Buzz, Ollie, Luke, and Lori

I see my students once a week for 50 minutes. Yes, even kindergarten! There have been some recent conversations on a Facebook Music Teacher board concerning lesson planning when you have kindergarteners for an extended time. This post will share a few of my tips when lesson planning for kindergarten.

I usually try to plan 3 different activities for my kindergarten classes in order to keep their attention and minimize discipline issues.  I include a variety of activities in each day which could include a listening activity or book, singing, instruments, movement (locomotor or nonlocomotor), dramatic play, dancing, play party games, etc. Today, I'm going to share a few books that are written with a specific goal to introduce a musical concept. I may begin a lesson with a book or use it as a transition activity between songs or games.

The first books I purchased were the Buzz and Ollie books.

There are 3 books in this series.  In Buzz and Ollie's Steady Beat Adventure, the kids travel to their grandparents' house and discover lots of environmental sounds that make a steady beat like windshield wipers, a clock, and a dripping faucet. In Buzz and Ollie's High, Low Adventure, the kids get lost in the forest and meet lots of animals giving them directions. But, they were told they should only follow the sounds that are low to find their way back home. The animals with high sounds are trying to trick them. In Buzz and Ollie's Loud, Soft Adventure, the kids hear quiet sounds like a baby bear snoring and then loud sounds like a bear roaring. The symbols for piano and forte also appear in the book.

I bought the hard cover books about six or seven years ago from westmusic.com for 14.95 each. Unfortunately, these books are currently out of print. However, you may find some used copies online for a variety of prices.

Another great book that is still in print is Luke & Lori's Musical Journey. You can find it at westmusic.com for $19.95.

This book is a collection of 4 short stories. They could be read all together or you could read each story by itself. Luke and Lori, the main characters in the book, introduce the basic elements of music as they take a musical journey and meet different people who teach them about long and short sounds, tempo, dynamics, and high and low sounds. 

As I said before, I try to plan a variety of activities for kindergarten classes to prevent discipline issues. Even if I cannot plan a movement activity in my lesson, sometimes simply changing locations in the room can help keep the wiggles to a minimum. Most of the time, my students are sitting around the edge of my solid blue square carpet facing the boards. When I have a book to share with the students, they get to sit on my alphabet carpet and face the back of the room near my desk and keyboard. The rule is only one person per square and everyone must be sitting criss-cross applesauce on their bottom so everyone behind them can see. Below, you can see a picture of my carpets. (For a full tour of my classroom, check out this previous post.) .

My students love these stories. I try to include one story every few weeks throughout the entire year. They would be great for a substitute teacher as well! Do you have any of these books? If so, share your ideas and opinions below!

Coda: An afterthought regarding the carpets. The solid blue rug and the alphabet carpet are actually touching because the older kids are too big for one carpet and must sit around the edges of both carpets

Music Proficiency Packs

Do you have any of Artie Almeida's Music Proficiency Packs? 
I have 3, so far, and the students love them!

Pack #1--Rhythm Rockets

Each card features 8 simple rhythms with ta, titi, and quarter rests. You can use these as a class activity, small group, or partners. Someone counts a rhythm and then another student identifies the rhythm by moving their clothespin next to the correct rhythm. You could also use the rhythms as a starting point for melodic improvisation on xylophones or recorders.  If you have another idea for these, please share below! I laminated my cards to be more durable. The clothespins are also recycled from another teacher. This can be found at westmusic.com for 14.95.

Pack #2--Sneaky Snake

This game helps students test their knowledge of simple notation symbols. Each card features the symbol on the front and the name on the back. There is a hole next to each symbol. This game is intended to be used with partners. The student viewing the back of the snake would stick the pencil or straw in the hole and the other student would identify the name of the symbol. I use straws so the pencils do not make marks on the card stock. I did not laminate these cards because I did not want to punch holes afterwards. These cards come with the holes already punched and I did not want to take the time to do that myself! This is also 14.95 at westmusic.com.

Pack #3--Beat Strips and Rhythm Markers

This game is allows students to practice rhythmic composition. The beat strips are in 4/4 time signature and the rhythms provided are quarter notes, eighth note pairs, and quarter rests. I laminated the beat strips and rhythms before cutting them apart. To contain all the pieces, I used legal sized envelopes. I taped the beat strips to the outside of the envelope and all the rhythm pieces are stored inside the envelope. Students could be given freedom to compose their own rhythms, or they could use these kits to dictate rhythms given by a teacher or student. I have even asked students to dictate simple sol-mi melodies by making the rhythms move higher or lower on the beat strip. Students could also get in small groups and make longer rhythmic phrases by lining up more than one envelope. This pack is also only 14.95 on westmusic.com.

 

Do you have these or any other Proficiency Packs? If so, please comment below sharing your favorite lesson ideas. Pack #5--Melody Mice is next on my wish list!

Aurasma and Halloween

If you missed my previous post about the Aurasma app, you may want to read that first.

Our PTO sponsors a door decorating contest in conjunction with our trick or treat night. The winner gets $50 to spend on classroom supplies. Last year, I created a door that was linked to instruction with the students writing about how certain musical elements can make spooky music. I did not win the door contest, but I did win the costume contest!

This year, I designed a new door, integrating augmented reality with the Aurasma app!

  

The title is "Sneak a Peek, For a Musical Spook." Inside the windows and door you can see a photo of a class from each grade level. The photos have embedded auras. When you view the photos with the Aurasma app, they come to life and show videos of students singing, dancing, and playing music from the week of Halloween lessons. Take a look at the video below as demonstrate the app.

The tombstones and pictures as the bottom were really just an afterthought in an attempt to fill some empty space. However, the kids have really enjoyed seeing our silly zombie pictures. The free app I used is called Spooky Booth.

Next to the door, I posted instructions for downloading the Aurasma app and how to become a follower of the Cedar Grove Music channel as well as the learning objectives and core content for the lessons featured in the videos.

I know this post is a little to close to Halloween to implement in your classroom this year. Don't forget to pin this to your Pinterest board so you can remember to try it next year!

3 Staff Games

We just finished some games to help reinforce note reading. This was a 50 minute class. The first activity was completed with the entire class together and lasted about 15-20 minutes. My student teacher and I divided the class into 2 groups. My student teacher was the leader of activity 2 and I was the leader of activity 3. They spent about 15 minutes at each activity.

Activity 1: Review the Musical Alphabet

We reviewed the musical alphabet by singing the alphabet song, but just repeating "ABCDEFG" over and over again. The students then got into 4 teams. One student in each row raced to arrange some alphabet cards in order starting on a given letter. Below is a picture from this activity. The student in the 2nd row finished first by putting the musical alphabet in order starting on D.  The cards were nothing fancy; just some construction paper and magic markers! I would have printed some on the computer with cardstock, but these were already in my file cabinet created by a previous music teacher!

Activity 2: Staff Races

We put gym tape on our floor to represent a staff. The students remained in four teams to perform relay type races.  First, they took turns running to stand on a particular line or space number. After most students were successful with numbers, we reviewed the letter names of the lines and spaces. They were first given space letters by themselves and then line notes by themselves before mixing up the lines and spaces.  Below is a short video of the races using line and space numbers:

For a few classes, we also challenged them to place each foot on a different space and line. Here is a short video showing the students using both feet on different notes.

The staff is going to stay on the floor throughout the year. It is very close to the door. I plan on using the last 5 minutes or so to review the letters of the lines and spaces as an exit activity to line up. They cannot line up in the hallway until they correctly race to the correct line or space.

Later in the year, we also plan on incorporating games from pianimation.com like Grand Staff Twister (but only treble clef) and Toss-a-Note (where student try to toss a beanbag and make it land on a particular line or space.

Activity 3: Alphabet Trail

This game is a free printable from pianimation.com. It uses flash cards to help students recognize short melodic patterns, both ascending and descending. They must identify a missing pitch in the sequence. There are cards with a two line staff, as shown below,  and also cards showing a piano keyboard. I only used the staff cards for general music class.

I asked the students to get into 4 groups of 2 or 3 students (remember, I had half the class while my student teacher had the other half). I used bingo chips as the game pieces. I would show each team a flash card. I encouraged the students to talk about the answer as a team before giving me the answer. If a student yelled out an incorrect answer without consulting their teammates, that team lost their turn and I let the next team answer that card.

By allowing the students to be in small teams, the were actually learning from one another. For instance, one "star pupil" who caught on very quickly was answering immediately for their team. I was about to intervene and ask that they involve their teammates, but one of their teammates exclaimed, "How did you get the answer so fast?" While I continued to show flash cards to the other teams, that student was explaining the order of the musical alphabet to her teammates and they quickly caught on. I saw a similar peer teachings in other classes as well. It was very eye-opening.



I hope you enjoy these staff games. We used these games with students in grades 2-5. I hope your students enjoy them as well! Do you have an adaptation of any of these games? Share your ideas below!

The Power of Tonic

I'm just sharing an amazing video that I pinned months ago. During lesson planning with my student teacher, this video came to my mind. I found it on my Pinterest board and watched it again. Take a look at the video below:

It still blows my mind. I can't wait to incorporate these activities with my younger classes, perhaps in the first or last 5 minutes of the class. Many of you know I am trained in Orff-Schulwerk and often incorporate improvisation in class. I begin melodic improvisation on the barred instruments in 2nd grade, but I am sometimes puzzled at how to help students hear that a melody should end on do. This video gave me an "aha" moment!

One of the teachers in my Orff levels created these questions to guide students when they improvise on the barred instruments:

1. Did it keep a steady beat?
2. Did it end on do?
3. Is it singable?

The students sometimes have trouble understanding question 3. I try to explain that they should use mostly stepwise motion or make a repetitive pattern (sequencing). However, I have discovered a weakness in my own teaching style. I need to include more vocal improvisation in my lessons. If my students can hear tonic and finish an improvised phrase while singing, it should improve their skills to improvise on the instruments.

 One more observation... I couldn't help notice that Mr. Turner was teaching music class in the students' regular classroom. The classroom teacher was visible in a few of the segments. I wonder if she, and other teachers or administrators, would believe the students were actually learning. By teaching through exploration and play, the outside observer may see chaos and believe there is no structured learning. However, Mr. Turner allowed freedom to get the children engaged in play so music would come naturally. I fully agree with Mr. Turner's philospohy--"By doing, we learn!" I believe Carl Orff would share this sentiment as well!

"120 Singing Games" 58% off!

This is one of my favorite resources! I am posting about it now, because I discovered that it is on clearance right now on

Walmart.com for $68.

That's 58% off!

 It normally retails for $162! I know I paid more than $100 for my used copy years ago purchased from amazon.com. If you do not have this book in your library, do not miss out on this outrageous deal!

The instructions for the dances are very clear and include helpful diagrams. There is also a very extensive movement glossary in the back of the book. Here are just a few of my favorite games and dances from this book:

"Old Betty Larkin" -a circle dance which is a mixer to trade partners. Grades 2-5 always enjoy this dance. Check out a previous post on this song.  

"Pop Goes the Weasel"-a triple circle dance for Grade 1-5

"I've Been To Haarlem"- double circle moving with partners and then separately in contrary motion. My students love to "wring the dishrag" and separate from their partner!

"Old Brass Wagon"-I love a dance where the lyrics tell you what to do!

"Paw Paw Patch"- a Kentucky song and a great dance to teach K and 1st how to "peel the banana"!

"Alabama Gal"-a "peel the banana" favorite!

"Obwisana"-an African rock passing game (we use beanbags)

"Tideo"- an arch-forming game

  

A full index of the contents is available at westmusic.com.

If you already have this great book, share your favorite game or song below!

Aurasma in the Music Room

Augmented Reality!
(This sounds like something from a sci-fi novel; but, I promise it is not as complicated as it sounds!)

I recently attended our district's technology conference and was introduced to the app Aurasma. With this app, you can bring any image to life.  Take a look at this video:

Did anyone else imagine the newspapers on Harry Potter when watching that video?

 Applications In the Music Room

Do you remember my post last September about displaying student work in the hallway? I took pictures of students actively engaged in music making and dancing and accompanied them with the state and national core content standards. Now, these pictures can come to life! Through the Aurasma app, anyone can walk down the hallway and view videos of my students making music together.

Take a look at this video:

I also have plans on using my instrument posters inside my classroom to trigger videos of actual musicians playing each instrument. I will post and share when this project is completed.

How to Get Started . . .

Create A Private Channel

I have created a private channel for my school videos. In the app, select the Profile icon in the bottom right corner. Select "My Auras" and tap the + sign. It asks you if you would like to add an aura or a channel. Select "Channel." You will be asked to name the channel and add a thumbnail. At this time, I have not found a way to edit the thumbnail later. This is your only chance to add a thumbnail. The thumbnail I created was not fancy. I used WordArt and Clipart on Microsoft Word to create a simple logo and took a photograph of the computer screen. It's kind of grainy, but at that time I just wanted to get started creating Auras. Double check that your channel is set to private.

How to Create an Aura.

First, you need to select a short video (approximately 45 seconds maximum). Watch the video below to get a capture a still picture from your video and create your trigger image for your videos.

(If you are not familiar with the Snipping Tool used in the video, follow this link.)

After you have printed your trigger image, you can open Aurasma and overlay the video. Aurasma has a video tutorial demonstrating the basics of how to create an aura.

When selecting the video to overlay on the trigger image, you can rotate, reposition, or resize the video until you get it exactly where you want it. To reposition, just touch with one finger and move it. To resize, use two fingers to stretch bigger or pinch smaller. To rotate, use two fingers and twist.

How to Share Your Private Channel

In order for others to view your auras, they have to become a follower of your channel. When you view your channel under the Profile icon, there is a purple "Share" button on the right side of the screen. It gives  you the option to share via email, SMS, Twitter, or Facebook.  I selected "Email" to get the URL link to my channel. I used this link to create a QR code which is posted in the hallway above my pictures.  A google search will connect you to several QR creators, but I used the QR Code Generator. You could use any QR reader to scan the code, but I use RedLaser.

Scan this QR Code to follow the Music With Mrs. Dennis channel.

Then, use Aurasma to find 2 hidden auras somewhere on this post!

Coda

 After you fall in love with Aurasma, share it with your colleagues! Here are some ideas generated by some teachers in our district:

Classroom Library- The teacher can use the cover of books as the trigger images and record a video talking about the book. Better yet, have students give short reviews of the book after they finish reading a book. The next time a student looks for a new book, they can use Aurasma to view the videos and help make their selection.

Science/Art Projects- Take videos of the students talking about their science or art projects. For example, they can explain the process they used to complete the project or their favorite part of the project, etc.

Homework Help- If worksheets are sent home and the teacher feels the students may forget what to do (MATH!) the teacher can video themselves working out the first problem and overlay that video onto the worksheet. When the student or parent are struggling at homework time, they can open Aurasma and check for a helpful video example.

Interactive Anchor Charts- Attach videos of lessons to anchor charts hanging around the room so students can use them as reference tools weeks, or even months, later!


Here is another helpful link for using Aurasma in the classroom:

http://www.kleinspiration.com/2013/05/using-augmented-reality-via-aurasma-in.html