Week of September 11

Keep reading to find out some of the highlights from your child's music class this week!

Kindergarteners played six different unpitched percussion instruments along with a book called Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb.  They enjoyed playing the tambourines, shape drums, hand drums, maracas, egg shakers, and sand blocks.

First graders sang a song called "Bounce High" and did a rhythmic dictation activity with this.  They used popsicle sticks to show where the quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter rests should be in the song.  They also played a game with this piece.

Second graders worked on identifying the full names of each of the Orff instruments this week.  They learned that there are soprano and alto glockenspiels; soprano, alto, and bass metallophones; and soprano, alto, and bass xylophones.  They also began playing these instruments.

Third graders put all of the instrument parts for "Down at the Station" together this week!  They held their own parts while accompanying their singing.  They played three different boomwhacker parts, two different Orff instrument parts, and sand blocks.  Take a look at Mrs. Crutchfield's Twitter account, @ecrutchfield112, for some pictures of Mrs. Knotek's class doing this activity.

Fourth graders learned a spoken song called "Tom, Tom" this week.  They focused on holding their own parts while playing the temple blocks, gankogui, and bongos with this piece.  You can see some pictures of Mr. Bush's class doing this activity on Mrs. Crutchfield's Twitter account: @ecrutchfield112.

Fifth graders learned their third concert piece this week, which is from "Anastasia."  They have really enjoyed making connections between actual historical events and the Broadway musicals they have been studying.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns: ecrutchfield@nssd112.org.