Tangle-Free Ribbon Wands

Are you looking to purchase some ribbon wands or do your ribbon wands keep getting tangled? You need to read this!

Eight years ago, I completed my first level of Orff Schulwerk training and devoted a big portion of my classroom budget for creative movement props. One of my biggest regrets, until now, was purchasing a class set of ribbon sticks from Oriental Trading. A very similar product is still found on orientaltrading.com.  They come in sets of 6 and are currently $8.


I had immediate buyer's remorse when I discovered how easily they would tangle. These ribbon sticks do not allow for the ribbon to swivel 360 degrees and therefore the ribbon tangles very easily. Also, once the ribbon is tangled, kids start yanking on it and cause the rubber end cap to come off. For years, they have been stored in the cabinets without being used.

This year, I pulled them out of the closet again after finding the "Chinese Ribbon Dance" lesson in Artie Almedia's Mallet Madness. I was determined to find a solution and put these props to use. 

 I searched online and found the Tikkido blog which suggested using swivels that are used for fishing lures. I had actually purchased a small package of swivels and had planned on investing in some new dowel rods. Since I had not purchased the dowels, I had not repaired them yet.

But, this week, two third graders showed ingenuity and solved my problem without the purchase of extra hardware!

My ribbons were connected to the stick with an eye hook and a metal clip. They discovered that if you remove the eye hook and rubber end cap, you can slide the biggest side of the metal clip around the stick. Then, simply replace the black end cap. The end caps may need a drop or two of glue to ensure they won't come off. My students are begging to come back to glue the end caps on another day! I was going to try super glue or a hot glue gun. But, if I let students repair it, I may use a safer adhesive.  Yes, the metal clip will slide up and down the stick. But, when you are using the ribbon your arm is continuously moving, so it does not slide around until you stop.

When these two showed me their discovery, I was elated!!! They repaired all 30 of my ribbon wands for FREE! (Although, I do plan on buying them some M&M's) 

 I have one last picture to show you how I store my ribbon wands. This is similar to my Boomwhacker storage, if you have seen that post. I separate each color in a smaller box which fit inside a bigger box.

The skinny boxes were actually very long boxes I kept when I purchased some wooden decorative shelves for my home. I had 3 boxes and simply cut them in half down the middle. I'm sure you can find similar sized boxes if you look or ask around. I am very conscious of our planet and try to reuse or repurpose things whenever possible!



I am so excited about the ribbon wands. This summer I plan on going through my Orff Level binders and searching the web for ideas to use them in lessons. If you have any suggestions, please comment below. I will leave you with one last picture of my problem-solving duo, Hunter and Leah, demonstrating the tangle-free ribbon wands!!!

It's a Linky Party!

Click to Join the Party!

July 25, 2015

Nutcracker Resources

I have been teaching the Nutcracker for many years and my resources continue to grow!

The Story

My favorite book to share is a pop-up book that I got on sale one year in February for $3.99. Unfortunately, it is currently out of print. If you happen to see it in a used bookstore, snatch it up! Here is the full information:

The Nutcracker: A Magical Pop-up Adventure

Denchfield, Nick

Published by Macmillan Children's Books 2003-10-17, 2003

ISBN 10: 033396134X / ISBN 13: 9780333961346

The students are in awe of this pop-up, especially the spinning sugarplum fairy at the end!

Lesson Ideas

During my first years teaching the Nutcracker, we did little more than read the book and then dramatize the story with a few props and music selections. A couple years ago, I purchased a new resource book to create lessons with more music connections.

Nutcracker Suite
Active Listening Strategies for the Music Classrooom
By Wesley Ball
Book and CD ($19.99 at westmusic.com)

.It includes many lesson ideas with a variety of activities. There are listening maps, printable worksheets, and a music cd. My favorite activity suggested by the book uses music from the March. When the students hear the trumpets, they are locomotor and march around the room. When they hear the strings, they are nonlocomotor and wave a scarf in the air. During the B section, when they hear flutes, they crawl on the floor and pretend to be mice. Many of the lessons encourage active listening and suggest activities to get the students engaged.

The Ballet

I always show portions of the full-ballet on video, skipping through the longer dance numbers due to time constraints. I was recently introduced to blubbr.tv and decided to use that site to create an interactive quiz. (To learn more about Blubbr follow this link.) I created 2 quizzes, one for each Act. The questions cover some basic music terms such as melody, harmony, dynamics, tempo, and instrument families. It introduces some basic ballet terms--pointe, plié, pirouette, and passé; and some basic theatre elements--costume, prop, scenery, and special effects. The video clips were taken from a YouTube video from a 2008 performance by the Royal Ballet. Follow the links below to find the quizzes.

Nutcracker Ballet Act 1

Nutcracker Ballet Act 2

Art

I also teach visual art once a week and stumbled across a few Nutcracker art projects on Pinterest. The students could be working on these projects while watching the ballet or listening to the music.

Grades 2 through 5 have had fun learning about symmetry making this project. We discuss how the ballerina has linear symmetry and the snowflakes have radial symmetry. Follow the link to the original post on krokotak.com for some printable templates and easy tutorial pictures.



Older students can practice symmetry by drawing Nutcrackers. This would take quite a bit of time to finish and would require more teacher guidance. I have not attempted this with students yet. I haven't had the time to invest in this project. If you have an art teacher at your school, perhaps you can suggest a collaborative unit. More sample pictures are featured on the original blog post at "A Faithful Attempt".

The younger students enjoy making these finger puppets. The free printables can be found on the website of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. To save paper, before copying I eliminated the instruction on each page to fit all 3 finger puppets on one page.  You can see this layout in the top picture of this post.

When searching for the original source for these finger puppets, I noticed they also have a new pair of finger puppets available and a project for a miniature theatre!

Coda

My students are always excited to see my Nutcracker sitting on the edge of my desk, but I think I may be more excited than them. I love the magic of the Nutcracker and look forward to teaching it every year!  Do you teach the Nutcracker? What are your favorite activities?

My 4 year old daughter is now in ballet class. Next year, we will start a tradition of seeing the Nutcracker live on stage. I can't wait!

"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!

"Old Betty Larkin": A Kentucky Folk Dance

Greetings, from Kentucky! We just finished a lesson introducing the mountain dulcimer, Jean Ritchie, and a Kentucky folk dance, "Old Betty Larkin." The dulcimer is Kentucky's state instrument, so I always make sure to expose my students to our Kentucky heritage at least a couple times throughout the school year. "Old Betty Larkin" is a game song that any age will enjoy. I teach this lesson to 2nd-5th grade every year and it is a favorite the kids remember from year to year.

The song and dance can be found in "120 Singing Games and Dance For Elementary School" by Lois Choksy and David Brummit. This is a great resource and I use it often. If you don't currently own a copy, I promise it will be worth your investment! On westmusic.com, this retails for $162.00. I know I paid more than $100 for my copy several years ago when I purchased on amazon.com.  I did a quick search and found it at walmart.com for only $68! What a deal!

The song is in D dorian, but the kids usually pick up on the melody very quickly. (It's actually refreshing to get out of the world of C Major pentatonic!) I usually accompany the song on my dulcimer just playing a drone throughout the song without worrying about the melody string because I have zero skills or training in actually playing the dulcimer. There are chord changes you could choose to play if you were accompanying the song on piano, guitar, or even Orff instruments. (I've always wanted to make an Orff arrangement for this song but haven't gotten around to it yet!)

We repeat the song several times. Usually we try to give everyone a turn, but sometimes we just run out of time. If you have an even number of students, we have 2 people in the middle to be Betty/Billy. I just remind them to go to opposite sides of the circle to start the weaving so that they don't end up stealing 2 people from the same couple. This is a time saver to allow more kids to have a turn. The older kids could handle 3 in the middle if you are adventurous!

Dance Connections

Here are a few questions I usually ask the kids to include dance vocabulary in the lesson: 

In verse 1, who was locomotor? Everyone except Betty/Billy

In verse 2, who was locomotor? Only Betty/Billy

In verse 3, who was locomotor? Only the new Betty/Billy

In verse 1, what kind of pathway did you travel? Curved

In verse 2, what kind of pathway did Betty/Billy travel? Zigzag

In verse 3, what kind of pathway did the new Betty/Billy travel? Straight (to go to the center)

Which verse(s) had a double circle formation? Verse 1

Which verse(s) had a single circle formation? Verse 2 & 3

In verse 1, did our circle move clockwise or counter-clockwise? (counter-clockwise)

I always encourage students to use the dance posters for help answering these questions. If you missed my post talking about these fabulous dance posters, click this link.

Historical Connections

This year, I saved the last 10 minutes of class to talk about Jean Ritchie and show a video of her playing "Old Betty Larkin" on the dulcimer. The video comes from a radio show that is televised on our local PBS station, "Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour." Their website woodsongs.com has video and audio archives of all their shows. The episode I use is #450. A direct link to the video can be found by clicking the picture below. The video opens in Windows Media Player.

You can cue the video to 18:10 to show only the song "Old Betty Larkin" but before she plays she talks about being a young child sneaking to play her father's dulcimer when he was out working in the fields. She also talks about going to New York straight out of college. When people saw her carrying the dulcimer on the subway, they would beg her to play it because they had never seen an instrument like that before. She began playing in clubs and is credited with bringing the sound of the dulcimer to the world-wide audience. Jean also talks briefly about the tuning of the instrument. It is a wonderful interview, very insightful and informative. The interview begins at cue mark 11:40.

After the video, I usually ask the kids to compare and contrast her version of the song to our version. Jean skips the verse that says "Needle in a haystack" but also includes another verse that says "You take mine, I'll take another." Jean's version can also be found in her book "Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians." "Old Betty Larkin" is on page 15 and can be viewed in the preview on amazon.com. The book is $15.91 on Amazon.

I'm sure your students will enjoy this game song. If you have any other activities or suggestions to accompany this lesson, please share your ideas!

Tour My Classroom

Tomorrow is the first day of school. The kids are coming! I took pictures of my classroom before it gets disturbed by the chaos of the school year.

This is the view standing in the doorway. The students always enter and sit around the edge of the carpets in a circle.

You can see most of my instrumentarium stays set up at all times and is readily available. The glockenspiels are kept on the short bookcase under the white board. When it is time to play, it only takes a few seconds to add the glocks to the front row. The red baskets actually flip over and become the tables for the glocks so the students aren't hitting their arms on their knees when trying to play.

To the right of the white board you can see my learning objectives. I'm ready for kids tomorrow!

This is the view of the left side of the room. You may have seen my storage cabinets in a previous post when I discussed "Organizing Instruments" or "Boomwhacker Storage". 

To the left of the storage cabinets you see a class set of 30 chairs. These chairs are rarely used in my classroom. I used them for beginning band about 6 years ago and kept them in case I ever started band again. But, due to scheduling conflicts, it is just impossible to have a successful beginning band. I wasn't seeing the kids often enough and they were really developing more bad habits. The students start band in 6th grade at the middle school and the band director has told me that my students excel even though they did not have beginning band in 5th grade. Instead of band, I have an Orff Ensemble which is open to 4th or 5th graders by audition.

On the music stand next to the congas, you can see my "Fake Instrument." If you missed the post on my "Orff Visual Aid" read the post to learn more about how I use the visual and how to make one for your classroom. 

On the left side of the white board you will see our classroom expectations and school-wide discipline clip chart. To learn more about these, please visit the post "Star Musicians Classroom Expectations."

This is the view of the left side of the room facing the door. 

You can see the music notes hanging from the ceiling. By the door, there is a treble clef to show where the line leader should stand. Be sure to check out the posts on  "Line Leader" or "Assessing Music With a Line-Up Song" if you missed them. 

Next to the door, you see a bulletin board that I use to record the stars at the end of each class.

Behind the door, I have posted our school-wide pledge of excellence (which is recited every morning after the pledge of allegiance), our school-wide voice levels, and our school-wide expectations using our school acronym CGES (Cedar Grove Elementary School).

The is the view of the right side of the room, my teacher corner. 

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these dance posters! They are posted above my filing cabinets because this is really the only space that I can put all 4 of them together. My students loves these posters too because they feature pictures of actual kids demonstrating the dance terms. They are awesome. For several years, I taught dance on a Monday rotation instead of music. Starting this year, I will teach visual art on Mondays, but will still incorporate dance and movement into my music lessons Tuesday-Friday. I purchased the posters from West Music several years ago but could not find them when searching online. This is a direct link to their manufacturer.

These are my resources. The top shelf features children's literature and poetry I use in lessons as well as some other binders (teacher handbook, core content binder, etc.) I have grouped several of my supplemental books and materials by categories (Dance, Multicultural, Games & Flashcards, Song Collections, Orff Volumes, Orff Arrangements). On the bottom shelf, you see several teacher manuals from text book series, but a rarely consult them for lessons. I usually pull stuff from my Orff Levels Binders or other supplemental books. You also see the KET Arts Toolkits which are some fabulous resources too, but I don't consult them as often as I should.

On the center shelf, you also see this organizer. This stores all my small items so that I can get to them easily. The top rows hold my recorder strings. You also see some office supplies, loose screws and bolts, etc. I stole this idea from another teacher that I observed during college visits. (Thank you, Lisa!)

To the right of my computer desk, I have 2 short file cabinets and 2 taller ones. (These are underneath the dance posters.) On top of the short cabinets, I have several file stackers. One stack has a slot for each grade level to keep papers seperate that need to be copied or returned and also any books or visual aids needed for that week's lesson. This is the cleanest you will ever see this area. I actually "LOL"ed when I took this picture thinking of how quickly it will fill up. The shorter stack on the left is where I keep papers for each of the student groups I am in charge of (Orff Ensemble, Choir, Academic Team, Future Problem Solving). With this many student groups, this is a necessity to keep rosters, parent letters, music, and other handouts separate.

I love peeking into other teachers' rooms. Whenever our academic team scrimmages at another school, I always sneak away to check out the music teacher's room. I also love Pinterest and blogging which allows me to see into music rooms across the country or across the world! 

Here are few links to check out some other teachers' rooms:

Mrs. King always takes some nice pics of her classroom each year.

Here is her most recent post, but be sure to check out her post from last year as well.

Miscellaneous Me overhauled her classroom in the spring and has some nice pictures as well.

Yourangelofmusic.com has several classroom photos in a gallery in the right column.

If you have pictures of your classroom, feel free to post the link in a comment below.

The Resources from Denise Gagne

If you are not familiar with the books and resources by Denise Gagne, you need to check her out! I am very fortunate to have met Denise during the summers of 2007, 2008, and 2009. We both attended some Orff courses together at the University of Kentucky (Level II, Level III, and Curriculum Development). The first summer she was there she used her maiden name so that no one would recognize her. Over the two weeks I had shared many conversations and lunch dates with Denise and considered her a friend. Imagine my surprise when she revealed her true identity on the last day! I immediately thought of all the books I had on my shelf at home that she authored. Then, I tried replaying all the conversations we had over the two weeks to count how many times she must have thought I was an idiot! Aside from the trickery she played on us that summer, she is a wonderfully, genuine person who is very passionate about elementary music education.

BIO

Denise Gagne is a music specialist with 35 years of experience teaching band,choir and classroom music from pre-school to College levels.  Denise has completed Kodaly Level 3 studying with Lois Choksy.  She has completed Orff Level 3 and additional Orff training with Cindy Hall, Jay Broeker, Jos Wuytack, and Donna Otto. Denise is currently director of the Red Deer Children’s choir in Red Deer,Alberta and managing editor of Themes &Variations. Her choirs and bands have won many awards at Music Festivals and have performed for local and national sporting events,on national radio and even for the Queen.  Denise is the author or editor of more than 80 publications for preK- 6 music teachers. She has been a workshop presenter in every Canadian province and territory and more than 39 states. She presents regularly for Orff and Kodaly workshops, preschool and kindergarten conferences in Canada, the USA,Europe and Australia!   

(Click here for a more detailed bio)

My Favorite Publications

The Orff Source. I use this resource quite a bit. My favorite feature in this book is how she sequenced the songs by tone set. You can see for yourself in the table of contents in this Sample Preview. Also, most of the songs also include simple instructions for a game or activity to accompany the song. Volumes 2 and 3 are now available, but I have not yet been able to purchase them yet.

Singing Games Children Love, Vol. 1-4. These books also have easy-to-understand instructions for the games and activities that accompany the songs. Also, these books have cds! These books and cds are perfect for a substitute teacher who has no musical skills.

 I use these rhythm and melody flashcards every year. The rhythms start with simple stick notation and are grouped by color into different levels of difficulty gradually adding more complicate rhythms.  Rhythm Sample. The melody flash cards are color-grouped by pitch set. Melody Sample. My students love when they get to try a new color! They are printed on sturdy cardstock. I have not laminated them and they are still in pristine condition. But, I am the only one to handle them. Students do not use these on their own. The flashcards are also numbered so that you can get them back in sequential order (a feature I appreciate anytime I accidentally drop them in the floor!) 

Denise On YouTube

In addition to her publications, Denise has provided many videos and demos for free on YouTube! Here are some of my favorite videos:

 This "Mr. Potato Head" game/song is similar to "Doggie, Doggie Where's Your Bone." During this game the teacher will get to hear individual students sing in a nonthreatening environment and can also test students' listening skills as they identify the location of the body parts and try to put Mr. Potato Head together again.

"Yesh Li Yadiyim." I love how this Hebrew dance starts in pairs and gradually ends up with the entire class together. This would be a great opportunity to discuss doubling and bring in math connections.

Cup Game Listen 3 #2. I love how patterns change with the form of the song. The patterns are simple and repetitive so the kids can switch easily between the different patterns.

This is a video from a Saturday workshop at UK during the Orff Level courses. Denise shared the cup game with us and then let us create our own patterns. (Yes, I am in this video :P)

Visit Denise's YouTube channel for many more free videos!

Free Newsletters

You can also sign up for free newsletters from Denise which feature useful tips for the classroom and free lesson ideas. Visit the Theme & Variations website to sign up. Past newsletters are also available online for you to view at any time.

My Mentor, Dr. Amchin

When I first became a music major, I thought I was destined to become a band director. High school band had provided me with some of my best memories and I didn't want that to end. When I took Dr. Amchin's elementary methods course, my whole outlook and career path changed.

Although I won't get into the details, I did not have many fond memories of elementary music. Until college, I had no idea that elementary music could involve more than singing along to a cd. Dr. Amchin got us up and moving, creating, exploring, and playing instruments. I quickly discovered that I belonged in this field of our profession.

Dr. Robert Amchin is currently head of the Music Education department at the University of Louisville and travels around the world teaching workshops on Orff and elementary education. Click here for a more detailed bio.


Dr. Amchin has recorded many of his lessons during workshops abroad as well as during his courses at UofL. You should check out his YouTube channel.

Here are a few of my favorite videos:

Nonverbal Pentatonic Echoing.

Dr. Amchin has several nonverbal clips that are really fascinating.

I really like how he keeps the dance nonlocomotor at first to teach the direction changes and to get the students used to the phrase lengths and form of the song. Humming the music instead of counting steps is also a trick I picked up from Dr. A.

This is EXACTLY how I teach any round or melodic ostinato. I teach everyone the melody and then I sneak in the extra part to see if they noticed. Then, I gradually add more people to the extra part until both groups are more equal.

Again, many more videos can be found on Dr. Amchin's YouTube Channel. If you ever have the opportunity to attend one of his workshops, I assure you your time will not be wasted.

"No, your other left!": Understanding Spatial Awareness and Cognitive Development

Do you ever encounter problems in your lessons because your students lack lateral spatial awareness? Many musical activities require students to understand the difference between their left and right. Dances and hand games in a circle formation are more difficult if they involve lateral directions of left and right because they cannot be mirrored from across the circle.  When playing xylophones and other instruments, children often struggle when asked to alternate their hands to play even simple rhythms or melodies.  Understanding the cognitive and motor development of a child can aid music teachers in developing lessons and adapting activities for any age level.

Spatial Awareness and Directionality

Many studies have proven that the most difficult concepts for children to understand are the lateral directions of right/left and clockwise/counterclockwise.  Piaget’s theory of egocentric representations to explain the difficulty of learning these concepts.  Piaget explains that children who fail to take a different perspective than their own have egocentric representations (Piaget 1971).  The direction of left and right depend on how a person is standing.  In order to perform the actions correctly, you must make a mental image of the object and perform imaginary manipulations.  Left and right refer to the respective sides of the body, not a certain wall or location in the room.  It’s not uncommon for children to learn the directions forward and backward and up and down before they learn the directions of right/left and clockwise/ counterclockwise. Research has proven that the concepts of left and right directions require high cognitive development, but in order to plan successful lessons, music teachers need to know when to expect this development in their students.  

Cognitive Development

Phyllis Weikart has developed seven stages of motor development from simple to complex.

Dances or hand games in a circle formation that require specific movements for left and right should wait to be taught to second grade because students will need the cognitive ability to continue their sequenced movements while seeing the opposite movements performed by students across the circle.

Presence of  Visual Aids

During my graduate course in quantitative research methods, I researched this topic and proposed a study to test the effect of visual aids on students' lateral spatial awareness in the music classroom.

FREE PRINTABLE POSTER

 Although the research study was not completed, I still keep the posters in my classroom and train my students to refer to them anytime they are having difficulty remembering their lateral directions.

Although I do not have any scientific evidence to support my theory, these posters have been hanging in my classroom for 6 years and I believe they are helpful to many students.