High and Low

My Kindergarteners have been learning about steady beat and musical opposites. We just finished up loud and soft last week, thanks to Aileen Miracle's great bundle!

This week, we began talking about high and low. I love this series by Thorne and Felts! It's not in a print anymore (one copy goes for $2,000 on Amazon!), but if you can find the books somewhere, get them! They are a wonderful introduction to steady beat, loud/soft and high/low.

After our story, we began listening to "Faeries & Giants" from Elgar's The Wand of Youth Suite. Our Spotlight on Music series has a nice listening map to follow in the kindergarten big book. We were able to point to the different pictures when we heard the appropriate music. The students figured out that the faeries had lots of high music, while the giants had deep, low music.

Then, we acted it out! The kids loved this part. First, we practiced in our spots before splitting into 2 groups and moving throughout the room. When it was the faeries' turn, they fluttered with high arms around the room while the giants stood frozen.

When the giants heard their music, they stomped and marched around the room. The faeries were frozen until it was their turn again. So much fun! The students even recognized the loud and soft spots!










Afterwards, we watched a short clip of the "High Low Song." The students stretched high and down low during the song and sang along. Next week, we'll add different classroom instruments to represent high and low. Plus, the colorful ribbon wands will come out for a fun high/low movement activity with Saint-Saens' "Aquarium" from The Carnival of the Animals. 

How do you teach high and low to your students?

Christopher Kazoo and Bongo Boo - Review!

It happened and way too early in the school year. What is this occurrence, you ask? 

The dreaded SICK DAY!

I really hoped it wouldn't happen this early in the year, but it did. Our secretary was sick at school, and I was in the vicinity right after she was. Also, I started studio lessons this week, so I'm getting a double case of germs. Either way, I had a 24 hour bug and left before school started Friday morning.

Cue scrambling to get sub plans together for the morning. My afternoon was empty, as the 4th graders were on a field trip, so I just needed lesson plans for kindergarten and 1st grade. My subs are rarely music subs and most of the time, the recommendation is to "throw in a movie." This bugs me, but I understand. Subs are few and far between, plus many don't feel comfortable because they believe music class is difficult to teach. Anyways, I have an extensive supply of educational music videos to choose from. Yesterday, though, my substitute was a retired kindergarten teacher who loved music. AWESOME! She actually passed along her CD set of rhythm sticks and activities. I love using these with my primary students! They are great to review beat, rhythm and making music in a small group. 

This was also a great chance to test out the resources I received from my first DonorsChoose.org project. I had requested resources for "Christopher Kazoo and Bongo Boo" from Little Schoolhouse Books. The video looked great for interactive learning and introducing instruments to my little ones throughout the year. 

I have both sets that the company has put out. Each set is around $40, but comes with the story book, teacher's supplemental lessons and DVD. The DVD has the telling of the story, along with extra mini lessons to teach or reinforce concepts. My kindergarteners are beginning to learn about steady beat and the first two lessons on the DVD are all about steady beat. Win win! The kids had to clap, jump, pat, march, etc. to the steady beat to help the characters on the screen. Eventually, we can add instruments and other things to these mini lessons. 

With both grades, the students were able to see the book come alive, review steady beat and then use the rhythm stick activities to add a little extra to it. I heard wonderful things from the substitute about the lessons being fun and interactive. I'm really happy that these resources are a part of the music classroom! Yes, it is a video (I know, I know), but it is soooo much better than many of the choices I've had in the past. I'm also very excited about using this as a jumping off platform to begin integrating the mini lessons and teacher supplement lessons into my own teaching and lesson planning. I bet the students were super excited when they saw the bongos and kazoos. There's also a mini-musical that came out last year! Hmmm...the possibilities :)

Have any of you heard of Christopher Kazoo and Bongo Boo? If you have, what do your students think of it? How are you implementing it in your classroom? I'd love new ideas!

Five Favorite Pins of April

Hi there! I am linking up with my favorite monthly linky party from Mrs. Miracle's Music Room's "Five Favorite Pins." Each day I find more and more pins that I love! I wonder what my first year of teaching would have been like if I had found Pinterest and TeachersPayTeachers sooner. They are gifts!!!

http://www.mrsmiraclesmusicroom.com/2014/04/five-favorite-pins-of-april.html

#1 Aurasma for Halloween

I just started discovering the wonderful things that Aurasma can bring to the music classroom. I can't wait to check out this blog post about Aurasma and Halloween music. What a fun activity to try in the fall!

 #2 Choir Self Evaluation

It is always hard to do assessment in the music classroom. I struggle with it, as well as providing data for my administration. This packet is a great way to get information from my students about the whole concert, but also their own contributions. Plus, there are a variety of forms to fit my needs.

 #3 Groovin' Monsters

This is so cute! I love Linda McPherson's materials. This one is a way to review loud and soft. If you get the answer correct, the monster dances to his iPod on the screen. Really fun, especially for the little ones at the end of the year. Plus, another great assessment tool!

 #4 Frere Jacques

I almost cried when this resource came out! The Yellow Brick Road is quickly becoming my new favorite blog and seller to go to, as we are very similar in our teaching styles and concepts. I start my 5th grade chorus students off with Frere Jacques. It's a great piece to teach as a whole group and slowly morph into part singing. This file allows you to do that on the projector, which can help me show and explain part singing a lot easier. We don't have an elmo or document camera, so helping students read their line for the first time is tough. 

And, one of my favorite pins EVER..............

#5 Glow Worm

I love this pin - it is hilarious! It's just what I need to brighten my day during these last few weeks of school. There are so many things going on and only a few more music lessons with each class - time to make it count :)