I’ve been doing a music residency with a grade 1 and 3 class at Grandview Elementary in Red Deer for the past week. I’ve seen the children every day for 35-45 minutes, and have had an amazing time with them! One of the lessons that went really well was a lesson on ostinato using the singing game, Musicplay 3, #6 Plainsies Clapsies.
As I'm editing Musicplay lessons to post on the new online resource - www.musicplayonline.com - I've been finding new ways to encourage student creativity in my music classes. The 2009 Ontario arts document focusses on the creative process and critical analysis, and the new Core Arts National standards in the USA, is very similar, with more focus on creating and process than on content.
Many kindergarten classes have a program for Mother's Day. If you're looking for ideas for a performance, there are several options for you in Musicplay.
Earth Day this year is Friday, April 22nd. If you are doing an Earth Day assembly performance or if you want to teach some lessons using the theme, this newsletter has some ideas for you.
This post is all about fun ways to teach children the letter names of the notes. When you play an instrument, it’s a very useful skill to know the name of the note on the staff so that you know which of the bars you should play! To be a good sight-reader, you need instant recall. You can’t be counting the lines and spaces on your hand staff if you want to be a fluent sight reader. So how do we get kids to develop fluency in reading music?
Game Directions: Have the class form a circle. Choose one child to be a leprechaun. The leprechaun marches around the inside of the circle. At the end of the second phrase the leprechaun stops in front of a child. They join hands and they “jig” - left heel forward, right heel forward, etc. The children in the circle should do a “sailors hornpipe” at the same time (fold arms and jig in place). Now two children march in the inside circle. They choose two more partners and jig again. Continue with four, then eight, until the entire class has had a turn.
Lucky Leprechaun
Bubble Trouble by Stephen Lawrence, published Alfred is a fun selection with great choreography possibilities. I like that it tells kids that they shouldn’t chew gum in choir – one of my pet peeves. Here’s a fun performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFMqfjtMPrc
Link to OCTAVO.
Ukulele in the Classroom – Part 1
By Denise Gagne
One of the biggest challenges every teacher faces is classroom management. Your most challenging class might be a kindergarten class with many behavior challenges or it might be a Grade 5 class with attitude. In this newsletter, I’m sharing some tips that have helped me with classroom management.