JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

Grade One:

• Students continued to develop steady beat as well as their singing voices with the game "Lost my Shoe".   Everyone had an opportunity to choose a classmate's shoe and sing the question "Yoo hoo! Whose shoe?" followed by the response "My shoe!  Thank you!" from a classmate.  The beat was kept by the class by patting steadily on their laps.
• We reviewed our "I Think Music's Neat" chant to reinforce 'ta' (quarter note).  
• Movement and literacy were combined for the story "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats.  After reviewing and discussing the activities that 'Peter' did on his winter outing, the students acted them out through pantomime.
• "What Shall We Do When We All Go Out?" - more pantomime work - students shared, sang and acted out activities that we could do outside on a winter's day :)
• Spoons (Carnaval) - We practiced hand-positioning and eight rhythmic patterns before performing them to French-Canadian folk music.  Lots of fun!
• "Hot Cross Buns" (a traditional song) - focused on rhythm through singing and moving.  Also an introduction to quarter note and quarter rest.  Students referred to the quarter rest as 'a pointy three' or 'a sideways M'.
• Opera - in preparation for the Calgary Opera performance of "The Bremen Town Musicians", students listened to variations of the story, learned about vocal styles (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, bass) and moved to operatic music (Overture from "The Barber of Seville").  We also watched the video "The Bathtub of Seville".  Do you remember the type of singing voice 'Placido Flamingo' had?  Answer:  baritone

Grade Two:

• Rhythm Reading (independent/small group work) - students continued to reinforce their understanding of note and rest recognition/identification (quarter, half, eighth) by creating and drawing 4-beat rhythms. 
• Ear-training - Mme Zdrill tried to 'stump' the Grade Twos by playing 4-beat rhythms that the students would then have to identify and draw.
• "Tell Me, Tell Me" - a game based on listening, singing and improvisation.  Each student took turns being blindfolded and tapped a 4-beat rhythm for a "hidden" classmate to play (echo).  The blindfolded student then carefully made their way to the circle edge from where the sound came,  followed by singing the question "Yoo hoo!  Are you here?"  
• Spoons (Carnaval) - see Grade One description above.  Sixteenth-note rhythms were also introduced (tika-tika).  Students had an opportunity to create a 4-beat rhythm pattern for the group.
• Opera - see Grade One description above.  Students also became 'critics' and reflected on the performance.

Grade Three:

• Recorders - our unit started off with the following questions: What do you know about the recorder?  What do you want to know about the recorder?  What would you like to learn?
• Our next step, to learn some facts about the instrument.  For example, there are various kinds/'voices' (range) of recorders:  sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
• Recorder positions - resting, practice, ready
• Parts of the recorder:  mouthpiece, body, front, back and bell
• Playing the recorder:  breathing gently without 'blowing out the flame of the candle', tonguing -using the tongue to separate notes
• "Sarah", a professional recorder player, provided suggestions and demonstrations via video for proper technique and position of notes
• Notes learned to date:  High C, B, A, G, E
• Spoons (Carnaval) - Students reviewed technique and rhythm patterns.  Patterns were used to accompany instrumental music (French-Canadian folk music).