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.