Many students have been enjoying performing for their classes this year. Whether they sing an original song that they wrote, improvise on a drum, or sing a song that they learned from the radio, all performances are welcome! After each performance, we have a conversation about it. Students can share "stars" (compliments) or "wishes" (a suggestion to change the song or the performance). Sometimes students in the audience will share what the performance made them think of or imagine. It's really fun to hear how the kids are thinking more and more deeply about the music they hear!
Now that so many students are asking to do performances, I want to make sure that everyone who wants to gets a turn. To do so, I've started keeping track of who performs using Class Dojo. Being marked for doing a performance in class isn't worth points, but if you have created a parent account, you'll be able to see when your child performs! If you're not signed up for Class Dojo, simply fill out this form, and I'll send you information so you can log in.
Image from https://blog.classdojo.com/music-in-the-classroom-yes-when-now-this-post/
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5th Grade, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade: Flag Designs Upper elementary grades are working on a group project. Each team is creating a flag to represent what they have learned about their Performer House leaders. They have learned about these performers through information that these musicians have sent and their answers to students' questions. I've been seeing a lot of thoughtful and creative designs! 2nd Grade and 1st Grade: Meter First graders have begun learning about the concept of meter, or how beats are organized in music, usually in music, and second graders are reviewing this concept and exploring it in more depth. Both grades began with meters of 2 and 4, learning about how it sounds and how it makes people feel like moving (i.e. marching in a meter of 2, walking in a meter of 4). This week was focused mainly on the meter of 3. Music in this meter can make people feel like swaying or dancing. Students learned about a dance and type of music that is always in a meter of 3 called waltz. They really enjoyed seeing the dancers waltzing in video below! Kindergarten: Voice and Rhythm Kindergartners finished their unit on the four voice types (whisper, talk, shout, and sing) with a short listening quiz and a performance assessment. In the quiz, they had to listen to recordings of different voices and determine what voice type was being used. In the performance assessment, we did an activity in which I whispered/said/shouted/sang, "Where is ________?" The student who was called on had to respond in the same voice type with, "Here I am!" The students did a great job identifying and using their voices! We then began a new unit on rhythm. Students are beginning to understand the difference between steady beat, which stays the same, and rhythm, which doesn't. Usually the rhythm of a song goes with the syllables of the words, but is still connected to the steady beat. We've been learning some new songs while moving or playing along with both the beat and the rhythm. 5th Grade Fifth graders finished their unit on meter this week. The students practiced 6/8 meter (six beats per measure, an eighth note equals one beat) by reading rhythmic notation in that meter and playing different percussion parts simultaneously. They also took a quiz, which involved vocabulary, deciphering meter signs, and listening to rhythms and meters. Students also had their first journaling activity this week. They listened to the third movement of Schubert's 5th Symphony and tried to imagine why he chose not to include some instruments that were typically used in orchestras of his time and what it would sound like if he had. It's always fun to read their ideas about music! 4th Grade Fourth graders were also finishing a unit this week. Their study of rhythm included divisions of a single beat, including eighth notes, triplets, and sixteenth notes. They played instrumental parts along with "The Sixteenth Note Song" and created their own four-beat improvisations using sixteenth notes. They also took a quiz that included rhythm and meter vocabulary and identifying rhythms by listening. 3rd Grade Third graders reinforced their vocabulary words improvisation and ostinato this week. Each class composed a four beat ostinato pattern as a group, then each individual played an improvised four-beat rhythm over that ostinato. Most classes decided to revise their original ostinato pattern to make it easier to play while improvising. Revising is a big part of writing music! They wrapped up their unit on rhythm with a quiz that included vocabulary and identifying meter by listening to music. 2nd Grade Second graders began a new unit about meter (how beats are organized into groups, usually of 2, 3, or 4) this week. This is a concept that they learned about last year in first grade, but they are learning about it in more depth this year. Students moved in different ways to different meters as we listened to music (marching in a meter of 2, walking in a meter of 4), and even learned some beginning conducting! 1st Grade First graders also began a new unit on meter. They started by reviewing a favorite song from kindergarten called "Stinky Pirates," which is in a meter of two. We added some pirate actions that demonstrate the organization of beats into groups of two. We marched to a Sousa march, which like nearly all marches, was in a meter of 2. We walked to a meter of 4, while also learning about verse and chorus form in the song "Walking Home." Next week, they'll learn about the meter of 3! Kindergarten Kindergartners have continued learning about the four voice types: whisper, talk, shout, and sing. Students have practiced the song "Kangaroo, Kangaroo" using a variety of different voice types, and even created their own arrangement as a group that included all four voice types. They had fun playing a four corners game in which each corner of the room had a sign indicating a different voice type. Students were presented with a scenario, such as being at a rock concert, being in the library, or being at a birthday party. They had to move as quickly as they could to the corner of the voice they would choose for that situation before the timer ran out and we all discussed why students chose the voice types that they had. |
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