Second Grade Family Folk Dancing Evening

Dear Parents and Guardians:

 

I hope that you all are having a great week! I am writing to invite you to please take out your December calendar and mark down a very special date. During the second week of December each second grade class will be invited to Loon Lake Elementary for a second grade family folk dancing evening. At this event, families will learn folk dances alongside of their second grade student. All are welcome; however, children younger than seven years old will need to be paired with a parent or guardian. Please come ready to join in the dancing!

 

Please get out your calendar now and mark down these very important dates:

 

Thurs. Dec. 15^th from 6:30-7:30 p.m. – All Second Grade Family Folk Dancing Evening

 

This event will be held in the Loon Lake Elementary gym. I look forward to seeing you in December! Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

 

Sincerely,

 

Mrs. Aaronson

NicoleAaronson@wlcsd.org

First Grade Informance Dates

Dear Parents and Guardians:

I hope that you all are having a great week! I am writing to invite you to please take out your May calendar and mark down a very special date. During the second week of May 2017, each first grade class will be hosting an evening ‘informance’. What is an informance? I am so glad you asked! It is a family music event in which families are invited to sing songs, dance, and play musical games alongside of their first grade students. This will be an opportunity for first graders to shine and truly show-off all of the musical skills that they have developed this year. As first grade is a time in which students develop basic music reading skills, you will be able to see your child read and perform simple rhythms and melodies. It has only been two weeks since school began, but I am already excited to show you a year’s worth of progress in May!

Please get out your calendar now and mark down these very important dates:

Mon. May 8^th from 6:30-7:15 p.m. – Mrs. Hoger’s Class

Tues. May 9th from 6:30-7:15 p.m. - Mrs. Bandy's class
Wed. May 10^th from 6:30-7:15 p.m. - Mrs. Tisdall’s class
Thurs. May 11^th from 6:30-7:15 p.m. - Mrs. Scott’s class

Each informance will take place in the LLE music room. I look forward to seeing you in May! Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aaronson

NicoleAaronson@wlcsd.org

Week Six in Review (Oct. 10 - Oct. 14)

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

Kindergarten students practiced using their nighttime (quiet) and daytime (loud) voices while singing the song Cobbler, Cobbler. Students also practiced keeping a beat while singing this song and pretending to hammer shoes. Students transferred this hammering motion to an instrument; students took turns playing the steady beat on a woodblock while singing the song. Students also learned three new loud/quiet songs: Hey, Betty Martin, Lady, Lady, and Lazy Mary. In Hey, Betty Martin students tiptoed quietly in order to avoid waking up Betty Martin's new baby brother. If he happened to wake up, then students pretended to rock him back to sleep while singing the lullaby Lady, Lady. 

First grade students learned a new song entitled Big Black Cats. Students were challenged to tiptoe the rhythm of the song like a sneaky black cat. This song will be used next week to introduce students to quarter rests. As students are making such wonderful progress in rhythm development, it was time for them to take the first grade rhythm pre-assessment. This assessment will be used to show student growth in the area of rhythm this school year. 

Second grade students reviewed the song Apple Tree and learned to sing the song using melodic notes do mi sol and la. By studying this song, students learned that notes can jump from sol all the way down to do! Students also began learning a new 'do' song entitled Mouse, Mousie. This song contains a fun chase game in which a mouse must try to stay away from a surprise cat. (The student who is the mouse only finds out who the cat is at the end of the song). Students also learned a rhyme called 2,4,6,8 which will be used to review quarter notes and eighth notes. Students practiced reading quarter notes, quarter rests, and eighth notes by creating 8-beat compositions on the interactive white board.

Third grade students continued to focus on the melodic notes do re mi and sol this week. Students reviewed the location of the notes do re and mi in the song Down to the Baker's Shop. Students then practiced playing this pattern on the xylophone while singing the song. Students practiced singing a series of do re mi sol flashcards and learned a melodic new pattern in the song Remember Me. Students also began learning a Japanese song entitled Naka, Naka, Hoi!

Fourth grade students continued to focus on the notes of the treble clef staff this week. Students reviewed these notes by playing a game called Treble Clef Memory on the interactive white board. This game, like the board game Memory, required students to find matches. In order to create a match, students had to find the alphabet letter and matching note on the treble clef staff. Students discovered that the music alphabet only contains seven letters: ABCDEFG. Students were challenged to write as many words as possible using only these seven letters. Students will later use these words to practice writing notes on the treble clef staff. Students also began learning a Japanese song entitled Naka, Naka, Hoi!

Fifth grade students learned two new songs containing dotted quarter/eighth notes this week: Chairs to Mend and John Kanaka. Students discussed the history of Chairs to Mend, sang the song as a round, and practiced reading its rhythm. Students learned a short partner dance to the sea shanty John Kanaka and enjoyed the lyrics "we'll work tomorrow, but not today!" Students also began learning a new song, Alabama Gal, which contains another new fifth grade rhythm. Students enjoyed learning the line dance for this song and were able to master it in only two classes!

Mrs. Ellis's students focused on steady beat and loud vs. quiet this week. Students reviewed the rhyme Engine, Engine and practiced speaking using their 'nighttime' (quiet) and 'daytime' (loud) voices. Students continued to explore the ups and downs of their voices by drawing train tracks on the board and following the train along the path with their voices. Students also learned two new loud/quiet songs: Hey, Betty Martin and Lady, Lady. In Hey, Betty Martin students made their fingers tiptoe quietly in order to avoid waking up Betty Martin's new baby brother. If he did wake up, then students pretended to rock him back to sleep while singing the lullaby Lady, Lady. 

Mrs. Ross's students practiced performing body percussion through a new song entitled 'Round and 'Round. Students learned a clapping, chest tapping, stomping pattern to this song. After students were successful at performing this pattern, they were invited to play it on a drum called the cajon. Students enjoyed having the chance to play this unique instrument. Students also discussed chores that they might complete at home through the song Do, Do, Pity My Case. Lastly, students began learning a song entitled Big Black Cats. This song will be used to reinforce quarter notes and quarter rests.

Mrs. Muller's students reviewed the song Li'l Liza Jane. Students were once again challenged to clap a repeating rhythmic pattern while singing this song. Students were then invited to play this rhythm on a tambourine. Next, students reviewed singing and playing the full scale and the five-note pentatonic scale on the xylophone. Students were then asked to play a melodic pattern on the xylophone while singing the song Li'l Liza Jane.

Week Five in Review (Oct. 3 - Oct. 7)

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

Kindergarten students focused on steady beat and loud vs. quiet this week. Students reviewed the rhyme Engine, Engine and practiced speaking using their 'nighttime' (quiet) and 'daytime' (loud) voices. Students explored the ups and downs of their voices by drawing train tracks on the board and following the train along the path with their voices. Students also explored making many different kind of animals sounds and enjoyed singing Old MacDonald. Lastly, students watched a video about a shoe cobbler, discussed the many different tools that a cobbler uses, and practiced using an imaginary hammer to fix their shoes while singing the song Cobbler, Cobbler.

First grade students focused on telling the difference between beat and rhythm this week. Students reviewed the beat by performing a repeating quarter note pattern to the song Rain, Rain. Students then practiced patting the beat and clapping the rhythm to Engine, Engine. Students were challenged to walk the beat while clapping the rhyme's rhythm. This proved to be quite challenging for many students. Students also learned a fun rhyme entitled Spider, Spider. While speaking this rhyme, students made their hands look like creepy, crawly spiders. Students also explored many different types of voices, especially their spooky and scared voices. Lastly, students attempted to play the steady beat on the xylophone while holding mallets with both hands. Although students are consistently successful at keeping the beat on their body, many students had difficulty transferring the beat to this instrument while playing it with two hands.

Second grade students reviewed the song Donald Duck and learned to sing the song using melodic notes do mi sol and la. Students did a wonderful job singing the song using these notes. In fact, students were able to sing the whole song on solfege without any help from the teacher! Students began learning a new song containing those same four notes: Apple Tree. In the game for this song, the student who has the red ball at the end the end of the song gets to switch seats with another student of their choice. Students reviewed quarter notes, quarter rests, and eighth notes by reading, clapping, and playing these notes on xylophones. 

Third grade students focused on reviewing melodic notes do re mi and sol this week. After reviewing the song Do, Do, Pity My Case and learning the solfege for the first phrase of the song, students were asked to write do re mi sol patterns on individual white boards. It quickly became apparent that although the students remember the names of these melodic notes and their sounds, they needed to review where these notes live on the music staff. Students practiced singing a series of do re mi flashcards and searched for that pattern in the song Down to the Baker's Shop. Students also learned a Mexican folk dance entitled La Raspa.

Fourth grade students focused on part-singing and reading notes on the treble clef staff this week. Students began learning a song called Li'l Liza Jane. Students practice clapping, snapping, and stomping the repeating patterns in this song. Students were then challenged to find a way to show this pattern with a partner. Next, students were split into two groups: one group sang Li'l Liza Jane and the other group sang Great Big House in New Orleans. These partner songs create excellent harmonies when sung together. Students were also introduced to the letter names on the treble clef staff: EGBDF on the lines and FACE on the spaces. Students practiced locating these notes by using their hands as staves. 

Fifth grade students were formally introduced to the rhythm dotted quarter note/eighth note this week. Students discovered the location of this rhythm in known songs Li'l Liza Jane, Sei, Sei, Sei, and Our Old Sow. The song Our Old Sow contains four rhythms: quarter notes, half notes, dotted quarter/eight note, and eight notes. Each rhythm was assigned an instrument. Students took turns playing each of the four instruments, and therefore each of the four rhythms. Once students were successful in playing and singing the song, students were challenged to play the rhythms without singing. This allowed the instruments to do the singing and students to focus intently on the rhythms.

Mrs. Ellis's students focused on steady beat and loud vs. quiet this week. Students reviewed the rhyme Engine, Engine and practiced speaking using their 'nighttime' (quiet) and 'daytime' (loud) voices. Students explored the ups and downs of their voices by drawing train tracks on the board and following the train along the path with their voices. Students also explored making many different kind of animals sounds and enjoyed singing Old MacDonald. Lastly, students watched a video about a shoe cobbler, discussed the many different tools that a cobbler uses, and practiced using an imaginary hammer to fix their shoes while singing the song Cobbler, Cobbler.

Mrs. Ross's students reviewed reading quarter notes and quarter rests this week. Students also continued to explore ways to show the beat through movement. Students walked to the beat when they heard a loud, low sound on the drum. When students heard a quiet, high sound on the drum, students froze their feet and performed a new movement such as tapping shoulders, flicking fingers, or tapping toes. 

Mrs. Muller's students learned a song entitled Li'l Liza Jane this week. Students were challenged to clap a repeating rhythmic pattern while singing this song. After students were successful, students were invited to play this rhythm on a tambourine. Students also reviewed singing and playing a full scale and a five-note scale on the xylophone. Lastly, students completed a rhythm pre-assessment. This assessment will be used to show student growth in the area of rhythm this school year.