Writing in the Music Room

I know that one of the things I have tried to do more this year is provide more writing practice on known concepts during our lessons. I hope to blog more about this topic in the future as it is an on-going goal to continually do more with this. It such a great way for me to have a chance to really see who is getting the concepts, and who may need more help and support. It is also good for assessment and many districts are experiencing a huge push towards writing with the Common Core.

My kiddos have been practicing la so I pulled out this song:

Here's how we play the game. One student is "it" and sits facing away from the class. The class sings the first two lines and one student who I choose sings the last line as a solo. The person who is "it" must guess who is the mystery singer. This song is a great opportunity for me to hear individuals and squeeze in some solo singing assessment when they think I am just keeping track of turns. Sometimes when I have a squirrely class that may sing silly I do tell them that I am taking a pitch matching grade, but usually I don't need to.

After playing the game we go to the board and read the song with melodic icons like these. They sing on text first as I point to the pictures, then we sing on solfa with hand sings. Eventually the icons move onto the staff and we show where la would live if sol and mi are on lines or spaces.

Then, instead of printing out a worksheet for each student, we did this page together, projected onto the board. We focused in on the second measure only and I had individual students come up to the board and fill in the note heads. Once all the note heads were added, we then added the stems and beams. Doing this together as a class is really helpful for the students who need to see it modeled before doing something similar on their own.  

If you are interested in the slides and printable/projectable worksheet that I used for "Johnny's It" you can find it here.

What are some of the most successful ways you incorporate writing in your music room?

Materials for Teaching Tika-Ti

I've just finished another bundled set of materials! You can check out the Songs and Materials to teach tika-ti bundle here.

I am trying to get my 4th and 5ht graders caught up on the Kodaly Sequence, but it is definitely a process since reading rhythms and solfege is brand new to them. I am hoping to present tika-ti by the end of the year (eek, we are getting down to the wire!). 

Here are some fun songs and resources from my collection for tika-ti (or whatever you call it in your rhythm language).

Here's a short sample of one PDF slides from one of the songs:

Presenting tika-ti! (I also made slides to say tiri-ti, tipi-ti, ta-ka-di, duda-de) Let me know if you have yet another way to say this rhythm and I would be happy to make revisions to fit your rhythm language

I also have a very fun rhythm game and printables that are included in this set.

 

You can see more details about the Skipping Rope Song here.

The songs and flashcards from this set are also sold separately on my TpT store.

Kodaly for Older Beginners

I will begin by saying I am NOT the expert on older beginners. I was only in my second year of teaching when I started at a new school with grades 1-5 where the teacher before me was not a Kodaly inspired teacher and music literacy was not a priority. When I came into this school my students had no method of counting rhythms and had never heard of solfege. I had just completed my level 1 training and during my first year teaching I only saw grades K-2 so the upper grades were pretty new to me. I knew I wanted to teach them music literacy and I also knew there was no way I was going to accomplish this with songs like "Starlight, Starbright". I started searching for best practices for teaching older beginners. 

I looked for games they would love and ways to trick them into singing. My first year I really devoted to learning to read rhythms and getting used to singing beautifully without the crutch of CDs or piano. This year we have really taken a dive into melodic concepts starting with mi-re-do and I think thet are surprised by what they are now able to read and analyze!

I think a good starting place is one that lays a foundation for future concepts through games, nurtures the singing voice, and develops a sense of steady beat.

I have also found that m-r-d is a better starting place for older beginners than sol-mi since more of the age appropriate music begins and ends with m-r-d.

I am sure there are other teachers out there with similar situations, whether they are in a new school or just starting to take their levels training, so I compiled some of my kids' favorite songs and activities for those basic concepts. I know I would have really loved to have these resources when I started out!

I have included 6 songs like the following and activities that I have done with my older beginners.

I have also included 26 slides for the song "Mighty Pretty Motion". It can be found in 150 American Folk Songs to sing read and play. My kids really enjoy the game that goes with it.

After we've played the game several times and we are getting close to presenting sol, I show them this: 

(They think my hula dancers are funny!)

(repeats 2 more times)

(three times)

We could look at it on the staff:

back to the staff: 

 This packet for older beginners is available on my teachers pay teachers store here. It is by no means a complete comprehensive method for older beginners but more of a tool or starting place with ideas that you can build upon.

Comment below if you have other great ideas for older beginners! I am always looking for things to do with my 4th and 5th graders until we are "caught up".

If you have any questions about this or any of my other posts or products on TpT please email me at LindsayJervis@hotmail.com

Lindsay

Johnny's It: Prepare. Present and Practice la

My kids love to play the game of "Johnny's It". It can be found in the American Methodology and goes like this:

This a great opportunity for solo singing, especially since they have to sing before they get to be "Johnny". I have used this one for assessment in my class. I find I do songs for solo singing a lot, but I need to document how they are doing more often so that I can really track improvement. 

Here are some slides that I created to aid my visual learners and to connect the game to our new concept, la.

Steady beat:

Rhythm icons:

Rhythm stick notation:

Melodic contour icons:

 I bought these clip art houses from Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/audreeart?ref=seller_info

I think they are so cute!

 

I have also included a worksheet where they can practice writing the second phrase (which contains so mi and la) on the staff in two different places so that la is on a line and on a space.

The slides and worsheet are available at my Teachers Pay Teachers store here: 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Johnnys-It-A-song-for-la

Hoping to get some more "la" things posted over the next few weeks!

What are your favorite songs/activities for preparing, presenting or practicing la?

Lindsay