February went by so fast, I completely forgot to post about it! Here's an update on the many things we have been doing at Franklin and Kennedy schools:
First Grade: Preparing for eighth notes with games like "See-Saw", "Bee Bee Bumblebee," and "Pizza Pizza" was coupled with movement activities in which we learned about Tempo. Tempo is how fast or slow the steady beat of the music is. Ms. Hunter told (and sang) the musical version of Aesop's The Tortoise and the Hare, but in this story, the Tortoise was named Largo (that means slow), and the Hare was named Allegro (that means fast). Through different movement activities, we discover that there is another tempo that isn't too fast or slow, and it is called Andante. We also reinforced Sol, Mi, and La with dictation on the Smart board and having singing conversations with those pitches. A new favorite song was "Love is Something (The Magic Penny)" which was originally performed by Malvina Reynolds. Ask your first grader to sing it to you! (and click here to hear the original version)
Second Grade: We started a unit on Brass instruments, in which we discovered how a trumpet is made (click here for the video clip), and read a story about a Tuba. Next month, we will continue by learning about the French Horn and the Trombone. We also continued to reinforce Mi, Re, Do, while preparing for the notes that are higher than Mi (Sol and La). We were able to identify Mi, Re, and Do in a real piece of music, and we learned about the father of musical notation, Guido D'Arezzo. Another concept we reinforced was reading quarter and eighth notes. We used straws to "build" the rhythm of a song we knew. A new favorite song was "How Many Miles to Babylon?" with a very fun ending.
Third Grade: Also learning about instruments, third graders are complying a list of String instruments from different places around the world. In March, they will be designing their own string instruments based on what they have seen throughout the months of February and March. (Don't worry, this is an in-school project and no construction is required!) We have also learned some songs from different countries to complement the instruments we have seen- "Old Joe Clark" from the USA, "La Vibora de la Mar " from Latin America, and a translation of "Diou Shou Jouner" from China. Students also had an opportunity to play the autoharp, and Ms. Hunter brought in a guitar and a ukulele for a better look at how string instruments are constructed and played.
First Grade: Preparing for eighth notes with games like "See-Saw", "Bee Bee Bumblebee," and "Pizza Pizza" was coupled with movement activities in which we learned about Tempo. Tempo is how fast or slow the steady beat of the music is. Ms. Hunter told (and sang) the musical version of Aesop's The Tortoise and the Hare, but in this story, the Tortoise was named Largo (that means slow), and the Hare was named Allegro (that means fast). Through different movement activities, we discover that there is another tempo that isn't too fast or slow, and it is called Andante. We also reinforced Sol, Mi, and La with dictation on the Smart board and having singing conversations with those pitches. A new favorite song was "Love is Something (The Magic Penny)" which was originally performed by Malvina Reynolds. Ask your first grader to sing it to you! (and click here to hear the original version)
Second Grade: We started a unit on Brass instruments, in which we discovered how a trumpet is made (click here for the video clip), and read a story about a Tuba. Next month, we will continue by learning about the French Horn and the Trombone. We also continued to reinforce Mi, Re, Do, while preparing for the notes that are higher than Mi (Sol and La). We were able to identify Mi, Re, and Do in a real piece of music, and we learned about the father of musical notation, Guido D'Arezzo. Another concept we reinforced was reading quarter and eighth notes. We used straws to "build" the rhythm of a song we knew. A new favorite song was "How Many Miles to Babylon?" with a very fun ending.
Third Grade: Also learning about instruments, third graders are complying a list of String instruments from different places around the world. In March, they will be designing their own string instruments based on what they have seen throughout the months of February and March. (Don't worry, this is an in-school project and no construction is required!) We have also learned some songs from different countries to complement the instruments we have seen- "Old Joe Clark" from the USA, "La Vibora de la Mar " from Latin America, and a translation of "Diou Shou Jouner" from China. Students also had an opportunity to play the autoharp, and Ms. Hunter brought in a guitar and a ukulele for a better look at how string instruments are constructed and played.
Fourth Grade: As we begin preparations for the Spring Program, fourth graders have been "skill-building." One of the things we learned was that the musical staff has 5 lines and 4 spaces. Coincidentally, your hand has 5 fingers (that look like lines if your hand is horizontal) and 4 spaces in between the fingers! The letter names of the spaces are F, A, C, E, which spells "Face." If you remember "face in the space," you can read just about any piece of music! Therefore, the fourth graders have been teaching themselves to play 2 different pieces on Orff instruments, given the musical notation. I don't want to give too much away and spoil the performance, so I'll just say we have also been learning dances and games to go along with these songs.
Chorus: Fourth Grade chorus has been working on 3 different pieces as a part of the Spring Program. Students have been doing a great job reading from the music, and we have been "skill-building," following Part 1 or Part 2, identifying high or low notes, making note of rests, and finding measure numbers in the score. Other skills we have addressed are breathing, vowel shapes, dynamics vs. tempo vs. pitch (Faster does not mean louder, lower does not mean softer, etc.), and making the most beautiful sound we can at all times.