Valentine's for School

 

Fabulous February

February came and went fast it seems.  The kids and I have been so busy, I haven't had time to sit and blog until now.  This week, I missed school on Monday and Tuesday due to ice.  It was back to school again on Wednesday and Thursday, then the snow and ice came back on Friday giving us an unexpected early dismissal.  "Snow days" are the best.  I love sitting in the warmth of my home to get caught up (with my blog) and regenerated.  With that being said, here's a peak into some of my February happenings.

At the beginning of the February, I put up this cool set of Black Musicians for Black History Month.  I found them on Teachers Pay Teachers from David Row @ Make Moments Matter.   The students really enjoyed browsing through the different artists while in the hallway.  The set is colorful and engaging.  Thanks, David!

One of First grade's new songs this month was 

"A Tisket, A Tasket." We learned the song to review rhythm and prep for La, then used a green and yellow basket to play a rhythm game. The student in the center walked around the circle as the children sang the song. At the end, the middle child "drops" his basket in front of someone else. At that point, a "love letter" is drawn from the basket and read out loud. The kids loved this activity. Check out the "A Tisket, A Tasket" rhythm cards on TpT.

For added practice, my fabulous firsties transferred "A Tisket, A Tasket" to our orff instruments.

Fourth through Sixth graders learned Cedar Swamp to review 4 sixteenths.  After singing this fun song, we added a clapping/movement activity and instruments.

        

As February ends, stay tuned for some of my favorite things coming up in March, and exciting news for The Music-Go-Round!

 

Winter Activities

Let's face it.  Coming back to school in January is hard, especially after a relaxing Christmas break, chock-full of sleeping late and lounging around for two weeks.  It definitely took a few good days for the students and I to get in the groove again.  Secretly, we've all been wishing for a snow day or two.  Unfortunately, here in TX, we've had no ice, no snow, just cold - brrrrrr!  Well....I say cold!  If you live in the Lone Star State, you'll agree with me that 30 degrees gives us quite the chill.  Of course because our state is a woman (I really believe this), she can change her mind on a whim.  Thirty degrees one day.....70 the next.  Yep!  Texas definitely has a female mind :) 

To ward off the cold days of no outside play, I kept the students busy with all kinds of winter/football themed activities in my music classroom.  Here's a brief summary of our Brrrrr-y good month.

1st-3rd -

We used a giant floor staff with die-cuts to practice our melodies.  They worked in small groups and had a blast helping each other.  Our biggest issue was spacing.  Most of the children wanted to stack their notes like chords.  After a few tries, they were all on the right track.  

For rhythm practice, first and seconds used Music a la Abbott's "Winter Themed Beat Strips."  Using rhythm sticks, at first I would tap and say the pictures for the line I wanted them to create.  After a few rounds, I used the sticks and said the rhythm only.  The students had to figure out what picture matched that rhythms.  Last, I only played sticks, and they had to use their listening skills to create the correct pattern.  We even used a blank space for a rest.  This was a fun activity and allowed me to assess while they played.

Since our snow day wish hasn't come true yet, the students had a "Snowball Challenge" to see who could collect (pin) the most snowballs.  Though I would normally do this in a small group/center situation, this time we grouped up and shared our boards.  This provided a great review of the concepts that the students have learned over the last few months.

4th-6th -

I love these age groups because everything is about competition.  Very rarely do I play a game with my older students where there is no "winner."  I enjoy seeing their wheels turning as they attempt to answer correctly.  It's just plain fun.

We've been doing a lot of staff practice with note names.  Soon we will begin playing recorders and I want the students to be proficient in reading music.  In the spirit of football season, AND since the Cowboys made it to the playoffs, I incorporated some football helmets into our note names game.  I began by calling one, then two, then three letters on the staff.  Students had to race to put the correct helmet in its place.  To change it up, I also called just a line or space number.  This challenged the students to not only place the helmet in the right location, but also they had to know what letter was on the line or space.

Later in the month, I used the same idea, but this time using staff words.   I called a word and the groups had to place their die-cuts on the staff to spell that word.  For some it was a challenge because of spacing their notes correctly.  I had to do a "mini-lesson" on how we read words from left to right, and music is the same.  Of course, this was a huge competition as well.  Three letter words earned 3 points, 4 letter words - 4 points, etc.

Another activity I used with 4th-6th was "Mystery Song."  I used a simple song that everyone knew (Twinkle Twinkle) and challenged them with using the barred instruments to solve the mystery.  I told them nothing about the song except that the first and third phrases are the same.  After working out the first few measures, the light bulbs came on!  It was fun seeing them READ music without me rote teaching.  My plan is to do one "Mystery Song" each month.  

 

 It's been a great month for some fun learning in music.

  Thank you for visiting The Bates Clef.

Time for Turkey

A Turkey is a funny bird

His head goes wobble wobble

He knows just one funny word

Gobble gobble gobble!

Ah, yes!  My younger students sing their little hearts out while strutting around the music room like the finest turkeys around.  

In addition to the excellent bird imitations I've seen over the last couple of weeks, we've been practicing the poem, "T is for Turkey."  It's a great tool to use for practicing voice inflection and recitation.  The poem goes through each letter of the word "Thanksgiving."  Try it in class or even use it for a program/feast.

 

"Leaves" (fall colored scarves) were the new highlight this week in music.  I taught the song, "Autumn Leaves are Falling", and added the leaves for effect.  Students tossed their scarves up in the air on the strong beat and watched as they fell gently to the ground.  It was a nice way to assess whether or not the children understand and feel the beat.  Not only that, but it sure does look cool when all the leaves are falling down :)  In the end, I demonstrated how to fold their scarves and put them up nicely.  Next week, I'll introduce Orff instruments to the song.  

Thanks for stopping by.

Steady Beat Review and Practice

 School is into full swing now and my schedule reflects the busyness of not only teaching, but also keeping up with my own children and their activities.  Whew!  I think some time management tweaking is in order.

In the first weeks of school, I've been reviewing/teaching steady beat with the students.  The first grade "babies" have caught on faster than in the previous years.  It seems this group of students has a stronger internal beat than their predecessors.  Yea!

First and Second grades practiced on beat sheets with partners and independently multiple times.  We used strips for "Engine Engine", "Queen Queen Caroline", "Bee Bee Bumblebee",  and "Cobbler Cobbler."  

 








Students enjoyed learning the Cobbler Cobbler game and have asked to play each time they come to class.  We also played Bee Bee Bumblebee in a circle, eliminating one player on the word "out."  When the circle was down to three or four players, students made predictions about who they thought would be out next.

Third grade students learned "Benjamin Franklin" and practiced passing the ball on the steady beat around the circle.


 


As each student was eliminated, they chose a percussion instrument to play and help keep the beat while the others continued passing the ball in the circle.

Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth grades sang the African song, "Obwisana," while passing sticks on the floor.  I introduced/reviewed macrobeat and microbeat, and we practiced both as I called out commands.  The macrobeat was super fun and easy once we got in the groove, but the microbeat was a bit of a challenge as several students weren't able to keep up.  To keep them listening even more, toward the end of our activity, I added a "reverse" call and the students changed directions passing their sticks.  

All in all, we got a lot of laughs and had a great time.

 Click on the picture above to view this blog post

 and others on a music education link-up!