This month we started to do "Singing Attendance". Singing Attendance is where I will ask each student if they are here today. This is sung on So-Mi-La and I will sing "(student's name) are you here today?". The student sings back "Yes, I am here today". We go around the circle until everyone has had a turn. The class will usually sing with me as we do this. At the end I will sing through the students who are not here and the class will sing back "he/she not here today?" or they will sing where they are (e.g he/she is in the office, he/she went home).
At our school we have Habits of Work and Learning. We call it HOWL. HOWL is used throughout the whole school. Every classroom has the HOWL posted up somewhere in the room. HOWL consists of 4 character traits: Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, and Compassion. Each quarter we all focus on one character trait. 1st quarter we are working on respect.
This week we spent our crew time discussing what respect means. I told the class that they will turn to their neighbor and discuss what respect is. I told them that they need to discuss what does it look like? and what does it sound like? Before they turn to their neighbor I will say "Class Teach" the students will respond by clapping once and saying "Okay" then they turn to their neighbor. We call this Teach Okay and it comes from Whole Brain Teaching (WBT). Here are some pictures of students discussing what respect is:
This week we spent our crew time discussing what respect means. I told the class that they will turn to their neighbor and discuss what respect is. I told them that they need to discuss what does it look like? and what does it sound like? Before they turn to their neighbor I will say "Class Teach" the students will respond by clapping once and saying "Okay" then they turn to their neighbor. We call this Teach Okay and it comes from Whole Brain Teaching (WBT). Here are some pictures of students discussing what respect is:
|
|
|
I gave the students about two minutes to discuss what respect is with their partner. Then I called them back as a group by using Class Yes. I say "Class" in any way I want and the students respond back with "Yes" in the same style as I say "Class" (this is also WBT).
Howie Howl
I introduced the class to my friend Howie Howl. Howie loves to listen to students talk about our HOWL. The student who is holding Howie is the only one who can talk. Students take turns holding Howie and sharing what they think respect is.
As the students shared what they thought respect meant, I made a list on the Promethean board. At the end of the week I will take all the classes ideas and write them out on chart paper and hang it up in my room.
Each class spent about 7 minutes discussing what respect means.
We have been working keeping a steady beat. This month we are discussing what Tempo is and the different musical terms for the different tempos. We have discuss how Tempo is the speed of the music. We have also discussed how steady beat and tempo are best friends and they depend on each other. It is important to not let the tempo get out of control and we have to make sure that the beat stays steady even when the speed of the music changes. Here are the music vocabulary words we are working on:
|
|
1st graders are working on the song "Do Your Ears Hang Low". We have been practicing keeping a steady beat and singing the song at different tempos..
|
|
This month for our Pitch Exploration activity we are using John Feierabend's Pitch Exploration Pathway cards and the story "Cowboy Joe" from his Pitch Exploration Stories
This month's echo song is "Wise Old Owl" from John Feierabend's book "Echo Songs"
|
Our fingerplay this month is "Up the Apple Tree" from John Feierabend's "FingerPlay and Action Songs" book.
|
|
|
This month we are learning about the four different voices. We discussed that we have a "whisper voice" and we use it in places where you have to be quiet like the library. We have a speaking voice that we use everyday. We have a shouting voice that we only use outside when we are trying to call our friends on the playground. The best voice to use in the music is our singing voice.
I like to use the song "Salty Dog" from Making Music. This song is an echo song that let's us use all different kinds of voices.
I like to use the song "Salty Dog" from Making Music. This song is an echo song that let's us use all different kinds of voices.
For our movement time this week I used the song "Listen and Move" by Greg & Steve. I like to use this song to help the students learn about personal space and to work on following directions. The song tells the students how to move (e.g walk, gallop, tiptoe, run, etc.) The first half of the song they are given the verbal cue, but the second half of the song they have to remember how to move.
