First Grade Adventure Stories

Creative work is always so much fun! In the music room children learn that music tells stories. The official term is "program music", but the first grade level we use sounds and movement to tell the stories.

This piece is based on Bobbie Shaftoe, a short English folksong about a young man who goes off to sea one last time before coming home to get married. The task was to create his last adventure using instrument sounds and movement. After the class came up with the storyline together, they worked in teams to create sound effects to fit the story. These are clips of some of the groups playing their adventure stories.

Mrs Henely's Group 1

Mrs. Henely's Group 2

Mrs. Ricke's Group 1

Mrs. Ricke's Group 2

Mrs. Hucka's Group 1

Mrs. Hucka's Group 2

Mrs. Wuebker's Group 1

Mrs. Wuebker's Group 2

When we put the whole piece together, children alternated singing the song with each group's adventure story. Here's a clip that shows part of a completed piece.

Mrs. Henely's Group 3 with sound and movement

Mrs. Hucka's Group 3 with sound and movement

Kindergarten Music Time

Spring is such a wonderful time in the Kindergarten Music Room! The children skills are really starting to develop, and we get to make some beautiful sounds together. Here Student Teacher Miss Fish is leading a drum exploration with Stormy Day in Mrs. Nicholson's class.

Mrs. Nicholson's Class playing drums

The next clip is of Mrs. Grantham's class showing the beat on a beat sheet for Hey Betty Martin.

Mrs. Grantham's class with beat sheets

In the next clip, Mrs. Frank's class is working on the steady beat on barred instruments to accompany Wake Me, Shake Me.

Mrs. Frank's Class playing barred instruments

The children are really enjoying Miss Fish's teaching time with us. She is finishing her "head teaching" this week, so we'll go back to team teaching next week. It's been fun to have her with us for two months. We'll miss her when she has to leave at the end of April!