Valentine's Day Project in Real Life!

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Valentine's Day Recorder Composition Project

So last week I posted a composition lesson for Valentine's Day.  Last Friday was the beginning of my new rotation and I tried the lesson out on my 3rd and 4th grade recorder students.  It was a big hit and a huge success!  We read the poem, clapped the rhythms, composed pitches to go with the rhythm, and played it - and it was super fun, for me and them!

Record Your Class' Compositions
I usually allow time to record our compositions and performances so I can post to my school's website but we ran out of class time with both of my classes today.  So I recorded their song for them so you could hear what a simple, sweet melody they came up with (with a little guidance from me!).

The quality of the recording is nothing to write home about and for that I apologize.  But you get the idea of what a fun, beneficial project this can be!

Let Students Take a Copy of Their Composition Home
Students are always asking me to "print that out so I can take it home and share it with my mom."  With using ActivInspire software, I can export any flipchart page as a JPEG file.  I know you can also do this PowerPoint as well as other SmartBoard and ActivBoard applications.  In whatever platform you are working, export the file you wrote on with all the notes, print the file as a JPEG, but choose to print 4 images per page.  The image gets smaller, but is still legible.  This saves ink and paper, yet each student is able to take home a copy of their work.  With Valentine's Day, that is especially sweet, as your students can play their parents or their "Valentine" a musical Valentine :)

Valentine's Day Composition - 4 Images Per Page

If you want to download this project for either ActivInspire or PowerPoint, follow the links below...

Download the Valentine's Day Composition Project for ActivInspire

Download the Valentine's Day Composition Project for PowerPoint 

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Valentine's Day Music Composition Project

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Holidays are always fun to incorporate into material for music class lessons.  Valentine's Day is difficult though, being that there's not a whole lot of Valentine's music around - it's not like we're listening to a Valentine's holiday station on the radio :D

So if the music doesn't exist, why not write it?!?!

That was the source of inspiration for this "Valentine's Day Music Composition Project" that I wrote this week.  I found a cute, anonymous poem on the internet that was not too sappy and kinda funny.  I liked it, too, because it had an interesting rhythm (at least, the way I read it, it did) so I thought it would be a fun poem to use to write a melody.

Some things to know....  

• I designed this lesson with recorder classes in mind; however, I purposely wrote it so you could use any classroom pitched instrument your students are familiar with (bells, xylophones, Boomwhackers, etc.)
• The pitches are not specified, allowing you to use notes your students are familiar with (for example, with my recorder students, we're going to be using the notes E, G, A, and B, since these are the ones we've learned so far)
• I created this project in two formats:  PowerPoint (.ppt) and ActivInspire Flipchart (.flipchart) because this project works best as a class activity, using a projector and even better, an Interactive Whiteboard.  Choose the format that works best for you.  
• If PowerPoint or ActivInspire doesn't work for you, contact me using the contact form above and I can work with you to create a format that you can use!  I am always willing to do that with any of my materials!
• The downloads linked below both contain complete visual materials as well as teacher notes for recommended teaching strategies to implement this lesson effectively. 

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Music Bulletin Board - Composer and Musicians Birthdays

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As my Friday Fave, I wanted to share a super easy, interesting, and non-seasonal bulletin board.  I have this up right now on the small bulletin board in the hallway outside my room.  It's cute, simple, and took 5 minutes to put up!  (If you can't tell already, I am not a fan of bulletin boards....the easier and more-lasting they are, the better!)
To download the entire file to make the bulletin board and print all materials, click the link below...this is a freebie to you as my Friday thank you for reading and following my blog!
Happy Friday!

Click HERE to download the Music Bulletin Board for Composer and Musician Birthdays!

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As the saying goes, "Silence Is Golden..."

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Just a short reflection today....I am 9 months pregnant and have a head cold.  I have ended up losing my voice and have only a whisper.  What an awesome combination, right?
With no voice to use, I have written directions on the board today and have said very little.  Especially in the older grades, I can write almost all the directions for the class period and they can and will read them and understand them.  I have used my Flipchart software for the interactive whiteboard - at the end of every few sentences, I put some silly direction like "Touch your head when you are done reading this" or "Put your finger on your nose when you are ready to move on."  It has worked!
Fascinatingly, the kids have been practically silent too during these classes.  If I have to whisper, they whisper back to me.  Its hilarious!
It got me thinking.....do we teachers talk too much?  Are there things that can go unsaid and be communicated other ways?  Are we saying too little with too much?

Interesting thoughts.....what do you think?

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"Peter and the Wolf" Matching and Coloring Page

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"Peter and the Wolf" Instrument Coloring Page

Last week I posted two entries about using centers to reinforce the instruments of the orchestra and using "Peter and the Wolf" as a vehicle for introducing the instruments and their sounds.  If you haven't read them, please check them out!!

Today, I started my Kindergarteners on a similar unit to my 1st and 2nd grade unit, except I changed their coloring page.  This worksheet would work for many different uses - you could have your students complete it individually after watching the video or listening to the recording, complete it together as a class while listening or watching, or even complete it on the whiteboard as you watch.

Another benefit to these kinds of activities is the visibility of concepts and information students have been learning in music class.  By allowing your students to take physical "evidence" of their music learning home with them, parents are getting to see what goes on in music.  Our art is such an aural art that we sometimes miss opportunities to share our lessons with parents; worksheets and coloring pages are a great way to reinforce learning within your lesson as well as share the lesson with those at home!!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THIS ACTIVITY SHEET FOR FREE!!!!

I will share more of these "evidence" activities in the future!  Stay tuned!

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Instruments of the Orchestra Lesson | Peter and the Wolf

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Last week I posted about my love of using centers in the music classroom.  My post included a complete centers unit, focused around the Orchestra Instrument Families, an important concept for all music learners.  If you didn't see my post, check it out HERE!  You can also download the unit HERE!

When I introduce the instruments of the orchestra to my youngest students, my little Kindergarten friends, I like to start with something fun, to grab their attention.  I cannot think of a better example of this than "Peter and the Wolf" by Sergei Prokofiev.  He composed this piece as a way to teach young listeners about the instruments of the orchestra, and in my humble opinion, it accomplishes that very well!  Prokofiev wrote the original story and narration, reflecting on his childhood experiences, as well as the music (obviously!).  Over the years I have taught this piece in many different ways....here are some ideas and resources I have found that you should check out....

• Kiddie Records Weekly Archive - If you have not seen this website, YOU MUST CHECK IT OUT!  It is ridiculously huge archive of preserved Children's LPs of classic children's stories.  Week 1 of January 2006 published "Peter and the Wolf" - what makes this site A-MAZ-ING is the fact that you can download any and all of these recordings for FREE, in mp3 format (most often in a zip file, because they're so long)!  Too cool!  Here is the link to the recording of "Peter and the Wolf," recorded in 1939 with Richard Hale and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.  

• Disney's 1946 Animated Classic "Peter and the Wolf" - My school owns a copy of this on VHS that is now out-of-print and apparently extremely desirable, according to Amazon.com.  New and used copies are going for like $15 to $100...really?!?!  Crazy!  This is what I use when I show it; however, after just a tiny bit of Googling, I realize the whole thing is on YouTube!  Yay!  Here is the link to the YouTube version, which is even better, since most of us don't have VHS in our classrooms anymore anyway!   

• Peter and the Wolf:  Fully Orchestrated CD with Book and Narration - This is a great book, if you want a most face-time approach to teaching the piece.  The illustrations are beautiful and the recording is super-quality

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These are some of my ideas for introducing and using "Peter and the Wolf" in my classroom.  How do you teach instruments of the orchestra?  Do you use "Peter and the Wolf" or another method?  Please share ideas.....leave a comment!  I would love to hear from you!  

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Using Centers in the Classroom | Orchestral Instrument Families Centers

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Learning about and recognizing the instruments and instruments families of the orchestra is an essential concept in music education. What better way to reinforce and extend the learning of the orchestral instrument families than through the use of CENTERS!!  


Why I Love Centers....

• Student-Directed Learning   Centers allow student-directed learning, which is where I think effective learning truly takes place.  Today's student learns laterally - this is the term I give for how a kid "clicks around" on a website exploring what they want, in the order that they want.  If you provide appropriate parameters, students can gain a lot of knowledge and understanding through just "clicking around"
• Freedom for Teacher to Help and Reinforce   The way I structure centers, all students are engaged in their own learning, either working with other students or working independently to complete an activity.  This frees you, the teacher, to move around the classroom and assist students as needed.  Too often, with the large class sizes music teachers have (I have 28-33 in each class I teach, KK through 4th grade), we can't do much one-on-one teaching or assistance.  Centers allows teachers the freedom to assess students' comprehension and help where needed.  
• Satisifies Multiple Learning Styles and Domains   We all know the three learning styles:  auditory, visual, and kinesthetic.  Centers, especially in the music classroom, allow 1) visual learners to do things like complete worksheets, look at music notation, or read a website; 2) auditory learners to listen to a recorded piece of music; and 3) kinesthetic learners to play a song on an instrument by "doing."  Also, remember Bloom's Taxonomy?!?  Centers often take a learner into the higher learning domains by forcing students to do such things as analyze, evaluate, and even create!  

Recently, my 1st and 2nd Graders have been studying the Orchestral Instrument Families and I wanted desperately to give my students a more active, engaging opportunity to continue and reinforce their learning of these instruments and this concept.  Centers, as stated above, was the perfect vehicle for this.  Below is a link to my complete "Orchestra Instrument Family Centers Learning Unit", that can be downloaded from TeachersPayTeachers.com for a small fee.  If you don't want to download this unit for the cost provided, stay tuned and in the coming weeks I will be posting the individual parts of this unit for free here on LearnMeMusic.com.  

Download "Orchestral Instrument Family Centers Learning Unit" HERE!!

This unit gives students practice with listening to, identifiying, categorizing, and manipulating the instruments and families of the orchestra through 5 pre-made learning centers. I have designed this unit so all 5 centers are student-centered and student-driven, so the teacher is free to move around the room and assist all students as needed. The five centers include:
* computers (using a music website)
* a worksheet that helps students identify instruments in the four orchestral families
* a listening center with listening map
* a "memory" game using cards with instrument pictures
* instrument-playing center using pitched instruments

All directions, materials, printables, visuals, and websites are included in the unit and can be printed and reproduced as many times as needed. Student learning objectives are included that can be matched to any state's music standards. Save a little bit of printing, cutting and laminating, this download is an entire unit ready to use today! Enjoy!


What centers do you use in your classroom?  How do you get you students to a higher order of learning and cognition?  I would love to hear ideas and feedback!  Leave a comment in the comment form below!  

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100th Day of School Song with PowerPoint

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A standard favorite this time of year in my classroom is "One Zero Zero" from Music K-8's Volume 13, No. 3 issue.  If you have never seen this periodical/music magazine, you must check it out here!!
Last year I created a PowerPoint to go along with the song to make it easier for my students to sing.  Today is our 100th day of school in Cherokee County, GA and we have celebrated by singing in each class today, some classes requesting 2 or 3 repeats!  LOL!

DOWNLOAD THE POWERPOINT HERE!!

The song can also be purchased as a single download for 99 cents from Music K8's KidTunes site www.musick8kids.com. 

DOWNLOAD THE SONG HERE FOR ONLY 99 CENTS!!

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