Week of January 18 in music

Things are in full swing in music classes! I am constantly amazed as I witness the growth of the students' music knowledge and their willingness to try new things to create amazing music. Here's a "run down" of this week's lessons:


Kindergarten:
- More rhythmic dictation using "ta", "ti-ti", and "rest"
- Review movement activity with "I Can't See the Wind"
- Read poem, "If Things Grew Down", and adding instruments and voice effects to suit the words

First Grade:
- Singing and movement with "The Old Gray Cat"
- Game: "Bounce High, Bounce Low" to prepare introduction to "la"
- Iconic notation of "so" and "mi" in the song "Baker's Hat"

Second Grade:
- Echo singing on "Do, mi, so, and la"
- Singing, Movement, and playing instruments with the song, "Donald Duck"
- Creating rhythmic body percussion ostinatos to accompany, "Let's Go Play in the Snow"
- Introduction to the Swedish Folk Song, "Ritsch, Ratsch"

Third Grade:
- Labeling the sixteenth note, and performing rhythmic phrases which include sixteenth notes
- Continue working on "Movement Canon"
- Finding Form in Patterns

Fourth Grade:
- Students have the opportunity to play phrases on the recorder for the class to echo on their recorders
- Using a felt staff and notes to show understanding of the location of the notes B, A, and G on the musical staff
-Playing patterns using B, A, and G after identifying the phrase on the musical staff

Fifth Grade:
- Recorder Karate Yellow and Orange Belt testing- Come and see the "Recorder Karate" bulletin board outside the music room. It marks students' progress through the belt levels of "Recorder Karate

**DVDs of the December 15th Christmas Program are available for purchase for $10. You may e-mail me your order, so the DVD will be ready when the money is sent in to school.

This Week in Music

Here's what we're doing in music this week:

Kindergarten:
- Rhythmic dictation using "ta", "ti-ti", and rest
- Movement with scarves to show the tempo of "I Can't See the Wind"

First Grade:
- Rhythmic dictation using "ta", "ti-ti", and rest
- Echo singing patterns using "so" and "mi" pitches and hand signs
- Identifying "so" and "mi" from the song, "Snowflakes", using iconic notation
- Pantomiming playground activities while singing "What Shall We Do When We All Go Out".

Second Grade:
- "So, La, Mi" game: The students echo all of the patterns sung by the teacher except for "So, La, Mi"
- Identifying "So", "La", and "Mi" with in the song "Taxi" (review)
- Adding accompaniment on Metallophones and Glockenspiels to the song "Taxi"
- Learning a dance to accompany "The Noble Duke of York"

Third Grade:
- Adding Accompaniment on Xylophones and Metallophones to the song "Three Little Monkeys"
- Introduction to canons with the rhythmic piece, "Movement Canon"
- Rhythmic Training with mini canons

Fourth Grade:
- Playing "Ds are Dangerous" with accompaniment C.D.
- Music Ace Lesson 1 and Game- Introduction to the staff, clefs, and ear training exercises

Fifth Grade:
- Recorder Karate Yellow Belt Song: "Gently Sleep"
**Practice tracks can be accessed through the web-site: www.musick8.com under "Recorder Karate Dojo". Students must have the username and password given to them at school to access the practice tracks.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and is ready for 2010! Things are back in full swing in the music room! Here is what we're working on this week:

Kindergarten: Rhythmic reading, singing about their favorite presents on sol and mi, creating music to accompany "A Weather Story"

1st Grade: Playing the bass metallophone and bass xylophone with the song, "Lucky, Lucky", Learning and singing "Teddy Bear" with movements, Signing sol and mi

2nd Grade: Singing "The Noble Duke of York" with movements, Signing and notating "Taxi, Taxi" on the musical staff, Playing a game in which they say what they like about winter while bouncing a playground ball to the half note pulse

3rd Grade: Singing "Three Little Monkeys" and creating a rhythmic "B" section, Working in pairs to compose a melodic ostinato to accompany a song about snow

4th Grade: Learning and playing "Rockin' Robin" on the recorder with accompaniment, Using the Music Ace computer program to strengthen music literacy (This will continue throughout the semester.)

5th Grade: Beginning "Recorder Karate". Most students have already earned their white belts! Students earn "belts" to put on the end of their recorders as they learn different skills on the recorder. In order to "belt test" and earn a certain level of "belt", students must have their "Recorder Karate" folder they received this week and have their own recorder in class. Instructions for using the computer for practicing for "Recorder Karate" were given during class this week. The web-site contains accompaniment tracks just like the ones they will play with when they "belt test". The web-site is www.musick8.com. Students were given the username and password to access these resources.