Freebies: Vocal warmups

I recently upgraded to the Royale membership for PicMonkey. I normally don't bother with upgrading on sites like that (I'm fairly adept with Photoshop in the first place) but the website is just too easy and the graphics are so cute and just my style. Plus, I can access it at school to make all kinds of graphics and backgrounds for my PPTs and such. The 30-day free trial didn't hurt either!

So I thought I'd pass along something that I made after playing around with this website. My kindergarteners love vocal rollercoasters. They love to play teacher by using my pointers and leading the class to follow wiggly lines on the board that move in high, medium and low curves and loops. It's great practice to get their voices moving. Since it's winter (well, the closest thing to winter we've got here in Texas), I came up with Frosty's Silly Snowballs. Here's some screenshots from the file:

(Speaking of Frosty, I am now using online books on this great website called We Give Books! Frosty the Snowman is available, as well as a cute story called Snowmen At Night. This one is particularly good for movement! I am trying to find the Twitter friend that posted this useful info so I can give her credit, but I can't find her name or the post I favorited at this moment. I'll update it if I can locate it!)

If you'd like some vocal rollercoasters that will work all year long, here's a bird flying in various paths to his tree:

 

I hope your students enjoy these as much as mine have! 

popsicle stick dictation sets

As you can probably tell by now, I'm not blogging for the fame and fortune. :) I really do need to blog more often though....

I have been agonizing over my popsicle stick dictation sets for awhile now. Actually, I have been becoming downright disgruntled over these things over the last few years. Am I the only one? (Probably.) The beat-up baggies that won't zip closed....they get spilled when the kids return them to my drawer....the ones with holes....quite honestly, I usually just rezip each and every one of them as the (younger) kids bring them up to me because even when they looked and felt zipped, they weren't. Yes, I'm that teacher who likes supplies to be neat and organized. Yet somehow my room never looks like it...

I've been on the hunt for small secure boxes or better bags - anything - that could hold these things! They couldn't cost much either because I knew I'd probably be buying them on my own. (I have a generous budget, but I'm very impatient and like to have things immediately when I spot them!) Finally, I found these small pencil boxes online and loaded them with some great stuff for dictation! Forget the plain old wooden popsicle sticks....nope, not in my classroom! :) Here's what I've got in my sets:

• pre-colored popsicle sticks from Office Depot; I've used these to group kids: "Orange sticks, read your rhythm. Green sticks, read next." etc. 
• mega sticks, dyed pinkish-red (with food coloring) for beat bars 
• mini sticks dyed to match the regular sticks; these are for flags or for shorter bars (ti-tika or tika-ti type combos)
• white poker chips (found long ago in the Target dollar aisle) with the edges colored in Sharpie for half notes
• small wooden circles (found at the craft store or more recently, my home crafting stash) dyed to match the regular sticks; 
• black pipe cleaners for ties

Pic labeled with Skitch...very cool app!

Here's some examples of how they can be used:

I was worried that the boxes would take up a lot of room (the baggies are very compact, which is one nice thing about them) but here's how they look when they're all packed up in a box:

Not bad, huh? The kids are having a great time using them. And this music teacher is happy to throw away all those torn up, ragged ziplock bags!! (It's the little things in life, you know?)

adventures in BYOD

I have been wanting to try some BYOD lessons in 4th and 5th grade this year and I finally got myself organized enough to start with 5th grade!

I believe very strongly in building, teaching and enforcing digital citizenship so it was important to me to pass out student contracts for my kids and their parents to sign. The one I used came from Forney ISD (used and changed with their permission). I will honestly say that I haven't had much luck getting all the copies back, but I'm being tough with my students. No contract, no device use. Period. The first group today discovered how fun the activity was and that we'll be continuing next week.....suddenly I have a lot of promises for more returned papers! :)

So here's what we did! Fifth grade has been practicing reading, writing, and dictating dotted quarter/eighth note combinations, so I thought I'd use the beautiful theme from the Largo movement of Dvorak's New World Symphony. It is one of my favorite pieces of music and it also connects with fifth grade's immigration lessons. Of course, there are several ways to write and interpret the rhythm of the theme, but I used dotted quarter in 4/4 time.

I asked my kids to read the theme's rhythm for practice. I explained that it came from the New World Symphony and asked what is meant by the "New World." After talking about this very briefly and why and when Dvorak wrote the piece, I started the music and asked them to quietly get out their devices. I gave them a web address on the projector leading them to a discussion via Answer Garden.

If you've never used Answer Garden, it's a great, easy way to get short answers. It's also an easy way to share if you only have a device to two. Ask a question and get answers that end up as a word cloud on your screen. You can set it up so that students can answer more than once. In this case, I asked the kids, "If you were heading to the New World, how would you feel?" I got answers such as :

scared ~ anxious ~ excited ~ nervous ~ happy ~ in awe ~ thankful ~ scared ~ proud ~ curious ~ amazed 

It was great to get their answers quietly through their devices while listening to Dvorak's hopeful theme instead of having to wait until the end to discuss. 

After ending that portion of the lesson, we went on to something else that we had practiced in a previous lesson. We had already learned the folk song Whistle Daughter Whistle. We talked about changing the lyrics as such:

Whistle daughter whistle, and you shall have a cow.

I can't whistle mother, because I don't know how.

to

Whistle daughter whistle, and you shall have a                         .

I can't whistle mother, because                                                  .

We did a practice verse or two last week where I filled in the first blank with a different animal and they had to fill in the second blank. However, in today's BYOD lesson, I gave them a link to a Padlet and they were free to fill in both blanks. They could choose another animal (like the original song) or an object....it was up to them as long as their text was appropriate. I left one more example of my own on the Padlet wall so they'd know what was expected. I should also point out that I only had a few kids with access to devices (due to turning in paperwork) so they worked in groups. Everyone contributed, but only certain students were able to handle the devices. I would normally have them work in small groups for the lesson anyway though.

As soon as they all found the Padlet website, I switched the projector over to it so they could see their answers pop up. All their answers came up in real time. I could see their faces light up as their peers reviewed their answers and smiled or laughed in approval. (Most of them tried to be as funny or clever as possible!) They ended up singing other group answers as they worked. They laughed, sang, smiled, and did I mention they actually worked? Without complaining? :) I'm going to give them a bit more time to edit their verses next week and I'm looking forward to posting their finished work on EdModo next week so they can show their parents at home.

I would say that our first BYOD lesson was a success. :)

What are some of your favorite BYOD activities in the music room?

Time-Out from Music

ETSI your friendly neighborhood robot

I'd like to dedicate this post to something that doesn't have much to do with music....at least not directly. However, it has everything to do with pure creativity, innovation and imagination -- ideas that all musicians young and old can benefit from!

I am extremely fortunate to have connected with an amazing art teacher in my district through the technology institute that I attended this summer. Becca Bailey had attended the Cardboard Challenge class and created ETSI, the friendly neighborhood robot. Made from cardboard, tape, markers, imagination and nothing else, ETSI inspired Becca to hold her own Cardboard challenge here in the district. (If you don't know where this idea of a cardboard challenge originated, check out Caine's Arcarde....this kid is the best!)

Working with her coworkers Lara, Megan and Nancy and Clara from district admin, they put together a crazy, beautiful event. From the chaos of cardboard flying everywhere, I saw kids, parents, grandparents and volunteers working with each other to create games, robots, dogs, buildings, working (yes, working) elevators, a replica of the State Fair Ferris Wheel, dresses, airplanes, and so much more. Kids were laughing and smiling....there was no fighting over supplies (!).....we were all one team working towards having fun and making something out of nothing.

I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. I'm working on a video of some footage that I took, but I'm having trouble with my video software so check back for that. In the meantime, here are some of my favorite photos from the day.

This doesn't even begin to cover the magic of the morning. It was one of those "you had to be there" kind of things. :) An experience of a lifetime, you might say! Thank you, Becca and Team, for hosting this challenge. I know it wasn't easy but you all are reminders of why we need arts in education. 

Please follow Becca and her cohorts on Twitter...you won't regret it!

@artwithbailey

@gagorogers

@mliveng

@techclara

@NancyWTech 

@planocc (the event's Twitter handle)

and of course, the originator of the Cardboard challenge @CainesArcade

And don't forget to search #planocc for all the action from the event itself!

GoPro fun!

This post is a bit awkward because I can't actually post my proof....but I promise it's all good!!

I recently purchased a GoPro camera. If you've never heard of it, click on the website link in the name and check out their videos. Mine are nothing compared to that, but I'm still having lots of fun with it in my own way!

Basically, it's a very small video camera meant for stunts, action shots or on-the-go video. I even have a water-proof case for it. (You know, for the next time I teach underwater folk dancing?) What I like best is that you can attach it to a hands-free strap or mount and you're good to go. So that's just what I did this week. I buckled it onto a student and we started up a round of a Liza Jane. We did a dance version that I learned from a coworker. The result was a first-person view of what we do in the music classroom! The kids had a blast - and yes, they were a bit goofy and some waved at the camera - but they tried their absolute best so they could watch themselves later.

Like I said, I can't post my proof right now, simply because some of my students do not have waivers signed to be posted on the internet, but you'll have to take my word that the video is really awesome and really valuable feedback for me and the kids. I can't wait to show it to them! (In case you're wondering, it is very easy to download from the camera and keep on the computer. In my case, I did put it on Vimeo, but it is currently set to private and password-protected for my use only.)

I'm trying to think of other uses for it. I think a passing game would be great to capture on it. A friend on Twitter suggested recording a program or concert, which is a great idea. I never get good video of those since I'm always busy directing!

Which other folk dances would have an especially good point of view? I really want to try Great Big House! Leave me a comment!

Augmented Reality

So I've always felt like I live in a bit of augmented reality, but I should be clear that today's blog post is actually about the technology kind.....

At tech training this summer, I went to a session covering augmented reality or AR as it is sometimes known. All I can say is WOW. This stuff blew my mind. There are several AR apps to choose from - some free, some not. There are some kits to buy as well, such as Osmo....I like that one a lot! It is so much fun! As great as they are for the general classroom, they aren't quite as applicable in the music room. (Unless you have tons of free time to really, really use some creative license in your curriculum...I don't have that much wiggle room in the schedule!)

This week, I found a pretty good use for one called ColAR Mix. I had to miss a day this week and needed a fail-proof sub plan for a non-musical sub. I thought a musical story book and a quick AR coloring sheet to go along with the book would be perfect. I don't normally do this kind of lesson, but I thought it would be a perfect way to introduce the kids (and parents) to some new technology! ColAR Mix's website provides a handful of free worksheets to go along with basic app and provides the directions already at the bottom of the worksheet. So when the kids took their worksheet home at the end of the day, the parents could follow the directions to get the app themselves. (I told them if they don't have a device at home, they can bring it back and I'll show them what it does.)

So I chose the book "De Paseo por la Selva" with CD included so the sub didn't have to sing it. It is full of great animal sounds, which is wonderful for vocal explorations. Not to mention it has a woman's solo voice, a man's solo voice and then a chorus of voices. This is perfect for differentiating between various voices and timbres. Cross-curriculur-wise (is that a word?!), the main character travels to the jungle, the desert, the mountain, the ocean, the river, and more. All of this is in Spanish, but even my non-Spanish speakers could figure out the basics of the story by following the pictures and animal sounds. The song is very catchy as well!

I then paired it with the tropical bird coloring sheet from ColAR. I left directions for the sub to ask them to imagine that the main character had met this bird on her travels. What color is it? What sound would it make? Does it have a song that it sings? Once it was colored, they could take it home, follow the directions at the bottom, and bring it to life.

When I returned to school, I felt a bit bad that some kids got to do this cool lesson and the others didn't....so I continued it today! I'm so glad I did too because they really had a great time. And it was so fun to hear them give voices to their birds. I also got to see their reactions to the AR in person. I was able to activate their birds in class rather than just sending the coloring sheets home. Take a look:

This is not the greatest video; I had my iPad in one hand, and getting this video on my iPhone with the other hand. Multitasking at its best. Sort of. :) If you're careful, you can even put your hand in front of the camera and make it look like the bird is sitting on your finger. The kids just went crazy for that!

So give some AR a try if you have a chance! Even if you're just exploring it for yourself or your children at home for fun, these apps are unbelievable. 

Can you keep a secret?

That's okay, neither can I right now!

I'm so excited about tomorrow! I'm going to be presenting during the Genius Hour portion of our professional development at our school. I'm so honored to be presenting to my peers and to ensure a good "review" of sorts, I'm totally bribing them with door prizes! Ha!!! :) Just kidding!! Well, not really....I do have door prizes and that's the secret!

My presentation is about BYOD classrooms, which I've never actually had myself. But I'm going to be attempting it this year. I say attempting because there will be some obstacles to navigate, but that's a whole different story. Either way, that doesn't mean the classroom teachers of my school can't learn about it! I'm using Nearpod to give my presentation (with a little bit of Lino thrown in too). If you've never tried Nearpod, check it out now. It's a really amazing program!! Anyway, since a major part of BYOD is teaching and modeling digital citizenship, I was inspired by a pin that I found on Pinterest and I made this:

I changed the word speak to comment mostly because I wanted it to apply to digital citizenship and in-person interactions. (I have also seen this sign with, "before you Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - etc.....") After all, a major part of music education is commenting on what we hear. Let's face it, kids don't always think before speaking their mind on someone else's performance. That is something we have to work on a lot throughout elementary school.

My little sign turned out so well that I decided to make two more (in slightly different colors)....one for each session that I'll have in the morning. I found an online name randomizer ready to choose my winner. 

(In case you're wondering how the sign was made, it's a canvas that I painted with black paint. The colored letters were cut out out of cardstock using my Silhouette Cameo and the white letters are made with adhesive vinyl, also cut with the Cameo. I mod-podged the cardstock letters onto the canvas.)

By the way, are you a BYOD music classroom? If so, leave me a comment! I will definitely be posting more on that later!

Time flies....

Summer is officially over. Usually I'm really sad about this, but this year is fairly different. As I've mentioned before, I'm energized, focused and ready to get started! Well, not completely ready....my room is a mess and bulletin boards are half-done.....but I'm getting there. :) I do have one bulletin board done, waiting for my students' contributions:

Since taking this picture, I've asked some of my Twitter followers to tweet some examples to have ready for the kids. I got some inspirational responses such as, "What can lift your spirits when you are feeling down?" from @trudy_fern and "What brings life to my soul?" from @MusicHeather. I will be sending home squares of paper so that they can write down their questions for the board. I won't be able to fit all 500+ on this small board though, so I'll have to pick out a few a week to display and rotate them out for the first few weeks of school. I can't wait to read some of their thoughts!

Other than that, I've been busy working on my window that greets the children as they enter my room. For the past few years, it has always said the same thing. It has always had my signature quote, "If you cannot teach me to fly, teach me to sing." Before leaving for the summer, we had to remove everything from the walls so the school could be painted. Unfortunately, I had to just about destroy my old window display. It wasn't in the best shape anyway due to its age so I'm remaking it and updating it a bit. I was worried that it would seem a bit stale to go back to the same old quote and display, but several coworkers walked by and said, "NO! Why are you taking it down?! Are you going to put it back up?!" So if they liked it as much as I did, I think it's safe to say the kids maybe did too. :)

So here I am on a Saturday, hoping my new best friend Oscillating Fan will help me finish my room a little more. I'm really hoping to share some more pictures soon. I have really enjoyed searching through some of my favorite blogs seeing everyone else's rooms.

Here's to a welcoming space to make some great music during this new year!!

"Genie, you're free."

I have been seeing this quote on Twitter in the last several days since the news of Robin Williams' death was announced. Like most, I was stunned....shocked....upset. I grew up watching his movies and especially loved his embodiment of the Genie in Disney's Aladdin. He didn't just provide a voice to an animated character....he became the character. The film's title character may have been a boy looking for his princess, but the Genie stole the show.

Even before seeing the movie, I can remember getting the soundtrack and trying so hard to learn each and every song....his songs and parts were the most difficult. I tried to copy his inflections, his nuances....nope, couldn't do it. Not even close. He was one-of-a-kind. His funny, endearing vocal performance in this movie is what began my long love and deep appreciation for Disney movies and music.

RIP Robin Williams.

Scared to jump in?

My son is 9 years old and just got his first actual iPhone. I didn't buy it for him, but in this day and age, I'll admit that he's perfectly "old" enough for it. He is thoroughly proud and protective of it...and has made sure to point out that it's better than mine. Nice one, kid. :)

This started a fun conversation in the car though. I told him that I was pretty excited about this upcoming year in school. Our school principal is really onboard with integrating devices (appropriately!) in class and I'm really thinking ahead about how to do that even in music. Not only am I thrilled that he'll be prepared with his device, but I've already laid claim to his old iPod touch to use as another device in my music room. Hooray!

That's not the interesting conversation though. We talked about technology and people and teachers who are likely to embrace it. I told him that I just knew his teachers on his upcoming grade level team would be excited about using technology (um, sorry....no pressure!) but not everyone in every school feels like this. Some are hesitant because they just didn't grow up with technology like his generation obviously has. We talked about typewriters, early computers and I even described the fascinating machine my grandparents used to communicate with my hearing-impaired aunt over the phone in the 1980's. Technology has changed so quickly that it's impossible to keep up even for those who have an interest. For those who don't have a particular interest?....I can't even imagine!!

I am lucky that I grew up in a "plugged-in" home. In fact, I have never known a home without a computer. (And I grew up through the 80's before PC's were really popular in middle-class homes.) My dad is a techie. We had a Radio Shack TRS-80 (I think?) as early as I can remember.  

Radio Shack TRS-80

Funny story....my dad subscribed to some sort of programmer's magazine and I can remember one that arrived in the mail. He asked if I wanted to program the computer. He sounded really excited about it and convinced me to type in a couple lines. I was pretty young and barely knew my letters (much less the arrangement of the QWERTY keyboard!) so it took awhile....I thought for sure something magical would happen when I was done! When I was finally finished, he ran the program and I thought it would talk to me or play a game of Pong with me.....ha ha, nope. It went "BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP." Now, the nostalgic techie nerd in me would like to say that I was filled with wonder and awe, but.....but.....I felt a bit ripped off. But hey, our memories can't all be winners.

I've gotten off track. Needless to say, I was inspired by my dad....and later my mom.....and my brothers (all tech nerds in some way or another).....to pursue my interests in the tech world somehow. Not because I have to, but because I want to! 

I realize not everyone likes or understands this stuff, and that's okay. But the greatest thing about modern technology is that you don't have to be an expert. In fact, there is no such thing. I love the blog entry linked in that last statement....read it and be assured by Angela Watson's words! Stamp "life-long tech learner" on your forehead and dip your toes in. It's okay to try and fail. In fact, that's how I learn about 80-85% of my tech skills....no joke! User manuals and help menus are my last resorts. (Should I admit that?) I click buttons and I explore menus....if I don't find what I need, I Google my exact question and usually come up with the answers I need. 

If you're having trouble integrating technology into your lessons, set some small goals. Practice your lesson with a teammate or with a family member at home. It doesn't have to be complicated to be great!! Ask around and have an open mind. You're not alone and there's someone (like me!) in your school or community willing to share resources or skills to get you started.

Please share your personal fears and/or victories about integrating technology in the classroom by leaving me a comment!

ETSI

I had the honor of being selected to attend my district's first Educational Technology Summer Institute and it sounds cheesy, but….my life will never be the same! :) I know, I'm being a bit dramatic, but really, my mind was blown by the innovation, collaboration and pure energy of being surrounded by all the best edtech leaders in my district. I have to give a major shout-out to my principal for giving me this opportunity and to the tech team for accepting my application. We spent three days diving into augmented reality, mystery Skyping, virtual field trips, 3D printing examples, BYOD, digital citizenship, Twitter, flipped classrooms, and much much more. I was even able to lead a class in our Mini EdCamp morning! Yikes, I was so nervous thinking no one would show up or find any value in it but I think they did? :)

This experience was perfect timing for the new school year. Let's face it…sometimes we get comfy on the couch, catching up on our favorite TV shows on Netflix, visiting the pool with our children (guilty of all three!!) and we start to think that we could get used to that kind of life. :) Sure, I love my students and I love teaching music but I'm not going to lie….my couch is pretty nice after all. :) 

However, this training was just what I needed to get me back into the swing of things this year! My focus is back with a vengeance and not only that…..but I'm armed with new techie ideas, apps, websites, tricks and gadgets!  Better yet, I'm even more inspired and determined to share with my coworkers and anyone willing to listen. In fact, if you follow me on Twitter (@KellyParrish605), you have probably seen all my crazy comments followed by #pisdetsi. Follow that entire hashtag and you'll find some amazing insight to the last three days of our crazy adventure!

So in the next couple of weeks before school, I will be working on adding to my Websites and Apps pages  to share all those great resources we talked about and I will share some more specific music ideas as well! Check back with those soon!

By the way, if this is what an EdCamp is like, I have to (obviously) recommend it!! I hope to go to the next one in my area whenever it may be!!

I'm a believer

Even though I was a die-hard Monkees fan as a kid (and still am), this post has nothing to do with the song of the same title. Sorry.

Instead, let's talk Twitter.

I'll admit, as tech-obsessed as I am, I never really jumped on the social-media bandwagon. I'm a bit introverted in real life, so I guess I follow suit in the cyber world as well. I did not join (and subsequently quit) MySpace. I'm not on Instagram. I read Tumblr for the funny stuff once in awhile, but I don't have an account. I'm not even on Facebook. No, really! I always joke that I work very hard to avoid certain family members in real life....why would I want them to find me easily on the internet? :) I did chat on AOL back in the day and I used ICQ in my college years. But then networking got crazy and I stepped back from instant messaging. Email was about all I used to communicate to others.

Fast-forward a bit and I guess you could say that I definitely had some misconceptions about Twitter in particular. I will admit that I thought it was only used by people to report what they were having for breakfast or what their cat was doing. I had no idea educators posted useful ideas, lesson plans, thoughts and support. I didn't know that I could find music teachers going through the same ups and downs that I experience in a day. Even though I have a great support network here in my own district, it's been amazing to meet people all over the country that share my passion to teach music to children. I meet (or try to meet) weekly to chat with them through #musedchat and I recently joined Dave Burgess's Teach Like a Pirate chat or #tlap chat.

I was introduced to Twitter by my principal. She brought in a great presenter who works in our district and I jumped in. When I got there, I was a bit confused with the @'s, #'s, the RT's....I'll admit, it has it's own little language and lingo. And don't even get me started with keeping it down to 140 characters! But it's worth stepping out of your comfort zone to grow as a professional. It took a couple weeks to get used to the whole thing and I still mess up and forget the hashtags...oh well, who cares? I still get to read some amazing stuff and connect with some fun, smart people! So to all of you who peek in and get confused by these things, keep going....push through and try again. Ask questions. It's worth it! Even I, the self-titled Anti-Social-Media Queen, am not completely anti- now. Yes. I'm a believer.

But I'm still not going to join Facebook. And you can't make me. Take that Zuckerberg. :)

Melodic Stations

I tried out some more stations this morning and I think we're off to a pretty good start! I guess my 2nd graders are my guinea pigs this year for stations since they are (again) the grade level for this lesson.

Since we recently learned re and completed the pentatone of do-re-mi-so-la, I thought some melodic stations were in order. These were much more challenging to plan though, since melody is a lot more difficult to work on independently (if accuracy of pitch and contour is your goal!). I also wanted a variety of activities, of course, that highlighted reading, writing, listening and singing. Here's what I came up with:

Station #1: Step, Skip or Leap?
This was an interactive PowerPoint game that I made for the projector. The group had to work together to determine whether the notes were a step, skip or leap apart. The game told them whether their answers were correct or incorrect and they could try again if they were wrong. Edited to remove PPT....it had tons of mistakes that my 20th group found....hmmmm, makes me think the others weren't quite paying attention?!? Ugh. I will replace it soon once the mistakes are all found.


Station #2: What Does the Fox Box Say?

Okay, okay. Cheesy pun. (Hey, the kids loved it and my station sign!) This is my low-tech station. I recently ordered some Talk Blocks (or music boxes, as I call them) from School Specialty. I took a chance on them and while the sound quality is not great, they get the job done. My son helped me prep this station and we had fun doing it! What I really like about them is that you can insert directions or pictures into the top of them and then record 30 seconds of sound. (There are cheaper ones that have no picture inserts and about 10 seconds of recording time.) I have ten of them so I split them up into two different groups. Five of them were error detection. For example, one was a staff saying "m  r d" but I recorded me singing "d r m" and asked them to explain the difference. The other five were a mixed-up mystery song. I sang "Dinah" into the first one. The other four were me playing the four motives of "Dinah" separately on an instrument. The kids had to put them in order and sing along.

Station #3: Cookie Dough-Re-Mi
Since my new magnetic staves are actually cookie sheets, I came up with the idea of making some notes that look like cookies. I made mine out of little wooden craft circles and printed sticker paper, but you could easily do this by just printing on paper and cutting them out. I stuck magnet tape on the back, made some do clefs, made some solfa sentence strips and they were good to go. (This was something we had already been practicing in class, so writing on the staff was already familiar.)


Station #4: iCan Play Do-Re-Mi
This was the most coveted spot in the room! My coworker has a set of iPads for her classroom and was kind enough to let me borrow a few of them! We used the app Tap and Sing (Storybots) to play some do-re-mi melodies. I just printed out some melody cards and put them on the table, gave them a picture of which robots to tap, and let them practice. This was a bit more practical than using xylophones (which was my back-up plan if the iPads didn't work out) simply because we could plug in headphones and they wouldn't interrupt each other. Plus, the kids are quite motivated by using the technology!



Station #5: The Match Game
In this station, they simply got to work in teams or against each other. They had to turn over one card labeled stem and one labeled staff. If they had the same melody, they kept the match.


As you can tell, again, photography is not my strong suit. I will never understand how all these teacher blogs have such nice pictures! I look like a chicken with my head cut off trying to help kids, keep an eye on equipment (especially borrowed iPads!), making sure Talk Blocks aren't being recorded over, games are played correctly so learning is happening.....pictures obviously are the last thing to happen! :) But these stations went smoothly and we'll continue them for this week and into some of next week due to a (much-needed) holiday this Friday and a state-testing day next week.

What do you do for melodic centers? Leave me a note in the comments!

STOMP

Have you ever thought about making music with brooms? Or with matchboxes? Or maybe a plastic bag? Did you ever look at a person walking on crutches and wonder what that crutch might sound like if you beat on it with drumsticks?

The musical geniuses of STOMP sure have.

My husband, son and I got a chance to see the show at the beautiful Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth yesterday afternoon.

I feel so fortunate to live in an area where incredible venues like this are nearby. Even though I don't get out to see shows and performances often, I certainly enjoy it when the opportunity arises. In fact, funny story....I guess you could say I was so excited to see STOMP that I arrived a week early! I got my dates mixed up and we were over half-way to Fort Worth last Sunday when I double-checked the tickets. Oops....

I was so happy to share this experience with my son. He's almost 9 and has been to a small symphonic performance and a few local theater performances, but has never seen a major production like this. He was a bit grumpy about it at first because we wanted a million pictures (and most looked like this)....

...but was having a great time once it started. I asked what his favorite part was and he said there were too many to list. I have to agree. I was so happy to see we weren't the only parents with a child in the audience too. Though it is a two-hour program with no intermission, it's a perfect introduction to the Broadway musical scene. It's thrilling, entertaining, laid-back and downright fun. The production's take on music is so innovative...I've seen the DVDs many times in the classroom and I was still surprised by what I saw and heard. The talented cast blew me away! 

I wish I could put into words all the (new) lesson ideas going through my head at the moment based on body percussion and sound exploration but I'll have to add those as they develop into actual lessons. In the meantime, enjoy a great scene from the STOMP Live! DVD.

I'll be back in a day or two with some melodic centers that I just made (and I'm very excited to start with second grade) so check back for those. I also did some recordings of 3rd grade improvisations and I'll share that process this week too!

You never know....

This weekend, my husband and I went to see a film in the Dallas International Film Festival. (My husband was a cinematography major in college and went to film school with the director of this particular film.) The plot of "Flutter" centers around a mother and her imaginative young son who suffers from a medical condition. Each time the boy's condition worsens, she soothes him by giving him his medicine and then singing him a lullaby. The moment she started singing, I recognized the song from my Kodaly certification classes. Even though I learned a different variant, it was a version of "All the Pretty Little Horses," a beautiful, haunting melody dating back (possibly) to the time of slavery. Here is the variant that I learned:

Even though I haven't taught this song to my classes in years, I have taught it in the past and I can remember singing it to my son. (I tried any and all lullabies during his marathon crying sessions!) I've always liked it.

I don't know if there is a clip out there of the variant used in the movie, but my wonderful fine arts director (and folk song teacher from my Kodaly class) found this source and the words themselves seem to look a lot more like the ones used in the movie.

Anyway, after the movie was over, the director and all the actors came out for a Q&A. (They were all amazing in this film, and as a fan of Breaking Bad, I'll admit it was really cool to be just a few feet away from Jesse Plemons!) Someone from the audience asked the significance of the song and the director replied that he used it because it was a lullaby. Nothing much else to it besides that. The audience member then added something that I thought was interesting; he said, "One interpretation of that song is that it was about a mother trying to kill her child." This really caught my attention and I immediately felt like this wasn't quite right. I thought he either was trying to give meaning to the plot where there was none....or he was mixing it up with another song. The director didn't know anything about that either (and he did seem to know the history of the song). I remembered learning more along the lines of what the source above says.

I went to my phone and did a little bit of searching but didn't find much to support that idea. (And that's when I asked for some help and was given that previous source.) So that definitely makes me curious...I wish I had seen who asked that question! Where did that information come from? The history and meanings of folk songs can be very elusive, interesting and difficult to pin down. There is always conflicting information depending on the source.

This whole event (though certainly not a matter of life and death or $1M in prize money) reminded me of how valuable my music education has been to me. Who knew that the knowledge of folk music from my Kodaly certification would come in handy while attending DIFF? I felt so nerdy for knowing exactly what they were talking about when I thought I would be lost during an independent film discussion. :)

Do you know anything about the history of "All the Pretty Little Horses" that you can share? What folk song history/meanings do you enjoy sharing with your students?

Farewell March

Where did this month go?! Is it me, or is time passing quickly? I'm going to take that as a great sign...you know, time flies when you're having fun!

As part of our Kodaly curriculum, second graders "discovered" the tone re this week. We prepared by singing several different songs and games (Hot Cross Buns, All Around the Buttercup, Ridin' on the Railroad, Sally Go 'Round the Sun, Let Us Chase the Squirrel and Bow Wow Wow). After comparing parts of these songs to each other and/or playing the games, I felt like we ready to name the note this past week. I always try to set it up as a big deal...like we are scientists testing out different tones to see which one is the correct sound. When it comes to re, they usually have it narrowed it down to fa or re. We use the song Bow Wow Wow for the actual discovery lesson and I usually make some sort of excuse to test fa first and ask them to listen and tell me whether it fits in the song or not. No, it doesn't! When I sing re, they know immediately that it's the right fit but I don't usually confirm their guess right away. I let my powerpoint presentation reveal the answer by replacing the ? with re....their reaction? Cheering! I think that is too funny. They get so excited to find out a new tone! What's neat is that they did all the work!

First grade rocked out with Queen this past week and learned all about how an ostinato works. We Will Rock You is a great example of a repeating pattern and one that is easy enough that first graders can dictate as well (ti-ti ta ti-ti ta):

(I don't show the video and don't necessarily play the whole song....but the kids love this song and hear it a lot in the gym so they recognize it immediately.)

Kindergarten is also in the middle of a fun lesson: clapping syllables for rhythm practice. We had a great time today clapping Prin-cess An-na, O-laf, Mis-ter Pea-bod-y, Ker-mit the Frog and more. Of course, we then went around and clapped student names too. :)

Third graders and fourth graders enjoyed some play parties this week (Alabama Gal and Turn the Glasses Over, respectively) as they prepare to learn new notes from the tone ladder. Fifth just finished up an instrument unit on theme and variations. This unit did not go as well as it could have. We had a lot of interruptions for certain classes - bad weather days, holidays, absences by me, a week off for Spring Break - it was not ideal. I did hear some creative variations by many students though! I just wish we had more time to create. Either way, I am definitely going to make some changes the next time that lesson is taught.

Goodbye March....hello, April! What kinds of tricks will the kids play on me tomorrow? I wonder....

Freebies!

During the last #musedchat on Twitter, we were discussing the hardships of being able to provide instruments to students from low-income families. Another music teacher mentioned that they had an Orff ensemble but even struggled to provide enough instruments without having to take turns so sometimes she drew xylophone bars on a piece of paper for her kids to practice on. It reminded me of a visual I made several years ago! I shared it with her and I thought I'd try sharing it here too.

Xylophone Icon Folder

Hopefully that works! I'm still a bit new to sharing with Dropbox!

Personally, I have a printed set laminated and cut out with magnets on the back to put on my board for Orff lessons. It helps me demonstrate which bars might need to come off, or where to play. It's just a great visual for the entire class to see when my projector is showing something else. (I actually made these long before I even had a projector or Elmo!)

Xylophone set-up with B's and E's taken off

Speaking of #musedchat, if you're a music teacher on Twitter and you have a bit of time on Monday evenings, come by and chat! It's 8:00 EST and I've learned so much by chatting with the great educators there.

Enjoy!

An ode to Google

I have to get it out of my system and shout it from the rooftop....

Small update: If you visited earlier, that was just some boring text. I changed it because it just didn't express my love enough. And yes, I made that graphic with Google. :) Anyway....

I love Gmail. I love YouTube. I love Google Drive. I love Google Docs. I love Google Spreadsheets. I love Blogger. I love Chrome. I love Google Earth. (One time I spent 35 minutes using Google Earth to locate an old Pizza Hut in my hometown just to see if it was still a Pizza Hut because I wanted to possibly submit it to this blog. Ummm, don't ask.) I love Google Forms. I love Google Drawings. I love the fonts that Google provides because I am so bored with the basic fonts on my school computer. I love Google News. I especially love Google Doodles like this one and this one!!

Basically, I love ALL THINGS GOOGLE!!**

I use Google in and out of the classroom. For Open House a couple weeks ago, I created a Google folder on my professional Google Drive and adjusted the shared settings so anyone could view it. I made three documents in the folder: one was a greeting to parents thanking them for visiting me in the music room on the evening of Open House. The second was a list of educational (and fun!) websites that parents could visit along with their kids over Spring Break to learn about and create music. The third document was a list of music-themed iPad/iPhone apps that parents could download and enjoy with their kids. I turned the link to this folder into a QR code, printed it out and put it on my board for parents to scan as they visited. (I also had printouts in case they didn't have a QR scanner already on their phone.) 

On that same Open House, I had a second QR code to scan: a YouTube Playlist of videos to enjoy over Spring Break. 

(You could also shorten the URL if you wanted to just send out plain text....you could include this or the QR code in your grade level's newsletter, etc.!)

Out of the classroom, I often use Google Docs to save time....or try to save time. If I need to gather information from coworkers for whatever reason, I will send out a Google Doc. Here's the issue: I often get several emails saying that they can't access it. Yes, I could open my share settings so that anyone could access it, but oftentimes, there might be sensitive information such as student names, ID numbers, etc. Is it likely that someone will find that doc without the link? No, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't know how to access a Google Doc. My advice to anyone opening a Google Doc: always check to make sure you are logged in correctly! In my district, you must use your district log-in name. Many people have a personal plus a professional account. I find that is the #1 reason people fail to access Google Docs successfully. Double-check your log-in before emailing the sender! Google Docs are supposed to make life easier and cut down on emails. And if you're the one sending the Google Doc, always check your share settings to make sure others can edit or access before sending it. That cuts down on a lot of headaches as well.

Here are a few links that might help you get started:

32 Ways to Use Google Apps in the Classroom

79 Interesting Ways to Use Google Forms in the Classroom

Google in Education
40 Ways to Start Using Google Apps in the Class
Tips Every Teacher Should Know About Google Docs in Education
5 Ways to Use Google Docs in the Classroom
The 10 Best Google Doc Tips for Teachers as They Go Back to School
50 Little-Known Ways Google Docs Can Help in Education
20 Google Doc Secrets for Busy Teachers and Students

If you haven't tried Google in or out of your classroom, what are you waiting for? Share some ways that you have used Google in the music room by leaving me a comment! 

**Okay, except for maybe Google Slides. That one qualifies as just a "like." But that's just because I'm the last person on Earth that appreciates and adores PowerPoint for all it's hidden potential.

Welcome, Spring!

Today is the first official day of Spring! Is it a little too cliche to teach Antonio Vivaldi's "Spring" during this time? Who cares because I love that piece!

I made a visual listening map during my student-teaching years and even though I cringe at my horrible drawing skills, the kids think I'm the next Monet. The piece itself is great for K-5 and the kids are always captivated by it as if they've never heard it before. (No, seriously, they sometimes act like they've forgotten that we listen to it EVERY SINGLE YEAR. Ha!)

For Kinder, it's great for keeping the beat and recognizing same and different. Even my squirmiest (is that a word?) class calms down and sits for Vivaldi. Not still, necessarily....many of them play air violin or conduct. Some of them bounce up and down. But they listen.

For 1st grade and 2nd grade, we take same and different a little further and talk more about form. We use shapes in 1st grade and use capital letters in 2nd grade. I mention Rondo form (though we don't specifically talk about Rondo much else during the year).

For the upper grade levels, there is a lot to teach from it - rhythm, Rondo form (with variant) again, major/minor - but one of my favorite lessons from the past has been a comparison between music of the past and the present. I was searching iTunes for a copy to play several years ago (after misplacing my own CD) and I came across a really cool cardio workout remix version. The best I can do is link to the iTunes preview list. You'll have to click on the button to listen to a bit of it. Trust me, it's way out there, but the kids really relate to it!

Anyway, we talk about how long ago Vivaldi lived and the type of musical instruments he had access to. Which instruments did he use? How did he write down his compositions? Did he even have lights (electricity) to see at night if he wanted to write in the evening? Could he advertise his works easily? How did people hear his music? Fast forward to present day. How does this compare to musicians now? What kinds of instruments do we have now? How do we write music? How do we listen to music?

It's fascinating how much kids (and sometimes us teachers!) take music for granted. With music so easily accessed at the touch of a button, with us at all times in our pockets, purses and backpacks....we no longer have to make it ourselves! We don't have to write it down with a quill and ink or by candlelight; we don't have to walk miles to a concert hall just to hear the latest music as they did in Vivaldi's time.

Wow, that veered off into a random place.
Happy Spring!

The Luck O' the Irish

Sometimes ideas strike at midnight. Literally. :)

I had planned out my lessons and had everything ready to go and then had a really rough time sleeping last night. I always revert to my night owl/late sleeper routine on long breaks so ending Spring Break did not go over well with my body's schedule. As I tossed and turned, I had a last-minute idea that ended up changing my plans a little bit and it worked out well this morning! I wish I had pictures, but it was a quick-paced lesson and I was in the middle of leading the action.

Anyway, I had already planned on having a gold coin/rainbow themed lesson to have a little fun with St. Patrick's Day today. I made pots of gold out of black cardstock and painted some leftover wooden circles that were in my craft bin. I had planned on using them for Kinder as high/low icons and for 3rd grade to earn as team points for reading syncopated rhythms.

But what came together nicely was the set-up and an add-on lesson plan for 2nd grade. They just finished a reading assessment for half note before leaving for Spring Break, but I decided to take it a step further this morning. I asked them to do some rhythm improvisation. I formed two rainbows using spots, with a large pot of gold in the middle and two smaller team pots at the end of each rainbow:

I sat in the middle with the large pot and had two team lines form down the middle. We practiced a few patterns (from the board) to the music (some Celtic/Irish folk music) and we had two rounds.

Round one: they could pick any pattern from the board to say, but they had to be ready when it was their turn. If they were ready and they could say it in rhythm with the music, they got a gold coin. They could travel down the rainbow and put it in their team's pot. (This put them at the end of the line nicely.)

Round two: the sneaky leprechaun stole their rhythms and now they had to improvise a pattern! If they could improvise a pattern using a half note, they earned another coin. If not, I usually gave them another chance at this one. They were really very good at it! Even "under pressure"! (And yes, most of them did make up different ones than the ones they said before.) I even challenged them to make up ones that were not on the board and I got some very creative answers.

Was it the luck o' the Irish? Or more likely, the amazing Feierabend workshop that I attended about a year ago with a very similar pirate-themed lesson that popped into my head and the translation just seemed to work?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

DIY Magnetic Staff

After playing with the colors about a million times, I think I like the shade of aqua that I see on my screen! (Who knows what everyone else is seeing, of course!) I also followed an incredibly clear tutorial on Bite Sized Thoughts on how to create drop-down menus. (Thank you, Kari!) It took a lot of experimenting with the code even after reading, but that blog entry was the only one that made any sense to me after many Google searches!

Anyway, you've probably seen this before, but just in case you haven't.....I thought I'd show an easy and fairly cheap way to make magnetic staves for your classroom.

You might get some weird looks, but get to your local Dollar Tree and head to the checkout with an armful of $1 cookie sheets:

If you buy more than 10 or 15, they may or may not call a manager over to approve the purchase. A little embarrassing, but well worth it. :)

For the next step, it depends on what you use as notes. I use little math counters that are 3/4" round and they came in 4 different colors. Basically, they look like tiny poker chips. (I added magnetic tape on the back of mine.) I did an internet search just now and can't seem to find the exact kind, but there are so many types out there. I do like the kinds that I can split by color though because it helps me manage groups in various ways - "Yellow notes, put your materials away first," or "Green notes, sing your pattern to me."

I used my craft machine to cut strips of vinyl, but you can easily use drafting tape as well. Just space out your lines according to the size of your chosen note size.

Spacing the lines to fit your notes...

Just 20-something more to go... :)

My next step, which I will have to update on a bit later, is to cut out some do clefs and some ledger lines. I'm waiting on this step because I'm going to cut them on printable magnetic paper and they only take up a small amount. I'm trying to think of something else to take up the rest of the paper....I don't want to waste it.

And if you're lucky, you might find these little storage containers at the Dollar Tree as well. They are great for storage for your little magnetic notes! I've seen round containers and these square ones and then sometimes they have nothing at all. I tend to grab a package when I see them in stock. They are popular!

Overall, I think these magnetic staves would be great for centers (if you only want to make a few and not a class set) and you can always use the other blank side for other magnetic manipulative activities!

Growing Pains

You'll probably notice (for the two or three people reading this!) that I'm changing how things look and adding things here and there. I'm brand new to blogging and I guess you could say that a part of me started this blog as a technological challenge to myself. I love graphic design (I'm a Photoshop addict!) though I'm not an expert by any means so this is a bit of a learning process. As I do with almost anything technology-related though, I'm just experimenting and Googling....rinse and repeat!

In the meantime, it's Spring Break here and I'm looking forward to crafting some manipulatives for class (along with some personal projects). My goal is to reorganize how I present my Learning Targets everyday to my class and to finish some magnetic staves for my students. I'm sure some other ideas with pop into my head as the days go on!

What are you doing this week?

Music in Our Schools Month

March is Music in Our Schools Month and I, for one, am very thankful to teach in a district with a strong elementary music program! I grew up in the opposite, so this is something that means a lot to me as an educator, as a musician and as a parent.

To recognize this event, I put together a huge display spanning across my cabinets in the back of my classroom. I used my craft machine to cut hundreds (and hundreds) of quarter notes for my students to sign....but it didn't stop there. I thought maybe the teachers should sign a note and of course, as the parents arrive to our Open House tonight, they should sign one too! :) As I told the kids, the success of our music program is not just because of their hard work and love of music, but also due to the support of our staff and parents. Each of us makes beautiful music, but together, we create a masterpiece. :)

I can't help but smile at this and the kids are crazy about it. It may just be a bunch of colorful paper notes with first names of each of my students, but to me, it represents so much more. :)

What are you doing for MIOSM?

An ice day? Really?!

And helloooo to you too, March!

Wait, what?

Yes, here we are, March 3rd, and we have the day off due to icy conditions. What?! I'm going to acknowledge the only way I know how, especially considering last night's deserved Oscar win by now-EGOT songwriter Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez:

Oh, Idina Menzel (or as John Travolta calls her, Adele Dazeem), you're my hero! Can you please go back to Wicked and be Elphaba long enough for me to hop a plane to New York?

Anyway, snow day equals more lost days in the music room. This makes me crazy and anxious. You see, in the music world, when we lose days, we pretty much don't get them back. We may make them up at the end of the year, but time is of the essence. I need them NOW, not later. :) But, I'll make the best of it this week and try to get the kids caught up the best I can.

This week, 5th graders are working on some theme and variations a la Mozart to "Ah Vous dirai-je Maman" and 4th graders are comparing tika-ti and ti-tika. 1st grade has done things a bit out of order (and has just come off of a program) so they just discovered quarter rest and Kinder is playing some high and low sounds on xylophones. 2nd grade is getting ready to learn re and 3rd is still trying to wrap up those centers.

Just one request...can the weather please, please clear up in time for Spring Break? Thanks. :)

The best laid plans...

My biggest plan this week was to have 3rd grade rhythmic centers focused on syncopation. While I did get them started, they are off to a rough start due to a sick child at home. My second group will be a day behind so I'll have to extend it a bit more than I had planned. So far, so good though.

I thought maybe I would highlight the technology center that I used for 3rd grade's practice. I did a homemade I Spy PowerPoint and it's not only great for music practice, but it's a great vocabulary and math skill builder. The initial home screen looks like this (but without the watermark of course):

It's not the best picture, but I just took objects from around the house (it helps to have overstuffed toy bins and overflowing craft drawers to select from!) and placed them on a white background. I'm not great with a camera and my professional photographer husband was not available that day, so I had to play around with different places around the house. Luckily, we have some great skylights upstairs and I was able to get some decent natural lighting. After some editing in Photoshop, I got a pretty clear image to use. (If you'd like to use my image, feel free to contact me in the comments and I'd be glad to send you the image without the watermark!)

After inserting the image into my first slide, I prepared several other slides containing my syncopated rhythms. Then I went back to the first slide and I drew a grid of squares on top, using the draw tool. It looked like this when I was done drawing them and making sure the boxes were clear, with no line colors:

After that, it's just a matter of hyperlinking. If you've never hyperlinked before, it's a great tool to make a PowerPoint interactive. In fact, I know PowerPoint gets a bad reputation these days but I find it to be an incredible tool in the classroom.....just not for presentations. I hardly ever use it as such. Anyway, right click on your first box and select "Hyperlink". In the next dialog box, select "Place in this Document" and then "Slide 2" (if that's the slide you want it to go to). Do this to every box, and make sure each box is linked a different slide (Slide 3, Slide 4, Slide 5, etc.).

Here's the trick though....you need a way for the kids to get BACK to the "home" screen after they are done reading their rhythm.  Easiest way....insert a clipart of a house on your first rhythm slide and hyperlink it. Except this time, select "Place in this Document" and "First Slide."  Copy and paste it to every slide except your home screen. If you want to get fancy, insert a text box with the words, "Go home" under the house. :)

Now you have your own interactive game! As far as it being a vocabulary/math game as well, come up with questions like "I spy with my eye....a polygon in a primary color," or "....a vowel,"....or "....one of your five senses," or ...."half of 10."  

3rd Graders spying a form of transportation

(Just a note - when we play in a group, I sing "I spy with my eye" on the solfa that we are concentrating on (drm or low la for example) and they have to echo me before I say the clue, but for the centers, I simply made little cards with a detective on the front.)

Let me know if you have any questions by leaving me a comment!