William Tell Overture with rhythm sticks Grade 3

Grade three has been having fun learning about the William Tell Overture. We played instruments (jingle bells, hand drums, and maracas) to the different parts of the form. Then we did a parachute routine, and we finished with a rhythm stick routine. They know the piece well by now!

3S performing a rhythm stick routine to the William Tell Overture.

I got the idea from here and adapted it for third grade.

Shoo Fly Dance Grade 2

2nd graders learned a fun dance to the song "Shoo Fly" after figuring out the piece's form. Form is the way a piece of music is organized. Students learned words such as "intro," "interlude," "coda," and "fermata."

Below are the dance moves for the piece. I originally got the idea here and changed a few things.

2S doing the "Shoo Fly Dance"

Orff with 5th grade

5th graders learned a "Winter Snowflakes" piece on the Orff barred instruments this January (Lesson found here, thanks O For Tuna Orff!). The form of the piece was ABA, with A being the "Winter Snowflakes" song and part B being one student improvising. Students rotated for each "part A" around the rug so they got to play the barred instruments, finger cymbals, and improvising glockenspiel.

Nutcracker Activities

Grades K-2 and Grade 5 participated in Nutcracker activities in the month of January (there was just not enough time in December with snow days and the concert!)

Grades K-2 moved to the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" with scarves and fairy wings (from the Dollar Store). When the music began, students with fairy wings started dancing in the middle of the tile circle. They could then tap awake the sleeping fairy children around the circle. Once tapped the fairy children woke up and danced with their scarves.

Here's a clip of the Sugar Plum Fairy ballet dance we saw in class:

One of student's favorite Nutcracker activities was a parachute routine to the "Trepak" Russian Dance. I got the wonderful routine from here.

Grade 5B

Grade KS, where it's a little more difficult to keep a quiet voice in such a fun situation! :-)

Here is a visual I made of the parachute routine. This lesson is a great way to teach students about form: The structure/layout of a piece of music.

5th graders took the "Trepak" Russian Dance to the next level by learning and performing a fast paced cup routine.

Found on Pinterest Here

Grade 5B

Here's a clip of the Trepak Russian Dance we watched in class:

First two weeks of school

Lots has been happening in music class!
Here are some videos from the first 2 weeks of school where we played "get to know you" games. Many of these games focused on names and keeping a steady beat. Also warming up those singing voices for the school year!!
4th grade "Concentration" game: See if you can pass the names along without getting off the beat!

2nd grade "Up the Ladder" song where students are able to perform moves during the "A" section, while I play a beat on the drum. Then names are said by students and repeated by the class in the "B" section. (Found the idea here)