Roller Coasters in Music?

Who doesn't like a roller coaster?  Even if you don't like to ride them, looking at them and following their track is super fun.  So, when it came time to start listening for High and Low sounds, the 1st graders and I began with vocal roller coasters!  These roller coasters are visuals with curvy, curly lines for us to sing.  Each one has a sound, word, or series of words to sing while following the track of the roller coaster.  My favorite is the "Oh YEAH" roller coaster!  We will continue to explore the vocal roller coasters while the 1st Graders are learning to listen for high and low sounds in songs they know.

3rd Grade becomes composers!

The 3rd graders are transforming themselves into composers this week.  Their assignment is to create a rhythm composition using prescribed rhythms with a partner and be prepared to perform it for the class.  Once their rhythms have been written, the students began to work with our new "Composition Menu" to make their piece more interesting.  It is like adding adjectives to a writing project to make it more pleasing to the ear.  Choices on the menu included dynamics (loud or quiet) and expressions (choppy or smooth).  Students will be performing their compositions for their classes starting today!  By the middle of next week, all students will have performed their compositions for the class.  Be sure to ask how it went!

Have a great weekend everyone!

What is a beat buddy?

I bet many of the K-1 parents are wondering what beat buddies are.  Every class in K and 1 used beat buddies this week to keep the steady beat.  In short, beat buddies are beanie babies!  We use them to keep the beat on our knees, toes, nose, hands...  The students love the beat buddies and love seeing which beat buddy will be theirs for the day.

My favorite is the orange bear :)

Welcome Back to Music!

Welcome back to Music at Lincoln! I hope you all had a musical summer.  My family and I sure did!  We went to WDW for the first time with our kids (ages 9 and 6) and they are still singing the songs from the "Festival of Fantasy" parade and from "The Carousel Of Progress" (believe it or not, that was one of their favorite things there).  It was a great time with my family and I satisfied my Olaf cravings with a few new souvenirs for my classroom and closet!

Now that we are back to school, I can tell you that the blog is easily accessible this year!  Simply go to the Lincoln School webpage, click on Staff Directory, scroll down to find my name, and click the word "WEB" to be instantly linked to the blog!  It's that simple.  Once you've done that, bookmark the blog to your browser's toolbar and you can check it anytime!

Our concert and open house schedule should be coming my way soon.  As soon as I have that, you will have your program dates for 1st grade, 3rd grade, and Level 3 (Kindergarten and 2nd grade do not have music programs).  Please contact me anytime with questions or comments!

Happy Tuesday!

Ta, Ta-ti and the Mystery

Since 1st grade is done with their music program, it's time to review our known music concepts so we can discover something new!  Yes, we are currently looking and listening for not one, but two mystery notes.  One mystery note is a rhythm that goes along with Ta and Ta-ti (quarter and eighth notes) while the other is a melody name that goes along with So and Mi (minor 3rd).  We reviewed by playing Tic Tac Toe with one another.  Check out the work of the students in Ms. Conrad's and Mrs. Sandoz's classes!

 One student clapped one of the rhythms for the other.  If the listener guessed the correct rhythm, he or she placed a chip on that rhythm.  If the listener guessed incorrectly, the clapper placed a chip on the correct rhythm!

 Our boards quickly filled up!  There were many cat's games because we are so good at listening 

for Ta and Ta-Ti!

1st Grade presents Hats!

 

 

On Tuesday, April 15, 2014, the Lincoln 1st Grade students will present

 

 

 

A Musical that celebrates what's underneath

 

 

 

The program will begin at 6:30pm in the New Gym.  Open House will follow from 7-8pm. 

We hope to see you all there!

Yankee Doodle Comes to Music!

Level 3 students have been learning about the Revolutionary War in Literacy this trimester.  In Music, the 4th graders have extended our learning about that era with a Yankee Doodle project.  The students learned several verses of the song and a hand-clapping game to play while singing the song.  Students also learned about the use of drums and drummer boys during the Revolutionary War.  We took these two parts and created an AB pattern (first sing and play the game, then march to find a new partner).

After this, we created a C section to our pattern by adding in I and V chords to play along with our singing.  But this wasn't enough for us, so we added in two sets of circle dances to perform when singing and playing chords on the instruments.

In the end, we ended up with this form:  ABCBCA. 
A = hand clapping game and singing
B = march to instruments and/or dance and game places
C = circle dances

The students have worked very hard and were excited to create these videos for you!  In one music class, we were able to take one video, critique that video, discard that video, and make another one that made most of us happy with our performances.  Enjoy the final products!

Mr. Bower's 4th Grade
Mrs. Everett's 4th Grade
Mr. Klingberg's 4th Grade
Mr. Pindar's 4th Grade