SNAP, PAT, STOMP, CLAP!

Second graders have been having some fun with Body Percussion since we returned from Christmas break.  We've been using our bodies to not only make sound, but also to keep a steady beat.  Students have been taking turns being the "director" as we have explored Tracy King's Body Percussion Bundle.  As we move through the activities, we have to really concentrate on the progressively harder slides!
Today, we composed our own body percussion piece with one of the activities in the bundle.  After students finished their compositions, they paired up and performed for each other, then traded and performed the other person's composition for each other.  If you haven't given Tracy's bundle a try, I think you'll like it!  We do!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪It's a busy busy time of year for Music Educators. Preparations for Veterans Day performances, Christmas programs, grade level programs, all integrated into instilling a love for and understanding of music in our students. I must say, however, that it's one of my most favorite times of the year in the music classroom! I am so in my element playing holiday singing games, singing holiday songs, adding little touches to songs for a performance. The other day students were working on a Halloween-themed music worksheet while listening to music for their Christmas performance! This week we have been rehearsing for Veterans Day, Christmas performance, AND playing a rousing game of "I'm the Fastest Turkey." Ah, the life of a music educator is a sweet one!¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪

Tune Train

Second Graders tried out a new app for them on the iPads today...Tune Train.  This app allows students to create their own composition with a variety of melody, harmony and rhythm  
choices.  A short tutorial is included to get started.  There is also a Teacher's Guide. Basically you are getting your train from one depot to another via a musical composition! 

People are located in buildings at various heights, representing their pitch.  By using their fingers, they can go from house to house, higher pitches being higher, and lower pitches lower.  If a person wants a longer duration of a pitch, then simply draw in-between the houses instead of through them. Viola! a musical melody is created!  Harmony is created by choosing a style of band to accompany your melody.

An option that I liked was to show the staff notation as you create and play back your composition.  Notes turn red as the melody progresses on a playback.

The Levels option isn't your typical game level in the sense of needing to "pass" a task to go on to the next level.  Each level is a different setting to use, with different options of houses etc. 

All in all, a fun useful app for creating and music making! (and it's FREE!)

Instruments of the Orchestra

We are talking about the Instruments of the Orchestra in Kindergarten and First Grade.  Students have listened to and watched the classic story of Peter and the Wolf ( Петя и волк, Petya i volk in Russian) by Sergei Prokofiev.  It was written in 1936, capturing the personality of each character with their own special instrumental sound.  Prokofiev actually visited the Disney studio when Disney was creating his animated version which was released in 1946.  We enjoyed the Disney version very much!  The Russian film by Susie Templeton provides a great contrast to the animated version.  We have also watched the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra perform the piece, which gives great visuals of the musicians playing the instruments.  Of course, the Jim Gamble puppet version is a favorite as well.  Each version is a little different from the other in style, setting, and even characters.  Students compare and contrast those differences in our discussions.

A new resource that I've found this year is the video of Peter and the Wolf with characters created by Chuck Jones, starring Kirstie Alley and Lloyd Bridges.  It's a unique approach to the story.  The added bonus to this DVD is an introduction to the instruments of the orchestra as well as a game.  There are 25 different combinations in the game to match instrument sounds with animals.

First graders just completed an activity to sharpen their story sequencing skills, using Peter and the Wolf.  I found this activity in a resource from Westchester Philharmonic.   This is a great basic resource for this unit.  Students colored the illustration and then cut it into strips following the guide on the back of the paper.  Each strip contained a sentence telling the story.  Students mixed them up, put them in order, and then flipped them over to be sure they had the right sequence.  I sent the strips home with them in ziplock baggies, hoping that they will share the story with their families.

Techie Jeopardy!

Today in technology we are reviewing some of the terms and concepts that we have learned about this year.  I created a Jeopardy game using Jeopardy Rocks.  It's easy to create your own game, with complete freedom to choose categories and create questions.  The students worked in pairs or groups of 3 to play the game.  Some of the concepts we haven't discussed since first quarter, so this was a great time to test their memory!  I heard great conversations as students discussed with each other the possible answers.  Within our 30-minute class, most of the students either completed the game or came very close.  This is a great self-assessment tool for students, AND a lot of fun!

March Isn't JUST for Leprechauns!

March is for MUSICIANS!

In the music classroom,  March is MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOLS MONTH!  We celebrate the privilege of having music education in our school district from PS-12 grades.  

Since 1985, March has been filled with the sound as music in our schools thanks to this month being designated "Music In Our Schools Month." Sponsored by the National Association for Music Education, the event focuses the nation's attention on the need for and the benefits of quality music education programs.

Click to Enlarge!  This is cool stuff!

The benefits of a music education are numerous.  Music improves early cognitive development, math and reading skills.  Critical thinking and leadership skills are enhanced when students study music. Not only does music engage both the left and right brain, but it also builds and strengthens connections between brain cells. Hand-eye coordination is improved when students practice on a musical instrument.  A sense of achievement and pure enjoyment found through music is unique and long-lasting.

Martin Grade School has a tradition of decorating grocery sacks so watch for

some artwork with your purchases in March!  Some classes have started decorating their sacks!  Of course, they all hope that their parents will be given THEIR sack when they check out of the grocery store!  This year we are using Tracy King's Music In Our School Month Pennants on our sacks.  Students are using their writing skills to dialog about music in their lives.  As I watch them write, I had the thought that their writing was a "blog on the go"....as the grocery sack will travel from school, to the store, and then to a home full of groceries as well as musical thoughts and decorations!

Please check out some more samples of what the students are drawing and writing on their grocery sacks just......

Students and educators appreciate the support they receive from their families year-round!  Thank you for supporting the arts in your child’s school by attending concerts, encouraging him/her to practice an instrument and sing in the choir!

Learning Through Music and Art: Doug Goodkin

My good friend Lise Ullman, a music educator in California, shared in her blog Every Child Needs Music, the collaboration between herself and Doug Goodkin to produce a TEDx video - 2 years ago now.  What Doug said then is still true now, and I thought it was worth sharing!  (also check out Doug's blog, Confessions of a Traveling Music Teacher!)

What stuck with me most was the notion of giving children that inner discipline that is developed through music.  Not only that, but they begin to sense who they really are in context with this world.  They are not wandering aimlessly anymore, but develop that feeling of value, and positive contributions to the world around them.

Click the photo below to go directly to Lise's blog, and think about what YOU can do to be an advocate for music education in your community!

"I knew you were Treble when you walked in...."

Third graders have been working on learning the names of the Treble Staff.  We've done the usual "Every Good Boy Does Fine" and FACE mnemonics.  I find that pointing and using their hands as a hand staff helps to put a concrete action to the concept.  We have developed a routine of language and action, counting, naming, pointing to each finger and space to coordinate to the music staff. 
I used Denise Gagne's Learn and Play Recorder app as part of my introduction to the note names of the staff. 

 Interactive practice is included as well and was fun to use on the SmartBoard.  Another game that we use for challenging ourselves in both speed and accuracy was Staff Wars.  

This game can be personalized to either Treble, Alto or Bass Clef.  This was a fast-paced game and very challenging! The Star Wars connection excited the students.  It was very popular!
Either one of these apps works well as a whole class on the SmartBoard or with students iPads used individually or in pairs.

Any connection to the music of today will be an instant winner with the students!  Two videos that they have especially enjoyed are "I Knew You Were Treble" by Jeannette Young and the parody of Meghan Trainor's music "All About That Bass (Clef)".  Students instantly sang along, enjoying the parody of songs they listen to all the time on their own!  Enjoy those videos below!

I'm the FASTEST Turkey!

Tis the season in the music room!  Not only are we prepping for our annual Christmas program, but it IS the week before Thanksgiving, so we have been sneaking some fun Thanksgiving activities in our class time as well!  This week we began class with a fun movement idea from the Bulletin Board Lady, Tracy King - Thanksgiving Freeze Dance.  We loved dancing and then freezing to different poses projected on the SmartBoard by pilgrims, Native Americans and other fall characters.  Tracy has one ready to go for Christmas too...so check it out!  Christmas Freeze Dance and Creative Movement.

 There are several other Thanksgiving songs (5 Fat Turkeys, Shoo Turkey, Over The River, Hip Hop Turkey etc.) that we like to sing, but I do believe that there is none other that the kids love more than the fun game, "I'm the Fastest Turkey."  All grades from K-3 love playing this game, and I think they could play it the whole class period if I'd let them! This is a game similar to duck, duck, goose, but with singing and in this case a beautiful Folkmanis turkey puppet.

In technology we have been in the holiday mood as well.  K-1st and 2nd graders have been doing a variety of online puzzles and games with turkeys.  One of the more challenging ones was Sort My Tiles.  Students had to match up the pattern on tiles that were presented to them.  They didn't get a new tile until they had a good match.  Turkey Swap is another game that is quite a challenge.  Many students took 200 or 300 moves to complete the task, while others actually were in the 80s and 90s!  Try it and see how many tries it takes you!

3rd and 4th grade technology students have been learning about the tools in Microsoft Word as they create a poem  entitled, "If I Were A Thanksgiving Turkey".  Information includes how they would smell, taste, what they would be stuffed with, what they would hear...well, you get the idea.  We have some pretty creative poets! Learning tips and tricks about page borders, inserting graphics, and editing font style, size and color are the techie bonuses of this project!  Here's a Third Grade sample!

Students in 5th and 6th grade technology have been sharpening their blogging skills this month.  We are blogging about the Daily Life of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag.  Students research on a Scholastic website about The First Thanksgiving and compare and contrast different aspects of the daily life of the two cultures. Here's a Fifth Grade sample:

Type to Learn!

Beginning the 2nd semester of First Grade, students work to improve their keyboarding skills with a program called TTL4.  (Type to Learn).  TTL4 has 36 lessons, 5 typing games with each lesson, and 7 keyboarding assessments.

Review of previously learned keys, demonstration of new keys, practice exercises and assessment, with continuous reinforcement of home row positioning, is a cycle followed throughout all of the 36 lessons.  There is emphasis on words per minute speed as well as accuracy.

What students like most about TTL4 is that it's in the form of a game with adventure, information, and lots of specialized activities.

As a teacher, I have access to view the work of each student, and am able to personalize their individual plan and requirements for advancement.  According to the accuracy and speed achieved in a lesson, goals for upcoming lessons are adjusted accordingly.

Students are exposed to lessons that incorporate real-world typing content, as well as cross-curricular.  Examples include historical documents, literature passage, and original writing tasks.

I asked the 2nd grade students what their favorite game was.  It was a split between Drone Control and Dig This.

Drone Control ActivityThis is a timed typing game focusing on speed as well as accuracy. Students type the displayed text as quickly as possible to command a drone to move through dangerous terrain. They must reach their destination before time runs out.
The amount of content provided to the student in this game depends on their individual WPM goal. Students must type fast enough to meet their WPM goal in the time allotted in order to successfully reach their destination. WPM and accuracy are always recorded.

Dig This ActivityThis typing game focuses on accuracy and typing to a beat to encourage a smooth typing cadence. Students type the text displayed in order to break the ice or stones and reveal what's hidden beneath. The metronome beat for cadence can be turned on or off by the teacher in settings, as well as by the student in the game itself. (http://ttl4.sunburst.com/typing-games.php)

Students in grades 1-6 work in TTL4 quite often in technology, as well as trying our hands at other online keyboard activities.  Keyboarding is a skill that everyone needs in their lives.  These students are off to a good start!

One of the fun games on TTL4

Practicing Home Row Keys

Both WPM and Accuracy are emphasized

Look at that beautiful home row position!

It's a whole row of spectacular home row positions!

There's a Spider on the Floor!

Today it was all about spiders in Kindergarten and First Grade!  The traditional song, "There's a Spider on the Floor" gave us an opportunity to not only sing the song, but also act it out!  That spider was EVERYWHERE!  On the floor, on our toes, on our backs....and with each verse, the students quickly recognized that we were rhyming too!  We had fun creating NEW places for that spider to land, and completed those new verses with more rhyming words to match!  Students took home their little spiders, with excitement brewing to teach their family at home this fun song and activity.  Perhaps we will hear about some new verses that they create at home in our next music class!

There's a spider on my toe!.....and he's wiggling his nose!

a spider on my knee!

on my belly...eating peanut butter and jelly!!!

...on my neck!  

...on my hair...I think he's dancing way up there!

There's even a spider on my BACK!

Pumpkin Time!

October is a fun month in music class!  We get to sing lots of pumpkin songs!  One of our all-time favorites is Pass The Pumpkin.  Through the years, we've added various instrumentation to the song, played the passing game, and generally had great fun with it! 

The student pointer

Kindergarten and First Graders are using the song this year to reinforce quarter and eight note patterns.  Students take turns using the display on the SmartBoard as a pointing page while we sing.  This is a quick way for me to assess each student in their tracking skills.  They are also trying their hand at a simple bourdon on the xylophone to accompany the singing game.  Again, a quick assessment of steady beat and mallet proficiency.
While we sing the song, we play the passing game and rotate around to each of the instruments as well as a chance to be the "pointing person."
This week, we've added xylophone, rainstick, and gong to the piece.  Perhaps we will come up with some new instrument choices next week!

We have LOTS of choices for the pumpkin to use in our passing game!

Edmodo Excitement

This year 3rd and 4th graders are experiencing Edmodo for the first time.  Many of them had heard about Edmodo from older siblings, and were anxious to get started!  
We have had fun creating our profiles on Edmodo and have dived into a few assignments.  
Fourth grade has been reviewing Microsoft Word and the use of the editing tools.  They have used MS Word before, but not some of the specific tools that we are learning about this year.  We are about to being a unit about online safety.  
Third graders have just recently logged into Edmodo.  They are getting used to remembering their login names and passwords and have also had fun creating their profiles.  Third grade is beginning an assignment dealing with online safety using a resource by PBS kids, Webonauts!    

This is an original PBS KIDS GO! game that explores what it means to be a good internet citizen.  It's very engaging for the students.  They can even continue their online journey on their home computer if they wish this weekend.  

Each student took home a letter of explanation to their parents as well as a special code that will enable their parents to log into their child's Edmodo page.  One of the cool things about Edmodo is the ability for both students and teachers to communicate and complete assignments online during times outside of the school day.  I'm hoping that parents will frequently check in on their child's page!

Edmodo is designed to get students excited about learning in a familiar environment.  We can continue classroom discussions online.  Learning is personalized and engaging for students.  Special apps help teachers to supplement what is learned in class.  Edmodo also makes it simple to track student progress. Grades and badges can be assigned or awarded.  Through student discussion posts, understanding can be clarified, and frustration or confusion can be minimized.

Edmodo and Online Safety!

Last year Grades 4-5 and 6 were introduced to a new learning tool called Edmodo. Edmodo is a free social learning platform that provides a safe way for students and teachers to connect and collaborate.   Students have continued to use Edmodo this year for assignments.  We have done a review of the tools used in Microsoft Word.  Students learned some shortcuts used in formatting documents.

We are currently exploring internet safety through the USA-SOS site.  Students are given a Scavenger Hunt to complete by reading and listening to a variety of media that is provided.  They are learning about netiquette, how to avoid viruses on a computer, cyberbullying, cookies, and how to choose a safe, secure password. 

Parents are able to access their child's Edmodo account and view grades and assignments through their parent account.  If you have not already done so, please take the time to create an account.  Ask your child what they are doing in class.  One of the cool things about Edmodo is that students can do their assignments at home or at the library.  I am also able to see their work when I log in at home.  
Check it out!  It's COOL!

Chalk it up!

The Kindergarteners are just learning about quarter notes (walking notes) and eighth notes (running notes) in their ABC Music and Me curriculum.  First graders are reviewing some basic notation and musical symbols in their music classes.  We all took advantage of the gorgeous weather today, and went outside with our chalk and practiced our notating!!  The kids thought this was a great idea, although a bit hot if we were in the sun very long!  Mrs. Lyon enjoyed the extra bit of sunshine too!  Here are some examples of our budding musicians' artwork!