Kindergarten and 1st Grade

Quarter 3: 

Below is an overview of what we will cover in Kindergarten and 1st grade music. In each class, we will save at least 10-15 minutes to practice our concert songs for the performance on Wednesday, May 7 in the CPA Gym. 

Movement: The students continue to move to the beat of various songs based on the weather, animals, and holidays. For example, marched in place and played their rhythm sticks to imitate the sounds of a knocking door in MLK's favorite childhood song, "Somebody's Knockin' at Your Door". The students also enjoy using their imaginations and freezing varying styles of snowmen when music stops but floating like delicate, fragile snowflakes while the music is playing. Every class period is a new song (or two) with movement and imagination at the core.

Instruments: This is always a fun quarter for our kindergarteners and 1st graders because every Thursday, we read a story that incorporates a song, speech pattern, instrument parts, and most fun of all...actors to act out the story. Stories include: "The Wide-Mouthed Frog", "The Giant Turnip", and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears". Every student has an opportunity to play the xylophones to accompany the official song that the class sings throughout the story. The class also says a rhythmic chant every time a character says or does something specific. The students also have the opportunity to act the story out in front of their classmates. This gives them confidence and practice of being in front of an audience while having fun.

Notation: The students continue to practice identifying, playing, and singing Sol-Mi-La melody patterns. Students are also practicing identifying varying rhythmic patterns that include quarter notes (ta), pairs of eighth notes (ti-ti), quarter rest (sh), and half notes (too-o).

Concert Prep: Our spring concert is on Wednesday, May 7 at the CPA gym. Times will be announced later this semester. SAVE THE DATE!

Quarter 2: 

Below is an overview of what we will cover in Kindergarten and 1st grade music. In each class, we will save at least 10-15 minutes to practice our concert songs for the performance on Wednesday, December 11 in the CPA Gym. 

Weeks 1 and 2:

Little Tommy Tiddlemouse - high/low recognition, voice recognition

Big Black Cats - quarter rest identification

A Squirrel's Tale-movement, dramatic play

Blowing in the Wind- movement, scarf activity

Pease Porridge Hot - rhythm, identification of quarter rests

Engine, Engine - rhythm notation

The Little Red Engine-Fast/Slow

Oliver Twist - movement, independent performance

Rain on the Green Grass - pitch identification

Counting Quarter Notes and Eighth Notes - rhythm notation

Weeks 3 and 4:

Hello, Everybody-pitch identification

Five Perfect Pumpkins-subtraction, imagination

I Can Play the Wood Block

Toodala-Steady beat keeping

"Halloween Itsy Bitsy Spider"- hand bells

Candy Store - rhythm identification and performance

J.S. Bach's "Tocatta and Fugue in d minor" - listening

Little Jack Pumpkin Face - movement and rhythm identification and performance

Stirring My Brew - movement and dramatic play

Hippity Hop - high/low recognition, independent singing

Weeks 5-8:

Body Notation Game - use bodies to create the shape of rhythm notation

Yankee Doodle - traditional repertoire

I Can Play the Hand Drum

Chase the Squirrel - singing game 

Hop Old Squirrel - independent movement

I Can Draw a Steady Beat-notation activity

Gobble, Gobble - thanksgiving Sol-Mi activity  

Walk and Stop - listening and moving to the music appropriately 

Now's the Time - rhythm and thanksgiving activity

I Can Play... - instrument practice

Wait a Phrase - instrument practice with visuals

Turkey Struttin' Down the Lane-movement and song activity

Turkey Dance

Weeks 9-10:

Concert Preparation and Rehearsals

Weeks 10-11:

Dance for Hanukkah - traditional listening and movement game; two part practice

Marionette Game - independent movement activity 

Hanukkah is Here! - singing and movement

Time for Toys - rhythm activity

Jack in the Box -singing and movement game

Teddy Bear - movement song with emphasis on Sol and Mi

La Pinata -Spanish song with movement

Listen to variety of pieces from Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker"

Quarter 1

Weeks 1 and 2:

• Movement – 

• Week 1: “Follow the Leader” (mirror teacher movements), “All Around the Brickyard” and “That’s a Mighty Pretty Motion” (students choose movements and actions to demonstrate the beat); “Movement and Freeze” (students move appropriately to the music and “freeze” when the music stops)

• Week 2: “Two Little Apples”, “Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands”, “Monkey See and Monkey Do”, and “Betty Martin”, (students choose movements to demonstrate beat)

• Notation/Melody – 

• Week 1: “Hello, What Your Name?” (distinguish between speaking and singing voice), “Starlight” (high and low, introduce Sol and Mi)

• Week 2: “Hey, Hey” and “Lemonade” (differentiate between high/low, continue Sol-Mi)

• Notation/Rhythm – 

• Week 1: “Bee, Bee Bumblebee” (game to demonstrate the beat)

• Discussion Question for Students – What is the difference between a beat and a rhythm?

• Week 2: “We’re Goin’ Back to School” and “Queen Caroline” (learn about ta’s and ti-ti’s/quarter notes and pairs of eighth notes)

• Speech Activities – 

• Week 1: “Five Little Monkeys”

• Week 2: “I Think Music’s Neat” and “Hickory Dickory Dock”

• Instrument Songs – 

• Week 1: “Ten Little Bluebirds” (students play a glissando/slide on the glockenspiel to imitate the sound of bluebirds flying away. 

• Week 2: Listen to “Rondo Alla Turca” by W.A. Mozart and play along with percussion instruments.

Weeks 3 and 4:

 

You also may start hearing some Christmas/Hanukkah/Winter music at home. This is because we have started to introduce some of our concert songs. We always start early in the year as I only see your kiddos two times a week and we want to be as prepared and polished as possible.

• Movement – 
• We will continue to listen to rhythmic sounds using the drums, wood blocks, and shakers and students will move to the beat and “Freeze” when it is silent. We will also begin incorporating movements that differentiate between high and low sounds. 
•  
• Notation/Melody – 
• We have been singing songs and looking at patterns using sol and mi only up to this point. This week, we will add the note “la” (one step higher than sol). We will look at the notes written on the music staff and discuss the difference between line note and space notes (Sol and Mi are “line notes”. Is La a line note or space note?) We will also play music games with these melodic patterns to reinforce the concept of Sol, Mi, La. 
• Notation/Rhythm – 
• The students will clap the rhythm of a variety of animals. A variety Ta and Ti-Ti patterns (quarter notes and pairs of eighth notes) and quarter rests will also be performed with claps, body percussion, and classroom percussion instruments.
• Speech Activities – 
• Hickory Dickory Dock – the students will identify high and low sounds using the glockenspiel when the mouse goes up/down the clock. 
• Music Listening:
• We will listen to Leroy Anderson’s, “The Syncopated Clock” and imitate the sounds that we hear and demonstrate knowledge of the pulse/beat. 
• We will also listen to “Birds” from Camille Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals to discuss tonal imagery (flute sounds imitate birds) and high/low sounds. 
• Instrument Songs – 
• “Mallet Technique”: students will demonstrate playing a slide/glissando on the glockenspiel going either up or down. 

Weeks 5 and 6:

• Movement – 
• We will continue to demonstrate understanding of pulse/beat. We will also move in different patterns to show the phrases of the songs we are singing. The students will be listening specifically for silence ("rests") and will move appropriately within games to demonstrate understanding of these musical terms.
• Notation/Melody – 
• We will continue to focus on our melody friends: Mi, Sol, and La. We have discussed that Mi and Sol live on the first and second lines of "Music Street" and they recently welcomed a new neighbor, "La", in the space above Sol. We will play games while singing varying patterns of SML to cement understanding of these pitches.
• Notation/Rhythm – 
• We will continue to clap, play, and write patterns of ta, ti-ti, and quarter rest.
• Music Listening:
• We will listen to “Aquarium” from Camille Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals to discuss tonal imagery (glass armonica, piano, and strings) and how these varying instruments represent the multitude of sea life.
• Concert Preparation: We will continue to work on our Holiday and Winter Songs in preparation for our December 11 concert!

 

Weeks 7-10:

• Movement – 

• As the weather cools, and we enter the season of fall, we will start to sing and move to songs about leaves, spiders, and pumpkins! We will continue to demonstrate understanding of pulse/beat. We will also move in different patterns to show the phrases of the songs we are singing. The students will be listening specifically for silence ("rests") and will move appropriately within games to demonstrate understanding of these musical terms.

• Notation/Melody – 

• We will continue to focus on our melody friends: Mi, Sol, and La. We have discussed that Mi and Sol live on the first and second lines of "Music Street" and they recently welcomed a new neighbor, "La", in the space above Sol. We will play games while singing varying patterns of SML to cement understanding of these pitches.

• Notation/Rhythm – 

• We will continue to clap, play, and write patterns of ta, ti-ti, and quarter rest. We will use percussion instruments to demonstrate rhythm patterns using Farm Animals, Ocean Animals, and things related to Hiking!

• 1st Grade Only:
• We have been listening to music around the world! Countries that we have covered so far are: Mali and Uganda, Japan, Italy, and India. Students have been listening to the various instruments from these countries and are also noticing that there are similarities in how each of these countries make music! For example, every country has a version of a flute and a drum.
• Music Listening:

• We will listen to “The Wild Horseman” by Robert Schumann and identify the form of the piece (ABA).

• Concert Preparation: We will continue to work on our Holiday and Winter Songs in preparation for our December 11 concert!