Turkey Carols

Fourth graders have been creating Turkey Carols!

First, we talked about the words "tune" and "lyrics."

Next, we had a "Turkey Carol" sing-along as we looked at some examples. Then, students got with small groups and began to create their own. They picked a topic, chose a tune, and then got to work creating their own lyrics.

Finally they edited and wrote a final draft...

And performed them for the class:

Thanksgiving Rhythms

High Shoals students had a blast notating, performing, and composing Thanksgiving rhythms! 

First and second grade classes learned the song "The Dinner Was Delicious" by Deanna Stark (found on her website: http://deannastark.weebly.com/ ).

Students then worked in pairs to notate the rhythms for various foods found on the Thanksgiving table!  The students not only enjoyed discovering the rhythm of the words, but also discussing which foods were their favorite.  ツ

After the students had notated each rhythm, they categorized each word according to it's rhythm pattern.

Then, students created patterns using their "food cards" and practiced clapping them.  After experimenting with various patterns, each group chose their favorite 4-card pattern and performed it for the class.

At the end of class, we created a rondo by singing "The Dinner Was Delicious" and adding in each group's pattern for the "B" sections.  I couldn't help but smile when I heard "Mrs. E, I am really hungry now!"   ツ