Tuesday, May 26, 2015

End of Year Projects

Kindergarten has been learning verse/refrain form with some of their favorite songs: Tingalayo, Oh Suzannah, Inch By Inch, Old Joe Clark. Here is a clip of Mrs. Nicholson's class showing that they can find the refrain in a brand new song.

Mrs. Nicholson's class with Mister Rabbit











First Grade learned to use rhythm notation. They've had fun creating their own rhythms and writing down what they can play.




Second Grade is when children learn to sing rounds (a type of vocal harmony where one group begins a song and another group starts the same song a bit later). This was their final assessment. Sometimes the pitch leaves a bit to be desired, but they are holding their parts very well! Click on the links below to see each class.

Mrs. McAlexander's class singing Donkeys Love Carrots

Mrs. Gutshall's class singing French Cathedrals

Third Grade learned Ti Ya Ya and created accompaniment patterns in triple meter for Weather Report. They've worked hard to master triple meter. It's hard because humans are very duple creatures—we don't have three of anything!

Fourth Graders learned the F fingering on recorder with the song Dinah. It's the last part of a longer project we called The Pie Piece. Students created the accompaniment played on the barred instruments for the first part and decided on their favorite types of pie for the middle section. Apologies for the squeaks. Our work time was cut a little short by the early end to the school year.

Click on the links below to see the final performances.

Ms. Stevens' class

Mrs. Maulsby's class

Mrs. Erickson's class

Mrs. Mogler's class

Fifth Grade finished the year with a really cool song after we ran short on time for their theme and variations project. This is a very talented class. As I listened to their band concert, I thought back to all their early efforts learning to keep the beat and match pitch. They've certainly paid off! I wish them the best as I pass them on to Mrs. Blair. I'm hoping to hear some of their names on the All-State list in a few years!

Click this link to download Rhythm of Life sung by Mrs. Dettmann's class. It plays very nicely on iTunes.

Have a good summer, everyone! I'll see you in the fall!