Elementary Music: What's new in 2022?!

Welcome back to what has been a wonderful year in Music so far at SCS! In the music classroom we have been creating a caring classroom culture. We are recognizing the unique talents, traditions and acquired knowledge everyone contributes to our learning environment. 

Kindergarten - 2nd Grade classes used our "Stuffies" (stuffed animals!) to help us ease in! Each student had their own Stuffy to help them sing "Wheels On The Bus", "The Teddy Bear Song" and "Johnny Has One Friend". Musical scavenger hunts facilitated familiarity with our learning environment in the music classroom. Students drew pictures to show what makes each of us special on the inside and then went outside to listen for all of the sounds around us in nature. 

We are singing & dancing! So far our repertoire includes: "Down By the Bay", "Frog In The Meadow" and songs from other cultures, such as "Ram Sam Sam" and "Obwisana Sa Nana". 

In Grades 3 & 4 students began the year with collaborative body percussion to demonstrate the power of internalized beat and unified rhythm. We had fun in a Musical Soccer Circle getting to know one another as we skillfully passed the ball and shared one fun fact about ourselves! We explored the room with a Scavenger Hunt and shared ideas about what makes our classroom a successful learning environment in music? We are singing songs together such as "A Ram Sam Sam" & "4 White Horses", discussing the importance of understanding the historical context, meaning and intent of even simple song lyrics.

Hispanic Heritage Month

This week in recognition of Hispanic Heritage month we have appreciated through dance & listening the many musical contributions of the Hispanic culture, including instruments, rhythms, songs, dances and language.

Discovering Steady Beat & Rhythm: 

Listening to Beethoven's 5th Symphony Grades K-2 explored long and short sounds, as we painted colorful imaginary magical bubbles around us with long or short strokes of our imaginary paintbrush. Familiar animal noises such as 'Moo'! and 'Quack'! helped us to differentiate between long and short sounds. We then represented long sounds with a line and short sounds with a dot as we began to write 4 long or short sounds in a row. 2nd graders began to discover that the long and short sounds could be substituted for musical symbols in the form of quarter notes and eighth notes!

3rd & 4th Grade students are using Conversational Solfege to recite 4-beat simple rhythmic phrases. Musical literacy is reinforced through restatement and collaboration. Our latest project has students working together in small groups to practice the art of listening to all voices within an ensemble setting. Each group of students maintains a steady beat while creating a rhythmic pattern using body percussion to accompany their group name and introduce themselves!

Pierson Library Open Mic - November 6th from 2-4pm

On Sunday, November 6 from 2-4pm there will be an Acoustic Open Mic at the Pierson Library. All Ages Welcome! Bring your instrument, a song to sing, a poem to read, and your family and friends. Sign-up starts at 1:30pm. Refreshments and snacks will be provided. We look forward to seeing you there and hearing you perform.

Conferences

I am available to meet for conferences. If you have questions, concerns or just want to touch base with me about your student or the musical adventures we are engaged in, please email me at lmarino@cvsdvt.org, so that we can set a time that works best for both of us. 

Enjoy the Autumn Leaves this weekend! 🎶 - Lori

Strong, Missy. “Fostering Independent Musical Thinkers with Conversational Solfège.” NAfME, 3 July 2019, https://nafme.org/fostering-independent-musical-thinkers-conversational-solfege/.

Odom, Jr.,  Leslie. "Autumn Leaves", 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqvAFfBAipM