Nightsong by Ari Berk is a beautiful book about a bat flying off on his first solo adventure. Mama Bat tells him to, "Sing, and the world will answer".
Several times in the book Chiro, the little bat, sings his song. When I first read the book I loved it and the sense of quiet determination little Chiro has. Of course, I loved that he "sang" although you will need to explain to your students that bats do not truly sing, but what a great opportunity to talk bat facts and echolocation!
The paperback version is available from amazon for about $6.00. This is perfect for Halloween if your students cannot celebrate Halloween or if you are looking for a song in minor or a song for recorder to introduce E.
The orchestration is simple; feel free to add whistling tubes, thunder tubes and other sound effects to create a sense of mystery. Ask the children for suggestions of instruments to use instead of the shakers and chimes. Perhaps you have a gong - would the sound be as effective? Help them make musical choices about timbres.
As an extension activity, small groups of students could create a movement piece using black scarves. Consider turning the lights off and use battery operated tea lights inside hand drums as moons. The effect is very exciting!
If you have spent any time here you know how much I love songs from around the world. I have two clapping song books from around the world, available from www.singsmileplay.com and am working on another book of singing games from around the world. SO much wonderful material and so many pathways to take with each song. Will it be a focus on beat, a specific rhythm pattern, melodic direction, form, expressive elements.... the list goes on and on!
Today I have a song to go with the book, "Around the World We Go" by Margaret Wise Brown, author of "Goodnight, Moon".
Though I can't include the lyrics, here is the song with a very accessible arrangement for Orff instruments. Create a B Section with word chains using country names and you have a very playable piece to accompany the book! Enjoy!
I love the facebook AOSA page! I also belong to the Kodaly Teachers, and Elementary Music Teachers and several other music teacher groups. Such a wealth of information and people sharing lessons and ideas! Just this month I found a wonderful idea using the book,"Giraffes Can't Dance" by Melissa Burroughs and she so very kindly gave me permission to share it with you.
Explore movements on index cards (whole class first), divide into
5 groups for our "Jungle Party"--each group has 4 cards to create a
unique jungle dance for their animals.
Melissa purchased these cards at Dollar Tree recently.
All groups practices together, then time for the party!
Each group performs by themselves (consider using "Bossa
Nova" from 'Rhythmically Moving 7).
With 5 groups and 8 beats between each group (play on drum or tambourine
as signal to change groups), this works perfectly.
Students share what they liked about each groups special dances.
Day 2
Explore animal names with one and two sounds (first grade) and
animal names that fit into rhythmic building blocks (second).
Compose 4 beat patterns (first) and 8 beat phrases (second).
Teach song add bordun.
Perform in rondo form.
Extension:
Create story where they tell
about one of their animal's adventure; where did it go?What did it do when it got there?
Well.. it's a nice saying but not entirely true-- the beat sometimes gets faster and rarely gets slower, but it does sometimes change. But let's not confuse the little ones - beat or pulse in a song stays the same.
There has been a lot of conversation on several facebook groups I subscribe to about using beat buddies AKA beanie babies or stuffed animals filled with weighted beads. These lovely critters make an appearance in my classroom quite frequently with my littles - I have Junior Kindergarten - 4 and 5 year olds and Kindergarten kiddos who really love them.
1. Oh the Horse Stood Around
2. Knees a Knees a Pizza Pie
Here is a previous post of another steady beat activity I use with my youngest students at the beginning of each music class.
Schedules, shmedules. They can be our best friends or our worst enemies. My schedule has changed this year; where once I had 2 grade levels a day and taught 3 third grades in a row, then 3 second grades in a row, I now am back to 5 or 6 grade levels a day. Thankfully I do have 5 minutes between, but we all know how quickly that will be eaten up by changing out materials, re-setting the room, dealing with behavior issues and teachers who are late to pick up students.
Here are a few ideas to help in those times of transitions.
1.
Rhythm of the
Day
Display rhythm of the day - use a 4 or 8 beat rhythm; could be related to new
song or review material.Students
memorize it- whisper to a friend or clap it , patsch knees, etc . Throughout the class, at various times, say "Rhythm of the Day" and students perform it back using body percussion. Prize/bragging rights/acknowledgement to first person who recognizes it from a song.
2.
Picture It
This is a great idea from my friend Laurie S. I am using it this year for sure! Music (or video of music) playing as students enter, one of the following four pictures displayed as they are entering the room. Laurie keeps the pictures on a music stand outside her classroom, as students enter they notice which of the cards is displayed. This could be a "turn and talk"/"think/pair/share" or could be used as a journaling activity if you use writing journals.
Globe - Listen for Location. Where is the music from? What languages are spoken/sung? How do the people use this music in their lives?
Style - What genre of music are they hearing? What kind of sounds and instruments are used? What is the mood of the music?
? - Solve the Mystery - Is it a capella, is it the star spangled banner, do you hear a certain rhythm, what are the dynamics, etc.
Instruments - What instruments are being heard? What family of instruments do they belong to. What kinds of materials do they use?
3. Figure/Reconfigure
Sing a familiar song
– Jingle Bells, Happy Birthday, Old MacDonald, etc.Clap and sing it.Figure out the rhythm and re-create the
rhythm.Create first couple measures of
favorite songs. Write out measures on white boards then mix up the measures. Can you sing it?
4. Brain Dance
My friend Debbie does this with her students at the beginning of each class and has the students offer music suggestions (of course she screens them for inappropriate lyrics before playing) to play.
Brain Dance is a full body/brain warm up exercise. Developed by Anne Green Gilbert, Brain Dance uses eight developmental movement patterns that healthy human beings naturally move through in the first year of life. Cycling through these patterns at any age, while sitting or standing, has been found to be beneficial in reorganizing our central nervous system. Students can perform the brain dance in a chair, on the floor or standing. This dance can be done to any song to fit your schedule. You will want to check out Anne Green Gilbert's site here. Here is a visual you can use with your students. Initially, I do the movements, once learned, two students at a time lead the Brain Dance.
Here are more specific examples for each movement listed above: Start by taking a couple of deep breathes. Squeeze, pat, and brush all over your body. Make a big shape and then a smaller one. Repeat a couple of times. Wiggle all over, make sure to move your spine. Move your upper half. Move your lower half. Move the left side of your body. Move the right side of your body. Use your eyes to track your hand up, down, right, and left. Bring your right elbow to your left knee, then your left elbow to your right knee. Lean over and swing between your legs. Spin in a circle. Repeat the other way.
Hello songs, review songs, Songs of the Month etc. are also good ways to establish routines at the beginning of class. Hope you enjoyed these!
A group of fellow bloggers are posting each day in July to gear up and rev our engines for the start of a new school year. Find us on facebook at Music Ed Blogs. Amazing group of teachers with fabulous blogs!!
Names, names, oh how special they are! And how tough for us music, art, PE, library, etc. teachers to learn the hundreds of them each year.
Here are a few activities to help you the first few weeks of school, and these are SO fun!! Pinkie swear promise!
1. Jump In, Jump Out
There are many versions of this. I use the one from Laura at Make Music Rock.. She has a great blog post about this game! My older students love this one - maybe not for the very first activity the first day, but definitely sooner than later in the first lesson.
Here is a video of Laura's kids performing the game. I love it - fun and a little sassy.
Another version - love the Australian accent! I also love the beginning talk about the hand holding- very interesting!
2. Up the Ladder
From Randy and Jeff's Gameplan Curriculum, Grade 3, available here.
And check out the great extension using drums or UPP - again from Laura at Make Music Rock.
3. Hey, Children, Who's in Town?
4. Ickety Tickety
5. Name Game - The Original!
Remember this one? I do!!! Katie, Katie, bo-ba-tee, Bo-na-na fan-na, fo-fa-nee
Fee fi mo-may-tee Katie!
6. Dry Bones Come Skipping
7. I Can Say Your Name
8. Mrs, Macaroni
9. Names in Three
10. Willoughby Wallaby Woo! By Raffi
Willoughby wallaby woo
An elephant sat on YOU (point finger toward child whose name will be sung next)
Willoughby Wallaby Wistopher
An elephant sat on Christopher
11. Pig on Her Head by Laurie Berkner
Use the chorus of the song. A box of beanie babies are the perfect accompaniment for this one! Let each child choose; I usually put four or five on the floor at a time and invite three children up at a time (more choices than children, always). Begin by having the animal on children's heads, then sing, "Blakely has a goose on her hand....", and the next verse, "Thomas has a dog on his knee.. " etc. I love Laurie Berkner, if you don't already know "I Have a Chicken" you need it in your repertoire to use with shaker eggs. Hilarious!!!
Hope you have fun with these! If you know others, please share them in the comments below. Happy back to school!
