Week Seven in Review (Oct. 17 - Oct. 21)

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

Kindergarten students reviewed loud/quiet songs Hey, Betty Martin, Lady, Lady, and Lazy Mary. Students learned a new game for Lazy Mary. When Mrs. Aaronson sang with a quiet voice, students pretended to be sound asleep like lazy Mary. When Mrs. Aaronson sang with a loud voice, students jumped up and pretended to get ready for school. Students enjoyed waiting to see when Mrs. Aaronson's voice would switch from quiet to loud! Students also enjoyed reading the book Mortimer by Robert Munsch. In this book, Mortimer is a little boy who decides to sing rather than go to sleep at night. Students enjoyed listening as his mother, father, and even the police told him to "be quiet!" Students also had the opportunity to play up and down on the xylophone to match the movement of the characters up and down the stairs. 

First grade students reviewed the song Big Black Cats by singing and moving to the song's rhythm. Students then played the repeating phrase "big black cats" on woodblocks. Students also practiced telling the difference between beat and rhythm using the chant Engine, Engine. First, students practiced patting the beat and clapping the rhythm. Then the class was asked to clap the chant's rhythm while one student played the steady beat on a percussion instrument. Students also learned a fun spooky chant called Criss-Cross Applesauce. 

Second grade students reviewed songs Apple Tree and Mouse Mousie and practiced singing melodic notes do mi sol and la. Additionally, since students are making such wonderful progress in rhythm development, it was time for them to take the second grade rhythm pre-assessment. This assessment will be used to show student growth in the area of rhythm this school year. 

Third grade students reviewed the song Naka, Naka, Hoi and explored ways to move to this song with a partner. Students were then invited to share their movements with the class. Students focused on singing melodic notes do re mi and sol this week. Students practice singing a series of flashcards, learned a new song entitled Remember Me, and practiced playing a do and sol pattern on the xylophone. Students also played a game called Steal the Bacon. In this game, two students raced to be the first person to identify a melodic pattern. The first student to correctly identify the pattern won a point for his or her team. This game allowed students to practice not only musical skills, but also good sportsmanship.
 
Fourth grade students continued to focus on the letter names of notes on the treble clef staff this week. Students completed a series of written assignments meant to increase their ability to identify notes' letter names and to allow opportunity for individual assessment and assistance. Students were challenged to work in small groups to write words using the letters of the musical alphabet (ABCDEFG) on the treble clef staff. Students worked together to decode each other's work. Students also completed a story entitled Weekend at Grandma's Farm by decoding words written in music on the treble clef staff. Students also completed a word maker worksheet and a treble clef crossword. Students who completed all three assignments were challenged to create their own musical story in the style of Weekend at Grandma's Farm. Lastly, students learned a song with fun body percussion entitled 'Round and 'Round.

Fifth grade students began learning a new song, Hill and Gully Rider. This Jamaican folk song about zombies will be used to introduce fifth grade students to syncopated rhythm. Students reviewed the song John Kanaka and transferred the repeating pattern in the song onto the xylophones. Students also learned a series of rhythms and performed them to a recording of the Pink Panther Theme Song. One of the rhythm patterns contained the dotted quarter note/eighth note combination that students have been studying. Students also practiced reading a series of rhythm flashcards and began playing an improvisation game.

Mrs. Ellis's students focused on the difference between loud and quiet sounds this week. Students reviewed the songs and activities for Hey, Betty Martin and Lady, Lady. Students also learned a new loud/quiet song entitled Lazy Mary. This song is about a little girl who does not like to wake up in the morning. When Mrs. Aaronson sang with a quiet voice, students pretended to be sound asleep like lazy Mary. When Mrs. Aaronson sang with a loud voice, students jumped up and pretended to get ready for school. Students enjoyed waiting to see when Mrs. Aaronson's voice would switch from quiet to loud! Lastly, 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. 

Mrs. Ross's students reviewed the body percussion pattern to the song 'Round and 'Round. Students were then given another opportunity to play this pattern on a drum called the cajon.Students reviewed quarter notes and quarter rests this week through the song Big Black Cats. Students interacted with this song in many ways: they sang the song, clapped the rhythm, played the rhythm on instruments, moved to the rhythm, and practiced writing the rhythm. Students were asked to arrange themselves on sheets of orange paper in order to show the number of sounds on each beat. After students discovered that some beats contained two sounds, students were formally introduced to eighth notes.

Mrs. Muller's students learned two new songs this week: John Kanaka and Hill and Gully Rider. Students learned a movement pattern to John Kanaka which allowed them to work with a partner. During the song Hill and Gully Rider, students were asked to sing a repeating response. After students were successful, they were asked to clap the rhythm of the response and transfer that rhythm to the tambourine. Lastly, students began to learn about the rhythm dotted quarter note/eight note. Students were asked to locate this rhythm in the songs John Kanaka and Li'l Liza Jane.