It is hard to believe it is already March! We are back after a nice February break and gearing down for the final few months of school. Here is what we have planned for the next few weeks. World Music: We started our study by looking at a fun song from Ghana called "Kye, Kye, Kule". It is an echo song that is very catchy. We explored life in Ghana and how it is different from life in Canada. We also watched a great video about the importance of rhythm in Western African culture and how special instruments like a djembé (drum) are made. In the next few weeks, we will be looking at music and dance from all over the world. Stay tuned for some Irish jigging close to St. Patrick's Day! Below is a video some school children in South Africa singing "Kye, Kyle Kule" (also called "Che, Che Cooley"). Notice how the leader changes the song using his body to lead the group.
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This week our Grade 1 students had the opportunity to create their own body percussion compositions and practice with partners. The students were very focused during the entire process! Check out the pictures below Here are some photos of the Grade 1-2 classes practicing body percussion compositions and making their own songs. I had the students work in small groups with one student as the "pointer" or "beat keeper" (they point to each square and keep a steady beat) and the other student as the "performer" Welcome back after a restful break for an exciting 2017. We have lots of fun units planned in the next few months, and we are starting January off with one of my favourite units: Body Percussion! What is body percussion? Body percussion is using your body as an instrument. This includes snapping, stomping, patting, clapping, voice, etc. Learning Goals Our goal with this unit is to practice different body percussion songs and emphasize a steady beat and accurate rhythms. At the end of the unit, students will create their own body percussion compositions and share with the class. Here is a great body percussion video that I used to get students excited about the possibilities of making music with our bodies! At the beginning of every class, we practice different routines like echo songs, a dance of the month and maintaining a steady beat. A new challenge in Grade 1 and 2 is keeping a steady beat while patting and clapping with a partner. There are many reasons hand clap exercises are great for young musicians. Coordination, self-control and practicing rhythm and beat. I recently read an article that perfectly describes why hand clap games are so awesome! Click here to read "20 Reasons I Love Hand Clap Games". Here are some photos of Mrs. Rempel's Grade 1 students mastering their hand clap skills: In Grade 2, we continued our quarter note and eighth note practice by reinforcing the difference between "ta" (quarter note) and "ti-ti" (eighth note pair). The added bonus is we get to have a literacy focus while practicing new rhythm notes!
This week in Mrs. Pankewich's Grade 2 class, we started our work on identifying quarter notes, eighth notes and quarter rests. The students tested their detective skills to find all the quarter notes in the picture and find a secret picture. Here are some happy students who found the secret happy face!
This week, the Grade 1/2 class learned how to recognize, write and perform quarter notes (ta), eighth notes (ti-ti) and quarter rests (rest). We practiced different rhythmic patterns as a class using our rhythm words like ta and ti-ti and also clapped the patterns. The students showed me what they learned by practicing how to write and recognize the notes!
I can: perform simple rhythmic patterns |
Ms. ReadyArts Ed teacher for Kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2 students at Grant Road School Archives
May 2017
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