This week (12/14-12/18)

This week in...

Kindergarten- we tested our knowledge of loud vs. quiet with a short quiz. On the quiz, we circled a picture of lion of the music was loud, and a mouse if the music was quiet. We then played so fun winter games to send us off into the 2 week break!

1st and 2nd grade- we took some time to reflect on our amazing winter concert! We filled out concert reflections about our favorite moment from the performance. We also drew a picture that represented our favorite part of the concert. We then took some much deserved free minutes to dance and watch a few minutes of either "Peter and the Wolf" or "Fantasia 2000."

3rd, 4th, and 5th grade- FOLK DANCE WEEEEEEEEK! We really enjoyed dancing in the gym this week. Ms. Horeis and I combined our two classes together to have a community dancing experience. We learned dances from many countries, including Russia, Germany, England, Ireland, Israel, and the United States. Fun times! Check out the photos below- Mr. Burdette even joined the 5th graders for the "Virginia Reel" :)

Congrats!

A huge congrats to all 1st and 2nd grade students for an amazing performance on Wednesday night! I am so proud of the show we put on. Students sang from the heart, performed with enthusiasm, and showed respect. Woohoo!!!! If any parents out there have cute photos from the performance, feel free to send them my way.

Next week, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students will enjoy folk dancing in the gym! Each year, Ms. Horeis and I collaborate on a folk dancing unit right before winter break, and we have some fabulous dances planned for this year. Expect to see some photos next week!

This week (11/30-12/4)

This week in...

Kindergarten- we explore the musical opposites of loud and quiet using body movements, voices, and instruments! We made lists of loud and quiet things, like animals, body sounds, things outside, things at home, etc. Here's some of the things students came up with...

Loud:
Lion
Stomping
Alarm clock
Washing machine
Thunder
Car horn
Shouting

Quiet:
Mouse
Whisper
Ticking clock
Breeze
Tip toe
Humming

We practiced acting out each of these things along with a piece of music that switches between loud and quiet. We learned a game called "Grizzly Bear" that starts out quiet and gets LOUD at the end!

1st grade and 2nd grade- I don't want to give too much away, because we are very near to our winter concert! The concert will be Wednesday, December 9th at 5:30 (1st grade) and 6:30 (2nd grade.) Students must be in their classroom 15 minutes before their concert begins to line up with classmates. I'm so excited to share with you what we have been working on!

3rd grade- this week was our show and tell of our found sound instruments! We shared with our classmates, and then enjoyed a fun presentation to wrap up this fun unit. For the presentation, our guests from the Denver Playground Ensemble came to see what the students created. We all got our instruments out in the auditorium and had fun experimenting with different ways to combine voice and instrument sounds in response to gestures made by a conductor. It was so much fun! See some photos below of the instruments we made. :)

4th grade- we have been groove walking and swing dancing to some swing music this week! It wore us out (or at least it wore me out!) and was so much fun. We are continuing to work on our music literacy by reading the notes B, A, G, and E on the treble clef staff. We also began learning a new song that we will perform at our concert in April called "All Jazzed Up." We then took that upbeat swing song and tried to turn it into a blues piece for our recorders by making it slower, more sad, and quieter. 

5th grade- we have been enjoying some fun drumming circles this week. We have learned several drum parts that we can play along with certain pop songs from the radio. This week, we played some 4-beat question and answer rhythms (class plays question, individual student improvises an answer) and our "what's for lunch? pepperoni pizza" rhythms with the song "Ghost" by Ella Henderson. We were groovin'! We also learned about complementary rhythms. This is when two rhythms fit together by filling in the empty spaces of one another, which creates a groove that you can repeat over and over.

This week (11/16-11/20)

Last week, I had the privilege of attending a national music conference in San Diego, CA. It's through my main music organization called AOSA- American Orff Schulwerk Association. What is Orff, you ask? Well, it's an approach to teaching music that gives the creative power to the students. Orff teaching uses the media of speech, song, instruments, and movement to allow kids to explore musical ideas and develop musicianship. Basically, it's super hands-on and crazy fun. The conference was 3 long days filled with 12 workshop sessions, concerts, and meals share between hundreds of music teachers. In short, it was inspiring. I returned from that trip with so many new ideas to try in my classroom. Already this week, I tried a couple of new things out with success. Never a dull moment in music class!

This week in...

Kindergarten- we finished up our mini-unit on high and low sounds. We took a short quiz to show that we can hear the different between high and low sounds. For the quiz, we circle a picture of a mountain if we heard high sounds, and a submarine if we heard low sounds. We played a couple of fun Thanksgiving themed games that got us singing and wiggling around the room.

1st grade AND 2nd grade- we are getting so close to or winter concert! Wednesday, December 9th! All first and second grade classes have shown lots of leadership in preparation for this program, and we can't wait to share some fun poems and songs with you. Don't miss it!

3rd grade- this week, we began our work around the theme of our spring concert (Wednesday, March 9th): TREES! We listed all the kinds of trees we could think of. We saw images of many types of trees and showed body shapes to go with each image- a challenging task. We made tree shapes using high, medium, and low levels, and also smooth and pointy shapes. We made shapes alone, with partners, and in groups. We then learned about banyan trees. They are unique because the branches go out horizontally and then begin to drop wisps that eventually reach the ground and become new trunks! This means that one single banyan tree can have many, many trunks and look like an entire park or forest. We explored how to move like a banyan tree and had some really amazing moments of calm, focused energy. We finished by learning a Jamaican folk song called "Banyan Tree."

4th grade- this week, we did some groove walking! A groove walk goes with swing music. You step on beats 1 and 3, and clap/snap on beats 2 and 4. Step, clap, step, clap, etc. It's harder than it sounds! We explored groove walking in many styles (heavy, light, sneaky) and pathways (straight, curved, circular) alone and in groups. We also continued learning about the jazz legend Duke Ellington, or as he is better known, "Sir Duke."

Sir Duke

5th grade- we finished up composing some "what's for lunch" rhythms with drums. We now know how to create rhythms using quarter notes, eighth notes, two sixteenth notes with one eighth note, four sixteenth notes, and half notes. We are beginning to work on some fun drum circle music where we have multiple parts going on at the same time with different types of drums. It's fun to play these drumming patterns along with pop songs like "Firework" by Katy Perry, "Come With Me Now" by KONGOS, and "Best Day of My Life" by American Authors.

Happy Thanksgiving break!

This week (11/3-11/6)

This week in...

Kindergarten- we started working on high and low! We used fall leaves to help us learn about high and low sounds with the story There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves. We moved our bodies and sang while we pretended to rake leaves, jump in the leaves, roll in the leaves, pile the leaves, and more. We got to put leaves on a tree on the white board to match the high and low sounds on the piano.

1st grade- we are working hard on winter concert music for our performance on Wednesday, December 9th (5:30pm!) We read the story Bear Snores On, which we will feature in our concert. We learned about singing loud and quiet sounds in the song "Grizzly Bear" and learned a fun game to go with the song. We can't wait to share this and other songs with you at the performance!

2nd grade- we are working hard on winter concert music for our performance on Wednesday, December 9th (6:30pm!) We reviewed a couple of old favorites form last year, "Winter Wiggles" and "Snowman Jump" that will be fun additions to the program. We also reviewed the pieces we have been working on, "Gingerbread Breakdown", a fun rhythmic and body percussion piece, and also "Old Saint Nick." We ended class by learning a fun mixer dance called "Jump Jim Joe." See an example video here:

Jump Jim Joe

3rd grade- we have begun our Found Sounds Project!!! This project is super exciting because we get to make our own instruments using things laying around at home. Students should have received a blue letter explaining the details of the project- look for it in their Friday Folder. Also, if you click on the link on the left of this blog under 'Pages' where it says 'Found Sounds Project', you'll see the details there as well. We had 3 special guests come to music class this week from the Denver Playground Ensemble. They create all their own instruments from scratch. Students were able to see, hear, and even try out their instruments to get inspiration for the ones they will make at home.

4th grade- we started off with some singing warmups using solfege this week. We learned that there are notes lower than do, even though pitch hill has do at the bottom of the hill. We also learned a new note on recorder this week! We can now play B, A, and G (mi, re, and do.) We practiced playing and composing patterns with a partner to go with the song "I've Got to Rise" and shared them with the class.

5th grade- what's for lunch? Pepperoni pizza! We used that short question and answer to play some rhythms on drums this week. Students also improvised lots of different answers for "what's for lunch" and practiced playing those rhythms on drums. We worked on lots of Q and A in groups of 3 and then as a large group. To end class, we had the large djembe and tubano drums play the question (what's for lunch?) and the mini djembes play the answer (pepperoni pizza.) We jammed and rocked out using those rhythms to the song "Best Day of My Life." So much fun!

Happy Halloween!

We sure have been busy this week! We had a very fun and successful talent show- video to come- and lots of learning in music class.

This week in...

Kindergarten- we learned the song "Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater" and played a game to go with it. For the game, one students would be "Peter" and walk around the circle with a pumpkin beanbag. At the end of the song, "Peter" chooses someone to take his/her place and then goes to the middle of the circle and chooses an instrument to play the steady beat on for the next round of the game.

1st grade- we were introduced to eighth notes this week! Last week we learned that a note that makes one sound on a beat is called a quarter note. Quarter notes work well for one-sound words like "red", "green", or "glove." Eighth notes have two sounds on a beat and work well for two-sound words like "yellow" or "mitten." We played around with lots of different rhythms using quarter notes and eighth notes.

2nd grade- we learned another new piece for our winter concert (Wednesday, December 9th!) called "Gingerbread Breakdown." In this piece, we get to create our own gingerbread rhythms using quarter notes, eighth notes, half notes, and rests. We are getting excited already for our special performance!

3rd grade- we learned a fun pumpkin poem this week that uses quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes. We added expressive voices and movements to make it a complete performance. We made up rhythms using pie (quarter note), pumpkin (eighth notes), and jack-o-lantern (sixteenth notes.) We are also continuing to work on duple versus triple meter as we explore different ways to speak the same text.

4th grade- we learned a song that connected well to Halloween called "Somebody's Knockin' at my Door." We found the spots in the song that have syncopation (a new rhythm we've been learning about) and added a B section where we got to say what our Halloween costumes are. We then played those Halloween costume patterns on recorders. Students who ordered recorders also received them this week- woohoo! For resources for practicing at home, students can check the "Recorder Music" page on this blog!

5th grade- we took the spooky song/poem "Double, Double" from MacBeth that we learned last week and added instruments! Some students learned to play the song on xylophone and also learned it on recorder. We also tried it in canon with a leader group and a follower group. Students then divided into 3 groups- each group created a unique performance with an Introduction, Body, and Coda using the song "Double, Double." They could use singing, speaking, xylo, recorder, performing the song all together, taking solos, doing it in canon, etc. Lots of possibilities!

This week (10-21-10/23)

What a whirlwind week!

This week in...

Kindergarten- we practiced moving our voices up and down like flying ghosts! Spooky! We even got to draw our own ghost pathways and practice moving our voices with our pathway. We also read the story "Five Little Pumpkins" and got to have solos for some of the speaking parts in the story. We ended class with a movement game where Ms. Buckley holds up an orange, black, or white paper. Each color paper represented a different halloween character. For example, whenever Ms. Buckley held up the white paper, we moved like ghosts around the music room.

1st grade- we are working more on "leaf rhythms" where we speak and clap along with different colored leaves. For example, for "red leaf" we clap twice. For "yellow leaf" we clap three times. We are learning that matching the words in music is called RHYTHM. We are making up our own leaf rhythms with partners and in small groups, and even learning to play these new rhythms on percussion instruments like drums, shakers, and wood blocks.

2nd grade- we have started our preparations for the winter concert, which will be Wednesday, December 9 at 6:30pm! We will be performing a piece called "Old Saint Nick", which is adapted from the poem we have been working on, "Old King Cole." We are not only performing the poem, but also creating fun question and answers rhythms with our voices and on percussion instruments. It's going to be a great show!

3rd grade- we have begun the difficult but fun work of exploring the difference between duple and triple meter in music. Duple is the meter we are all most familiar and comfortable with. Triple meter feels really different! For duple meter, there are 2 beats in each measure, whereas triple meter has 3 beats per measure. We used a Halloween poem called "Old Mrs. Witch" to speak and move to these different time signatures. We worked with partners to create movements that would the STRONG beats for duple and triple.

4th grade- we reviewed the song and instrument parts for "I've Got to Rise." We then got with a partner and composed a B section using rhythms taken from the song. See photo below.

After composing our rhythms, we got to add body percussion (stomps, pats, claps, snaps, etc) to go with it. We then performed and shared our compositions with the class, singing the song in between each group as a transition.

5th grade- we learned a short excerpt from Shakespeare's MacBeth that goes:
Double, double
Toil and trouble
Fire burn and
Cauldron bubble

We explored speaking this text at 3 speeds- fast, medium, and slow- all along with a pat/clap ostinato pattern, We tried a challenge where we had to pass the poem around the circle- it was really tough! We also learned a song with these words and sang it in canon.

Talent show next week!!!!! Wednesday, October 28 5:30pm!

This week (10/5-10/9)

This week in....

Kindergarten- we met another new animal on our farm, the horse! We learned a song about the horse and got to play sand paper blocks with it. We also learned a horse poem with matching hand movements that helped keep track of the steady beat. Lastly, we learned a fun game that goes with a song called "My Pony Macaroni." Students got to ride a stick horse while the class sang the song before choosing the next person to go. So cute and fun!

1st grade- we learned to play our "yoo hoo" patterns on the xylophone! We've been working on singing the notes so and mi with our voice, so it was time to put it on an instrument. We also practiced playing borduns again- this is a steady beat pattern using the notes C and G on the xylophone and it's used to accompany songs. We also met Baxter the Music Room Bear's good friend, Brown Bear. We sang through the story Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

2nd grade- we practice putting music notes on a 2 line staff this week! The real music staff has 5 lines, but because we are only in 2nd grade, we use a 2-line staff instead. We used bingo chips as music notes and got to place them on top of the 2-line staff to match with patterns that we sang. 

3rd grade- we learned a fun new song called "Chicken on a Fencepost" and finally labeled the new four-sound note we've been hearing: sixteenth notes! We sang the song, added an ostinato (a musical pattern that repeats over and over) to go with it, and even tried it as a call and response song. We then made up some of our own rhythms to use as a B section with the song.

4th grade- we finished our storybook about the life of Ella Fitzgerald- fascinating and talented lady! We learned a new song called "I've got to rise" in the blues style. We added 3 instruments parts to accompany the song: a xylophone bordun, a soprano xylophone part, and a glockenspiel part. We read and clapped rhythms to learn these parts, and then put it all together with the song.

5th grade- we learned a new song from Ghana this week called "Tue, Tue." The song is about a little boy apologizing for accidentally knocking over an old man as they are walking in a hurry. We added snaps on the rests of the song (this was tricky) and then transferred the snaps to tubano and djembe drums. We then created a B section to go with the song using rhythms we have been working on: Chad (quarter note), Ghana (eighth notes), Tanzania (sixteenth notes), Cameroon (two sixteenth notes with one eighth note), and finally a NEW rhythm for Uganda (one eighth note with two sixteenth notes.) Whew!

This week (9/28-10/2)

This week in...

Kindergarten- we met the cow and pig on our farm! We learned to play cowbells and woodblocks to match with our singing. We read two stories: the first was Cows in the Kitchen, and we added instruments to accompany it. The second was Down on the Farm, where we explore whispering and shouting voices. We are getting really good at watching our conductor (the person in charge of leading the music) and even get to follow student conductors sometimes.

1st grade- we learned a song called "In and Out" which uses the notes so and mi. We have learned all about those notes; so is high and mi is low. We show so by touching our shoulders and mi by touching our hips. We played a fun circle game to go with the song that involved 4 students in the middle playing along on xylophones. We also got to sing more for Baxter the Music Room Bear. He sings to us in a yoo-hoo voice and we get to echo him!

2nd grade- we were composers this week! We got to create and write down our own rhythms to go with the poem "Old King Cole" using the words merry (eighth notes), old (quarter note) and soul (half note.) We got to perform these rhythms with partners. We talked about different items we would want someone to bring us if we were king and queen and experimented with saying those items in the "Old King Cole" poem.

3rd grade- we just finished up our xylophone work on the song "Willowbee." For that song, we got to play our xylophone in many ways: we played a bordun (a steady beat accompaniment), a tune (that matches what we are singing), and we got to improvise a new tune (make up something new.) We put all of those parts together to make a final performance. It was so fun to share that moment with each other! We also review the song "Tideo" from 2nd grade and discovered that we are able to play many parts of that song on the xylophone by figuring out the solfege and letter names of the notes.

We also learned a fun poem this week called "Alligator Pie." It's so silly! We got to make up rhythms with a partner using the words alligator and pie. See the fun video below :)

4th grade- we learned a new song called "I Got a Letter", which is a short and simple blues tune. We then improvised a B section about pieces of mail we could receive, for example: I got a postcard, I got a post card, I got a magazine, I got a bill. We figured out how to play those patterns on our recorders using the notes B and A. Students received recorder order forms this week- they are due by Friday, October 6! It is optional for students to purchase a recorder, but encouraged so that they have one to practice at home. The cost is $3.

5th grade- we dusted off our old recorders this week! We learned how to play "Funga Alafia", which is an African welcoming song we learned last week. We learned how to sing the song first using solfege note names and letter names, and we then transferred that to our recorders. We also learned how to play that song on xylophones and worked with a partner to do call and response.

This week (9/14-9/18)

This week in...

Kindergarten- we met a new animal on our farm- sheep! We got to play egg shakers while singing "Listen to the Sheep" and we moved and danced around with the shakers. We read a story called Hattie the Hen and practiced moving our voices high and low with the story.

1st grade- we got to practice our xylophone playing even more! We are working on telling stories using the xylophone going up and going down. We practiced the story "Jack and Jill" and also "Wiggle and Waggle." We are getting really good at holding the mallet correctly and making fun sounds on the instruments.

2nd grade- we are reviewing the notes la, so, and mi using lots of songs and games. This week we learned a song/game called "Bluebird, Bluebird" and also played the birdie game. For the birdie game, Ms Buckley hides a small stuffed birdie underneath one of 3 cups. Each cup represents a note (la, so, or mi.) While Ms. Buckley is hiding the birdie, everyone closes their eyes so that no one knows where he is hiding. Then, Ms. Buckley sings a pattern using the notes la, so, and mi. Whichever note the pattern ends on is the cup where birdie is hiding. This requires students to use their ears to help them decide which note was sung last (la is the highest, mi is the lowest.) It's a fun ear training game that the kids enjoy. :)

3rd grade- we are getting fancy with our xylophones! We are playing borduns (a simple steady beat accompaniment pattern), tunes (the melody of our singing) and we are improvising our own tunes! We are using the song "Willowbee" as our foundation since we already know that song from two weeks ago. We are getting really good at creating our own melodies on the xylophone.

4th grade- we have begun playing recorders! It's always fun to start students off on recorders. They have a bad reputation but are such lovely instruments when played well. We used the following tongue twister poem to start us off:
         How much dew does a dewdrop drop is dewdrops do drop dew?
         They do drop as do dewdrops drop if dewdrops do drop dew.

We then figured out how to say that poem using only the word "doo." Then, we whispered the poem on the word "doo." Eventually, we whispered "doo" into our recorders, which is how you make a nice sound on it. Super fun! We even had conversations with a partner but could only use the word "doo." It was pretty amusing. :)

5th grade- we are continuing our drumming practice by creating rhythms using Chad (quarter note), Ghana (eighth notes), Tanzania (sixteenth notes) and our newest rhythm, Cameroon (two sixteenths and one eighth note.) We learned a song called "Togo", which lists even more African countries. After the song was finished, we would echo 4-beat rhythms on drums. We then got into 4 long lines/teams (I called the teams canoes) with one leader (the captain) at the front. The leader would get a drum and would be in charge of performing a 4-beat rhythm. Everyone in their canoe would copy the rhythm. We rotated so that everyone had multiple turns to be the captain.

This week (9/8-9/11)

We had a 4 day week because of labor day, but we were still busy in music class!

This week in.....

Kindergarten- we reviewed how to say and clap the number of sounds in our first names. We added to our farm animal theme with a song about the hen, "Listen to the Hens." We learned how to play drums and added those to the song! We also did the "Chicken Dance" to fit into our hen theme of the day. :) We got to play our red/green game where we walk for the color green and stop for red. Some students even got to come to the front of the room to lead the game.

1st grade- we have been music detectives trying to tell the difference between music that has a steady beat and not steady beat. We are pretty good at it! We also learned how to hold xylophone mallets by copying Ms. Buckley's movements and sharing a set of mallets with a partner. We learned a poem about Jack and Jill to help us move our mallets in different ways so that we can play the xylophone soon.

2nd grade- we have continued our hammer theme into these week- we are building tree houses! We practiced using a saw (with quarter notes), a hammer (with eighth notes), and painting (with half notes.) We reviewed the notes la, so, and mi from pitch hill and used those notes to sing many different patterns.

3rd grade- we have begun playing xylophones! We used the song "Willowbee" that we already learned and got to play a steady C and G bordun pattern to accompany the song. Next we will learn how to play the melody of the song. So far we have been paired with a partner so that we can help each other learn the xylophone parts successfully.

4th grade- it's all about SCAT! Scat is a bunch of nonsense, gibberish words that don't really mean anything. Jazz singers use scat words to sing solos. We heard the Queen of Scat, Ella Fitzgerald, sing a couple of songs- she is amazing! We got to create our own scat patterns alone, with partners, and in groups. We are also learning a bit about Ella's history and how she became such an influential jazz musician.

5th grade- we reviewed our name rhythm compositions and added rhythmic notation to our pieces this week. For names that are one sound long (like Sam) we added quarter notes to go with them. For names that are two sounds (like Sarah) we added eighth notes. For names that are four sounds (like Alexandra) we added sixteenth notes. We don't know the rhythm to go with three sound names yet...that's coming soon. :) Now we are giving the hand drums a break in favor of the bigger tubano drums! We will start learning more about Africa and the places where our African pieces of music come from.

This week (8/31-9/4)

Happy Friday!

This week in....

Kindergarten- we learned to sing the song that will begin every music class called "Hello, Everybody." We got to bounce Lola and Izzy (two adorable stuffed ducks) to the steady beat to match with a poem. We also learned to play rhythm sticks along with a duck quacking song. We also figured out how to say and play our names on the rhythm sticks. It was a great second week!

1st grade- we played a longer game with the "Rig a Jig Jig" song that we started learning last week. In this game, each set of partners got to create their own steady beat movements to go with the song. We then performed them for the class! We have also started being detectives- our job is to listen to each piece of music Ms. Buckley plays and decide whether or not is has a steady beat. We are pretty good at it!

2nd grade- we are doing lots of hammering in music class! We learned a fun song called "Johnny Hammers"- ask your child to share it with you! We also got to explore steady beat and rhythm with the song "Hammer Ring" by hitting mallets on the floor. We reviewed our old friends la, so, and mi from pitch hill. We also got to draw rhythms on construction paper to use in a fun rhythm clapping game.

3rd grade- we are still in the land of machines! We got to move like machines as a class this week. We noticed that most of these movements showed a steady beat and were repetitive. We challenged ourselves by doing the "Zackody, Kody" name game at 80 beats per minute with a metronome. We also began learning the song "Willowbee", which allows students to travel down an "alley" with their partner while doing a made up dance move.

4th grade- we got really good at telling the difference between steady beat and rhythm this week. We also can tell the difference between straight and swung eighth notes. We used the old poem "Bubblegum, bubblegum in a dish. How many pieces do you wish?" to make a game out of it. We even made a mini-performance using this poem and some rhythmic improvisations at the end of class.

5th grade- we created compositions in groups of 4 using our first names. We are performing them using our voices and hand drums. We had to work together to be able to say our piece twice in a row without stopping, while also adding in up and down strokes on the drums.

First week of school!

Welcome back!!! I had a blast with the kids this week! Check out this blog weekly to get updates about what your child is doing in music class. Also, if you enter your email address in the white bar at the top of the page, you will receive email notifications when the blog is updated.

This week in....

Kindergarten- I haven't actually met all 4 classes yet, but the 3 that I have seen have been tons of fun! The first few weeks of kindergarten can sometimes be a long journey, but I've been pleased to see that the kids are coming to music ready to learn. We have started off the year by practicing moving and freezing (to match with sound and silence) and moving to the steady beat in many different ways. We also learned how to sit in our audience position to show respect in class. We are off to a great start!

1st grade- we started by coming into the room totally silently and copying Ms. Buckley's movements. We stretched, swayed, stomped, and touch the floor to match her. We learned a fun name game that allowed us to meet everyone in our class. During this game, we had a chance to walk, jog, gallop, skip, leap, and hop around the room.

2nd grade- we started by reviewing the 4 ways to use our voices- whispering, speaking, singing, and shouting. We learned a fun name game called "Acka Backa" that allowed us to each perform our name in a unique way. We also added a special movement to go with our name performance, and then shared them with many partners as we traveled around the room.

3rd grade- to start the year, we played a challenging name game called "Zackody Kody" where students have to say both their own name and the name of the person to their left very quickly. We then talked about machines and the different sounds they make. We tried to make some of these sounds, and noticed that some of them were long (like whole notes and half notes) and some were short (like quarter notes and eighth notes.) We made many combinations of the machine sounds to create our own "machine music."

4th grade- we started the year off right by moving around the room to "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder. What a great song! We then played a jazzy name game called "Jump in Jump Out" where everyone had a turn to share their name and something they like to do. We added bongos and egg shakers to give it a jazzy feel. We learned that some music starts before beat 1. When that happens, the first note is called an anacrusis.

5th grade- we began the year by learning a name game called "Take a Seat." We added pats and claps to go with it, and then we learned a fun B section with loud hits on the floor. We introduced ourselves in this game by going around the circle. We then added an ostinato (a musical pattern that repeats over and over) to go with the game to make it more challenging. We added body percussion to match this ostinato that made it even harder! We divided the class into groups- half did the words of "Take a Seat" while clapping the rhythm, and half did the ostinato. It went really well and sounded super cool.

Check back next week for more!

A new beginning

Hi everyone,

I hope that you have all had a fantastic summer break. I know I have. "Break" is not, perhaps, the best word to describe my summer though. I have been busy finishing my masters degree at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. I took two intensive courses as well as my oral exams to complete the degree program.

I am, to say the least, incredibly inspired by what I have learned this summer and I cannot wait to put it all into practice. I look forward to many special musical moments ahead. I feel renewed in my vigor for teaching and learning, and I feel a stronger sense of direction that will guide my curriculum for all grade levels.

I also had the opportunity to travel to Australia for 2 and a half weeks in June. It was an incredible trip! I got to hold a koala (cue the crowd "awwwwww" here), snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef, and take in a performance at the Sydney Opera House. This was indeed the "break" portion of my summer.

Stay tuned for many blog posts ahead, all of which will give brief descriptions of what we are doing in music class by grade level. I'll even post some photos throughout the year. There will also be information regarding performances and special projects. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to seeing you all soon for a new year!

5th grade

Hi all!

Enjoy some video clips from our fabulous concert on May 14, 2015. I'm so proud of the 5th grade students and all of their hard work.

5th graders- remember to practice your continuation songs!
You're My Best Friend video with lyrics

This week (5/11-5/15)

Hi all,

Wow the end of the year has been busy. We had an AMAZING concert with 5th grade last night. I am SO proud of them! Videos to come soon! Check back on the blog next week.

I have been inviting some of the students to come see my band concert which is Saturday, May 16 at:

Civic Center Park is 9370 Ridgeline Blvd., Highlands Ranch, CO 80129

I will be performing with Thornton Community Band at 1pm. Hope some of you can make it! Look for me sitting first chair in the clarinet section. :) I even have some solos! Hope you can come!

4th Grade Concert

Last night was the 4th Grade Jazz and Blues Music Concert- what a fun show! I'm so proud of the 4th graders' performance. Thanks to all students and parents for your attendance and enthusiasm. Enjoy some video footage of this special night!

We've been busy in all other grades, too! Check out a hand clapping game from Japan that third graders learned performed by Avery and Pride.

Also, a heads up about the 5th grade music concert coming up on Thursday, May 14th at 6pm! It will be a fantastic show! Happy weekend!

This week (3/23-3/27)

This week in...

Kindergarten- we are continuing to work with the song "Tinker, Tailor" by singing and playing a game that goes with it similar to Duck Duck Goose. We also got to sing about the job we might want to have when we grow up. We learned a new poem and song about the sun to help bring on spring time, too!

1st grade- we are having fun with a silly song called "Peanut Butter Jelly Time", creating movements to go with each phrase of the song, kind of like creating our own dance. We are also working on reading many rhythms using quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter rests. We played some rhythm flashcards on rhythm sticks, and played a fun new Rhythm Tic Tac Toe game in teams.

2nd grade- we review the song "Rain, Rain Go Away" from last year, and then learned a new version of that song that comes from Ghana in Africa. We then learned a poem called "Rain on the Green Grass." We decided to sing the poem instead of just speaking it, and figured out MANY ways to sing the poem using the notes la, so, and mi. We then played the "birdie" game, where the birdie hides underneath a cup and the students have to guess where he is hiding based on the last note that I sing (either la, so, or mi.) It's a great game to train their ears to hear the difference between those pitches.

3rd grade- we have been working on a really fun collaborative project between music and art. Students selected a topic that had something to do with nature, such as ice, thunder, ocean, aspen tree, etc. Students brainstormed all kinds of descriptive words (think of the 5 senses) that go with that topic. Then we turned the list of all those descriptors into a 3 line haiku. Haikus are a beautiful form of Japanese poetry in which line 1 contains 5 syllables, line 2 contains 7 syllables, and line 3 contains 5 syllables. For exmaple:

Rain

Drip drop, splash, puddles

Sparkly crystals fall down

Clouds change to rainbows

Students practiced reading their haikus expressively in groups. Next, each group of students chose 1 haiku to perform. They had to somehow include the text of the haiku, some movement, and some instruments. They performed for the class; it was a ton of fun! I saw some really detailed and well thought out performances.

4th grade- we are working hard to prepare for our concert on Thursday, April 23rd! I don't want to give too many details away, but DON'T MISS IT! Here are some links I promised to include for them to practice with over spring break:

A Tisket A Tasket Karaoke

Don't Worry Be Happy

5th grade- we are thinking ahead to our performance on Thursday, May 14. Each class is working on a special piece to perform individually, so that has consumed quite a bit of time. Students all have different roles to fill in this process; we have recorder players, xylophone players, drummers, singers, and dancers. It's going to be an impressive show!

Happy spring break! (almost)

This week and 3rd Grade Concert Video

Happy Friday! As promised, here is some video footage from the 3rd grade performance last week. They did such an AMAZING job. I'm so proud of them!

All other grades have been keeping busy in music.

Kindergarten- we have been learning about fast and slow! We moved to fast and slow music and sang songs very slowly and quickly. We also heard "The Tortoise and the Hare" story and added a tortoise song and a hare song to go with it.

1st grade- we have been creating rhythms to go with the poem "Two Little Sausages." Students were assigned partners and got to create an 8 beat rhythm using combinations of "BAM" (for quarter notes), "sizzle" (for eighth notes) and rests (for silent parts.) We are now working on adding movements to go with our compositions.

2nd grade- we learned to write lots of music on the staff this week using the notes la, so, and mi. Students can draw a treble clef, whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter rests. We also learned a fun game that fits into our Kings and Queens theme called "Old King Glory."

3rd grade- we are now embarking on a new unit that will be a fun joint project between music and art class. Students will choose an element of nature (river, forest, fire, ice, etc.) to describe using rich vocabulary. Students will then use these words to write a haiku style poem. In art class, students will use these haikus as inspiration to create a block print. We also learned the Japanese song "Sakura" to get us in the mood for the unit.

4th grade- we are working tirelessly to prepare for our performance on April 23. We are learning "A Tisket A Tasket" by Ella Fitzgerald, among other things. Students are also gaining experience playing improvised solos over 12 bar blues on recorders! It's fun to hear them grow and take musical risks.

5th grade- we just finished working on the song "Obo Asi Me Nsa" from Ghana, which involves a passing game. Students were then put into groups to create their own original game to go with the song, which was a lot of fun to see. Now we are beginning to think ahead to our May concert and deciding which classes will perform which songs and who will cover which parts. Madness!

This week (2/9-2/13)

Oofta, what a week. 'Twas not my favorite or best week yet, but I survived. Here's what we have been up to....

Kindergarten- we played a couple of Valentine's day music games this week. We got a special valentine delivered to us! We took the envelope for this valentine and passed it around the circle one person at a time to the steady beat. Whoever had the envelope at the end of the song we learned got to open it and take out one slip out paper. Each slip of paper had one of our names on it! The person whose name was drawn got to go grab a drum and play along on the drum for the rest of the game.

1st grade- we are continuing our food unit this week. We sang about our favorite foods, and each student had a chance to sing theirs as a solo. We did a fun movement game with kitchen tools! Each set of partners picked a kitchen tool to act out and the class had to guess what it was. We also learned and sang the classic song, "On Top of Spaghetti." :)

2nd grade- we had fun with a poem called "The Queen of Hearts." We learned to say the poem in difference voices/characters, for example the cheerleader, the ogre, the old lady, the opera singer, etc. Then, we divided into groups. Each group was in charge of one of the characters and had to figure out how to say the poem in character at the same time as their group members. We added movements to our performances, and shared them with the class.

3rd grade- we are still preparing concert music for you! We are adding lots of bells and whitsles (not literally) to this program and it's going to be great! Thursday, March 5th 6:00 pm (students in classrooms at 5:30pm).

Here is the link I promised that I'd include for the 3rd grade students:

My Roots Go Down

4th grade- we are learning more and more about the blues! We are listening to it, singing it, and playing it. We even learned a new note on our recorders this week: D. That gives us 5 notes to work with when improvising the blues. Remember, 4th grade students are going on a field trip to hear a live jazz concert next week on Thursday, Feb. 19th. It should be tons of fun! Woohoo! The 4th grade concert is on Thursday, April 23rd 6:00pm.

5th grade- I didn't get tons of time with 5th grade this week because of Balarat, but when they were here we jammed! They are getting so good at their shekere and drumming parts, and we are starting to think ahead to our performance in May. 

Happy Valentines Day!

Catching up....

Hi all,

I took January off from posting- it's the one task at the end of the week that sometimes gets swallowed up by many other responsibilities.

This week in....

Kindergarten- we learned poems and songs related to coins! We made music with rhythms of coins (penny, nickel, quarter, dime) and learned a fun game where coins are delivered secretly to students and they get to stand up and sing a solo!

1st grade- we have begun our FOOD unit! Poems, songs, movement activities, and games related to food are on the agenda for the next few weeks. :) We learned a song called "Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner" where students get to sing their favorite food. We also did a fun song/game called "The Kangaroo", where the kangaroo fills up his/her pouch with lots of different foods. Students also got to play glockenspiels as part of this game.

2nd grade- we are continuing our Kings and Queens unit which began a couple of weeks ago. Students are learning a folk dance called "King and Queens" where they must bow, do some fancy turns, and sashay with a partner. We have also enjoyed the poems "Old King Cole" and "Queen, Queen Caroline." We even discovered that we could say these poems at the same time using the same steady beat if we split into 2 groups!

3rd grade- we are working hard to learn to play "Rocky Mountain" on xylophones. It's a difficult part, but the kids have come a long way. We have just 1 month to go before our performance on Thursday, March 5th! I don't want to say too much more, because you will just have to see at the concert!

4th grade- we have recently been learning about the famous musician Ray Charles and his life and music. We are also learning a new song on recorders, "It's Raining." We will also be hitting the ground running to prepare for our spring concert, which is on Thursday, April 23rd. We will be sharing several pieces from the jazz and blues genres to highlight the work we have done this year.

5th grade- students composed complementary rhythms with a partner. This is where each partner plays a different rhythm and they fill in the spaces of the other person's rests that are in their rhythm. Students then transferred their rhythms onto instruments. We have had a great time jamming and playing great African beats, songs, and drum circle pieces.

Check back soon for more updates!