I have to say, even with all of the current drama swirling around the music program of my school district, this has been a great school year so far. Honestly, I'm loving my new school (H) and continue to love P as I have for the last 6 years. Here's some of what we've been up to so far this school year:
Kindergarten: The basics. We've been practicing steady beat, rhyming words, social skills, spatial awareness, etc. I love teaching K music! I'm always on the hunt for songs, games, and activities to work on those basic concepts and ideas with my kindies. My schools' PE teacher and I actually collaborate quite a bit with K to align what they're learning in each of our classrooms.
1st Grade: Steady beat vs no steady beat; the difference between beat and rhythm; loud and soft; fast and slow; and now we've just started with long sounds and short sounds. One of my favorites for introducing beat vs rhythm is using the children's book "Max Found Two Sticks". We read it and then I ask the kiddos if Max was playing the steady beat or something else. When it's identified that he's matching words or "playing the words," I introduce the term rhythm. Then I pass out a pair of rhythm sticks to each student (reviewing instrument procedure, of course--ha!) and then we read the story again, with the students playing the rhythms along with Max. They especially love it because I let them play the rhythms on the floor.
2nd Grade: Reviewing beat vs rhythm; reviewing quarter notes, quarter rests, and paired eighth notes; composing 4-beat and 8-beat rhythm patterns; review and practice with mi-so-la. I love using Artie Almeida's Mallet Madness books for practicing rhythm activities and instrument technique. One of my favorites for 2nd grade when working on quarter note, quarter rest, and paired eighth note patterns is her "One Potato, Two Potato" activity.
3rd Grade: Folk songs; Verse-Refrain Form (identifying, singing, and arranging); melodic direction; reviewing pitches of the pentatonic; practicing song accompaniment with barred instruments using chord, broken, and cross-over borduns. I like to use "Frere Jacques" to incorporate a lot of these concepts: Singing a folk song, singing in a round, accompanying the singing with various types of borduns, and introducing the concept of low "so".
4th Grade: At P, we've been working on their program, to be held Oct. 29. We're doing "A Kid's Life" by Jaconbson/Higgins. I'm loving it and so are the kids! At H, we've worked on "America the Beautiful" (singing it, memorizing the 1st verse, and creating our own illustrated book for the first verse); Theme and Variations Form with "America" and Ives' "Variations on America"; reviewing absolute pitch; Artie Almeida's lesson "Old Black Fly"; and now we've started a rhythm review and introduction of 16th notes.
5th Grade: At P, they're working on their program in conjunction with the 4th graders. At H, we've done a big unit combining with their social studies curriculum: Early US History-Civil War. We worked on a variety of activites with the Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts", "Yankee Doodle", and then learned a couple of songs from the magazine Music K-8 ("Declaration" and "We the People"). Sidebar: Do you use Music K-8 in your classroom? I love it! We then took some time to learn about spirituals (big lesson using "Follow the Drinking Gourd") and the Underground Railroad. Within that portion of the unit, we take a slight--but still related--detour to discuss major and minor tonalities. To cap it all off and bring it back around to music history, we watch "Bach's Fight for Freedom" and do the activities that go along with it. We'll be starting the rhythm activity that goes along with it next week.
6th Grade: "The Star-Spangled Banner" (singing it/memorizing the first verse; various activities and projects to ensure that they understand the meaning and history behind the song); a couple of dance activites ("Popcorn" and "The Hustle"); reviewing the musical alphabet, absolute pitch, and rhythms learned so far; building and playing major scales; and now we're working on playing Boomwhacker pieces based on the C Major Scale, incorporating note and rhythm reading.
Up next? The 4th and 5th grade program at P next week Monday and lots of fun Halloween songs and activities for the kiddos!
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Some Answers, Many Questions
I'm home sick today (yuck), but decided this would be a good time to get you caught up with some of the big music issues going on in my district right now. I know I can't be the only one facing situations such as these. Let's get a dialogue going. Ready, Set, Read, Respond.
First, I'm very fortunate to report that I am not on a cart full-time at my one building. (Yet.) We are one first grader shy of me getting the boot from my classroom, however. At this point, they will be using my classroom 3 times a year to set up a computer lab for MAP testing. This means that 3 times a year, for about a week each time, I will be traveling from room to room on a cart. The first MAP session with me cart-bound went fairly well, but I felt like it could have gone better. I want to give a big shout-out and thank you to Danielle for commenting on my previous post and sharing her great ideas (and photos!) of how she makes the whole cart thing work for her. (You are awesome and I look forward to keeping in touch with you!) I think the next MAP go-round will definitely work out better.
So, how many of you are getting the squeeze or have already lost your rooms? Do you feel like a valuable part of your students' education team or are you made to feel like a babysitter while the "real teachers" meet in their PLC's? I'm fortunate to feel like I'm a valuable team member, but music teachers in other buildings in my same district are made to feel differently.
Second, our district passed a bond issue this September allowing us to build 3 new school over the next few years. 2 elementary schools and 1 high school, to be exact. This will also have direct implications on how general music is set up in the district. Currently, our students K-6 receive 60 minutes of music instruction each week. The music teachers of the district have been pushing for years (around 35, to be exact) for students to receive 90 minutes of music instruction each week, to be on par with what students in other districts around the state receive. With a new high school on the horizon, it looks as though our middle schools will soon be moved to a grades 6-8 set up rather than the 7-9 that they currently are, and that the 90 minutes might actually become a reality.
In addition to the "minutes" issue, an additional, but related, debate that is raging is this: Should the 6th graders still receive general music, even when they're moved up to the middle school? If so, how should it be structured? My concern is that general music would become the "dumping ground" for those 6th grade students not currently enrolled in band, choir, or orchestra; and I do not want to see that happen. Not fair for the students, not fair for the teacher(s). My opposition has stated that since 6th grade currently receives general music instruction, why would we want to take that away from them and give them less music opportunity? My response to that is, give the children 90 minutes each week from K-5 and they'll actually be getting more.
Adding another twist to this, our state legislature, in their most recent session, eliminated language in the century code mandating school districts to include music and art instruction in the curriculum. While our superintendent has very clearly stated she has no intention of eliminating music, the ultimate decision is not up to her--she can advise the school board, but they will have the final say in the matter, should a motion to remove music instruction be made. Am I wrong to think that we, as a team of music teachers, need to tread (somewhat) lightly and choose our battles very carefully?
OK, that's where I'll leave things (for now--ha!) I'll be back later with some specifics as to what's been happening in my classrooms so far this school year.
First, I'm very fortunate to report that I am not on a cart full-time at my one building. (Yet.) We are one first grader shy of me getting the boot from my classroom, however. At this point, they will be using my classroom 3 times a year to set up a computer lab for MAP testing. This means that 3 times a year, for about a week each time, I will be traveling from room to room on a cart. The first MAP session with me cart-bound went fairly well, but I felt like it could have gone better. I want to give a big shout-out and thank you to Danielle for commenting on my previous post and sharing her great ideas (and photos!) of how she makes the whole cart thing work for her. (You are awesome and I look forward to keeping in touch with you!) I think the next MAP go-round will definitely work out better.
So, how many of you are getting the squeeze or have already lost your rooms? Do you feel like a valuable part of your students' education team or are you made to feel like a babysitter while the "real teachers" meet in their PLC's? I'm fortunate to feel like I'm a valuable team member, but music teachers in other buildings in my same district are made to feel differently.
Second, our district passed a bond issue this September allowing us to build 3 new school over the next few years. 2 elementary schools and 1 high school, to be exact. This will also have direct implications on how general music is set up in the district. Currently, our students K-6 receive 60 minutes of music instruction each week. The music teachers of the district have been pushing for years (around 35, to be exact) for students to receive 90 minutes of music instruction each week, to be on par with what students in other districts around the state receive. With a new high school on the horizon, it looks as though our middle schools will soon be moved to a grades 6-8 set up rather than the 7-9 that they currently are, and that the 90 minutes might actually become a reality.
In addition to the "minutes" issue, an additional, but related, debate that is raging is this: Should the 6th graders still receive general music, even when they're moved up to the middle school? If so, how should it be structured? My concern is that general music would become the "dumping ground" for those 6th grade students not currently enrolled in band, choir, or orchestra; and I do not want to see that happen. Not fair for the students, not fair for the teacher(s). My opposition has stated that since 6th grade currently receives general music instruction, why would we want to take that away from them and give them less music opportunity? My response to that is, give the children 90 minutes each week from K-5 and they'll actually be getting more.
Adding another twist to this, our state legislature, in their most recent session, eliminated language in the century code mandating school districts to include music and art instruction in the curriculum. While our superintendent has very clearly stated she has no intention of eliminating music, the ultimate decision is not up to her--she can advise the school board, but they will have the final say in the matter, should a motion to remove music instruction be made. Am I wrong to think that we, as a team of music teachers, need to tread (somewhat) lightly and choose our battles very carefully?
OK, that's where I'll leave things (for now--ha!) I'll be back later with some specifics as to what's been happening in my classrooms so far this school year.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Teaching Music on a Cart?!
I actually went shopping with my mom Thursdsay morning (the 16th) to get a few finishing touches for my other classroom. After shopping, we went to school and worked for the rest of the day to get everything completed. I was so relieved when it was done, I think I actually said, "Wow! I feel like a load is just completely off my shoulders now that this is done!" Big mistake.
Fast forward about 24 hours. I'm on our district's website looking for something, and I happen to see that there's going to be a special school board meeting that afternoon via conference call regarding the huge influx in enrollment in our city. As I continue to read, I see that the classroom I had just finished shopping for and putting together was going to be turned into a general classroom. As in, I had to move out of my room and onto a cart.
Long story (somewhat) shorter, the numbers in our school bounced around for about the next four days and I didn't have a definite answer as to whether I got to stay in my classroom or not until Tuesday, and we started with our kiddos on Thursday. So, as of now, I'm still in my classroom (PTL!), but that could change if we have any more little ones move into our school zone.
So, I guess what I'm asking is this: For those of you out there teaching music on a cart, please send some helpful tips, suggestions, strategies, etc. my way. (For example, do you have a special cart? Or did you just have to use any old cart they found for you?) I do a lot with movement, dance, and barred instruments in my classroom, so I'm not even sure yet how I would begin to address those concepts without my own classroom space. I just want to be prepared in case I end up needing to move out before this school year is over or at the beginning of next school year.
Thank you so much in advance!
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Mary Poppins Activity Pack
If your kiddos at school are anything like mine, by the time May rolls around, they've started to check out! I've spent the last couple of years putting together a "May is Musical Month!" theme in my classroom. It's important that our students are introduced to the world of musicals, but I don't feel they should just be plopped down in front of a TV for two weeks' worth of music class. While watching the musical, they should also be involved in standards-based activities. And especially if you're showing a musical in May, what better time to have "year-in-review" activities that tie into the musical?
That premise brought me to this: A complete activity pack for "Mary Poppins"! If you look back at previous posts, you'll see how my whole "Let's Go Fly a Kite" lesson came to be. I used the inspiration from that lesson to create my "Let's Go Fly a Kite" mini-unit available on Teachers Pay Teachers, and from there the ideas just kept flowing. The activities in the "Mary Poppins" pack review some of the big concepts we talk about in 2nd grade: dynamics, mood, basic standard rhythm notation, beats in sets of 3, and basic form (such as AB).
The "Mary Poppins" pack contains new lessons & activities as wells as the lessons & activities found in "Let's Go Fly a Kite". It's available now in my Teachers Pay Teachers store--enjoy!
That premise brought me to this: A complete activity pack for "Mary Poppins"! If you look back at previous posts, you'll see how my whole "Let's Go Fly a Kite" lesson came to be. I used the inspiration from that lesson to create my "Let's Go Fly a Kite" mini-unit available on Teachers Pay Teachers, and from there the ideas just kept flowing. The activities in the "Mary Poppins" pack review some of the big concepts we talk about in 2nd grade: dynamics, mood, basic standard rhythm notation, beats in sets of 3, and basic form (such as AB).
The "Mary Poppins" pack contains new lessons & activities as wells as the lessons & activities found in "Let's Go Fly a Kite". It's available now in my Teachers Pay Teachers store--enjoy!
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Balance. And by that I mean I spent...
...the better part of today with an iced coffee in one hand and a precious 3 year-old's hand in the other.
I feel totally motivated to get up each morning and work in my classroom(s), work on some new lessons/units, and pretty much do my prep work for the upcoming school year. But then, all the motivation/creativity (insanity maybe?) hits me all at once and I. feel. frozen. It's like there's too much swirling around in my brain to just stay focused on one thing at a time and get them done.
And then I realize I have a few more projects I want to finish around the house before summer's over. Summer's over? Oh my word--summer's quickly disappearing! I better get going on school work! Wait--NO! Finish house projects. Wait--NO! Ignore house, ignore school--play with daughter. Daughter wins.
I can panic about the house and school each and every mid-summer. Little Miss will only be little once.
Daughter wins, everytime :)
I feel totally motivated to get up each morning and work in my classroom(s), work on some new lessons/units, and pretty much do my prep work for the upcoming school year. But then, all the motivation/creativity (insanity maybe?) hits me all at once and I. feel. frozen. It's like there's too much swirling around in my brain to just stay focused on one thing at a time and get them done.
And then I realize I have a few more projects I want to finish around the house before summer's over. Summer's over? Oh my word--summer's quickly disappearing! I better get going on school work! Wait--NO! Finish house projects. Wait--NO! Ignore house, ignore school--play with daughter. Daughter wins.
I can panic about the house and school each and every mid-summer. Little Miss will only be little once.
Daughter wins, everytime :)
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Another New Item on TpT!
Just a quick note for today--I just added a new item to my Teachers Pay Teachers store!
It's a unit I do with my 3rd graders every Spring that introduces the concept of absolute pitch with an emphasis on Mozart.
Enjoy!
It's a unit I do with my 3rd graders every Spring that introduces the concept of absolute pitch with an emphasis on Mozart.
Enjoy!
Monday, July 9, 2012
New/Updated Items on Teachers Pay Teachers!
Hello and Good Monday Morning!
I just wanted to let you know that I've added a new item to my Teachers Pay Teachers store and edited a previously-existing one!
The new item is entitled "Planning for Music Programs". It's a mini-collection of documents to help keep your program planning organized. It also provides an at-a-glance rerference of the program for future reference. I have a binder containing the printed programs from all of the music program performances I've done over the last however many years, but it's impractical to lug around! This "Planning for Music Programs" collection is especially helpful for someone like me who travels between multiple schools and may forget when I last performed which program where....ha! It would also be very easy to pull this up and give it to the new music teacher in your school if you're moving to a different building....not that I'm in that boat or anything! ::wink, wink::
The newly-edited product is my "Documentation Helpers". It was previously a Word document; it's now a PDF. I loved the font I used when I created it in Word, but unless you all have downloaded the same font, it wouldn't download as I created it. So, I made it a PDF instead so that you can see what I originally inteded it to look like! No matter what I've tried, though, I can't get the thumbnail preview to show the correct font and I'm not sure why. I'll keep working on it, but rest assured--the complete download is correct! This one was a free download before, (and still is), so if you'd like to re-download it; no worries!
I've got a few more lessons/packets in the works, so hopefully I'll have even more in my store soon!
Have a great start to your week!
I just wanted to let you know that I've added a new item to my Teachers Pay Teachers store and edited a previously-existing one!
The new item is entitled "Planning for Music Programs". It's a mini-collection of documents to help keep your program planning organized. It also provides an at-a-glance rerference of the program for future reference. I have a binder containing the printed programs from all of the music program performances I've done over the last however many years, but it's impractical to lug around! This "Planning for Music Programs" collection is especially helpful for someone like me who travels between multiple schools and may forget when I last performed which program where....ha! It would also be very easy to pull this up and give it to the new music teacher in your school if you're moving to a different building....not that I'm in that boat or anything! ::wink, wink::
The newly-edited product is my "Documentation Helpers". It was previously a Word document; it's now a PDF. I loved the font I used when I created it in Word, but unless you all have downloaded the same font, it wouldn't download as I created it. So, I made it a PDF instead so that you can see what I originally inteded it to look like! No matter what I've tried, though, I can't get the thumbnail preview to show the correct font and I'm not sure why. I'll keep working on it, but rest assured--the complete download is correct! This one was a free download before, (and still is), so if you'd like to re-download it; no worries!
I've got a few more lessons/packets in the works, so hopefully I'll have even more in my store soon!
Have a great start to your week!
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