Week of October 22

Some of you knew about a concert at the Great Lakes Naval Base in which I was scheduled to perform yesterday afternoon.  I ended up needing to have emergency oral surgery on Friday, which prevented me from singing yesterday, so I want to apologize if any of you attended the concert and I was not there.  I was very disappointed about not being able to perform, but I anticipate returning to school tomorrow!  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Kindergarteners in Ms. Tepper's AM class played a singing game with a pumpkin song.  They also read a story called 5 Little Pumpkins and did an activity where each student had a chance to play the role of one of the pumpkins and sing a solo when it got to be that pumpkin's turn to sing.  They enjoyed both of these activities very much.  Students in Ms. Waller's class and Ms. Tepper's PM class had a substitute and watched part of a movie about songs from around the world.  They sang along with some of the songs and danced with others.

First graders did two different rhythmic and melodic dictation activities with Halloween songs this week.  They played a song called "Halloween Bag" on the Orff instruments, and they played a singing game with a pumpkin song.

Second graders learned about child composer and pianist Emily Bear.  They discovered that Emily is very close to their age and doesn't live too far from them, but she is a child prodigy.  They watched an interview with Emily and saw her perform two of her own compositions.  Several students said they want to begin taking piano lessons now!  Second graders also learned the difference between songs in major and minor keys, and learned a song called "Nine Lives," which is in a minor key.  They did a rhythmic and melodic dictation activity with this song and played it on Orff instruments.

Third graders studied rondo form this week.  They determined which examples of songs were in rondo form, and which ones were not rondo form.  Then they used unpitched percussion instruments to create a Halloween Rondo, using three poems to form the A, B, and C sections of the piece.  They decided that their Halloween Rondo order should be ABACA (always going back to the "A" section after every other section).  Each group selected unpitched percussion instruments to create a soundscape for their section of the piece.  Then the class performed the song as a whole group.

Fourth graders reviewed for their note name quizzes this past week.  4S and 4M will take their note name quizzes on Monday, 10/29.  4B will take their note name quiz on Tuesday, 10/30.  Students were told that if they would like, they could come in for extra practice during recess time.  Several students took advantage of that opportunity last week and felt much more confident after the extra practice.  They have also been told that another great resource is the Note Name Game on the "Classics for Kids" website, which can be found under the "Fun Music Websites" section of the blog on the right-hand side of the main Wayne Thomas Music Blog page.

Fifth graders finished their "Passport to Music" trip to Colombia by writing reflections in their passports about their journeys.  They then began a unit about Native American music.  During the past week, they studied music from the Menominee, Sioux, Zuni, Iroquois, Pawnee, and Ute tribes.  They also compared and contrasted several different types of Navajo songs.

Music Fact of the Week

Music K-8 Kids is a website that has a lot of great songs for kids.  Under the "Fun Stuff" drop-down menu, it also has some fun games that your students might like!  One example is called "Piggy Saves the Music."  Take a look here:  http://www.musick8kids.com/html/piggygame.php#.UI2IqGl24q8