Kindergarten Students are continuing to explore high and low in music. The children have been using various materials - pipe cleaners, stuffed animals, yarn, and such - to illustrate sound moving up and down. We will be using the word melody eventually to identify this concept. Right now the children have been using these activities to 'warm up' their voices or to stretch their vocal range. In February, the children created their own vocal sounds chart. They were to choose the line shape, and the vocal sound to use when performing. Students shared and performed each other's charts. Another class, we substituted vocal sounds for instrument sounds. The children have been learning to read the symbols that represent various instruments. Some charts have several instruments, some have vocal sounds included, and the children played through many different charts. Then, another day next week, the children will be creating their own instrument charts - to be shared in their classes. We are reinforcing the concept of moving from left to right across the page, and using large shapes to represent loud sounds, and small shapes for quiet sounds, and pictures spread out or close together for fast and slow. In addition, we always have time for Valentine's Day songs - including a favorite "Heel, Toe" which is a really cute dance where the children must remember a sequence.
First Grade students have been wrapping up their unit of study on Camille Saint-Saens' "Carnival of the Animals." The children had a chance to be composers, and were assigned a small group and an animal. They had two class periods to create 'music' to represent their animal, and some even added body movement. During the class performances, the other groups guessed what animal they were playing. It can be very difficult to find just the right sounds, as the children discovered. Furthermore, they discovered a song is more than just random sounds. It has a beginning and a middle and an ending - like a story. Then, the children watched what may be my favorite children's video - Carnival of the Animals - performed at a zoo, with a narrator reciting the verses of Ogden Nash introducing each animal. It is so much fun to get to hear the entire piece of music that the children are familiar with, added with the amazing animal footage, AND seeing the actual orchestra playing at the zoo, too! Love it! Next we will dig into some Valentine's Day activities and some songs we are preparing for our May portfolio day performance. It is never too early!
Second graders have been investigating the science of sound. They used Ipads last week to explore some great materials, including BrainPOp Jr videos on sound, pitch and vibration, and the App Young Musical Genius. The app allows the children to listen to a variety of orchestral instruments and see and hear them, and then play listening games where they have to identify the sound. After the activity the children used a QR code to take them to a short 'exit slip' - a quizlet. I asked them to answer several questions about sound production, and those answers helped lead me to items they knew, and some concepts that need more instruction. February also brings Black History Month - which leads us to Jazz studies. Students are learning about Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Ella Fitzgerald, for a start. Repeated listenings are leading the children to grasp the 'jazz' feeling and many share that 'this is Portillo's music!' So funny, but this is where many children hear this music. Ella FItzgerald's version of "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" is a favorite! We are singing songs in a Call and Response style - where there is a clear leader and an answer. "Did You Feed My Cow?" is a great example - and leads us to some interesting discussions about the vocabulary involved....udder, 'tick' and buzzards to name a few. We will be weaving jazz into our class this month, and are also starting a great xylophone piece that we will present at portfolio day in May. It's a multi-layered piece with lots of challenges for 2nd graders, but I know we can do it!
First Grade students have been wrapping up their unit of study on Camille Saint-Saens' "Carnival of the Animals." The children had a chance to be composers, and were assigned a small group and an animal. They had two class periods to create 'music' to represent their animal, and some even added body movement. During the class performances, the other groups guessed what animal they were playing. It can be very difficult to find just the right sounds, as the children discovered. Furthermore, they discovered a song is more than just random sounds. It has a beginning and a middle and an ending - like a story. Then, the children watched what may be my favorite children's video - Carnival of the Animals - performed at a zoo, with a narrator reciting the verses of Ogden Nash introducing each animal. It is so much fun to get to hear the entire piece of music that the children are familiar with, added with the amazing animal footage, AND seeing the actual orchestra playing at the zoo, too! Love it! Next we will dig into some Valentine's Day activities and some songs we are preparing for our May portfolio day performance. It is never too early!
Second graders have been investigating the science of sound. They used Ipads last week to explore some great materials, including BrainPOp Jr videos on sound, pitch and vibration, and the App Young Musical Genius. The app allows the children to listen to a variety of orchestral instruments and see and hear them, and then play listening games where they have to identify the sound. After the activity the children used a QR code to take them to a short 'exit slip' - a quizlet. I asked them to answer several questions about sound production, and those answers helped lead me to items they knew, and some concepts that need more instruction. February also brings Black History Month - which leads us to Jazz studies. Students are learning about Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Ella Fitzgerald, for a start. Repeated listenings are leading the children to grasp the 'jazz' feeling and many share that 'this is Portillo's music!' So funny, but this is where many children hear this music. Ella FItzgerald's version of "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" is a favorite! We are singing songs in a Call and Response style - where there is a clear leader and an answer. "Did You Feed My Cow?" is a great example - and leads us to some interesting discussions about the vocabulary involved....udder, 'tick' and buzzards to name a few. We will be weaving jazz into our class this month, and are also starting a great xylophone piece that we will present at portfolio day in May. It's a multi-layered piece with lots of challenges for 2nd graders, but I know we can do it!