Ribbon/Scarf/Fan Choreography Made Simple

*Updated 3.9.217

I came across a blog post about using fans and scarves recently and it inspired me to look again at a previous post I had about using Movement Cards I created a couple years ago.  The original post is here.
I have many different kinds of ribbon streamers but all were homemade.  My favorite are made out of dowels and have fishing bobber atttachments (they twirl!) so don't get wrapped around students arms! I have also attached ribbons onto new elastic hairbands, and these work well for going around the wrist, although I prefer the ones on sticks as students have more control "drawing" with them in the air. 
Here is how mine are made:  6 - 7 feet of ribbon works perfectly and will not get tangled!  The silver stick is a yard stick (spray painted silver for the North Skelton Sword Dance).

And here is how the fisher bobber attachments look once placed:

Lots of music can be made into a fan/ribbon/scarf dance, from traditional instrumental folk recordings to classical pieces, from Indian folk to Spanish flamenco music. 

Here is one idea for using a piece with the movement cards:

Tale of Two Villages                                                                             

Source: Music for Creative Dance by Eric Chappelle, Contrast & Continuum, Volume 1,     available from itunes

 

Formation: Individuals scattered around room

Prepare for movement:

Move only arms to the beat for 8 beats, teacher plays drum for 8 beats

Move only one leg, etc., experiencing various levels of movement (high, middle, low), shapes created with body (circle, triangle, etc.), and ways of moving  (twist, leap, jump, walk, bend, slither, sway, melt,etc.)

A Section:  Non-locomotor movement (stay in place, move body to the beat)

B Section:  Locomotor movement (travel and move body to the beat)

“Notice what your neighbors are doing, try something you see someone else doing”

Discuss words to describe movement, discuss the activity; lead to discovery/labeling of same/different, “A” and “B” sections of music.

Another day use ribbon wands and UPP; half the class has ribbon wands, half the class has UPP.

Ribbon wands will watch as teacher changes shape cards below * on A section (mbira/kalimba playing on recording)

UPP players will improvise on B section (drumming)

 

Movement Cards:  Right click to save, import into powerpoint or other graphics-friendly program, enlarge, print onto cardstock, laminate and cut apart!



First Year Teacher Flashback

I am linking up with Shelley at Pitch Publications today for a Flashback Linky Party. I will be answering some questions from when dinosaurs roamed the earth... 22 years ago.. Haha!! Well, it was pre-internet and i had records and tapes, people!!!

 

1. 1.What subject/age and where were you teaching?
2. I taught K-6 at two different schools in my home state of Maine; one was 1.5 days a week and the other school was 2.5 days a week the first year. I subbed every monday, which was great experience!
4. 2.  What was your first classroom like?
5. The spring before i got the job, the school building was condemned due to some mystery gasses leaking through the floors. We were in a portable school which was brand new and very nice! That was my 2.5 days a week job. The other school o was in a portable that was tiny and smelled and was also used by the art teacher and the band teacher.
7. 3.  Were you given supplies and materials? I had some instruments at one school, none at the other, and had to beg to get a cheap plastic keyboard (casio) and a boom box. I had records (yes, really!), and I often schlepped instruments back and forth between schools.
9. 4.  What do you remember about your first day?
10.  How scared and nervous and excited i was!
12. 5.  What was the hardest part of your first year?
13. Having a very seasoned teacher next door who didnt like that the music room was right next door; she would open my door, glare at me and slam my door shut!
15. 6.  What was the best part of your first year? Being around children and making music with them!  I had never planned to teach elementary music; I was an opera major and planned to perform and/or teach high school chorus as it was more "sophisticated".  Four weeks teaching K-3 in my student teaching forever changed my life!  I love the wee ones (and not so wee! ).  What a blast!!  I also enjoyed meeting the music teacher who taught at a neighboring school and planning with her every week. She and i are still friends even though i am in NC and she is still in Maine.
17. 7.  What did you discover your first year that you didn’t learn in college or student teaching?
18. How much minutae can get in the way of teaching and music making. I didnt realize all the paperwork, budget info., written documentation, etc. that is a part of education!
20. 8. What is one thing you know now that you wish you knew then?
21. Someone wise once told me to think of teaching as a marathon; find/make/create 4 amazing lessons this year, 4 the next school year, etc. I also wish we had the internet back when i started teaching; the networking on facebook/social media we have access to is amazingly helpful... When i need aomething or have a ? I can post it on facebook and have 5 replies in an hour from teachers all over the world! That would have been incredibly helpful 22 years ago!

9.  Where did you draw most of your lesson plan inspiration from?
 I wrote a lot of lessons, used the standard classroom music books (and didn't like them), and went to every workshop i could.
 

10.  Is there anything you taught your first year that you still teach now?
I never teach the same thing the same way twice. I still do my "knees a knees a pizza pie" (see here) warm ups with my wee ones but have changed them a lot over the years!

Well , that's my flashback!  Newbies and first year teachers, have faith and confidence and remember to always put what's best for the children first! 
 

Ain't Gonna Paint No More Book and Johnny Paints with 5 Brushes Song

I am linking up with elizabeth at Caldwell Organized Chaos today for a linky party.

Being a crafty, creative kind of person I have dabbled in many art/crafty activities; jewelry making, rug braiding, weaving, painting, quilting, etc.  I love the liquid nature of paints and the vibrancy of pure colors.  Better yet, I love when colors melt into one another, creating swirls, patterns, dots, and drips.

 Today I am sharing one of my favorite spring lessons that would work well for younger students; I use this mostly with Kindergarten and first grades.

First, I tell them the story of John, who really wanted to be a carpenter. So he bought a hammer and some tools and started making things.  Sing "Johnny Works with One Hammer", all the way to "five hammers" as in the video below.

Then, I tell them John decided he needed a different kind of job, he enjoyed working with hammers but he really wanted to be a ..... PAINTER!  He got so excited he went out and got brushes and paints and began to paint.  Sing "Johnny paints with one paintbrush"... move one hand in a swishy up and down pattern, then just like the first song, add a "brush" each time.  

Next, I tell the students that John's mom came home and found him painting all over the floor, ceiling, carpets and she was not happy.  Read/sing/show the book, "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More" by Karen Beaumont.  

Available here from Amazon.com.

Then we perform the activity that goes with Trepak from Lynn Kleiner's  "Kids Can Listen, Kids Can Move.  WONDERFUL resource! There is a throwing and smearing of paint activity to accompany Trepak from the Nutcracker on page 18. Available  here from West Music.

 As a final activity, we go to a museum!  Well..... in a way. We sing, "Let's make a statue shape" to the tune of the Farmer in the Dell and at the end of the song everyone makes a statue shape and holds very still while I "visit the museum". Of course I make funny comments like, "Wow, that statue is a moving sculpture.. I didn't know they had those.  I don't like those very much!   They freak me out!".  The kiddos giggle, but get the point; no moving.  We sing again and I tour the museum making various comments.  Then I tell them the sculptures in the next museum are partnered.  Sing, they figure out how to connect with a partner, etc.  From there we create sculptures with groups of 3, then 4, etc. until we have a whole class sculpture. It's a great time to talk about levels of movement; high, medium, low, and for them to work through the problem of creating movement while being connected to another person.

Enjoy!

Three Things Link Up

I am linking up with Aileen Miracle at Mrs. Miracle's Music Room for a linky party in which music teacher bloggers write about three things that have worked in our classrooms.

I just got back from Spring Break in Phoenix, Arizona and, wow, love that place!  I also have really fallen in love with cacti, especially saguaro cactus, which grow everywhere near where my parents have a winter home. They live in the Sonoran desert, one of the few places these lovely creatures live.  They are funny and each one is so incredibly different; it's like they have their own personalities!
This is snap I took our last evening.. gorgeous sunset, but I really love black and white, too, and as I was shooting, a cowboy came right into my frame. Lucky for me!

 

 

1.  Listen to the Rain

In Arizona, they have been without rain since January so I think there is a bit of rain dancing going on, which led me to this post about the book, "Listen to the Rain" by Bill Martin and John Archambault.

 Available  here from Amazon.com.  My students love this lesson and it's a great one for talking about mood!  Enjoy.. and hope you are having a green spring! 

2.  Spring Bunny and Chick Rhythms

Wandering through Target a few weeks ago and I came across the cutest eraser packs with bunnies and chicks.  I have a bit of a collection of these as Target puts these out seasonally in their "Dollar Spot".  I have pumpkins, Frankensteins, candy corn, flowers, and other seasonal goodies to create word chain rhythms.  Yesterday my first graders were loving these little guys!

I was in the process of making a printable when I was on one of my facebook pages and Erica S. posted the one pictured!  She had such overwhelming response to everyone wanting it that she made it a freebie on TpT and offered an optional Notebook file for purchase.  You can get the freebie and file here.  Thanks, Erica!!! On the front of the page you notice 5 rhythms the children can write.  For the super achievers, on the back there are 10 more! Woohoo!! No, "I'm done, now what?".  My students were given about 7 minutes to complete 5 and most everyone got 5 and several went beyond!! Woot Woot!!!  They were then figuring out what they could use at home to make more rhythms.. can you say "flower/grass" or "Star Wars/Luke" or "cookie/milk"?  They were so funny! 
We began the 30 minute lesson using the book, "Bling Blang".  CUTE!  We used the basic outline found here for the activity, prepped students on movement first, sat and looked at book and did hammer and saw movement, then stood with a partner and performed hammer/saw movement with partners, walked to the beat (played softly on drum) during the verses.  I whispered "find new partner" a few beats before the chorus began again.  One note about partners; my students have many partnering opportunities but I always review the rules; the first person that asks you/that you ask is your partner.  We talk about hurt feelings if someone leaves you for a "better opportunity" and to always show respect and kindness. If two people ask at the same time they "rock/paper/scissors shoot, one and done unless it's a tie".  We then played Salami (Sol La Mi) game, then I had them find the beat while I played "There's Music in a Hammer" from Grade 1 Gameplan, pg. 83.  We sang the song, walked the beat, then hopped the beat like a bunny.  Why a bunny?  Cats like to chase critters, and bunnies and chicks are cute critters, which led us into the writing activity.  Students each picked up 3 bunnies and 3 chicks (no chances for all "Ta's/Ti-Ti's!!".  Ha!! The room was so quiet as they were each writing and whispering/tapping their rhythms.  GREAT fun!  If we had more time I would have had them partner up and create 2 rhythms to perform as a word chain to create alternating "B"sections with the song.  Oh, time... such an enemy, isn't it??

3.  Avocado Hand Clapping Game

My kids have been obsessed with this game this year; it started when we returned to school in August and one of our students had learned this game from a cousin. It spread like wildfire with crazy lunch time battles of Avocado.. so much that some teachers banned the kids from playing it at lunch!!
This will be included in my new book, we are in the editing process right now!  My last book was hand clapping games from around the world, available here from Beatin' Path Publications.  The new book will be available soon, also from Beatin' Path and will be all North American games and songs, some with Latin American roots, but all in English! 

Palm Push – Own palms facing each other, thumbs and fingertips touching, quickly flip palms down and out away from body, push palms out towards partner

Game continues until someone makes a mistake in the clapping game; the person who made the mistake is either called “avocado” for 10 minutes, or they choose a new name from the letter they made a mistake on; “L”; they could be called “Lily”, “Lucy”, Leon”, etc. for the next 10 minutes.

 

Teacher Tip:  It will make more sense with the palm push to think of it as an extension of the “clap own” so that once you clap your own hands you keep the fingertips and thumbs together and push the palm out towards partner.  My students can’t get enough of this game and the upper elementary students love it!

 

Dancing and Singing to Ireland

I blogged just a few days ago about several songs and activities I use for St. Patrick's day and here are a couple others!

1.  The Rakes of Mallow or "Irish Stew"

The music is from the Rhythmically Moving CD's and Kriske and DeLelles have a version of this in Book 2 of Gameplan.  The version of the dance my students use is a "mashup" of theirs along with some other moves!

 

        

Partners side by side in a circle, holding a pair of rhythm sticks.

A:

Walk forward clockwise for 8 beats, heel, toe, tap, tap, tap ( qq n q ), heel, toe, tap, tap, tap ( qq n q ), turn and walk forward counter clockwise for 8 beats, heel, toe, tap, tap, tap ( qq n q ), heel, toe, tap, tap, tap ( qq n q ). Say, "Forward, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, heel, toe, tap, tap, tap, heel, toe, tap, tap, tap".  

Heel, toe:  One heel on the floor with toes sticking up, take the same foot and tap the toe on the floor in front of other foot. Next heel and toe use the opposite foot.  To simplify, say, "jump, jump" in place of "heel, toe".

B:

Click sticks 4 beats (sword fight!) with partner, stir (make a stirring motion to stir your Irish Stew) 4 beats, do-si-do 8 beats repeat by turning to opposite and perform with neighbor.

 

2.  The Rattlin' Bog

I was introduced to this song a long time ago as a child by my favorite Maine musicians, Schooner Fare, and still LOVE it!  The version I use in the classroom is much faster, as each verse speeds up dramatically and it is beloved even by my fourth graders!  This is a good version with lyrics on the screen:

 

3.  Irish Washerwoman Dance

This is a fun, high energy  dance for your older kiddos and the description of the dance moves is included in the notes below the video on youtube!

How to Make Stretchy Band Video

Yay!!  I finally got a video made this morning for a tutorial on how to make stretchy bands. I use them frequently in my classroom and not only for movement activities, but also I put instruments behind them and create a line with the bands that students can only step over when we are ready. It makes a great visual barrier for students, especially those with poor impulse control.

Here it is! 

Gettin' Me Eire On!

Ireland, oh, Ireland!
Someday I'm going to visit ye!!
I'll sit in a pub with a pint or two,
And fiddle and jig far across the sea.

 

My students hear a lot of reels and jigs this time of year, as well as some Celtic music.  There are a lot of choices from youtube but I tend to use the CD's from Step Lively and there is a lot of reels/jigs from New England Dancing Masters so if you have any of their collection you probably have some wonderfully authentic sounding jigs and reels.  I love the Irish Reel Medley from New England Dancing Masters. From youtube I love this Irish Reel Medley and the video shows a bodhran, fiddle, pipes, and guitar. Lively arrangement!

Rhythm Play

 

My students are playing spoons and drums to this while I show 4 beat rhythms they have to play. Every 16 beats I switch to a new rhythm, say, "One, two, ready, play" and they are off for another 16 beats playing the next card.  Great assessment tool, too!

 

Irish dances

One of my favorite folk dances (and students) is "Brian Boru," an Irish dance in  "Teaching Movement and Dance."

Another "The Bridge of Athlone" can be found in the previously mentioned "Listen to the Mockingbird" by the oh-so-very-wonderful New England Dancing Masters.

 

Movement/Form

This is one of my favorite activities with Susan Ramsey (probably an Orff levels class) and it is so very fun.  I play it with first grade on up with varying degrees of complexity.  They LOVE it!

 

 

 

 

Video

Leroy Anderson's Irish Washerwoman with gorgeous background of Ireland!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!