Weekly Review 10/19 - 10/23

It has been a busy week for the first graders! First, they learned an awesome game called So La Mi.  The whole class plays against the teacher, and points are awarded to the students if they echo all patterns except for "so la mi." If someone sings by mistake, the teachers get a point!  This was a great way to reinforce the solfege syllables.  They sang a spooky song in minor tonality - "Ghost of John" - then learned "The Bats Are All Asleep."  The teacher sings (using a crescendo), then the students respond (with a decrescendo).  Then, I told them a story called "Thump, Thump, Thump." The students helped create the story, then they sang the song.  We also added a percussion accompaniment on hand drum, triangle, and egg shakers.

The second grade students reviewed a favorite song from last year, "Ghost of John."  We sang it in unison, and then again as a round.  We also read them a story about Bony Legs, which has a fun song to go along with it!  When the story was over, we played an accompaniment on the Orff instruments (xylophone, metallophone, and glockenspiel).  For their second music class, the students sang "A Funny Little Lady," then played a great musical guessing game to go along with the song!

(video of "Alligator Pie" from last week)

The third graders also had a great time using the Orff instruments this week.  They first sang the minor scale (based on "la"), then learned "9 Lives."  Of course, the song is about a cat so we had pictures of black cats all over our music!  They played an ostinato pattern on the instruments to accompany the tune.   In the second half of the week, they learned another song in minor about a broomstick.  There is a great stick passing game that we only just started, so we'll be continuing the activity next week!.

(9 Lives)

The fourth graders continued to rehearse their Veteran's Day song, and some students auditioned for the solo parts.  They also learned a song called "Black and Gold" and played an accompaniment on the Orff instruments.  Next week, they will learn the partner song called "Trick or Treat."

The fifth grade students played a rhythm relay warm-up game, then reviewed the minor scale by singing it in unison and then a round. Next, they read the score for a song called "Halloween Night."  There are three different verses to the song, each with fun and spooky lyrics!  They added the simple Orff accompaniment this week, and next week they will learn the more advanced part.

(Halloween Night)

In chorus, the students ran through "Jingle, Jingle Jazz," then started a new concert song called "Happy Holidays/Auld Lang Syne."  The students also finished learning their grade level pieces.  Pretty soon we will get to add solos, dance parts, and instruments!

We hope you have a delightful weekend!