Grade 5 - Rhythm Identification and Number of Beats Unit

Lesson 1 -

• Warm Ups
• Staff Wars
• Rhythms and Note Values PreAsessment
• Mallets and Play Rhythms on the Xylophones  or Classroom Instruments - "This is a Quarter Note, we say Tah - Tah, Tah, Tah, Tah."  Repeat with other rhythms

Lesson 2 - 

• Warm Ups
• Staff Wars
• Quick Review Rhythms and Note Names
• Quintet Music Dice Game

Lesson 3 - 

• Warm Ups
• Staff Wars
• Rhythms
• Quiz, Quiz Trade - double circle with note cards.  Quiz a partner, trade cards and rotate to a new partner.
• Perform the notes on classroom instrument
• Poison Rhythm
• Exit:  I'm thinking of a note that.....what is the name?

Lesson 4 - 

• Question of the Day - Name the Note; How Many Beats
• Warm Ups
• Staff Wars
• Rhythms
• Discuss / Anchor Chart Terms
• Time Signature, Bar Lines, Measure, Double Bar Lines
• Team Discovery
• Provide copies of sheet music from several known songs - I used 4
• Cover the time signature
• As a team, students discover answers to teacher created questions such as:
• how many quarter notes?
• how many quarter rests?
• what is the missing time signature?
• how many bar lines.
• Discuss answers the next day

Lesson 5 - 

• Question of the Day - Name the Note.  How many beats?
• Warm Ups
• Staff Wars
• Rhythms and Note Names
• Review terms from lesson 5
• Student Choice - Select a student to pick a song from Lesson 4's Team Discovery
• As a class, review the questions for that song
• Perform the song / activity / game
• Add a 2 measure coda to the end - solicit student input on rhythms to use
• Rhythm Jeopardy - 
• Divide into teams
• Teacher draws a note
• Students earn points by answering correctly - verbally or write on a marker board to answer
• Exit Question: I'm thinking of a note or Buzz (give rhythm cards to a student, they show the card and call on a classmate to tell the name of the note).

Lesson 6 - TO BE COMPLETED SOON

• Question of the Day - Name the Note.  How many beats?
• Warm Ups
• Staff Wars
• Rhythms and Note Names
• Focus on Names and Beats - 
• Centers - Teacher Station, Match Rhythm and Number of Beats, Music Word Problems (2 Whole Notes were walking down the street with a quarter note.  A whole note got got eaten by a Music Monster, how many beats were left?  Draw a picture.  Write the answer), Match rhythm and the Note Name, Card with Rhythm Name on Front and drawing on back - show front and draw on marker board - turn over card to check if correct, math flash cards)
• 
  

Lesson 7 - TO BE COMPLETED SOON

• Question of the Day - Name the Note.  How many beats?
• Warm Ups
• Staff Wars
• Rhythms and Note Names
• Review Names and Beats - 
• Take the Post Assessment

Lesson 8 - TO BE COMPLETED SOON - Group Rhythm Composition

• Question of the Day - Name the note.  How many beats?
• Warm ups
• Staff Wars
• Rhythms and Note Names
• Review Names and Beats
• Review Musical Terms
• Create Group Music to go with Popular Song - What will the fox say?
• Perform with Popular Song as the background.
• Perform songs from Discovery Packet

Lesson 9 - TO BE COMPLETED SOON - Individual Rhythm Composition

Lesson 10 - TO BE COMPLETED SOON - Introduce New Rhythms - TaTayFeh and Syncopation

• Question of the Day - Name the note.  How many beats?
• Warm ups
• Staff Wars
• Rhythms and Note Names
• Review Names and Beats
• Perform a few Individual Student Compositions
• Sing songs from new rhythms

Bordun Rubric

Here is a bordun rubric we are using for our classroom:

Our Music Classroom

Double Sided Colored Velcro makes a wonderful (and thrifty! - only $25) place for students to sit and play.

New computer table and pillow storage underneath.

Grade-level instrument signs for quick teacher reference.  Labels for each instrument were created out of color coded paper.  Baskets and Location of Instrument have matching labels.

Kindergarten instrument storage at the front of the room for quick access.  A place for everything and everything in its place :-)

Safe spots are a "plus sign" this year.  A place for students to calm down or refocus when they need more time to think.

Riser Refashion!!!

This year, risers are set out for Grades 2-5 and up for Grades K - 1, but I couldn't bear the thought of looking at the plywood backing all year.  Enter black butcher paper and double sided velcro!  

Before

After

Close up of Double Sided Velcro Straps.

Grade 5 Unit Plan Orff Accompaniments V-I and vii-i

UNIT LENGTH: 8 Days
ASSESSMENT:  

DAY 1

• Welcome Back
• 5 Minutes - Greetings; Waffles with Syrup Warm Up and Staff Wars
• 10 Minutes - Respect Discussion and Post It Notes
• Location - Carpet / Staff Spots
• 1 - 2 Min - Quiet Cheetah Practice
• Respect - School Wide Expectations
• Why important? - going to focus on Mallet Instruments
• Post-Its & Pencils
• 1 Min Explain
• Post-It Pad / Pencils to 1st person in group (Student Choice Opportunity - Rows or Columns?)
• 2nd Person Decide sitting location - Floor or Risers
• 3rd person Writes first
• Rotate Post-Its/ Pencil around group
• 3 Min Write and Discuss - All Post Its to Staff Leader at Conclusion
• Large Group - review post its and stick onto anchor chart
• 5 Minutes - Respect Chant from Mallet Madness by Artie Almeida - To be performed on mallet instruments next time
• Additional Time - Vamos A Jugar
  

Songs for Boomwhackers - ChromaNotes

Here are some links to free sheet music for Boomwhackers / Chromanotes:

• Aacka Backa
• A Tisket A Tasket
• Beethoven's Ode to Joy
• Brother John
• Doggie Doggie
• Gently Sleep
• Hot Cross Buns
• Its Raining
• Jingle Bells
• Jolly Old St. Nicholas
• Lucy Locket
• Mary Had A Little Lamb - BAG
• Old MacDonald  
• Over the River and Through the Woods
• Ring Around the Rosie - AGEC
• Star Light Star Bright - AGE - La Sol Mi
• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - Key of C
• We Are Playing in the Forest - AGE

Shake It Orff

Thanks to my fabulous Co-Teacher, Mr. Zimmerman, fifth grade students learned a rendition of Shake It Off for the Orff instruments.  All classes in the grade level learned the piece and recorded their performance.  Each class then listened to the performances and voted on their favorite version.  The identity of the classes were kept secret until all votes were tabulated.  The winning class was Mrs. Bowman's class!  Congratulations!

You can hear their performance here on ViewPure:
http://viewpure.com/p_mg063tklg

Using the iPad in the Elementary Music Classroom - Updated May 2015

Here are some ways that we are using the iPad in our Elementary Music Classroom!
Last Updated on May  2015

1. Outside of Class Concert Practice - 
• Record students performing concert songs.
• Load video/audio to blog.
• Give blog address to classroom teachers and students.  Classroom teachers could have students practice the songs as they are waiting for dismissal at the end of the day or students can practice at home.  
2. Documenting Student Work 

• Videotape when you confer with students
• Photograph their work (put in a folder or hang on bulletin boards)
• Seesaw is a wonderful app for documentation!

3.  Survey your Students using a Google Form.  Pass the iPad around the room. Google will create a summary of the data for you when students have completed the survey.  Use the data to plan which songs to use in next year's concert.

4.Student Behavior Incentives - I have a few reluctant singers who might be categorized by Positive Behavior Systems as Task Avoiders.  These students have a singing chart where we monitor each day their growth in the performance participation aspect of music class.  As a reward for meeting their performance goal, these Task Avoiding students may earn a small iPad time where they can interact with music in a non-performance setting.
5. Analyzing Student Work - Record, Watch, Analyze, Set New Goals, Repeat.
6. Music Challenge - Record several classrooms performing the same activity.  Allow students to listen only to the audio of each classrooms recording.  Vote for the best sounding recording for placement on web / School CD.  Reveal the classroom that was the winner.
Check back for more ideas
7.  Favorite Apps

• Name That Note! - Absolute Pitch Names.  Have used the free version in Centers/Stations.  Kids enjoy it!
• Metro Timer - Free Version - Metronome.  Practice Timer (1,2,3,4,5,10, 15, 20, or 30 min settings).  Big Buttons (Kid Friendly).  Upgrades for Time Signatures, Beat Editors, Subdivisions.  No Big Ads.
• Pro Metronome Designed by EUM - Free Version - Metronome.  Time Signatures and Accent Options included.  Upgrade for Subdivision and Polyrhythms. No Big Ads.
• Classical Music Collection Free HE from Yangeng Wang - 47 Great Classical Composers and 99 Best Classical Music Examples.  Tab for Composers.  Students can click on the picture of the composer for their biography and a playlist of the composer works.  Ad does appear at bottom of screen in free version.
• AtPlayMusic Recorder Free
• Showcase Tab
• Pinwheel - See if student is playing the right amount of air.  Pinwheel graphic blows when the recorder is played.  Avatar gives a thumbs up and smiles or frowns.
• Parts of the Recorder Puzzle Game
• Fill the Cup Rhythms - Play your recorder for four beats to fill the whole note cup.  Continues with other rhythms.
• Play Along Game 01 - Staff Notation is shown.  Student plays.  Line moves across the staff to match. Tuner shows the pitch that actually is played.  If the note is not in tune, the game will not advance.  Be careful to completely stop your air before each rhythm. Fingerings to the notes are shown below each note.  More games included with 3.99 purchase.
• Play Alongs - Record and Email the Scores to teacher!  Included in free version -  Hot Cross Buns, Mary Had A Little Lamb, Ode to Joy, Old MacDonald, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, On Top of Old Smokey.
• Settings Tab - allows you to set Display Mode (Smart Charts, Finger Charts On, Note Names, or Staff Only), Listening Mode, Transpose, and Song Tempos!

• Lessons - Video Lessons
• Songs Tab - Several more Songs to play, rated with difficulty levels, 

Grade 2 - And the Mystery Note is.......

Do!

All Grade 2 Classes have now gathered all 10 clues to find the name of their new melodic mystery note - Do!

Here are some of the clues they have gathered:

1. The Mystery Note is the lowest note we know. HC
2. The Mystery Note copies Mi.
3. The Mystery Note copies Sol.
4. The Mystery Note does not copy La.
5. The Mystery Note is a skip below Mi. AC
6. The Mystery Note is a leap below Sol. NJ­
7. The Mystery Note is a leap below La. NJ
8. La is a leap above the Mystery Note. HC KC
9. Mi is a skip above the Mystery Note.
10. Sol is a leap above the Mystery Note.AC

Grade 1 Concert Practice Links

First Grade students will hold a concert on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at Northgate Middle School at 6 PM.

Links to Practice Songs:

Mr. Sun - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23sKSwdKp-A&feature=youtu.be

Up, Up, From the East - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AYkdb1wJDs&feature=youtu.be

You Are My Sunshine - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Upx1aKfjg&feature=youtu.be

Stars Medley - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSZZHwZh0a8&feature=youtu.be

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - Coming Soon!

Grade 4 Concert Practice Files

Grade 4 will hold their concert on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at Northgate Auditorium at 7 PM.

To the West
Click Here for Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SE5fC_D_zQ&feature=youtu.be

Louisiana Purchase - Westward Expansion Song

Click Here for Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjTwp2zORZ4

Grade 3 Concert Practice Links

Grade 3 will hold a concert at Northgate Middle School on Wednesday, February 4th, 2015.

Practice Links

Down the River - Click Here

Red River Valley - Click Here

Row Row Row Your Boat - Click Here

Upcoming Grade 5 Concert - Practice Links

Grade 5 will hold a concert at Northgate Middle School on Wednesday, February 4th, 2015.

Practice Links

Arirang - Click Here

Four White Horses - Click Here

J'entends le Moulin - Click Here for Video on View Pure

Kookaburra - Click Here

Old Joe Clark - Click Here

One Nation -

Sambalele - Click here 

Using the iPad in the Elementary Music Classroom

Here are some ways that we are using the iPad in our Elementary Music Classroom!
See Our Updated Post Here: http://mrslovenduskismusicroom.blogspot.com/2015/05/using-ipad-in-elementary-music.html