second grade classes are currently learning about the Instruments of the Orchestra. I love teaching about the orchestra but I always struggle to create interactive lessons to go along with this unit.

After teaching about the String Family, I had the students get into 5 groups. Each team received a picture of one of the stringed instruments, a dry erase marker, and eraser. They were asked to work as a team to write as many facts about their instrument as they remember from the lesson. They also enjoyed labeling the various parts of their instrument. 

I found that this was a great way to incorporate team work and also assess what they had learned from the lesson. Once each group was done, they shared their facts with the class and posted their instrument on the board for everyone to see. 

Snowflake Ballerinas!

What better to conclude our Nutcracker unit in 2nd grade than these beautiful Snowflake Ballerinas? I am always looking for novel and interactive ways to teach major works like The Nutcracker Ballet so when I found this on Pinterest, I was so excited!

My students really enjoyed watching the Dance of the Snowflakes while creating these precious ballerinas. Even the boys really got into it! We talked a little bit about tu-tus and pointe shoes as they were creating. It was a great way to keep energetic hands busy as we survive these last few days of school before Christmas break. ;)

A few helpful tips if you want to try this in your classroom:
- For some students that have a harder time with fine motor skills, I went ahead and folded the paper for them and let them cut out the shapes. It saved them some time and frustration.

- I recommend using something like a tray to catch the snowflake scraps. Otherwise, it takes FOREVER to clean up. I figured that one out pretty quickly. ;)
- If they can handle it, you can even have the kids move their ballerinas to the music. My students discovered that they float very nicely if tossed up gently.

You can find the directions and print-out here. Enjoy!

Here are my 2nd graders hard at work:

After they finished cutting out their snowflake, they had a chance to add some designs and color on their ballerina. Many enjoyed adding a face as well.

 

I love how this student drew a bun on the back. :)

So. Much. Fun!  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from HSES! :)