SORRY! -PRESENT lessons

Yes, I am alive.  I was just at camp for a few weeks.  But I am back, and in the midst of preparing for my last 3 weeks of grad school and the World Choir Games here in Cincinnati I HOPE to post more.

So, last post, so long ago, was about preparing and practicing elements so I figured today I would give a few tips on Presenting an element to your class.

When presenting, students should already know everything there is to know about the element- except the real name.  If it is a note- is it a step, a skip, or a leap away from known notes?  Is it higher or lower than known notes- or in between?  If it is a rhythm, they should be able to identify it in new songs and old songs, and new patterns.

When doing a present lesson- I choose the present song first.  The present song should have the element only once in it (if possible) AND should have no other unknown elements in it.

Start the lesson as you would any other lesson- I always start singing a few songs that will be in the lesson later to give the students brains a preview of mystery songs.

Whatever song I choose next is used again in lesson.  I always use the first song in lesson and read it with the element still unknown, and then as soon as the element is presented we go back to the song.

The rest of the lesson flows pretty normally (obviously there is no pivot song, because the whole lesson is focused on the element being presented).  I try to use manipulatives, board work, inner hearing, etc.

Right before I present, I am sure to do a Final Aural Prep which is basically a "repeat after me" that gets continually harder.  Students start just by repeating directly after me.  I then show them the first solfa note (or tell them what rhythm sound the pattern starts on) using hand-signs and loo the pattern.  Next, I just loo the patterns.  After that- I sing the words of a known song while signing the first solfa note and  finally I just sing the words.   Students are required to sing back on solfa for EVERY LEVEL.

The last pattern always leads to the present song- which I have on the board, but missing the measure that contains the new element.

When actually presenting, I am sure to go over all the things students should know about the element- the name, steps, skips, common patterns, handsign, etc.

We then find the new element in other songs.

See below for a sample RE present lesson.

Next post will be on using popular music in upper-elementary grade classes.  :)

Daily Plan

     Grade: 2

 Number:  25 or so

Focus: PRESENT RE

Known Melodic: d, m, s, l and “new”

Known Rhythmic: q iq z h

Behavioral Objectives: Students are engaged and having fun while learning!

Activity Types: Read_x_ Write_x_  Partwork _x_  Form_x_  Improv __  Move_x_ 

                          Listen_x_ Instruments_x_ solo singing __

Materials: Tuning Fork                                                Song List on Board

                   Closet Key Solfa notation on board 6         Key on string

                   Who’s That Visual w/ solfa cards  

                   Bow wow wow on board – last 2 mm not filled in

                   Closet Key on Staff – some notes missing, some solfa missing

                    My Aunt Came Back book + Words of 1^st vs on board with missing solfa

                   Xylo visual for Hot Crossed Buns- Instruments in F pentatonic

                   Sneaky Snake melodic for Hop Old Squirrel

Songs: Closet key, Who’s That? Bow-wow-wow, Hot Crossed Buns, Grandma Grunts,

Procedure: F= do

2 min: Students Sing Following Songs that MAY be used in the Lesson

                        Bow-wow-wow, Hot Crossed Buns, Closet Key, Grandma Grunts, Who’s That

4 min: CLOSET KEY

                        Ss. silently read solfa notation on board; ID song

                        Ss. sing song on solfa syllables (use hand signs) 

                        Ss. sing song on words- (use hand signs)  à Students sing to a circle

                        Play Game (usually 2 rounds- for peer teaching just 1)

Transition: Please sing that song back to your seat as I loo another song against you

5 min: WHO’S THAT    

                        Ss. ID song from Ts Loos

                        Ss. sing song

                        T. uses visual and Ss. Loo song à Ss. Sing song on solfa with Hand signs

                        Ss. use solfa cards to put solfa onto visual (tape!)

                        Part work as visual shows

                                    T. holds “that” first

                                    Then Split class

                       

Transition: First solfa Pattern comes from Whose That 

7 min: BOW-WOW-WOW

            FAP-             A) T. sings/ signs 4 beat melodic pattern à students echo

                                    (dd-mm-r-d) (m-r-d-r)

                                   B) T. signs first solfa note, then loos pattern à Ss. Echo à sign/sing solfa

                                    (d-r-m-d)   (m-m-r-m)

                         C) T loos melody without showing first note à Ss. Echo à Ss. Sign/sing solfa

                                    (ss-l-s-m-r)  (s-l-s-m-r-d)

                        D) T signs first solfa note, then sings words à Ss. Echo à Ss. Loo à Ss. Sign/sing solfa

                                    (m   r r r r d m d) –blue bird     (d-d-mm-d-m-r-d) – Grandma Grunts

                        E) T sings words à Ss. Echo à Ss. Loo à Ss. Sign/ sing solfa

                                    (d-d-m-m-r-m)- Closet Key   (mm- rr- d) – Rain is falling down

Transition: The last pattern sung from Rain… is VERY similar to the end of the song on board.  Can you figure out what it is?

            Present- Have song on board (F = d) [Diagram A]. 

                        A) Ss read/ sign/ sing solfa of phrases 1-3 and identify the song. 

                        B) Ss. Determine and write text of last phrase under staff [Diagram B-1]. 

                        C) Ss. re-sing last 2 phrase -resing solfa for ph 3 – loo on ph. 4 à Sing both on solfa                                                 determine solfa and mark in dashes above text [Diagram B-2].                         

                        D)Place solfa notes onto staff [Diagram C].

                        E) Review qualities of “?” – Step v than mi, step ^ than do (btw mi and do).  Hand Staff Ch.

                        F)Present “?” = re [Diagram D] and show correct handsign (w/ ss have already been doing).                         G)Ss Sign/ Sing the staff notation with solfa. 

                        H)Ss Sing lyrics and sign solfa. 

                        I) Play the Game!           

Transition: Please sing BOW WOW WOW back to your seats as I loo another song.

4 min: CLOSET KEY  

                        We just discov. re in Bow-wow-wow.  Let’s prac. it more by figuring out the next song!

                        T. Loos patterns on board à Students echo  (dd-mm-r-m) (dd-mm-dd-m) (dd-mm-r-d) 

                        T. loos melody by phrase à Class echos then sings back melody with solfa

                                    Put melody cards in order

                        I have put some of this song on the staff already- Can you fill in the missing solfa/ notation?

                                                (diff students do diff mm)

                        MEMORY GAME:

                                    Ss. Discover form of song [A B A Bv]. 

                                    T. Erases mm. and students sing solfa from memory.

8 min: MY AUNT CAME BACK (book/ new song)

                        T. Sings story

                        Ss. Figure out Solfa Phrase by Phrase  (T gives Toneset) (fill in missing)

                        Ss. sing on solfa

                        T. Sings story again- this time adding motions J

5 min: S-L-M  (up to 5 pts) (USE RE A LOT)

Transition: Echo sing to groups (T. Sings Hot Crossed Buns on Solfa then ANN)

6 min: HOT CROSSED BUNS

                        S. figure out from echo singing

                        Add B Section Yummy Yummy Hot Crossed Buns

                        Ss. sing song to lines of 4 students each behind pre set instruments

                        Ss. Sing and play along with the song (instruments pentatonic – find m-r-d on chart)

                                    Rotate during spoken B Section

                       

We have another RE song about one of my family members?  We have already sang it earlier in the lesson- can someone tell me what song they think it might be?

Transition: Now that we know where m-r-d are on the instrument let’s play a few more patterns

4 min: Students play 2 patterns each then rotate (end with Grandma Grunts dd mmd m r d)

                        Class

6 min: GRANDMA GRUNTS

                        Our last pattern was from one of our songs! It’s one about one of my family members… but NOT my aunt…

                        Do partwork with Grandma Grunts – in canon  sing on words w/ handsigns

                        Change it up- T. loos hop old squirrel against G. Grunts

8 min: HOP OLD SQUIRREL

                        Sneaky Snake

                        Play Nut Game (3 at a time, ALL GO TODAY)– after turn Ss. line up at door, but still sing!

1 min: Hop Old Squirrell as they go to the door

Evaluation:

PPP- Prepare/ Practice

Within the Kodaly Philosophy there is an order of teaching- Prepare, Present, Practice (or PPP).  Each is Very important to a child learning a new melodic or rhythmic concept.  We make sheets called "PPP sheets" which, using 5 songs, take us through the process of each of these three stages of learning.  This can be applied to any concept- music or not.   Obviously, a teacher will use more than 5 songs to prepare a song, but these sheets are great starting points for ideas :)

When preparing (and practicing) a concept a teacher needs to use Physical, Visual, and Aural activities to ensure that all types of learners are involved and getting it.   The trick for prep is that it is never named in the prep stage.  Student may call a new note High (as in high do or la) or low (as in do, low la, or low so) or even new (for those in-between notes like re, fa, and ti).  The same goes with rhythms- starting with long and short, or finding words that have the same amount of syllables (such as al-li-gat-or for tika tika or blueberry for ti-tika).  Students learn to discover the note and how it fits into their already made schemas.  Is the rhythm more sounds for 1 beat, or more than 1 beat to one sound?  Is the note a step, skip, or leap away from notes already known?

 I prep until about 90% of my students are ready to move on.  This comes quicker for rhythmic concepts.  I try to present at least 2 new rhythmic elements and 2 new melodic elements a year- along with other musical terms like up beat, 1st and 2nd endings, tempo markings, dynamics, etc.

Once the concept is presented all activities can be the same- the melodic or rhythmic concept is now just named!  

I typically split a prep/ practice lesson into one rhythmic concept and one melodic unless they are really close to presentation for one or the other.  Always have a pivot song that has both the R and M concept in it so that your lessons flows smoothly from one to the other.  An example lesson is posted below :) 

Ways that I prep concepts physically include: 

Melody: 

Hand signs (point up or down for the high or low note)

Ghost notes- showing the melodic contour in the air

Hand Staff- fingers are the lines :)

Body Staff- So is shoulders, waist is mi, do is knees, etc. 

Solfa Ladder- students must point on individual ladders for this to be physical

Rhythm:

Doing body percussion- a different movement on each type of rhythm (clap on ta, snap on ti-ti, stomp on tika tika, etc) 

Stepping ONLY on the new type of rhythm

Moving on all BUT the new type of rhythm 

Ways I prep concepts Visually include:

Melody:

Magnets on a staff (late prep)

Line Graph (map out the contour of the song) 

Flash cards (with arrows or question marks where the new note is) 

Word cards- students move them to match the contour of the song

Solfa Ladder- teacher or one student points 

Rhythm: 

Replace the rhythm with either dots (to show short sounds) or lines (to show longs sounds) 

Flash Cards

        Plain Old Flashcards

        Tik-Tak-Toe

        Missing Rhythms on board

        Putting a song in order 

Word Cards- students listen and put words or syllables into Big Heart Beats

Manipulatives (popsicle sticks, bingo chips, etc) 

When I prep concepts Aurally I do things such as: 

T sings two patterns- one with the concept, and one without- students ID 

T sings pattern or song- Students ID new melody or rhythm with a pre-desigated motion

T sings on loo- students echo, then sing or say using solfa or rhythm syllables

Students move word cards/ magnets to show contour of a song

T sings and students place word cards/ magnets into large beat hearts

Students sing all the words of a song EXCEPT the new concept 

T (or SMARTboard) plays and example- students match it to one of three or four choices

           Worksheet with same idea
S-L-M or poison patter
           Game of Teacher vs. Class- T identifies a poison pattern (with new element in it) that students have to listen for and NOT repeat.




Example Prep and Practice lesson- 3rd Grade, Prep High Do' and Practice Tika Tika

   Grade: 3

 Number: 9

Focus: practice tika tika, prep do’

Behavioral Objectives: Students are engaged and having fun!

Activity Types: Read_x_ Write__  Partwork_x_  Form_x_  Improv _x_  Move_x_ 

                          Listen__ Instruments__ solo singing _x_

Materials: Math Clock Manipulative    Jazz Pizz GP chart

                  Flash Cards 

Procedure:

2 min            SING SONGS in LESSON (chicken, tideo, tick-tock)

4 min            Sung Greeting dddd dd mr m s

8 min            Chicken on a Fence Post

                        Sing song- Students ID from greeting

                        Students come up with excuses – same rhythm! Tricky!

                        Play Game

3 min            Tika-Tika jjjq Flashcards  or SMARTboard what rhythm do you hear?

                        Go through a few flashcards

                        End with pattern on board for Jazz Pizzicato

                       

15 min            Jazz Pizzicato

                        Read C rhythm from board – Tika Tika!

                        Listen and Dance as In Game Plan Grade 3 (movements for A B and C sections)

                         Discuss CODA

10 min            Tideo- Pivot

                        Make C part of Jazz Pizz an ostinato as T sings new song  and students move back to seats

                        Figure out song, sing on Solfa

                        Play Remote Game- word, solfa, and off channels

                       

6 min            S-L-M

                        Play a round of s-l-m to practice HIGH do

5 min            Eyes of Blue (from Kodaly Context pg 247)

                        Sing song

                        Teach by rote

                        Look for do’

What are some other songs we have with HIGH in them?  Sing all mentioned- lead to Tick Tock!

3 min            TICK TOCK

                        Sing song – point out HIGH notes

                        A few clock times- have a math clock manipulative 

Any other ways you prepare or practice a concept? 

Tuesday Book Club - Can You Hear It?

Todays post highlights the book Can You Hear It from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This book starts with a note to parents and teachers, then moves into an introduction of musical instruments and finally gets to the 26 classical music selections.

Each selection of music is accompanied by an art picture and things to listen for in the song.  For example: The Flight of the Bumblebee page asks: Can you hear the bee flying from flower to flower- the violins and the flute play it.  It then asks a few other questions that help paint a mental picture of the music being played.

The book comes with a CD of all 13 songs. 

I have never yet used this book in my classroom, but I see it as a great introduction to many classical pieces that helps us to springboard to learning about the composer, breaking down the rhythm or melody (if appropriate) or moving to music.  I plan on using it in 1st and 2nd grade next year!  The kids love I SPY so why not use a book where they hear instead of see??  We could even expand to play with other songs not included in the book.

Songs included are:
The Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakov
The Four Seasons:Winter (allegro) by Vivaldi
An American in Paris by Gershwin
The Carnival of the Animals: The Aquarium by Saint-Saens
Romeo and Juliet: Dance of the Knights by Prokofiev
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy by Tchaikovsky
The Four Seasons: Spring (allegro) by Vivaldi
The Carnival of the Animals: Fossils by Saint-Saens
Comic Duet for Two Cats by Rossini
The Carnival of the Animals: The Elephant by Saint-Saens
Billy the Kid: Gun Battle by Copland
The Four Seasons: Summer (Presto) by Vivaldi
The Carnival of the Animals: Finale by Saint-Saens

Balloons!

So, I just tried the Balloon activity with a First Grade class and they LOVED it!  What is the balloon activity you may ask?  Well, I saw some teachers on Pinterest doing a countdown to the end of the school year with balloons.  Each day, the kids would get to pop a balloon and a random, fun activity would fall out.

I thought this was a great idea- but if I was counting down the last music classes, I would have had to start months ago so I changed it up a bit.  I had the first graders write down their favorite music games from the year on little strips of paper last week.  We ended up with about 15 games/ stories once repeats were discarded.  Today I took those little strips and put them inside balloons.  When the kids got here, the balloons were all over the floor.  Kids got to take turns popping them to find out which fun activity we would do next.  It was so fun to hear their excited squeals when each game was revealed.  I did let them pop the balloons on their own- some used hands, some feet and others covered their ears :)

We ended up with a great variety of activities- some chase games, some partner games, some stories, etc.  Next year I might even color-code for myself different types of games to be sure that we get a variety. (All the chase games in RED, all the partner in Orange, Stories in Yellow, Listening activities in Blue, etc).

Now, I know we have to be careful as some kids have Latex allergies so make sure you know your class before you try this.  Tomorrow I am doing something similar with another first grade class, but their favorite activities are going into the RANDOM WORD GENERATOR on my SMARTboard.  Then a kid can touch "generate" and it will pick an activity.  This is a good way for those classes who maybe can't handle balloons (or who have allergies) but you still want to make the last day fun.

I try to practice concepts right up until the end of the year, and many classes do that- but sometimes we have short weeks where I only see 1 or 2 classes in a grade OR the classes I see are already ahead the last week and these are great ideas for those groups.  The kids love to remember the whole year and all the stuff we started with.  Some groups even request games from past years.  It's a lot of fun!

Tuesday Book Club- Favorite Resources- Kodaly and ORFF

Just thought I would make a quick post listing some of my favorite Kodaly and Orff resources that I use for my classroom.  These are books I use for ME- not read to the kiddos.

1. 150 American Folk Songs to Sing Read and Play

This Orange book is the BEST! I just bought it for my student teacher!  It has an index in the front by tone-set and I use it ALL THE TIME.

2. Sail Away

Both of these books are great folk song resources.  They have hundreds of songs written in staff notation with indexes of pitches.  I have used them numerous times to get songs for my retrieval collection

3. An American Methodology

This is basically a Kodaly oriented 5-year year-plan.  It is a wonderful resource when looking for songs, or ways to prepare, present, practice, and play new elements.  (More on the 4 p-s later).  This book goes by concept- both pitch and rhythm elements and lists songs and has TONS if ideas on how to use them kids so the same activities aren't being used OVER AND OVER AND OVER.  I know I have my standby rhythm and pitch activities so this book is helping me get out of my box.

4. Kodaly's 333 and other Kodaly sight reading books

Love these! They are great to put on the board or just for myself to practice my own musicianship skills.  They start simple and gradually add more pitches and more difficult rhythms as the book progresses- they move through the pitches in a typical Kodaly pentatonic fashion- s-m, then la, then do, re, etc.

5. Classical Cannons

This is a book of tricky cannons, organized by difficulty.  Use it to challenge your best groups!

6. 150 Rounds for Singing and Teaching

Kids love rounds and cannons.  Some of these are great for younger ones, some for older. They love hearing the harmonies and it makes the kids feel accomplished when they perform a round or cannon in more than two groups.  I had a 3rd grade student once who, let's be honest, wasn't that into music-  until we did a round in class one day.  He said "This is AWESOME!" and has been a model music student who sings out and loves every minute of class.  Who would have thought that his hook would be when "two or more groups, do the same thing, but start (clap clap) at different times!

7. The Kodaly Method

This is a great introduction to the Kodaly method.  It has chapters on the history, starting young children, starting older learners, expanding their knowledge, etc.  I had to read this book for both undergrad and graduate school and there are great passages in every chapter.  It also has a song index, with songs written in staff notation in the back.  Love it!

There is also a newer book out called Kodaly Today that helps teachers apply the method to classrooms in the 21st century.

8. Simple Gifts

These books are a rare find.  I believe they are out of print.  I have books 1 and 2, and would love to eventually find 3 and 4.  They list songs by concept and have them written in Stick Notation. There are so many songs and you just have to flip through the corner to find your concept.  Book one is basically s-m-l and quarter note, paired eighth notes while book two adds do and re as well as rests and sixteenth notes.  I have learned you can get them from the Silver Lake College!  Awesome!

9. Any book by Lynn Kleiner

I saw Lynn at an OMEA conference a few years ago and man does she have ENERGY!!! Her songs are great for the primary kiddos.  Many of them are either rhythm or play oriented- a lot have notes beyond the primary understanding- but do I still use them?- OF COURSE.  Kids love the puppets and games and FUN that goes along with her songs.  She has Ocean themed books, Farm books, and many more.  She also has GREAT guided listening activities.

10.  Any book by DeLelles and Kriske

These Orff guys are wonderful- not only do I use their Game Plan series (see past post) but I also have many other books by these great teachers.  They have wonderful Orff instrument stuff that I would love to add more of into my lessons. They also take some of the rhythms from Music For Children (by Orff) and give a teacher great ways to use them.

11.  Mallet Madness and Mallet Madness Strikes Again by Artie Almeida

Another great resource for activities to do with the Orff instruments in the classroom.  She uses story books, folk songs, and much more.  The books come with visuals one can copy as needed.  Great books!

I also use many other Orffestration books by various authors for my Orff group and in class.  I really want to use the instruments more next year.  Goal for this summer I guess!

Stay tuned for a succession of posts on the 4 p-s- Prepare, Present, Practice and Play.  I will give sample lessons and other ideas as well.  I only have 2 days left of school so I will have plenty of time next week to write up everything!

Thanks for reading! :)

Tuesday Book Club- John Denver and Christopher Canyon

Last year for Right to Read week our school had the illustrator Christopher Canyon and his wife come in to speak to our students.  They are both wonderful artists.  Mr. Canyon illustrates many books, but the ones I use most often in my class are the John Denver Songs he has put beautiful pictures to.  I have both "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Grandma's Feather Bed".  He has also illustrated "Sunshine on my Shoulders". Kids love these books.  They love to look at the artwork- which is drawn to make the pages look like a quilt (see below)- and to sing along to the songs.  I tie in the history of the songs, as well as folk music/ ballads and we listen and sing other types of folk music as well.  Older kids learn the Dulcimer and do folk dances too.

The backs of the books are great because they not only have the music for a teacher to play, but they also have specific information on each song- how John Denver came to write the words, where it was first performed, the inspiration behind the song, etc.

While I was hesitant to use these books at first, because I have heard of teachers who have their kids sing along to John Denver for a full hour of music (my friends student teaching experience), the kids really do love them and ask for them to be repeated again and again.

Check back soon for info on favorite Orff/ Kodaly resources AND to see how a balloon popping last day activity went :)

Kindergarten/ 1st Grade Pitch Exploration

Pitch exploration is so important for the younger students.  We as music teachers help student explore their voices in many ways- Animal Sounds, sirens, "ghost voices", buzzing bees, etc.  John Feierabend has a pitch exploration story set that I use often in my class, as well as great book ideas but this summer I worked with another teacher- thanks Jaime Pitts Parker!- in my Graduate Classes to make a "book" that takes us through the entire year.  It is in the form of a power point that I project onto my SMARTboard.  Each page is repeated so that the students can use their voices to follow the lines that I have drawn and then on the next page they can draw their own.  It takes the form of a train ride going to different places and seeing different things as the seasons progress.  The students LOVE the fact that it is interactive- and even if you don't have a SMARTboard you can project onto a white board and do the same thing :)

Some examples of a few of the pages statements are below:

Look out the window at the leaf falling from the tree! Can you make your voice match the leaf path?

It's Snowing! Which snowflake path does my voice match?

I love going to the amusement park in the summer! Let's match the path of the hills on the roller coaster with our voices!

It's great to visit the zoo! Keep your hands and feet in the train until we come to a full and complete stop.  Look! A Lion! Can you make a Lion sound?  What are some of your favorite animals? Can you make their sounds?

I love to use these each week- doing a page or so as they correspond with the seasons. I always have a few kids draw new lines or make the new sounds.

Click HERE to go to my Teachers Pay Teachers store to see a LOT of the awesome Vocal Exploration files I have made.  There are also a few, not so pretty, but still very functional files on my WIX site (tab above). Once at the Wix site, click "For Colleagues" and then you can look at some SMARTboard files and other files I mention on my blog.


Have a great weekend! Only a few more weeks of school for many of us this year.  Don't worry- I will still post over the summer :)