Week Fifteen in Review (Dec. 14 - Dec. 18)

Greetings from the music room! It was a another exciting week of singing, moving, and playing instruments! Here are some of the highlights:

Kindergarten students, in addition to reviewing the songs and concepts form last week, enjoyed moving to Trepak from The Nutcracker. Students learned a variety of movements that portrayed the music as well as the overall form of the piece. Students enjoyed this activity so much that many of the children joyfully asked to do it once again!  In fact, Mrs. Aaronson ended up doing this activity so many times that she woke up with very sore arms on Saturday morning! Students also played jingle bells and lumni sticks along with the song Jingle Bells. This provided students with the opportunity to keep a steady beat using instruments while also experiencing the verse/refrain form of the song. Students also practiced singing loudly and quietly to the song Oh My, No More Pie.

First grade students practiced reading quarter notes (ta) and eighth notes (ti-ti) to a song called Hanukah is Here. Students sang the song while one child created a four beat rhythm pattern on the interactive white board. At the end of the song, all students read the pattern out loud. Students also worked with a partner to learn a Dance for Hanukah. This fast paced song required the students to move quickly as they kept the beat and experienced the AB form of the song through movement. Students also played triangles during the song Starlight, Starbright, a song that will be used in January to practice decoding quarter notes and eighth notes. Lastly, students practiced writing four beat quarter note and eighth note patterns using popsicle sticks and learned a new song called Naughty Kitty Cat. This new song will be used to introduce quarter rest.

This student wrote a four beat rhythm using stick notation (music notes without the note heads).

Students worked with partners to write the same rhythm clapped by the teacher.

Second grade students worked together to successfully decode the melodic notes (solfege) to the song Snail, Snail. Students listened closely and discovered where their new high note (la) occurs in the song. Students also enjoyed adding bean bags to the song Plainsies, Clapsies. This song, which will be used to teach melodic note la, contains lyrics which give directions for tossing the bean bag. These directions include tossing the bean bag and touching your knees before you catch the bean bag and turning around and trying to catch the bean bag behind your back. This game can also be played outside by bouncing a ball against a wall. Students also practiced quarter notes and eighth notes through a body percussion and rhythm stick activity to Chinese Dance from The Nutcracker. Lastly, students worked in small groups to create a rhythmic chant containing a sweet holiday treat. Examples included chocolate chip cookies, red and white candy canes, and pumpkin pie. 

Third grade students learned a new melodic note this week - la! Students discovered that this new note is a step higher than sol by filling in the solfege to all of the notes that they knew in Great Big House in New Orleans. Students then focused on the unknown note and stated whether they thought the unknown note was higher or lower than sol and by how much. Students then discovered that all of the melodic notes they know thus far (do re mi sol and la) create the pentatonic scale. Students learned a new song called Burn Little Candles and performed this song in ABA form while playing tambourines, xylophones, and triangles. Lastly, students moved to March from The Nutcracker. This week students copied the teacher's movements, but next week students will create their own movements in a question and answer style format. 

Fourth grade students continued to test for orange belt (Merrily We Roll Along) and practiced the recorder note E this week in the green belt song It's Raining. Students also began learning the recorder fingering for low D as students will need to know this note in order to test for the purple belt song Old MacDonald Had a Farm. Students were also offered copies of the song Jolly Old St. Nicholas as this song can be played using recorder notes B-A-G-E-D. 

Fifth grade students were given the opportunity to practice Tomorrow Reprise and the two sections of the Annie script that had been selected for auditions. Students also began watching sections of the movie Annie in class. This week students watched the opening scenes and stopped at the scene where Grace Farrell asks Mr. Warbucks if they can keep Annie.