Standards to Meet...

Company sings

So my company of kids are singing on Friday, February 28th, for Multicultural Day.
They are excited, but with all the snow days we've hardly ha any time to practice.
Here is a practice video so they can work on stuff at home.
be sure to check out their website too.
GES the COMPANY

Spirituals 

If you can't see this go to THIS LINK

Frère Jacques

I'm excited about this one! My first graders are representing France in the Multicultural Day Festival. 

There are several cute French songs, the catch is I only have five weeks to completely prepare them for the show. I really don't like the idea of simply teaching for concerts. That type of scenario can become the music teacher's version of Teaching to the Test, if we aren't careful. I really want my kids to learn about what they are singing, the historical context, the theory, the solfege, the meaning, etc. 

French Flag

So I put together a power-point on France, you know- famous landmarks, sample phrases, clips of people speaking french...Then I taught them how to say, " Hi, how are you?" then I said, " music class is fun!" (Of course they need to know how to say THAT in french *smiles*)

Sample Phrases

We discussed...

• "What is a monk?" 
• "What does a monk do?"
• "Why do they call each other, brother?"
• "Why are they ringing a bell?"

The hair was the favorite part...

Next, we talked about quarter notes and ties. "Dor-met-Vous------" We discussed the note values and why we would tie two quarter notes together. This was a lively discussion, they identified all the ties in the music (there are four.) (The below example uses a half note, this we also discussed.)

Then I added the the ukulele and the foot tambourine. Once they learned to sing it, we added the xylophones, the "bells."

Playing "F's" on the down beats.

Playing the bass xylophone.

So fun!

Raindrop Prelude

Chopin's Raindrop Prelude is a class favorite and one of the first pieces we studied in preparation for the music listening contest. I first played the piece without giving the title and asked them...

• What did the music sound like to you? 
• After a few suggestions and answers we moved on to a power point about Chopin.
• HERE IS A GOOD LINK: There is a good radio show and a handout.
• I then played the song again, this time I drew four pictures on the board while the music played. The music can be broken into four segments, and if you draw these pictures it helps the students to see and feel  the change in the music. Very fun.
• If you are a techie... I use a Inexpensive but LOUD Bluetooth Speaker and my favorite ipad app Musical Masterpieces. I use it religiously because it has ALL my Listening exam music on it, and they are good- clear- quality.
• Toward the end of class we read this book Come on Rain- Karen Hesse. I stopped halfway through and had the students write a one paragraph continuation of the story, (what they thought would happen.) They were cute stories, they wrote about what they would have done in a rainstorm after a long drought. Fun LITERACY exercise. 

Composer Summary-

Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849)

• HOW TO SAY THE NAME:

  ‘Chopin’ is said like Show-pan. ‘Frédéric is said like ‘Fre-der-ric’.

  BORN:

  22nd February 1810 in Żelazowa Wola (near Warsaw), Poland.

  
  

  Chopin’s grave in Paris

  DIED:

  17th October 1849 in Paris, France.

  BURIED:

  Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris (although his heart is buried in Holy Cross Church, Warsaw).

  TYPE OF MUSIC:

  Classical music from the romantic period.

  SOME FAMOUS PIECES:

  • ‘Minute Waltz’ (Waltz in D flat major, Op. 64, No. 1)
  • Funeral March (third movement from the Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35)

  SOME GREAT PIECES:

  • Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2.
  • Études Op.10 and Op. 25. (See below for a video.)
  • Berceuse.
  • Plus many waltzes, mazurkas, polonaises and nocturnes. (See below for a video of one well-known nocturne.)

  SOME INTERESTING FACTS:

  • He started composing when he was only 7 years old!
  • He played the piano for the Tzar (like a king) of Russia when he was 15. The Tzar liked it so much that he gave Chopin a diamond ring.
  • Most of his music is written for the piano.
  • His piano music was so new that he needed to write his own piano exercises to help him learn how to play it! These exercise are his Études.
  • Much of Chopin’s music is very beautiful . However it can also be very angry as well.

Classroom Set Up

So I have tried VARIOUS set ups for my music classroom.
I started with desks:

But when the room starts out with everything in a pile at the middle of the room...it can be a little daunting. 

I get really into Native American Focus Week in September. I think it's so fun to tell traditional stories around a fake fire to the beat of a drum. I popped popcorn for my students and they LOVE to watch their faces light up when they see the fake paper fish hang from the ceiling above the fire. It's always my favorite week.

I like to decorate for the holidays as well. Last year covered one of my walls entirely with GIANT presents I made out of bulletin board paper.

I hung a piece of salvage fabric on the back of my upright piano, just for kicks.

Black History Month decor.

After a season with the desks, I decided to eliminate them and set up orff stations in the back of the room, centers. I set up all the chairs in rows in the front of the centers. This worked...OK, but it crowded and the tables took up too much room.

(That year I taped wrapping paper to the backs of the chairs and it made them look kind of "upholstered" and it was so cute! The theme that year was "attic.")

This year my theme is "Aztek."

(I bought this rug at IKEA, it's square and it's SO cute.)

Window Decor cut out of cardboard.

I built a teepee, I found the directions on Pinterest- SO EASY. 

I also made the seat crates from a tutorial I found on Pinterest. They have served to be extremely useful when it comes to drum circles and xylophones bands. 

i got rid of the desks this year and made rows with just the chairs. I put seat backs on the chair with their seat numbers, and put rhythm sticks and white boards in the seat back pockets. These pockets I made out of home depot belts that I spray painted blue and stenciled on (with sharpie) the numbers, easiest thing ever!

More pics coming of my most recent set up and....drum roll please...my FAVORITE. Hints- I set up my room like a horse shoe with an orff orchestra in the center. Brilliant :)

UPDATES due to snow...

The Kinders performance is going to be rescheduled to a morning or afternoon performance time, TBA.

The FIRST and SECOND graders will performing their music at their award ceremonies.

Unfortunately the 5th grade opera trip will not be rescheduled. The show ended this week, so we are trying to get a hold of the recording to share during an afternoon assembly if possible.

SO sorry for all the snowy changes. see you next week!

-Ms. VP

WattsStrong

Many of you have asked about my nephew Watts and I always direct you to my brother's blog ( found in the "favorite column to the right) but my brother had this beautiful movie made sharing their story and the battle that little Watty is fighting. Jesus Christ has given strength to my brother and his little family, MY family, a faith that can move mountain and that cannot be found anywhere else. I love them so much and am so thankful to find a resting place in Jesus.

Watch and find out ways you can support them in Little Watty's fight with leukemia.

Watts Strong Video

Why Do We Practice?

Kids keep asking me why it's important to practice their recorders.

I tell them, "it's teaching you responsibility." But, the truth is, it's so much more than that.

        By learning to get into the pattern of practicing every day, you are building a routine in your life. Building routine helps you establish good habits. While the recorder might be a silly instrument to "practice at home" it's like riding a bike with the training wheels. If you learn to do that first, when you take the training wheels off you have a far better chance at successfully riding the bike!
         If you learn to practice, read musical notation and rhythms, and perform something from start to finish on the recorder FIRST, then you have a HUGE head start when you decide to play a band instrument in middle school.

I did a little video of me playing a piece on my harp to demonstrate what I'm talking about...

HERE

So get on that practicing!!