Olympic Fanfare

The Olympics are on the horizon, and I plan to celebrate during music class! If you have access to older Share the Music books, there is a listening map in the second grade book for "Olympic Fanfare" that I have used with my classes. Here is a quick rundown of a quick activity to commemorate this wonderful event, even if you don't have access to the listening map.

1. Brainstorm and list Olympic events. Here is a complete list: Summer Olympic Sports

2. Listen to "Olympic Fanfare" and follow the listening map, if available. Note the different sections. Have students give a signal to indicate when they think the sections change. 

3. Discuss the form (ABCBA) and the tempo of the different sections.

4. Listen and move to the music:

• A: March in place, as if participating in Opening Ceremony
• B: Jog in place to the beat (Students can pretend to carry the torch)
• C: Act out a sport in slow motion (Teacher can call out sports, or students can pick their own. They can change sports during this section, since it is long enough.)
• B: Jog in place again
• A: March again

5. You can add a game by playing the slow section and allowing different students to act out a sporting event in slow motion for the class to identify.

This would also be a great time to review the national anthem and discuss how each country's anthem is played when they win the gold. 

(UPDATE: I have created a PowerPoint file with a listening map and clipart of Olympic athletes for movement inspiration. It is a FREE download in my TpT store using the link below.)

Olympic Fanfare Fun

Try this activity with your students. I love it, and I hope you will, too. My only complaint is that I have to wait so long before I can use it again!

Salute to Veterans

 

I'm proud of this year's 5th grade students. They did an amazing job writing, singing, and honoring our veterans. Here are some highlights from their program:

Crestline 5th graders share their thoughts about veterans:

"Sing, America, Sing": (Their favorite part is the interlude, which gives them the opportunity to move to the risers.)

Veterans are heroes: (Students share their thoughts on what makes veterans heroes.)

"You Are Our Heroes":

Letters to veterans:

"Step in Time": (Includes all themes from the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard.)  

For more information about how we incorporate students' writing in the program and also have them reflect on the performance, you can check out previous posts:

Veterans' Day Program

Veterans Are Heroes

Due to the size of our auditorium and student body, we had 4 performances of the program. The final performance was for parents and veterans. We had 91 veterans attend our program this year. Our students enjoyed honoring the men and women who have served our country. One of their favorite moments was singing "Step in Time" with the veterans present, because the honorees stood and sang during their theme song.

I hope these clips spark your creativity and give you ideas for your next program honoring veterans!

Veterans Are Heroes

Veterans' Day is around the corner, and I'm really looking forward to it! Each year, our 5th graders present a Veterans' Day program for students, parents, and veterans. We have 4 performances, in order to accommodate our audiences. The veterans attend the final performance. I wrote about our typical program last year, so I won't repeat everything. You can read about it here: Veterans' Day Program post. (The post also includes examples of videos and a performance reflection sheet.)


We use 5th grade writing to supply all of the narration and video portions of our program. In the past, we have simply given a writing prompt and told them to write about that, or they create a poem or write a letter to a veteran. While this method provided plenty of material for the program, it was difficult to organize the students' thoughts in a way to make the program flow.
This year, I decided to provide a 3-page questionnaire for each student to complete during their writing class. The questions were written to help organize the students' writing into topics that we wanted to include in our video presentations. We instructed students that they didn't have to complete every question, and that they should start with the ones they felt the most strongly about. The last page was for a letter to a veteran, which could be to any veteran, or to someone they know.

You can download the PDF here: Veterans' Day Reflections

While we have gotten some good information in the past, this year's writing seems to feel more personal. There is a place for them to tell something about a veteran, and we have learned about sacrifices veterans made, such as grandfathers missing out on their child being born.

My fellow music teacher and I read through all of the papers (approximately 120) to select the writings that will be featured, and we do not want to know whose paper we are reading. We prefer to select solely on the quality of writing. Therefore, students are instructed to only write their name and homeroom teacher on the back of the last page.

This questionnaire doesn't have to be used for a extracting thoughts for a program. The writing assignment has merit on its own. I feel the questions led students to reflect on veterans and their sacrifices and service for our country, which is a good thing. 

One other change we made in our program this year is the addition of the song, "You Are Our Heroes," by Teresa Jennings. It is available through Music K-8. The song was originally intended for the heroes of 9-11, but it works beautifully for Veterans' Day. It is a very poignant song that will be very meaningful when sung directly to the veterans. We tweaked one or two lines to gear it towards veterans. (We also used the free computer program, Audacity, to speed up the tempo of the soundtrack a little.) Here are our lyrics:

Well, the students have completed their writing, and most of the songs are memorized. Now all that's left is to hold auditions for solos (and make selections), videotape students, make a video of their letters and record student voiceovers,  edit  3 videos, type up the program....You know the drill! (Speaking of solo auditions, I'm using my Google online registration form again this year. It works like a charm. You can read about it here.)

Meanwhile, I hope to see you at the national NAfME conference in Nashville next week! I'll be the one editing videos on her MacBook in between sessions. :)

Patriotic Fun

February is a great time to brush up on patriotic songs and American folksongs in the music classroom. It's also a fun chance to work on steady beat with kindergarteners. "Yankee Doodle" and "You're a Grand Old Flag" present wonderful opportunities for playing drums or rhythm sticks and marching around the room.

Today, I had two kindergarten classes in a row. The first class did an amazing job with rhythm sticks. They paid attention, worked on their steady beat, and used self-control with their instruments. They even marched around the room and played in a parade. I was so proud of them and was pleased with how well the lesson went. My next class would be a breeze!

As my next class entered the room, I noticed a boy carrying a tiny stuffed animal. Children do not typically come to class with toys, but for some reason I didn't feel the need to take it away. This was an active boy, but the animal was not causing a problem. Instead, it inspired me to try something new with the class. I know... I said the lesson had just been a success. Why would I want to change it? I think I can always improve upon a lesson. Also, variety helps ME enjoy the lesson more, which makes it more fun for the students. Therefore, I am constantly tweaking and trying new things. I also look for innovative ways to engage the children, and I believe that novelty is a great way to keep students actively involved in the learning process.

We have tons of stuffed animals in the music room. We use them for rewards quite often, and we use some of the animals, like Winnie the Pooh, with specific songs and lessons. Children LOVE the stuffed friends. Even 6th grade boys beg to hold them. So, today, after being inspired by the child with a tiny elephant, I handed each child an animal to bounce on the steady beat while we sang.

The children bounced cats, dogs, bears, and bunnies to the beat of "Yankee Doodle." They passed the animal to the next person between the verse and refrain, and then passed again at the end of the song. Smiles were everywhere, and the animals made it all the way around the circle.

As much as I enjoy using rhythm sticks with kindergarten students, I have to admit that the quiet bouncing of a stuffed animal on the steady beat was a welcome change, and the students had a blast.

We also used the animals to show the melodic direction of pitches in the song, "Mr. Lincoln." Children would lift their animal high then touch the floor on "picture", "penny", "Lincoln", and "penny" to show the do-sol interval.

Later, we will add Mr. Washington on the quarter.

If you do not know this song, here is the melody & rhythm:
     la ti | do sol la sol | do sol     (ti-ti; ta, ta, ta, ta; ta, to-o)
     re mi  |  fa sol mi re  |  sol     (ti-ti; ta, ta, ta, ta; to-o-o)
     la ti  |  do sol la sol  |  do sol    (ti-ti; ta, ta, ta, ta; ta, to-o)
     re  |  mi fa mi re  |  do      (ta; ta, ta, ta, ta; to-o-o)

Whether we used drums, rhythm sticks, or stuffed animals, we had a great time playing the steady beat with songs about America. Have fun as you find innovative ways to keep your lessons fresh and engaging!