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:

"March" from the Nutcracker

As a young girl, I watched in wonderment when our family would attend a performance of "The Nutcracker Ballet."  I absolutely loved the music, dancing, costumes, and scenery!  And now... I get to teach it to my students!  It has become one of my favorite units to teach.

This year, I focused on teaching the Nutcracker to second grade.  After reading the story of the Nutcracker and talking about it's origins, we watched and listened to some of the most famous pieces, including the "March."  The students got so excited when they recognized this piece!

Next, we listened to the song again and discovered it's form.  Second grade classes have been talking a lot about form this year, so they figured it out very quickly!  After studying the varying sections, the students learned that this is called Rondo Form (when the A section - or refrain - alternates with contrasting themes). 

 

The students were then introduced to our new movement prop, Mr. Stretchy Band!

 

 

Using a lesson plan from Artie Almeida's "Parachutes and Ribbons and Scarves, Oh My!" we used Mr. Stretchy to move to the various sections of the March.  During the A sections, students used the stretchy band to form a circle and marched to the music.

 

 

 

 

During the contrasting sections, the students stopped marching and faced the middle of the circle.  Holding the stretchy band above their heads, they listened as I called out different colors. When their color was called, they had to run under the stretchy band and quickly switch places with somebody else.  Of course, they thought this was so much fun! 

 

 

 

 

 Learning while having fun... my favorite combination! ツ