In the last couple of weeks I've uploaded a few products I'm excited about.
I have gotten a lot of use out of my Recorder Reminder Signs. I have a "Recorder Corner" in my room where the reminder signs and the fingering charts are posted along with the Recorder Karate Belt List. During their individual practice time students refer to the reminders to help "diagnose" why they may not be producing a good tone. I provide a lot of one on one help with my recorder players but I also strive to teach them how to fix their own problems first. (After all, they can't have a teacher standing over them all the time while they are playing. Learning how to adjust your technique is part of efficient practicing, isn't it?)
Another plus for having my Recorder Corner is that when students ask how to finger B A G or E I can just point! (Love that!)
Speaking of practicing recorder, I also added a FREEBIE of recorder practice records. I give a sparkly "Practice Belt" for every recorder practice record that students turn in. There is a black and white practice record included in this set of 6.
Finally, I made Power Point two interactive stick to staff Melody Showers to Flowers Game which works great on my SMARTBoard!
Here's a peak at the do re mi sol la game: When I use this with the whole class, each student has their own staff board and note heads (transparent colored discs,) and they write out which staff pattern they think it is.
I made sure each "Correct!" page referred back to the pattern so the students can check their answers AND we can all sing it! (More bang for our buck!)
There is also a version with mi sol la. (And at 20% off it's quite the deal!) Both sets include stick to staff matching cards, (I can't resist a memory matching game for centers!) I'm working on more solfa versions of this game. Is anyone out there interested in a specific tone set? Let me know and I'll make those requests a priority! That's all for now! It's time for another egg hunt with my kids. Happy Easter, if you celebrate the holiday, and Happy Spring!
Today I'm linking up with Mrs. Miracle's Music Room Linky Party: Throwback Thursday! Here is a re-post from October 2012. It actually 2 posts: parts 1 and 2 of Instruments of the Orchestra Resources. This Linky Party is just right for me this week- so many to-dos! Thank you, Aileen, for the Linky Party!
We are very lucky in Colorado to have a well-established symphony orchestra who include in their programming many concerts for children. My husband and I have been taking our son to their Family Series of concerts for the past 3 years and every year I bring the 5th and 6th graders on a field trip to hear a Colorado Symphony Orchestra Youth Concert. In addition to studying the program music we review the instruments of the orchestra. (In my district instrument families are included in the 4th grade curriculum.) There are many wonderful resources out there. Here are a few of my favorites that particularly appeal to 5th and 6th graders:
I love this book. It's got it all, murder (kind of), mystery, intrigue, and a dark, (but not too dark,) sense of humor. I came to this book in a roundabout way. The illustrator, Carson Ellis, is the illustrator for the album covers and posters for the band The Decemberists, (she is also married to their lead singer, Colin Meloy.) As a Decemberists fan, I've been on the lookout for her work in other places which led me to this gem. The CD is included and the narration and composed music is very well done.
Each instrument family is interrogated by the inspector regarding the crime. Many stereotypes of specific instrumentalists are bantered about, (the confirmed-bachelor-tuba's alibi is his card game with his landlady, the harp, played while drinking warm milk from a small blue cup.) The writing style is witty and just jaded enough to capture the interest of 12 year olds. I was fortunate to see this piece performed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra live last year.
Here is a sample of the story:
Side note: I recently went to a reading/book signing of Carson Ellis and Colin Meloy's new book Under Wildwood, the sequel to their first book, Wildwood. I highly recommend both books for the 12-16 year old set interested in Narnia-like fantasies. (Wildwood was a bit too scary for my son, who is 7.)
If you are a music teacher reading this I hope you are saying to yourself, "Of course The Remarkable Farkle McBride, everyone reads this to the students!" If you are not familiar with this book then just go find it and read it to the kids. You won't regret it.
This was a recommendation from Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis when I saw them at the above mentioned book signing after I gushed about how much I loved Carson's work in The Composer is Dead. (Unfortunately, I was too nervous to mention my adoration of The Decemberists. I don't always say what I want when faced with people I greatly admire. Especially when my kids are pulling on my purse and asking for gum. Such is life.)
It's a fun book for the younger set (1st - 3rd grade) that shows the musicians getting ready for their performance. Then they come together at 8:30pm to make music and perform the concert. Be advised: there are partially naked drawings, (but no naughty bits.)
Students will giggle when they see people drying off after bathing but it's worth reading to them.
YouTube clips:
PDQ Bach - Beethoven Symphony No. 5
I live in a sports-obsessed town where the streets become nearly deserted during Broncos games, (a GREAT time to run errands, by the way.)
If this captures the attention of my students and get them interested in the symphony, I'm showing all ten minutes and thirty four seconds of it. It's very entertaining and attainable for 9-12 year olds. (I do remind them that the audience expectations at the CSO concert are very different.)
Peter and the Wolf beatbox flute
My students listen to Peter and the Wolf in 2nd grade. This a wonderful connection and re-introduction to that piece. Greg Pattillo is slammin'!
Cello Wars, A Star Wars Parody
Cellos, Star Wars, what's not to love?
Parent have been letting me know that kids are making their whole family watch this video. Yeah, cellos are coooool!
From the Top is a PBS radio show (broadcast every Sunday evening on Colorado's classical station.)
The show features excellent kid musicians performing and being interviewed about their day-to-day lives and interests. It's a wonderful "slice of life" view of normal kids passionate about making music.
It's great having so many mediums to feature professional musicians. (Don't you love living in the future?) This short list barely scratches the surface of the quality resources available. Did I miss your favorite book/video/website? Let me know! "Who Am I?" Instrument ID Game I recently shared a few of my favorite resources for teaching instruments of the orchestra. Here is a instrument ID game that has been a huge hit with my students.
Materials:
▪Laminated pictures of single orchestral instruments (the size of an index card.) Mine look like this:
Procedure:
Begin by taping a laminated picture of an orchestra instrument on each student’s back. (Everyone but the student will be able to see their instrument.)
Lead class in brief discussion of what effective “yes” or “no” questions students could ask one another to discover what instrument is attached to their back.
Some question ideas:
“Am I in the woodwind family?”
“Do you use a reed to play my instrument?”
“Do you often play my instrument with a bow?”
Establish game rules. Students may roam around the roam asking one another only “yes” or “no” questions to discover which each instrument they have on their back. Students must go to the teacher to verify which instrument they are.
If a student guesses incorrectly, I give them an additional instrument to figure out. (This motivates them to ask good questions.)
This is an easy game to set up and the students ask to play again immediately.
Hello! Today is my last day of Spring Break and it has been jam packed! I attended a fantastic OAKE Conference in Atlanta, GA last weekend and then my family and I had headed to the mountains for a few days of playing and relaxing. (I love living in Colorado!)
Today, Friday, March 28th is the start of the Music Facebook Frenzy which I'm thrilled to be a part of!
Over 20 music teachers are offering free animal themed Teachers Pay Teachers products!
My freebie is a Poison Pattern game with a Cheetah twist. This edition focuses on 4 16th note rhythm patterns.
There is a stick notation version and a standard notation version, both are included in the freebie.
Click on the Music Fenzy tab. You will have the opportunity to like my page (if you haven't already.)
Then click on the thumbnail of Watch Out for the Cheetahs! to download my freebie. Click on the sun to hop to the next freebie! In my Teachers Pay Teachers store I have recently added two more editions of Watch Out for the Cheetahs! ta, ti ti, rest and half note. Both come with stick notation and standard notation.
I also gave my Treble Staff Letter Matching Game a BIG facelift and added the variety of 12 different colors of decks.
Spread the word and invite your music ed friends to stop by my Facebook page and start collecting some great downloads. I hope you enjoy the Music Frenzy and pick up many items to use in your classroom!
March has definitely come in like a lion, not in the sense of weather in Colorado, just in terms of packed schedules and long to-do lists! I have several unfinished blog posts waiting in the wings that I will finish before we're "out like a lamb." The posts will have to keep waiting for the moment; I am headed to Atlanta for the 40th Organization of American Kodály Conference! It is always great to re-charge, gain new ideas, see old friends, make new friends, and be surrounded by music! I also serve as Member at Large on the OAKE Board which means I'll be there a day and a half early for meetings. (No, really, I actually enjoy the meetings and helping to get things done in an organization I strongly believe in!) I will report back when I return from the OAKE conference. Meanwhile, in honor of OAKE's 40th conference my Teachers Pay Teachers store will be marked down 15% from March 19th until Saturday, March 22nd. I just posted a batch of piano practice records. I made one for my 8 year old son who needs more incentive to practice, lately. (He also has a Federation competition coming up in two weeks!) I loved the piano clip art and just continued making the forms. Soon I had 57 different forms.
I also recently posted some Letter Name Cards and Solfa Cards. I rely on my letter and solfa cards every year when 3rd grade recorder begins and we transition from reading solfa on the staff to reading absolute pitch (letter) names. That's another post I've started and will complete before April!
I hope you have a great week! If you're going to Atlanta, I hope to see you there! (I'll be at the OAKE Booth quite a bit, stop by!)
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Hello and Happy Wednesday! I wanted to touch base with the music ed blogging world but I really can't stay long today. This is a very hectic week. I have grades due, a 4th Grade Concert tomorrow, an observation tomorrow, a full day ROCKE workshop to attend on Saturday (Hurray, Nyssa Brown!), a rehearsal Saturday night and a short gig with my band on Sunday afternoon. So, this is not an official post, just a mention that in honor of 3 million teachers enjoying Teachers Pay Teachers, there is a very big sale starting on Thursday, February 27 until Friday, February 28. All of the items in my store will be 20% off and you can get an additional 8% off with the promo code TPT3! Many music bloggers have participated in my friend Amy Abbott's Wishlist Wednesday link party, and those lists are certainly worth checking out!
My store is at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Tanya-Lejeune Have a great week!
Today I'm linking up with Mrs. Miracle's Music Music Room to share my Five Favorite Pins of February. (Hurray! I finally gotten it together and joined the Favorite Pins Linky Party!)
Kindergarten/1st music notation
I'm sure there's an app for this, but this is such a sweet "hands on" activity!
Easy Risers
Ooooo, I covet these risers! My school is about to celebrate our 25th anniversary and I'm reasonably sure my risers were purchased the year the school opened. These look much easier to lug around.
(My husband and I often joke that the reason we had children was so that when I was pregnant I could have an excuse to not move the risers for performances!)
Words to Know
Students say the word and then high five the hand.
While I love the idea of "tickets out the door/exit tickets," the reality is that when I've passed out actual physical pieces of paper, it's taken up too much class time and my students get restless.
Why not have them verbalize and high five the hand?
(I actually have those hand prints sitting in my home office; I bought them a few months ago thinking I'd come up with a brilliant idea of how to use them in my room. And then I forgot about them.)
I'll use them for music vocabulary, rhythms, or short melodies.
Minuet in G Major
Here is one of those very cute ideas that I love but will probably never do.
(Oh well, that's what Pinterest is for!)
Dalcroze Eurhythmics Durations video
You have to see my friend Fritz with his students reading rhythms. Fritz is our token Dalcroze teacher in my district and he is fabulous! I always learn so many subtle things when I watch other music teachers. I love the expression and energy he cultivates from his students. Additionally, here's a fine example of students who are truly fluent in rhythm.
Hello! This has been a very challenging weekend for me and other teachers in my district as we experience decisions made by newly appointed members of our school board. I won't get political here. What I can do every day is work hard to teach children in my school the value, power and language of music. Like the song says, "I've got rhythm, I've music, I've got my man, who could ask for anything more?" (Well, I could. But never mind. Just throw in a cup of strong coffee and I'll be good to go...) So, rhythm. Let's make sure we've got that!
One of my first "a-ha!" moments that came when I started my Kodály training was the importance of teaching the difference and the relationship between beat and rhythm. (Yes, that was something that was never stressed in my music education!) In my classroom when each new specific rhythm is taught I show heartbeats along with the rhythm so students can visualize how many sounds in a rhythm and where it falls on the beat. Often I show the rhythm right on top of the heartbeat.
In older grades, I transition to showing the rhythms underneath the beats.
Years ago I made student packs of rhythms on large foam hearts (and large "beat dots")
I use these with 1st graders as soon as we have a firm grasp of quarter notes and paired eighth notes. (On every heart or dot I drew a ta on one side and ti ti on the other.) We use these for decoding song and chant rhythms, rhythmic dictation, and composing. Inspired by all the great heart clip art that Teachers Pay Teachers members have been offering, I recently created rhythm cards showing one beat at a time. (Or two. The half note and eighth-quarter-eighth cards are 2 beats and twice as big as the one beat rhythms.) The hearts are colorful and glittery, courtesy of Glitter Meets Glue Designs. (Some things bring out the girly girl in me; I can't help being a sucker for glitter!) Each rhythm comes with and without note heads. Click on the picture below to download these rhythm cards.
So, please, take my heart(s)! If you do download, I'd love your feedback. (I still consider myself a newbie in regards to making things for Teachers Pay Teachers and it's helpful to know what other music teachers find useful.) Also, check out the Kodály Corner blog. I recently contributed my first post about opening songs. Have a great week and a sweet Valentine's Day!
