Leaving today with the HS Choir students for New York City!!!
Depending on time and convenience, there may be updates as we go....if not.....see you when we return!!!
See You Soon!!!!!
Download Start-up Drakorindo
4 years ago
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
March Happenings...
March is here and hopefully you are feeling lucky!!
Here is a taste of what we are working on and what is yet to come in my world of Elementary Music...
Kindergarten
We are still working our way through the alphabet by learning a different song for each letter. Some of the latest letter songs that we have worked on include the letters D, K, X and Z. There are still many more songs to come. These songs are very familiar tunes, so ask your student if they can sing any of them for you and you just might be able to sing along with them. Of course some of the depends on how long we have worked on that song.
We have also continued with games such as "The Button and the Key" which encourages the students to sing by themselves in front of the class. This gives me the chance to hear each student sing individually and monitor their growth as the year continues. There are also songs that we are revisiting and working with such as the "Little White Duck". We are using this song to help us tell a story and act out that story. The students take turns putting on colored capes and becoming the Duck, Frog, Bug and Snake as the class sings along. They then act out the story as we sing. Fairly soon we will be acting out some circus acts to music that encourages the students to soar on a flying trapeze, tame lions and lead a circus parade.
The latest game we have just started is a take off on the old favorite "Duck, Duck, Goose" (or Duck, Duck, Grey Duck if you are from Minnesota). The tendency for students playing this game is that as they go around the circle using Duck, they tend to be fairly quiet as they say Duck. Then, as excitement builds, they get really loud as they tap someone and exclaim GOOSE!! This tends to be universal and I am sure many of you even remember this as a child. Well, in music, there isn't a really good reason to play Duck, Duck, Goose in its original form. However, when we discuss dynamics in class (P = Piano and F = Forte) the students learn that Piano is soft or quiet and Forte is loud. Now when we play "Piano, Piano, Forte", the natural tendencies of soft, soft, loud really help the students to understand the difference between loud and soft and remember the terms Piano and Forte.
First Grade
The first grade students recently have begun a rhythmic journey through quarter notes and quarter rests. Based on some assessments, I would like to see a little more background in this area as the students become second grade students next year. I will touch base on this a little more with the upper grades.
While discovering the actual notes and rests, they are also learning how to correctly clap and count these rhythms in such a way that they will hopefully enjoy more success in later years and especially when they get into band and choir situations in years to come. One way I am introducing this concept to them as first graders is to take a game that I used with the upper grades and introduce that in a simpler format to the lower grades. I think everyone agrees that Tic-Tac-Toe is a game that most students know how to play. This is a simple game that has some strategy to it, but it is still easy enough for all students to understand how the game works. Once again, tic-tac-toe in the music classroom might raise eyebrows in it's original form just like Duck, Duck, Goose. However, in our version, the students are presented nine different rhythms laid out in a tic-tac-toe fashion. In order to get a particular square on the grid, one student has to choose an available square and then correctly clap and count that particular rhythm. If they do this successfully, then they get to place their X or O in that square. Play continues by a person from the other team choosing a square and the process continues. Unlike the original game, if a student doesn't perform the rhythm correctly, the team does not get that square. This places extra emphasis on understanding the rhythms and their ability to clap and count them correctly. As the students progress, the rhythms can get harder and harder. The possibilities can be endless.
Sometime in the near future, these students will also continue to discuss the idea that music can help tell a story. Recently we listened to the story of the "Bremen Town Musicians." The next big story that we will be working on soon is the story of the "Three Billy Goats Gruff." The students will be listening to the orchestral music and will identify the instruments or groups of instruments that help to tell the story. Once the students are proficient at this, then they will begin to act out the story as they listen to the music. There will be no words involved, instead, the students will be able to identify the story through the music alone.
Second Grade
The second grade students will be learning a few more songs that involve tall tales. We have learned all of the verses of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" and talked a little about the actual person and his legacy in American History.
We have also begun some in depth work on the notes of the treble clef. We will be starting to dive into the notes of the bass clef shortly. We have identified the notes on the lines and spaces on the board, learned a couple songs to help us remember the notes and order of the notes on the staff, and will be playing some games soon including a type of relay race to learn the notes as well as other games such as "Lines and Spaces Bingo".
As we continue towards the end of the year, the second grade students will also talk about using music to tell a story. We will be looking at the story of the "Sorcerer's Apprentice". This is a very very old story that music was written for many years ago. Walt Disney took that story and molded it into the version that most of us are familiar with from his movie "Fantasia". There has recently been a live action movie released based on that very scene from Disney. The students will learn and understand the story, discuss the instruments and musical elements used to help illustrate the story with our ears, then create some art-type activities to be displayed in the halls or rooms at school. This is a pretty intensive work period, but very fun at the same time.
Third Grade
The Third Grade students have taken a short break from counting rhythms recently to work to prepare for the Spring Concert. They will be involved in several songs with the Fourth Grade students as well as a couple songs of their own. They have been working the longest on the songs and are really accomplishing their goals quickly. This will allow us to return to counting rhythms and notes very soon as they become more comfortable with the concert music.
Fourth Grade
Just like the Third Grade students, the Fourth Grade students are really trying to multi-task. We have recently started working on our recorders. However this has been a little slower than anticipated due to the fact that they are also having to work to prepare for the Spring Concert. Just like the Third Grade students, they will be doing several combined numbers as well as a couple individual Fourth Grade numbers.
As far as recorders, several have earned their white belt, which is the first belt available for them to earn. To earn this belt, they have to successfully play "Hot Crossed Buns" for me in a testing situation. They need to use the correct hand, do the correct fingerings and play all of the correct rhythms. Once they do this successfully, they earn their white belt. A couple of the students have started to earn their yellow belt which is a song based on the same three notes they have already learned, but they now have to use breath marks to determine where they can breathe, and this has to be played much more legato, or smooth. Once again, I will be sending notes home soon to remind you to please send $2.00 for your student's recorder if you have not done so yet.
Fourth Grade Ensemble
The Fourth Grade Ensemble has really impressed me this time around. We have been working on a hard song for the Spring Program and they have picked it up much quicker than I expected. This week we will be starting a new song for the concert that I think they will enjoy and many of you will recognize from some point in your lives. Some of the words of this song fit the theme of our program like it was written just for it.
Third and Fourth Grade Washington/Libertyville Spring Concert
This year the Libertyville and Washington Third and Fourth Grade students will be combining to bring you a Spring Program titled Jazz: A Swingin' Celebration. This a is program that came in a magazine subscription that was purchased with funds from one of the parent groups at the end of the year last year. I would like to thank the parent groups for the support they provide for our classrooms.
This program touches on a little bit of the history of Jazz in the United States, its roots as well as other branches of music that began through Jazz. The students have learned the names of several Jazz artists as well as how this music all ties together. There is a little Swing, Jazz, Dixieland and Blues. Artists are mentioned from Duke Ellington to Herbie Hancock. This should be an exciting program for all.
The program will be performed at the Sondheim Center in the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center on Monday, April 18th at 7:00 PM. For more information on the Center, please click here.
Fifth Grade
The Fifth Grade general music students have been continuing a real mix of things we have been working on. Sometimes I think this variety helps to keep from being stuck in a rut. We had spent some time working with Boomwhackers and basically learned the "Batman Theme" from the original TV series. It didn't take long for the students to recognize the music, however it was still hard to play and stay together. We might try another piece before too long. If we pull out "Batman" again and can do it well, we just might record it for you to hear.
Other than that, we have continued our composer background. In February we were discussing Beethoven. We have taken a couple days to watch a movie called "Beethoven Lives Upstairs". This is a story of a young boy whose Mother rents the upstairs of their home to Beethoven after her husband has passed away. This story takes place towards the end of Beethoven's life when he is working on his 9th Symphony. He is already deaf and obviously frustrated by this fact. At first the boy is frightened of Mr. Beethoven, but over time he begins to understand Beethoven and they forge a bond. The movie illustrates Beethoven passion for music, ill temper for those that he doesn't agree with and his compassion for other humans. I feel this movie really highlights Beethoven's music and personality in a very student-friendly way. If you have not ever seen this movie, I would suggest looking into just for fun.
This week we will continue our tour of composers with Frederic Chopin. We will also continue sing some of the songs from our book. The latest song was the traitional Calypso style song "Sloope John B". This sparked a discussion about Calypso music and some of the other songs we know and have sung. We also discussed Harry Belefonte and some of his music. It is my intention to learn this song and add some classroom instruments to this song to make it a little more involved.
Fifth Grade Ensemble
I am very exciting about a couple songs that we are about to start with the Fifth Grade Ensemble! I have seen some videos and heard some recordings that really have me excited to try some things with them that are a little out of the ordinary in some respects. Part of what we have tried so far has been received quite positively from many of the students. Watch for our concert dates to be coming up soon. I hope you can come and join us and find out what we are all excited about.
As for the other classes and upper levels, choir rehearsals are progressing well and the High School students are working on contest music as well as anxiously anticipating their New York trip which is less than two weeks away!!
Enjoy your March and check back frequently for more updates and even some videos.
~G
Here is a taste of what we are working on and what is yet to come in my world of Elementary Music...
Kindergarten
We are still working our way through the alphabet by learning a different song for each letter. Some of the latest letter songs that we have worked on include the letters D, K, X and Z. There are still many more songs to come. These songs are very familiar tunes, so ask your student if they can sing any of them for you and you just might be able to sing along with them. Of course some of the depends on how long we have worked on that song.
We have also continued with games such as "The Button and the Key" which encourages the students to sing by themselves in front of the class. This gives me the chance to hear each student sing individually and monitor their growth as the year continues. There are also songs that we are revisiting and working with such as the "Little White Duck". We are using this song to help us tell a story and act out that story. The students take turns putting on colored capes and becoming the Duck, Frog, Bug and Snake as the class sings along. They then act out the story as we sing. Fairly soon we will be acting out some circus acts to music that encourages the students to soar on a flying trapeze, tame lions and lead a circus parade.
The latest game we have just started is a take off on the old favorite "Duck, Duck, Goose" (or Duck, Duck, Grey Duck if you are from Minnesota). The tendency for students playing this game is that as they go around the circle using Duck, they tend to be fairly quiet as they say Duck. Then, as excitement builds, they get really loud as they tap someone and exclaim GOOSE!! This tends to be universal and I am sure many of you even remember this as a child. Well, in music, there isn't a really good reason to play Duck, Duck, Goose in its original form. However, when we discuss dynamics in class (P = Piano and F = Forte) the students learn that Piano is soft or quiet and Forte is loud. Now when we play "Piano, Piano, Forte", the natural tendencies of soft, soft, loud really help the students to understand the difference between loud and soft and remember the terms Piano and Forte.
First Grade
The first grade students recently have begun a rhythmic journey through quarter notes and quarter rests. Based on some assessments, I would like to see a little more background in this area as the students become second grade students next year. I will touch base on this a little more with the upper grades.
While discovering the actual notes and rests, they are also learning how to correctly clap and count these rhythms in such a way that they will hopefully enjoy more success in later years and especially when they get into band and choir situations in years to come. One way I am introducing this concept to them as first graders is to take a game that I used with the upper grades and introduce that in a simpler format to the lower grades. I think everyone agrees that Tic-Tac-Toe is a game that most students know how to play. This is a simple game that has some strategy to it, but it is still easy enough for all students to understand how the game works. Once again, tic-tac-toe in the music classroom might raise eyebrows in it's original form just like Duck, Duck, Goose. However, in our version, the students are presented nine different rhythms laid out in a tic-tac-toe fashion. In order to get a particular square on the grid, one student has to choose an available square and then correctly clap and count that particular rhythm. If they do this successfully, then they get to place their X or O in that square. Play continues by a person from the other team choosing a square and the process continues. Unlike the original game, if a student doesn't perform the rhythm correctly, the team does not get that square. This places extra emphasis on understanding the rhythms and their ability to clap and count them correctly. As the students progress, the rhythms can get harder and harder. The possibilities can be endless.
Sometime in the near future, these students will also continue to discuss the idea that music can help tell a story. Recently we listened to the story of the "Bremen Town Musicians." The next big story that we will be working on soon is the story of the "Three Billy Goats Gruff." The students will be listening to the orchestral music and will identify the instruments or groups of instruments that help to tell the story. Once the students are proficient at this, then they will begin to act out the story as they listen to the music. There will be no words involved, instead, the students will be able to identify the story through the music alone.
Second Grade
The second grade students will be learning a few more songs that involve tall tales. We have learned all of the verses of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" and talked a little about the actual person and his legacy in American History.
We have also begun some in depth work on the notes of the treble clef. We will be starting to dive into the notes of the bass clef shortly. We have identified the notes on the lines and spaces on the board, learned a couple songs to help us remember the notes and order of the notes on the staff, and will be playing some games soon including a type of relay race to learn the notes as well as other games such as "Lines and Spaces Bingo".
As we continue towards the end of the year, the second grade students will also talk about using music to tell a story. We will be looking at the story of the "Sorcerer's Apprentice". This is a very very old story that music was written for many years ago. Walt Disney took that story and molded it into the version that most of us are familiar with from his movie "Fantasia". There has recently been a live action movie released based on that very scene from Disney. The students will learn and understand the story, discuss the instruments and musical elements used to help illustrate the story with our ears, then create some art-type activities to be displayed in the halls or rooms at school. This is a pretty intensive work period, but very fun at the same time.
Third Grade
The Third Grade students have taken a short break from counting rhythms recently to work to prepare for the Spring Concert. They will be involved in several songs with the Fourth Grade students as well as a couple songs of their own. They have been working the longest on the songs and are really accomplishing their goals quickly. This will allow us to return to counting rhythms and notes very soon as they become more comfortable with the concert music.
Fourth Grade
Just like the Third Grade students, the Fourth Grade students are really trying to multi-task. We have recently started working on our recorders. However this has been a little slower than anticipated due to the fact that they are also having to work to prepare for the Spring Concert. Just like the Third Grade students, they will be doing several combined numbers as well as a couple individual Fourth Grade numbers.
As far as recorders, several have earned their white belt, which is the first belt available for them to earn. To earn this belt, they have to successfully play "Hot Crossed Buns" for me in a testing situation. They need to use the correct hand, do the correct fingerings and play all of the correct rhythms. Once they do this successfully, they earn their white belt. A couple of the students have started to earn their yellow belt which is a song based on the same three notes they have already learned, but they now have to use breath marks to determine where they can breathe, and this has to be played much more legato, or smooth. Once again, I will be sending notes home soon to remind you to please send $2.00 for your student's recorder if you have not done so yet.
Fourth Grade Ensemble
The Fourth Grade Ensemble has really impressed me this time around. We have been working on a hard song for the Spring Program and they have picked it up much quicker than I expected. This week we will be starting a new song for the concert that I think they will enjoy and many of you will recognize from some point in your lives. Some of the words of this song fit the theme of our program like it was written just for it.
Third and Fourth Grade Washington/Libertyville Spring Concert
This year the Libertyville and Washington Third and Fourth Grade students will be combining to bring you a Spring Program titled Jazz: A Swingin' Celebration. This a is program that came in a magazine subscription that was purchased with funds from one of the parent groups at the end of the year last year. I would like to thank the parent groups for the support they provide for our classrooms.
This program touches on a little bit of the history of Jazz in the United States, its roots as well as other branches of music that began through Jazz. The students have learned the names of several Jazz artists as well as how this music all ties together. There is a little Swing, Jazz, Dixieland and Blues. Artists are mentioned from Duke Ellington to Herbie Hancock. This should be an exciting program for all.
The program will be performed at the Sondheim Center in the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center on Monday, April 18th at 7:00 PM. For more information on the Center, please click here.
Fifth Grade
The Fifth Grade general music students have been continuing a real mix of things we have been working on. Sometimes I think this variety helps to keep from being stuck in a rut. We had spent some time working with Boomwhackers and basically learned the "Batman Theme" from the original TV series. It didn't take long for the students to recognize the music, however it was still hard to play and stay together. We might try another piece before too long. If we pull out "Batman" again and can do it well, we just might record it for you to hear.
Other than that, we have continued our composer background. In February we were discussing Beethoven. We have taken a couple days to watch a movie called "Beethoven Lives Upstairs". This is a story of a young boy whose Mother rents the upstairs of their home to Beethoven after her husband has passed away. This story takes place towards the end of Beethoven's life when he is working on his 9th Symphony. He is already deaf and obviously frustrated by this fact. At first the boy is frightened of Mr. Beethoven, but over time he begins to understand Beethoven and they forge a bond. The movie illustrates Beethoven passion for music, ill temper for those that he doesn't agree with and his compassion for other humans. I feel this movie really highlights Beethoven's music and personality in a very student-friendly way. If you have not ever seen this movie, I would suggest looking into just for fun.
This week we will continue our tour of composers with Frederic Chopin. We will also continue sing some of the songs from our book. The latest song was the traitional Calypso style song "Sloope John B". This sparked a discussion about Calypso music and some of the other songs we know and have sung. We also discussed Harry Belefonte and some of his music. It is my intention to learn this song and add some classroom instruments to this song to make it a little more involved.
Fifth Grade Ensemble
I am very exciting about a couple songs that we are about to start with the Fifth Grade Ensemble! I have seen some videos and heard some recordings that really have me excited to try some things with them that are a little out of the ordinary in some respects. Part of what we have tried so far has been received quite positively from many of the students. Watch for our concert dates to be coming up soon. I hope you can come and join us and find out what we are all excited about.
As for the other classes and upper levels, choir rehearsals are progressing well and the High School students are working on contest music as well as anxiously anticipating their New York trip which is less than two weeks away!!
Enjoy your March and check back frequently for more updates and even some videos.
~G
Thursday, February 24, 2011
5th Grade Ensemble
I would just like to say that 5th grade ensemble on Thursday mornings is awesome. Your students come with a lot of energy and excitement. Today we looked at a piece for the spring concert and they site read the music and did it well!! I am very impressed by their energy and efforts and I just wanted to let people know how great they are and how much I like working with them on Thursday mornings....too bad it is only for 10 minutes. :(
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Washington and Libertyville Pirates Have Set Sail to Seek Treasures in Books!!!
This was the kick-off days for the reading incentive. These pirate kings and queens will be bringing home reading logs and are asked to fill them out based on the requirements of their age and school. Each week that your student returns a completed reading log, they will be awarded prizes for their participation in this treasure hunt. Prizes vary depending on the school. These weekly prizes could be anything from pirate garb to root beer floats. What stays the same between the schools however is that each student needs to read at home an return completed reading logs on time to receive these prizes.
Once their treasure hunt is over (four weeks), those scallywags who have completed enough reading logs successfully to meet the requirements laid out for the grand prize, will enjoy their grand prize after returning from spring break. Help your little Matey's to fill out and return their reading logs each week so that they can be eligible for the grand prize.
So.....train your trusty parrot to say "Read to me matey!!!", swab the deck and prepare for anchors aweigh as you are invited to become an active pirate yourselves in your young pirate's quest for buried treasure......those gems and priceless treasures buried in BOOKS!!
LET THE ADVENTURES BEGIN.......
The following videos were used to help inspire the students to be pirates who don't do anything....but read.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Libertyville and Washington Reading Incentives!!!
This afternoon (2/17/11) and Monday morning (2/21/11) Washington and Libertyville Elementaries (in that order) will be kicking off their Spring Reading Incentive program. Both schools are basing their programs on a Pirate Theme. For the last two weeks all of the students in each building have been working on two pirate songs so that they can actively participate in the incentive kick-off!
Besides singing these songs, the students will be introduced to the rules of the incentive as well as the prizes that can be earned through reading in the next four weeks.
To end the assembly each school will watch a prepared video to get them excited to read!! So, for the next four weeks, your students just might be Pirates Who Don't Do Anything.......But Read!!
Watch for the incentive videos to be added possibly next week.
PS - I hope you enjoyed the Pirate Atmosphere provided by the music as you entered my blog.
Besides singing these songs, the students will be introduced to the rules of the incentive as well as the prizes that can be earned through reading in the next four weeks.
To end the assembly each school will watch a prepared video to get them excited to read!! So, for the next four weeks, your students just might be Pirates Who Don't Do Anything.......But Read!!
Watch for the incentive videos to be added possibly next week.
PS - I hope you enjoyed the Pirate Atmosphere provided by the music as you entered my blog.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
February Activities
Kindergarten
The kindergarten students have been busy working on new songs for each letter of the alphabet. The kindergarten teachers try to teach a new letter every week and I try to teach the students the corresponding songs each week too. We have now learned a song for about half of the letters of the alphabet.
We have also started learning a new song that provides the students a chance to sing alone in front of the class in a game situation. This will hopefully instill a little confidence in the students and their voices as well as give me a chance to listen to each child individually. The students also learn to be good listeners. The newest song also helps to teach the penny, nickel, dime and quarter as well as their monetary value.
First Grade
The first grade students have begun a couple new aspects in music recently. The first concept we have started to discuss is how music can help tell a story as well as different sounds we can make ourselves to help tell a story. The first story we used is the story of “The Bremen Town Musicians”. This is a very short story about several animals that go to Bremen Town to join the Bremen Town Musicians. On the way the foil a robbery plan at a country home. This story provides some chances to sing in small groups as well as a large group and to create animal sounds to enhance the story with their own voices. The students are already looking forward to starting a new story.
Another concept that we have begun working on is the idea of Quarter Notes and Quarter Rests. We have started to identify them and know what they are used for and will be putting them in rhythms for them to clap and count. Hopefully this will begin a strong base to build on in years to come.
Second Grade
The second grade students have continued to explore the idea of Tall Tales. We learned a song about “Old Dan Tucker” and have started to learn the old TV theme for “Davy Crockett, the King of the Wild Frontier”. We will also be learning songs about John Henry, Casey Jones and possibly other tall tales from our American History.
We also learned another song in Japanese. Early in this year we learned a song about Spring coming. This was a song that Japanese students learn to sing in their elementary schools. We then learned that song in Japanese. The students really seemed to enjoy that. This song is a song that they also sing in Japanese elementary schools. It is a song about a rabbit, and just as we look for the man in the moon, Japanese students look for a rabbit in the moon. They have a festival every year celebrating the rabbits in the moon grinding rice into flour for rice cakes. This was something we discussed in class and you should feel comfortable asking your student about the song “The Rabbit” or also known in Japanese as “Usagi”.
We have also been working to learn the notes of the treble clef staff and working a little bit on reading and clapping rhythms. This has been a focus this year for several of the grades and for my own professional development. As part of this, the second grade students took a rhythm pre-test and will be taking that same test this next week to check for growth. This test will also be administered at the end of the year to see just how much growth they had during the entire year.
Third Grade
The third grade students have two major projects going on in the classroom currently. This first is a continuation of the rhythm counting and identification that we began earlier. Just as the second grade students took a rhythm pre-test, the third grade students have taken the same test and will continue with the same plan as the second grade. This allows me to see how effective some of our classroom activities have been. Due to the fact that the second and third grade students will be using the exact same assessment, this will allow me to see how much the students retain from previous years. Part of this rhythm training includes a four-part percussion piece called “I Don’t Like Homework”. This phrase, as just said in normal conversation, expresses the rhythm of one quarter note, two eighth notes followed by two more quarter notes. The entire piece is built on this one particular rhythm and with four parts interwoven together; the piece provides great depth and really encourages independence in their particular parts. Each part is very similar to each other part as far as using the same rhythms but in different sequences.
The second big project the third grade students have is preparation for the spring program. There is more information later in this post about the particulars of the spring concert this year including dates and location. The students will be singing several songs throughout the program. Some songs will be with the fourth grade students and others will be just the third grade students. For more information, please see the section below about the Spring Program.
Fourth Grade
Due to changes in the concert cycle for this year as well as some weather issues and just miscalculation of time on projects, the fourth grade students also find themselves beginning multiple major projects at the same time.
In the month of November, the students started working in iMovie to create Patriot Movies or Slideshows based on some of the songs we have sung in class. The students worked individually and chose one of five songs to work on. The song choices they had were “The Star Spangled Banner”, “You’re a Grand Old Flag”, “America”, “America, The Beautiful” and “Proud to be an American”. The students were asked to choose a song and find pictures that helped them explain the songs or to help tell the story of the history of the song. Seeing as the students worked individually, this allowed them to work basically at their own pace. Also, there was a lot of wiggle room for the students that allowed students to work based on their own individual talents, experience and limitations. The students were able to create something completely tailored to themselves. Examples of their work will hopefully be posted here in the near future. Please check back or watch for those announcements on Washington and Libertyville facebook pages.
The fourth grade students will also be taking the same rhythm test as the second and third grade students for the same reasons. After their pre-test, I was please to see quite a bit of retention from last year.
Besides the rhythm test, the students are also beginning their work with their recorders. As I am sure, and hopeful, that many of you have noticed that your students have brought home the recorders and have been working on them at home. We are using the same program that was in place before I started teaching in Fairfield “Recorder Karate”. For those of you who are not familiar with “Recorder Karate”, your students have each been given a packet that we will be working through. The class will be given some instruction in class for each song as we progress and they will be provided individual practice time in class. The students will also want to practice at home. When your student feels confident enough, they can then test individually for me. This consists of playing individually and performing all of the right notes with the right rhythms as well as correct fingerings with good tone. Once a student passes the first song, they will receive a White Belt to tie to their recorder. The second song will give them an Orange Belt and so forth until the last song gets them their Black Belt. To achieve the Black Belt, it will take practice and diligence and classroom work only will not be enough to complete the entire series. Please encourage your student to bring home their recorders and to practice at home. For those who agreed to purchase a recorder, please send your $2.00. A letter will be coming home soon to remind you of this also.
Lastly, the fourth grade students will also be preparing for the Spring Program. They will be performing songs with the third grade, songs with the fourth grade only, and for those students who have elected to, they will be performing with the Fourth Grade Ensemble also.
Third and Fourth Grade Spring Program
As of right now, the Libertyville and Washington 3rd and 4th Grade Spring Concert is set for Monday, April 18th, 2011. The location will be at the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center (Sondheim Center). The concert will begin at 7:00 PM and students should report to the center at 6:30 pm to get lined up and ready to perform.
The program will feature all 3rd and 4th grade students from Libertyville and Washington Elementary. The combined 4th Grade Ensemble will also be performing in the program. This year’s program will highlight the purely American musical genre of Jazz. The offshoot genres such as Swing and the Blues will also be a part of this program.
This should be a very upbeat and entertaining program for all audiences. Admission is expected to be free, however, there might be a free will donation jar to help offset the cost of the rental for the facility.
Fifth Grade Music
We are continuing our Composer Unit this month with a look into the life of Ludwig Van Beethoven. He was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770 and died at the age of 57 in Vienna, Austria in 1826. He spent his last 7 years of life almost completely deaf. He even composed his 9th Symphony when he could not even hear his own composition. Hopefully through our discussion the students were able to realize just how frustrating his life was during this time.
We are also continuing work in rhythmic counting as well as working with the boomwhackers. The students have done a great job learning two songs so far. Maybe at some point we will record them and post them here for you to hear.
Fifth Grade Ensemble
The Fifth Grade Ensemble has just begun work on the spring music we will be performing at a concert in May. The first song we started is titled “Bless Our Troops”. This expresses the sentiments that many of us share at this time, especially knowing so many friends and relatives that are involved in the ongoing war efforts our country is involved in. Our greatest wish is for them to be safe until they can return home. We will also be starting the song “Hard-knock Life” from the musical “Annie”. This will all occur after a short break from ensemble on Thursday mornings to accommodate an ITBS schedule.
Middle School Choir and High School Lessons
Middle School Choir and High School Lessons are progressing as they should be.
Students and are now working towards such performances as Dinner Show, Contest, Pops Concert and Spring Concerts. In the next couple months progress, I will make sure to post updated dates and locations for these events.
The 10-12 Pops concert will be held on Tuesday, February 22nd t 7:30 in the High School Auditorium. The different class ensembles will perform both instrumentally and vocally and the extra curricular groups will also be performing from both side of the music department.
GYZ
The GYZ group is currently working on three songs to be ready for the Dinner Show as well as the Pops Concert.
Traditionally, at this point GYZ will then be done rehearsing after these two engagements. However, there might be other Men’s Group opportunities for your students that may wish to work on pieces for contest.
Please watch for video updates.....see you next month.
The kindergarten students have been busy working on new songs for each letter of the alphabet. The kindergarten teachers try to teach a new letter every week and I try to teach the students the corresponding songs each week too. We have now learned a song for about half of the letters of the alphabet.
We have also started learning a new song that provides the students a chance to sing alone in front of the class in a game situation. This will hopefully instill a little confidence in the students and their voices as well as give me a chance to listen to each child individually. The students also learn to be good listeners. The newest song also helps to teach the penny, nickel, dime and quarter as well as their monetary value.
First Grade
The first grade students have begun a couple new aspects in music recently. The first concept we have started to discuss is how music can help tell a story as well as different sounds we can make ourselves to help tell a story. The first story we used is the story of “The Bremen Town Musicians”. This is a very short story about several animals that go to Bremen Town to join the Bremen Town Musicians. On the way the foil a robbery plan at a country home. This story provides some chances to sing in small groups as well as a large group and to create animal sounds to enhance the story with their own voices. The students are already looking forward to starting a new story.
Another concept that we have begun working on is the idea of Quarter Notes and Quarter Rests. We have started to identify them and know what they are used for and will be putting them in rhythms for them to clap and count. Hopefully this will begin a strong base to build on in years to come.
Second Grade
The second grade students have continued to explore the idea of Tall Tales. We learned a song about “Old Dan Tucker” and have started to learn the old TV theme for “Davy Crockett, the King of the Wild Frontier”. We will also be learning songs about John Henry, Casey Jones and possibly other tall tales from our American History.
We also learned another song in Japanese. Early in this year we learned a song about Spring coming. This was a song that Japanese students learn to sing in their elementary schools. We then learned that song in Japanese. The students really seemed to enjoy that. This song is a song that they also sing in Japanese elementary schools. It is a song about a rabbit, and just as we look for the man in the moon, Japanese students look for a rabbit in the moon. They have a festival every year celebrating the rabbits in the moon grinding rice into flour for rice cakes. This was something we discussed in class and you should feel comfortable asking your student about the song “The Rabbit” or also known in Japanese as “Usagi”.
We have also been working to learn the notes of the treble clef staff and working a little bit on reading and clapping rhythms. This has been a focus this year for several of the grades and for my own professional development. As part of this, the second grade students took a rhythm pre-test and will be taking that same test this next week to check for growth. This test will also be administered at the end of the year to see just how much growth they had during the entire year.
Third Grade
The third grade students have two major projects going on in the classroom currently. This first is a continuation of the rhythm counting and identification that we began earlier. Just as the second grade students took a rhythm pre-test, the third grade students have taken the same test and will continue with the same plan as the second grade. This allows me to see how effective some of our classroom activities have been. Due to the fact that the second and third grade students will be using the exact same assessment, this will allow me to see how much the students retain from previous years. Part of this rhythm training includes a four-part percussion piece called “I Don’t Like Homework”. This phrase, as just said in normal conversation, expresses the rhythm of one quarter note, two eighth notes followed by two more quarter notes. The entire piece is built on this one particular rhythm and with four parts interwoven together; the piece provides great depth and really encourages independence in their particular parts. Each part is very similar to each other part as far as using the same rhythms but in different sequences.
The second big project the third grade students have is preparation for the spring program. There is more information later in this post about the particulars of the spring concert this year including dates and location. The students will be singing several songs throughout the program. Some songs will be with the fourth grade students and others will be just the third grade students. For more information, please see the section below about the Spring Program.
Fourth Grade
Due to changes in the concert cycle for this year as well as some weather issues and just miscalculation of time on projects, the fourth grade students also find themselves beginning multiple major projects at the same time.
In the month of November, the students started working in iMovie to create Patriot Movies or Slideshows based on some of the songs we have sung in class. The students worked individually and chose one of five songs to work on. The song choices they had were “The Star Spangled Banner”, “You’re a Grand Old Flag”, “America”, “America, The Beautiful” and “Proud to be an American”. The students were asked to choose a song and find pictures that helped them explain the songs or to help tell the story of the history of the song. Seeing as the students worked individually, this allowed them to work basically at their own pace. Also, there was a lot of wiggle room for the students that allowed students to work based on their own individual talents, experience and limitations. The students were able to create something completely tailored to themselves. Examples of their work will hopefully be posted here in the near future. Please check back or watch for those announcements on Washington and Libertyville facebook pages.
The fourth grade students will also be taking the same rhythm test as the second and third grade students for the same reasons. After their pre-test, I was please to see quite a bit of retention from last year.
Besides the rhythm test, the students are also beginning their work with their recorders. As I am sure, and hopeful, that many of you have noticed that your students have brought home the recorders and have been working on them at home. We are using the same program that was in place before I started teaching in Fairfield “Recorder Karate”. For those of you who are not familiar with “Recorder Karate”, your students have each been given a packet that we will be working through. The class will be given some instruction in class for each song as we progress and they will be provided individual practice time in class. The students will also want to practice at home. When your student feels confident enough, they can then test individually for me. This consists of playing individually and performing all of the right notes with the right rhythms as well as correct fingerings with good tone. Once a student passes the first song, they will receive a White Belt to tie to their recorder. The second song will give them an Orange Belt and so forth until the last song gets them their Black Belt. To achieve the Black Belt, it will take practice and diligence and classroom work only will not be enough to complete the entire series. Please encourage your student to bring home their recorders and to practice at home. For those who agreed to purchase a recorder, please send your $2.00. A letter will be coming home soon to remind you of this also.
Lastly, the fourth grade students will also be preparing for the Spring Program. They will be performing songs with the third grade, songs with the fourth grade only, and for those students who have elected to, they will be performing with the Fourth Grade Ensemble also.
Third and Fourth Grade Spring Program
As of right now, the Libertyville and Washington 3rd and 4th Grade Spring Concert is set for Monday, April 18th, 2011. The location will be at the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center (Sondheim Center). The concert will begin at 7:00 PM and students should report to the center at 6:30 pm to get lined up and ready to perform.
The program will feature all 3rd and 4th grade students from Libertyville and Washington Elementary. The combined 4th Grade Ensemble will also be performing in the program. This year’s program will highlight the purely American musical genre of Jazz. The offshoot genres such as Swing and the Blues will also be a part of this program.
This should be a very upbeat and entertaining program for all audiences. Admission is expected to be free, however, there might be a free will donation jar to help offset the cost of the rental for the facility.
Fifth Grade Music
We are continuing our Composer Unit this month with a look into the life of Ludwig Van Beethoven. He was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770 and died at the age of 57 in Vienna, Austria in 1826. He spent his last 7 years of life almost completely deaf. He even composed his 9th Symphony when he could not even hear his own composition. Hopefully through our discussion the students were able to realize just how frustrating his life was during this time.
We are also continuing work in rhythmic counting as well as working with the boomwhackers. The students have done a great job learning two songs so far. Maybe at some point we will record them and post them here for you to hear.
Fifth Grade Ensemble
The Fifth Grade Ensemble has just begun work on the spring music we will be performing at a concert in May. The first song we started is titled “Bless Our Troops”. This expresses the sentiments that many of us share at this time, especially knowing so many friends and relatives that are involved in the ongoing war efforts our country is involved in. Our greatest wish is for them to be safe until they can return home. We will also be starting the song “Hard-knock Life” from the musical “Annie”. This will all occur after a short break from ensemble on Thursday mornings to accommodate an ITBS schedule.
Middle School Choir and High School Lessons
Middle School Choir and High School Lessons are progressing as they should be.
Students and are now working towards such performances as Dinner Show, Contest, Pops Concert and Spring Concerts. In the next couple months progress, I will make sure to post updated dates and locations for these events.
The 10-12 Pops concert will be held on Tuesday, February 22nd t 7:30 in the High School Auditorium. The different class ensembles will perform both instrumentally and vocally and the extra curricular groups will also be performing from both side of the music department.
GYZ
The GYZ group is currently working on three songs to be ready for the Dinner Show as well as the Pops Concert.
Dinner Show will be this Saturday, February12th in the High School Commons. The Dinner Show begins at 6:00 PM. I do believe that students should arrive around 4:30.
Traditionally, at this point GYZ will then be done rehearsing after these two engagements. However, there might be other Men’s Group opportunities for your students that may wish to work on pieces for contest.
Please watch for video updates.....see you next month.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Happy February Holidays!!!
Happy Groundhog Day.....No Shadow!
Happy Valentine's Day!!! Hug your favorite Valentine!
Happy President's Day!!! Happy Birthday to a couple of our early leaders!
In the meantime........the information below may be of vital importance in ye quests. Yer younguns be settin a course for adventure soon and may just need to know what I'se about to reveal to ye...
Dirty John Kidd
part of the fidius.org network
Happy Valentine's Day!!! Hug your favorite Valentine!
Happy President's Day!!! Happy Birthday to a couple of our early leaders!
Please check back soon for a February update that will include information on the Spring Concerts, updates on classroom work, possibly some student examples of projects in class and Recorder updates.
In the meantime........the information below may be of vital importance in ye quests. Yer younguns be settin a course for adventure soon and may just need to know what I'se about to reveal to ye...
My pirate name is:
Dirty John Kidd
I am the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of me, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. Even though I'm not always the traditional swaggering gallant, my steadiness and planning make me a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!
Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.part of the fidius.org network
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
