This Week in Music

I know it has been a few weeks since I have updated this blog. I apologize for not keeping everyone informed. However, have no fear; we have still been busy in music!

Kindergarten: We have started a study of Mozart with a focus on his well- known opera, The Magic Flute. This week and next, the students will act out the story of the opera; and then create a book which highlights the characters in The Magic Flute.

1st Grade: Students are learning songs with the pitches for so, la, and mi; and they have learned some games with movements to reinforce the placement of the pitches within in the musical scale.
Students are also learning to identify the following instruments by ear: triangle, cow bell, tambourine, hand drum, wood block, and guiro.

2nd Grade: Students are learning songs which include the pitches for do, re, and mi. This week they learned the song "Buggy Ride" which is based on do, re, and mi. In addition to singing those pitches, they are also learning to notate them on the musical staff.
The students have learned a rhythmic speech piece entitled "M-A-R-C-H" about the month of March. They are learning to perform the rhythm on the hand drum while speaking the piece and while internalizing the piece (speaking it in their heads).

3rd Grade: Students are learning about the French composer, Charles-Camille Saint Saens, and his famous work, The Carnival of the Animals. The students have been on a listening scavenger hunt as they listen to the movements of the music named after animals. Saint-Saens composed the music to mimic the sounds and movements of the various animals: lions, mules, hens and roosters, fish, turtle, birds, donkeys, elephants, Cuckoo bird and swan. There are also movements representing pianists and fossils. I think the students are enjoying their journey into this great work.

4th Grade: Students have learned a silly song, "Cheesy Feet" on their recorders. They are working hard to identify the notes on the musical staff and, and then relate them back to play their recorders. This requires a great deal of concentration, so please encourage your child to work very hard on their musical skills in music each week.

5th Grade: Our Recorder Karate is still going strong. Fifteen students have achieved their recorder black belts! Once students reach the black belt level, they are asked to become peer tutors to help their classmates master the Recorder Karate songs. They also are assigned a more complex piece of music for 2 recorders, Finale Maestoso, by Johannes Brahms. We will complete our Recorder Karate unit before spring break.

The First Girl Black Belt of Recorder Karate 2010

Congratulations to Kaycelyn Laymon for earning her black belt in Recorder Karate! She is the first girl to receive a black belt this year!

The First Black Belt of Recorder Karate 2010

Congratulations to Anthony in Mrs. Godfrey-Hill's class for earning the first black belt for this year's Recorder Karate!

2010 Summer Fine Arts Camps

I can't believe it's already time for summer activity information! The Arts Council of York County will be offering a huge variety of week long camps in all arts areas: visual arts, music, drama, and dance. The schedule and registration can be found by going to the following web-address: http://www.yorkcountyarts.org/images/schedule.pdf
I hope some of our IHES students will be able to take advantage of these fun, educational opportunities!

Valentine's Day is in the air!

We're still focusing on our standards with a little twist of Valentine's celebration this week!

Kindergarten:
- Listening to "America the Beautiful"
- Creative movement to Saint-Saens "The Aviary" from The Carnival of the Animals using scarves
- Singing game with "Wild Birds"
- Valentine song and rhythm game: "I Hope I Get a Letter!"

1st Grade:
- Introduction to musical form using shapes
- Playing so-mi pitches on the glockenspiel to accompany "Valentine"
- Valentine song and rhythm game: "I Hope I Get a Letter!"
- Preparing "la" through the song "Lucy Locket"

2nd Grade:
- Playing mi-re-do on the barred Orff instruments to the song "It's Mi-Re-Do"
- Valentine song and dance: "Do You Love Me?"
- Identifying and classifying unpitched percussion instruments into categories: metals, woods, and skins
- Listening to and identifying "America the Beautiful" as a Patriotic song

3rd Grade:
- Learning and dancing the "Doudlebska Polka", a Folk dance from the former county of Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic)
- Accompanying the song "Love Somebody" on barred Orff instruments and unpitched percussion instruments
- Introduction to low "la"
- Creative movement/exploration in response to the rhyme, "Letters and Shapes" (Students form different letters and shapes with their bodies as specified by the teacher.

4th Grade:
- Recorder- students learn and play a two measure melody for teacher (This helps me to assess student's understanding of music notation as they individually play for me)
- American folk song, "John Kanakanaka", with partner drum game.

5th Grade:
- Continuation of Recorder Karate
Several students have already passed off the Brown belt level of Recorder Karate, so next week 5th grade will have some Black Belt Stars! Students achieving the Black belt level will become peer teachers to help classmates with various levels of Recorder Karate.
Encourage your child to use the internet "Recorder Karate Dojo" on the Music K-8 web-site to practice. Students who are utilizing this resource at home are well-prepared for their "belt tests". A username and password for this resource were given to the students when Recorder Karate began in January. Please e-mail me if your child has misplaced the username and/or password, and I'll send it to you.

Snowy Week!

I was glad to see the snow this past weekend, but we were back to full speed ahead on Tuesday!
Here's what we're doing in A119 this week:

Kindergarten:
- Rhythm pattern play along
- "Here Comes a Bluebird" song and game
- Moving with Scarves to "The Aviary" from The Carnival of the Animals
- Begin a new song: "Wild Birds"

1st Grade:
- Performing rhythm patterns
- Song and movement activity, "Oliver Twist"
- Identifying "so" and "mi" on a 3 line staff
- Dramatic play using vocal exploration

2nd Grade:
- Focus on Hand Drum Technique
- "Jeremiah Blow the Fire"- rhythmic speech with hand drums
- " I Lost the Closet Key"- practice with "mi", "re", "do" patterns

3rd:
- Performing rhythm patterns including 16th notes
- "I'm Gonna Sing"- creating various rhythmic ostinati while singing the song
- SC Folk Song, "I Got a Letter this Morning"- playing on the barred Orff instruments while singing the song or the melodic ostinato

4th:
- Music Ace Lesson on the ABC's of the Musical Staff
- Begin "John Kanakanaka", a folk song. (Next week we will add a partner clapping game and advance to a hand drum game

5th Grade:
Recorder Karate!

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.