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)

Folk Song Unit

Third grade is currently working on a Folk Song unit in music centering around folk songs originating in the United States. They learned that folk means "of the people," that folk music has been passed down from generation to generation, and is usually handed-down orally. We have also discussed how the lyrics or verses of these songs can change over time similar to the "telephone" game. They have also been discussing the similarities and differences between folk songs and folk tales.

Our unit on folk songs is giving the 3rd graders a chance to brush up on their mallet skills. The focus has been learning the cross-over pattern and playing on special words. All students get a chance to learn each instrument part and the folk dance, and then we divide into two groups for our final performance.

Here is a video of the 3rd grade ABC class performing Tideo.

Sleigh Rides and Sing-Alongs

It is a tradition at our school to have a school-wide Christmas Sing-Along on the last day before our holiday break. I had been looking for another fun activity to add to our festivities and this turned out to be the perfect choice! 

I got this lesson awhile back at a Randy and Jeff Conference but after seeing this video, I was inspired to teach it to the whole school! It is really geared more towards older students and some of the movement combinations are a little difficult but my younger students really enjoyed learning it as well. It also went along very well with our study on form this December. 

Here is my own version of the visual:

Here are the students in action at the Sing-Along:

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

"Trepak" from The Nutcracker

Fourth and Fifth grade students are focusing on form this month with a study of "The Nutcracker" by Tchaikovsky. We learned about the composer and then listened to several of the pieces from the Nutcracker Suite. I love how the students get so excited when they recognize a piece that we are studying and can't wait to come tell me if they've heard it on the radio or a commercial. A favorite this year was the very familiar "Trepak" or "Russian Dance."

First, we watched a clip from the ballet:

Then, they figured out the form:

Next, they learned the following fun (and energetic) choreography from the Gameplan Curriculum - Grade 4:

This is the perfect activity to keep very excited students engaged in music during the month of December! It kept my students thinking and moving and they were begging to do it again! :) Check out some pictures of the 4th and 5th grade classes in action:

 

Twinkle and Shine - 3rd Grade Musical

The HSES third graders performed their Christmas musical, "Twinkle and Shine," last week and they did such a great job! The show was a huge success and I was so proud of all of their hard work! Once again, I bow down to my fabulous friend and colleague, Mrs. Carter, for helping me with the set and also helping with scene rehearsals. I definitely couldn't do this without her! :)

Here are a few pictures from their performance:

Musical Symbol Pumpkins

After completing a unit on musical terms, 2nd graders created their own Musical Symbols Pumpkins! They used the various musical symbols they had been learning about to create some funny faces on their Jack-o-Lanterns. It was a great review and an opportunity for them to practice drawing the symbols. Check out these cute pumpkins...

Shoo Fly, Fermatas, and Form!

NOTE: Since making this post, I have discovered the racist history of the song "Shoo Fly." Because of this, I have decided to take this song out of my curriculum. Here is more information if you are interested. I am leaving this post up so that others that check out my post will have this information as well. 

2nd Graders have been learning about musical terms! In first grade, they learned about many different opposites in music (fast and slow, loud and soft, high and low, long and short) and now they are learning the real Italian vocabulary. So far, they have learned about dynamic markings such as forte, piano, crescendo, and decrescendo and now they are learning about fermatas!

The students learned the song, "Shoo Fly," and quickly discovered that there was a fermata in the song! Then they learned some choreography and performed a circle dance mixer together.

They started out working with partners...

And then we tried it in circle formation...

Introduction/Interlude/Coda - students pretend to play guitar, banjo, and harmonica

Section A - Students clap hand with partner on "Shoo" (R, L, R), point to self with thumbs

Section B - Students clap both hands with partner on "Feel"

Fermata - Students draw the fermata in the air

(Music Teachers: I am using the arrangement from the "Share the Music" curriculum.)

To create the circle dance, I had the students form two concentric circles. The inside partners remained in place while the outside partners rotated to the right on each fermata (Oh!).