MUSIC
December was a very productive month for our 3rd and 4th grade musicians! We were inspired by the changing of the seasons and took on a piece entitled "Leaves are Falling." The kids first learned how to sing the song as a whole group. I then demonstrated both the melody and the bass accompaniment on the Orff instruments and then children chose which one they wished to play (either the melody or the bass). They have since mastered the piece as an ensemble! They sound fantastic!
We took it one step further and started talking about what a scale is (a particular collection of notes with particular intervals between each note) and I then encouraged the students to start improvising within the key of e minor. We set some limits to the improvisation in order to structure their playing, such as start and end on the letter "e" and have the improvisation be 8 measures long. To my delight, students are becoming more confident with their improvisations as the weeks go by.
The kids have also broken into small groups and are beginning to choreograph a dance piece using scarves and ribbons to "Leaves are Falling."
During the month of December, we read the story of The Nutcracker and listened to the musical selections while participating in some guided movement. You know it's a good sign when kids excitedly say, "Can we do that one more time?"
In honor of African-American history month, January and February will be spent exploring the rich array of musical material that has supported everything from the transport of slaves via the Underground Railroad, to the songs that inspired millions in the Civil Rights era. We will be learning singing games such as "Down in the Valley" and "Pour me a Bucket of Water" as well as hand jive games such as "Juba" and attempting to sing "partner songs." Partner songs are when the kids sing 2 or more different songs at the same time - in this instance it will be 3 songs - "This Train," "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." As we learn songs and musical material, I enjoy reading books to the children that are pertinent to deepening their understanding of this important part of our American history. Some books we will be touching upon include, "This is the Dream" by Diane Shore and Jessica Alexander, "Rosa" by Nikki Giovanni, "Follow the Drinking Gourd" by Jeanette Winter and "Jazz on a Saturday Night" by Leo and Diane Dillion.