Music Lesson on Emotions: Allie All Along. Organized Chaos. Elementary music lesson for lower elementary, kindergarten, or even Preschool connecting music with feelings.
For the last two weeks we have been working on songs from Africa. First we learned Che Che Koolay . You can get the powerpoint from the pos...
I'm back with another lesson idea for using literature to introduce and practice music concepts with lower elementary students! Today's post is on a book that is brand new to me this year: a wonderful book by Ann McGovern called "Too Much Noise". *this post contains affiliate links* I just used this book this past week (you can get it on Amazon here) with first grade to review loud and soft, introduce the vocabulary forte and piano, and review classroom instrument names and playing technique. You could use this book with any lower elementary grade to practice or introduce dynamics and/or timbre. The first thing we did was read the story. This book is a wonderful story about a man who thinks the quiet sounds in his house are too loud, who gets a bunch of loud animals at the advice of the town's wise man, and then realizes how quiet his house actually is when he gets rid of all of the animals. The illustrations are wonderful and there are several sound words in the story- the swishing of the wind, the mooing of the cow- which I had the students say with me as I read. At the end of the book, I asked the students to retell the story, and then asked them which sounds were loud and which were quiet (or soft. I know some teachers care deeply about which word you use- I use them both interchangeably but will use "quiet" in this post for consistency's sake). We practiced saying the animal sounds loudly and the house sounds quietly. Since I was using the book to introduce the vocabulary words "forte" and "piano", I introduced those words here, having the students say the words loudly and quietly, respectively. That was the end of the first 30-minute lesson. In the next lesson, we reviewed the basic story line, reviewed the words "forte" and "piano", and I had students sort the sound words into categories of forte and piano. I did this on my interactive whiteboard, but you could also do this on a regular whiteboard and just write the words, or print the words on cards and have them sort as a class or in small groups. Then I told the students that I wanted to use instruments for each of the sounds instead of our voices. We quickly reviewed the classroom instruments we used last year, including small percussion and barred instruments, and for each discussed whether the instrument could produce sounds that are forte, piano, or both (An egg shaker, for example, is hard to play forte, but a cowbell, on the other hand, is difficult to play quietly, although it can be done. A hand drum could easily be used for either forte or piano). Once we reviewed the instruments, the students chose one instrument to represent each sound, and I assigned a few students to each one. Then we read the story again, this time playing the appropriate instrument each time the sound came up in the story. I reminded the students before we started that they should play their instruments at the appropriate dynamic level that we had discussed, but that they should never play over the sound of any other instrument or my reading. This lesson was a great way to review dynamics and instrument names, give the students a chance to play some instruments, and introduce forte and piano. Have you ever used this book in your music classes? I would love to hear your ideas as well- leave a comment! If you want to see some of the other lessons I teach with children's literature, click here.
Snake Alley Band: Rhythmic Ostinati Music Lesson. Organized Chaos. A great lesson for kindergarten and lower elementary on speech patterns, rhythm ostinato, and ensemble skills using a book.
One of the topics most of us teach in elementary general music that can easily become dry and boring to teach (and to learn) is the instruments of the orchestra. But it doesn't have to be! Today I'm sharing my 3 favorite ways to teach lower elementary students the 4 families of instruments in the orchestra. 1. Classical Pieces I'm sure this is an obvious choice for many- Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra is an oldie but a goodie! The piece very clearly gives students a sense of the characteristic sound of each family, and it's short enough to hold young students' attention. I particularly love using this video that I found last year because the visuals are very clear and helpful but also colorful and fun: Another great way to explore the instrument families and watch an actual orchestra performing is with the London Symphony Orchestra's interactive videos that lets you view a performance from several different cameras at once, so you can focus on the different families at the same time. They have several pieces they've made available this way, but this one of Shostakovich's 5th Symphony is a good one that shows all the families well. 2. Instrument Family Four Corners In the basic game of 4 corners, you go to one of four corners of the room when the music stops, and one person who isn't looking calls out a number. Everyone at the corner that corresponds to that number is out. In instrument family four corners, it's the same basic idea but each corner matches an instrument family. There are a few ways to play it- play an example of a family or instrument playing, and tell students to go to the family they hear, or have everyone choose a corner and then whatever family plays after, all the students in that corner are out. It depends on how well students can identify the families aurally. Obviously you can use any sound examples to run the game yourself, which is what I did for a long time, but you can also now use these pre-made videos that basically run the game for you! 3. Poster Project I love doing this because it gets student work up on the walls! I give small groups of students a few pieces of paper with lots of different instrument pictures on them, and then I assign each group to one family of instruments. They have to figure out which instruments belong in their family, cut those pictures out and glue/ tape them to a piece of construction paper, and then decorate and label their posters with the name of the family. I love listening to the groups talking to each other to discuss which instruments are in their family, and the students love seeing their work displayed in the classroom! I hope this helps you breath fresh life into your lessons! For all of my full lesson plans on the orchestral instrument families, and the materials to go with them, you can get my full 2nd grade curriculum set here. And check out my post on Teaching Instruments of the Orchestra for how I sequence those concepts across grade levels.
Best Strategies for Teaching Tempo. Organized Chaos. Elementary general music lesson ideas and tips for teaching tempo, speed, fast and slow effectively.
New Ideas for Lower Elementary Lessons. Organized Chaos.
Using our classroom lap packs and dry erase markers second graders have been working on writing rhythms that they hear down using correct notation. Right now we are working with ta and titi (quarter notes and eighth note pairs).
These lesson plans and activities on Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg are aimed at kindergarten and first grade. Grieg is a very accessible composer for young kids, and his music inspires movement, art, and play. In this blog post, I’ll share my sequence when teaching Grieg to my lower elementary students, including all the activities and music I use. Get ready to have a blast!Grieg is one of my favorite composers. My husband and I were able to visit his home, Troldhaugen, and museum in Bergen, N
If you are struggling with teaching high and low in your elementary music classroom, I have a few tried and true strategies...
Today I'm giving a glance into my first day of school lesson plans, from TK - 5th grade. In the first day of music class, students are arguably the most attentive they will be all year. This puts a unique pressure on the first day's lesson plan to set the tone for the rest of our time together.
Tips, lesson ideas, and resources for teaching composition with all ages: lower and upper elementary, middle and high school.
Native American Music in Elementary Music Class. Organized Chaos. Lesson plans for world music unit focus on Native American music in elementary general music.
This is a really fun elementary music lesson with the song Que Llueva in both English and Spanish! Teaches beat, rhythm, ta, titi, and composition!
Organized Chaos: helping music teachers embrace the chaos of creativity through purposeful organization and simple ideas!
Sing, sing, sing! I want my students to experience beautiful, in-tune singing and I am always on the lookout for songs with solos. I know students are more successful in pitch matching when they sing unaccompanied and have opportunities to sing alone. While I use several songs with solos in the primary grades, I don't use as many in the older grades. Here is one that has been very successful with my older students. I often start with several knots tied in the rope so that a few students are singing the solo, (which cuts down on the initial fear factor for the singers.) I learned this song from my wonderful Level III teacher, Liz Arcaro. Once a student has sung a solo (or duet, or trio, depending on how many knots I tie in the rope,) they go to a barred instrument and accompany with a simple bourdon on C and G. What are some of your favorite songs with solos?
These visuals will help your young singers to understand and access their upper, middle and lower vocal ranges. Fun graphics are included to engage young singers! An audio recording of the various vocal exercises is also included! This is a must have for your elementary and middle level choral re...
I've created a bundle of kindergarten and first grade lessons into PDF formats and made these available in my TeachersPayTeachers ...
Centers for Kindergarten and 1st grade music students can be daunting! Add these 5 simple centers to the rotation in your elementary music classroom.
October 12, 2013 In second grade classes we have started a Native American Indian music and dance unit. This week, students had the opp...
Picture this: It's the end of class and your students are lining up. You look up at the clock and....DOH! There are still a few minutes until time to go! What do you do? I've done several things to fill this time, depending on the class. 1. MAKE RAIN - this is a popular sound activity. The students have to watch the person in front of them and copy what they do. The teacher stands at the front of the line and starts a movement. When it gets to the end of the line, start the next one. The idea is for the sounds to overlap and morph into each other. *Remind them to NEVER STOP A MOVEMENT until the very end. A. Rub palms together B. Snap fingers C. Pat knees D. Stomp feet E. Pat knees F. Snap fingers G. Rub palms together H. Softly blow out and return hands to your side. It sounds like a rainstorm! 2. SING - Of course, we can always sing the new song we just learned, or a class favorite. (If the door is open, we practice singing pianissimo) 3. GOODBYE RHYTHMS - I got this idea from the girls at What the Teacher Wants. They shared a list of fun rhymes to read/say together in line. I copied the rhymes and added the rhythm under each. Have the students clap the rhythm and say the rhyme together. I'm going to start them as echoes, then have them read them after they become familiar. This is a great way to reinforce the connection between words and rhythm. I can't wait to use it next year! *Note: The images are not mine, all I did was add the notes below each one. Thank you Rachelle and Natalie for sharing!--Go show them some love at What the Teacher Wants! For a FREE GoogleDocs download of these rhythms, click HERE. (If you don't have a Google ID, it's worth creating one to use Google Docs. It's free, and you can access more freebies online, too!)
We have been selected as a recipient of a Target Field Trip Grant! In February, students in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades will travel to St. Louis to hear a performance by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in Powell Symphony Hall. Then we will spend the afternoon at the St. Louis Art Museum. So excited! In preparation students in 1st and 2nd grades have watched Peter and the Wolf and completed several listening excercises. In the photos below students are preparing their listening cards for an activity where they listen to a segment of Peter and the Wolf and decide what character they hear by placing that characters card on the listening map (that just happens to look like a meadow!). Teachers: You might enjoy some of these Peter and the Wolf resources.
I recently wrapped up my Recorder Karate unit with 3rd - 5th grade. We had a recorder number of Black Belts this year and the students worked very hard. One thing I did this year that I hadn't in previous years was to create a bulletin board like this (obviously taken toward the beginning - I ended up putting a picture of each black belt in the red free space) in addition to announcing the students' names on our morning announcements: It looked very cute, if a little cluttered, with so many smiling black belt faces adorning it. The motivation was great and I got to thinking, "What if the students had something motivating to use when learning solfa?" All my kiddos are eager sight-singers, and many will often show their skills in front of the class, but having a reward-system in place can't hurt right? I could always use more data and more assessment opportunities also! So, I created the Solfa Dojo! WHAT IS THE SOLFA DOJO? I borrowed the progression of 'belts' from Karate and adapted it for the Kodaly classroom. The melodies of the "belts" mirror melodic structures from various songs the students already learn as we progress from Mi-So to Mi-So-La and to Do-Mi-So-La. Vital rhythms for these levels are also included in the "belts". The melodies use the keys of C, D, F and G so students can sing at higher and lower levels and view the solfa on various places on the staff. Level 1: 9 melodies using so/mi, quarter note/eighth note pair Level 2: 9 melodies using mi/so/la, quarter note/quarter rest/eighth note pair Level 3: 9 melodies using do/mi/so/la, half note/quarter note/quarter rest/eighth note pair Level 4 (updated 07/30): 9 melodies using do/re/mi/so/la, half note/quarter note/quarter rest/eighth note pair HOW ARE STUDENTS ASSESSED? Students are assessed using the following rubric (which you can go over with the students and it is also included in the music you can send home for them to practice). Each "song" has 8 total beats. You can address time signature, measures, bar lines, and double bar lines also. Students also receive and overview of which concepts are used in each level and a reminder about what steps to use when singing: HOW CAN I USE THE MATERIALS? You can use the materials in a variety of ways (and feel free to adapt what you need to for your own students' needs): 1. Individual sight-reading: Use this progressive assessment alongside your traditional Mi/So, Mi/So/La, or Do/Mi/So/La lessons (check out the links to the right for more information). You can use it as you progress through different keys or songs. During part of the lesson, while students are engaged in center activities, etc, call students over to your desk and have them follow the sight-reading steps (don’t allow them prior practice time). 2. Individual or Small Group Study: Equip each student (or small groups of students – 3 to 4) with a set of the songs. You can print these out on cardstock, laminate or put in page pprotectors, and clasp with binder rings or store in a binder. Red Belt Example Level 3 Students can either work alone in their groups, with a partner, or with the entire group to sing through the songs. Have a melodic instrument ready so they can play the starting pitches since these change. You can call groups or individual students to sing for you to “pass off” a belt. You can even send home music for the students to practice: Example of Level 2 Printable Music 3. Whole-class Study: You can project the slides for the class to sing (they can compete against other classes in their grade level). Have them follow the sight-reading steps. If they score high enough, you can select a student to color the belt on their class tracking sheet. If not, they can earn a chance to perform again later. HOW IS PROGRESS TRACKED? Included in each download are printable book-mark sized blank "belts". I suggest having two per each student, one in a binder where you record which level they earn (highlight or check off each belt) and one on a bulletin board that the student can color in (if they color, you don't have to worry about finding time to do it yourself). If you are tracking their progress as a class, you can put their homeroom teacher's name on the tracking sheet instead. WHAT REWARDS CAN I USE? For most students, the progression on the bulletin board will be enough. However, some more ideas for rewards are: 1. Class with the most black belts (or class that first reaches the black belt level if you are assessing the class as a whole) earns a music game day (students can play favorite music games). 2. Each students who earns a black belt gets a certificate, their name on the announcements, and their picture on the bulletin board. 3. When the unit is over, place all the black belt names in a drawing, and the "winners" (you can select how many you want) can receive music prizes (you can decided what those are - for example, these cute, but durable inflatable mics): Inflatable Mics from Oriental Trading WHAT ABOUT OLDER STUDENTS? I'm working on six more levels that will be appropriate from late 2nd through 5th grade - coming soon :)
My Favorite Lesson for Teaching Sol / Mi. Organized Chaos. Fun lesson for introducing lower elementary students to the notes mi and sol. Identifying the notes aurally, singing the notes with hand signs, and notating the notes.
Whistle for Willie: vocal exploration lesson. Organized Chaos. Lesson plan for using the book by Ezra Jack Keats in elementary general music class.
One thing I've learned through the pandemic is the power of concept-based planning. When so many of my usual lesson activities and methods were no longer viable, I was still able to maintain my sequenced instruction. Knowing the concepts I was teaching made it so much easier to figure out what to teach, when I was having to reinvent so many of my lessons. In this post I'm compiling all my favorite lessons for teaching those fundamental concepts for general music in one place to make everyone's lesson planning lives a little easier! First please note that this post is focused on concepts, rather than skills or materials/ methods (we'll talk about those another day). Each of these categories has tons of specific lesson ideas and teaching strategies for specific elements within that category- click below to see each one: I hope this makes it a little easier to find effective and engaging lesson plans for whatever concept you're hoping to teach! As new posts are added, I'll continue to update this page, so this may be a good one to save somewhere. And if you want ideas to cover all your lessons in a sequenced, comprehensive curriculum, I've published all my lesson plans and materials in this set here.
Mid-Year Review in Elementary Music. Organized Chaos. Lesson ideas to review fundamental concepts and skills with elementary music classes after break.
A fun circle game for lower elementary music students using the song Bluebird Through My Window.
A simple game to play with your youngest learners as they practice singing in their head voice in elementary music.
A fun circle game for lower elementary music students using the song Bluebird Through My Window.
We are finishing up Unit 1: Rhythm and I feel like I have brought out all the "old material," already tried some cool new material (like centers!)
This is one of my ALL-TIME favorites that I learned in level I with the AMAZING Susan Brumfield. Here's the song: And here's the super fun game: Children are in a circle. A different child is appointed “the wolf” and is hiding nearby. After singing one repetition, the circle asks, “Wolf, are you there?”, to which “the wolf” may answer something like, “No, I am putting on my shoes.” Another repetition of the song and another question, to which “the wolf” may improvise and answer. Finally, “the wolf” will answer “Yes! I am here!” and chase the circle of children back to their “homes.” (their seats or other designated area) Whoever is caught also becomes a wolf until all children are wolves. Variation: Adapt the game so that the wolf has a time limit (7 seconds) to tag (eat) as many children as he can. Each child that is tagged sits down so we can count how many children the wolf ate. Then we choose a new wolf. We keep score, and the wolf who tags the most children is the winner. I love that it's improvisation on a very age-appropriate level for first graders AND it's a great la song!! Here's the PPT: Lyric slide: Beat slide (example, the ppt has the whole song): Rhythm preparation slides (example): Rhythm notation slide (stick notation): With note-heads: la!!! And la presentation and practice slides: This is available as a PDF at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I'm at home with a sick two-year old and have been finishing up the melodic St. Patty's Day Poison PowerPoint files. Those will be up soon, as well as non-holiday poison pattern games for both rhythm and melody. More on the melody files coming soon!! Hope you all are healthy and well!!!
In my second week of school, I've had several excellent lessons! In kindergarten, we learned about our 4 voices! The students loved this activity. I had them sit in a circle around the rug. I told them we were on a came show called "My 4 Voices". I grabbed my light up microphone and they went wild. We talked about each of the voices: Singing, Speaking, Shouting, and Whisper. I demonstrated each of them and the kids loved my "opera voice". Once I demonstrated, we passed the microphone around the circle and each student was able to show me one of their voices. I was worried everyone would want to show their shouting voice so I made this chart. (Bad picture, but this is all I had. I left the chart at school) Each voice has a cover, so once that voice was demonstrated, I covered it up. I was very surprised that I really didn't need the chart. I only had a few shouting voices and even then, they were mild. I had some really good singing voices and a ton of quiet whispers. After everyone demonstrated their voice, we talked about where we use each voice. The kindergarteners did really well with this. I thought that it could possibly turn into chaos but they were really well behaved and handled it extremely well. In 1st grade, we learned Charlie Over the Ocean. Since we are learning echo songs, this was the perfect piece. Once we learned the words, I had different groups of students help me sing the solo part. I even had some students who wanted to sing a real solo. I added motions for the fish that Charlie caught. It helped us remember the order. We then talked about what kinds of animals live in the ocean. I used the examples with two syllables to create new lyrics. I didn't even have to explain syllables; they started explaining them to me! The kids came up with some great motions to go along with their new lyrics. The most successful lesson has got to be the Dinosaur Stomp. Every class has LOVED this dance! I turned it into a competition between the classes of 1st and 2nd grade. The winning classes are now posted online as their reward! I can't wait to tell them tomorrow. I taught the dance by demonstrating each of the moves before we started the music. I turned the music on fairly quickly since the song tells the dancers what to do. We practiced it once and the I recorded it. We had a lot of fun with this activity. It was really easy to facilitate. I placed the students in their "dance spot" and we practiced. Placing the students took extra time but when it came time to film I could see everyone. I only had to remind them to stay in their spot so the camera could see them.
Acka Backa
Music Lesson for My Many Colored Days. Organized Chaos. Elementary general music lesson to teach dynamics, tempo, timbre, mood, and more through children's literature. Great book based lesson plan to used with kindergarten or lower elementary!
Introducing Do Re Mi to kids in a visual, fun way to help them understand the notes of the scale and piano. First musical theory lesson for babies and young kids.
I am going to begin this blog post with a bit of discomfort - one single word; contentious. While the celebration of Easter is not controversial, for some of my families it is certainly debatable and disputable. As we sing songs about eggs and use rhythm eggs and other spring music, I do not want my Hindu, Buddhist, and Jewish children to look like this as we sing songs about spring that they might interpret as being about Easter: As a Christian I must put aside my feelings about the meaning of Easter yet still honor the spirit and joy of the holiday. I love contrast; light/dark, joy/sadness, minor/major, etc. In that vein, and needing a few more activities this time of year that celebrate symbols of the season yet are not overtly about "Easter", I wrote a couple songs yesterday. The first, Bunny Run, is in minor! A song about a bunny in minor? YES!!! This one includes an optional created B Section using Haiku poems. The second, Bunny Rabbit (original title, right?) is pentatonic and includes options for the B section using instruments. Enjoy!!
How do you keep your students in line in the music room-- both figuratively and literally? Here are some of my favorite phrases for classroom management!
I don’t know about you but my first few years of teaching were about surviving. There was no Pinterest or Teachers Pay Teachers. There were not these online communities of music educators on soci…
Use this free listening map of Astor Piazzolla's Libertango to teach timbre to your elementary music students.
