Oh boy, did this month fly by! (Although, I feel like that every month!) Our composer of the month was Jazz legend, Duke Ellington, and each grade level got to hear a little jazz and do some improvisation activities. Due to the amount of snow we got this month, a lot of our curricular activities had to be shelved until all the classes in each grade caught up, so some classes had a lot of practice our concepts from December, and some I only saw twice this month, at all!
First grade- We worked on and introduced eighth notes (ta-ti) and continued to reinforce reading quarter notes and rests, in addition to practicing sol-mi and a higher sound, which we don't have a name for yet. Some of our songs this month included "Tommy Tanglemouse," "Bounce High, Bounce Low," "Engine, Engine," "Magic Penny," and "Train is A-Comin'." We also talked about tempo, and two different tempi- Allegro and Largo. Our CoM activities included listening to 2 Ellington pieces that were Allegro and Largo tempi, and reading/singing the book This Jazz Man, and listening to some scat singing. We also did the Russian-inspired dance, "Sasha," much to the delight of the first graders.
Second grade-February was a tough month- we had to do another SGO assessment, which proved difficult to complete, as half of the second grade classes missed class two weeks in a row due to snow days, in addition to class time missed on delayed openings/early dismissals/assemblies. When we finally got some instructional time, we revisited dynamics-forte, piano, crescendo, and decrescendo with "Sally Go 'Round the Sun," "John Jacob Jinglehiemerschmidt," and the chant "Deedle Deedle Dumpling." Another game we did was "Who's That Tapping," and everyone had an opportunity to improvise 8 counts on the big tubano and conga drums. Most classes watch an animated version of book Duke Ellington, Piano Prince.
Third grade- Much of the month was spent improving mallet technique and ensemble work. We played "Ding dong, digga digga dong," "Rocky Mountain," and "Peanut Butter Pie." There were opportunities for improvisation, opportunities to play each of the different Orff instruments we have at school, and practice singing with solfege, rhythmic solfege and performing repeated patterns to accompany singing and movement. Curricularly, we have been practicing sixteenth notes, pentatonic solfege, and reading from standard notation.
Fourth grade-We started our music for the spring program this month. I have the dates chosen, but I wanted to wait until the 4th grade talent show is over at both schools before I send information home, just to be sure there is no confusion between the two events. Students are going to have opportunities to play instruments, sing, and perform movement pieces as a class. We worked on transferring between solfege and letter names on the treble clef. All the fourth graders have picked it up very quickly, and it has made learning music for Orff instruments much easier. We have also gotten a great start to our choral pieces, and have been doing a great job reading the rhythms and pitch patterns found in the music.
First grade- We worked on and introduced eighth notes (ta-ti) and continued to reinforce reading quarter notes and rests, in addition to practicing sol-mi and a higher sound, which we don't have a name for yet. Some of our songs this month included "Tommy Tanglemouse," "Bounce High, Bounce Low," "Engine, Engine," "Magic Penny," and "Train is A-Comin'." We also talked about tempo, and two different tempi- Allegro and Largo. Our CoM activities included listening to 2 Ellington pieces that were Allegro and Largo tempi, and reading/singing the book This Jazz Man, and listening to some scat singing. We also did the Russian-inspired dance, "Sasha," much to the delight of the first graders.
Second grade-February was a tough month- we had to do another SGO assessment, which proved difficult to complete, as half of the second grade classes missed class two weeks in a row due to snow days, in addition to class time missed on delayed openings/early dismissals/assemblies. When we finally got some instructional time, we revisited dynamics-forte, piano, crescendo, and decrescendo with "Sally Go 'Round the Sun," "John Jacob Jinglehiemerschmidt," and the chant "Deedle Deedle Dumpling." Another game we did was "Who's That Tapping," and everyone had an opportunity to improvise 8 counts on the big tubano and conga drums. Most classes watch an animated version of book Duke Ellington, Piano Prince.
Third grade- Much of the month was spent improving mallet technique and ensemble work. We played "Ding dong, digga digga dong," "Rocky Mountain," and "Peanut Butter Pie." There were opportunities for improvisation, opportunities to play each of the different Orff instruments we have at school, and practice singing with solfege, rhythmic solfege and performing repeated patterns to accompany singing and movement. Curricularly, we have been practicing sixteenth notes, pentatonic solfege, and reading from standard notation.
Fourth grade-We started our music for the spring program this month. I have the dates chosen, but I wanted to wait until the 4th grade talent show is over at both schools before I send information home, just to be sure there is no confusion between the two events. Students are going to have opportunities to play instruments, sing, and perform movement pieces as a class. We worked on transferring between solfege and letter names on the treble clef. All the fourth graders have picked it up very quickly, and it has made learning music for Orff instruments much easier. We have also gotten a great start to our choral pieces, and have been doing a great job reading the rhythms and pitch patterns found in the music.