Week of April 29th, 2012
The third grade classes have been working on sight reading whole songs! This means that the students are reading rhythms and melodic patterns and putting them together in a song. This is not an easy task, but the students did a great job! We sight read the song Wee Willie Winkie and then added an instrumental accompaniment. The students also had an opportunity to create movements to go along with the song.
Week of April 16th, 2012
Our 3rd grade classes have been working very hard on their compositions over the last several weeks. The students began by composing a rhythm and then added a melody. Once they wrote their piece they practiced it in small groups and performed their composition for the class. They worked extremely hard on this project. It took a lot of patience to practice on their own in small groups. Please take a moment to enjoy their work!
Week of March 5th, 2012
The 3rd grade classes are working on music composition! The students are working in small groups to write a piece for the recorder using B,A and G. I look forward to sharing the compositions with you on this blog in a few weeks.
Week of January 29th, 2012
The third grade classes are learning to read notes on the music staff. They have learned that their hand can make the music staff and that it is a great tool to use when you don't have it written down! The students took turns writing notes and having a partner identify the notes on the staff. The students will be composing on the music staff very soon!
Week of January 23rd, 2012
The third grade classes have been working on their recorders and we are able to play B, A, and G! We worked on reading the song All Through the Night on a two line music staff. Next week we will start reading music notation!
We also worked on a new song to welcome in the New Year. We were working on the strong beat, so to feel the beat we used tennis balls. Once we were able to keep a beat with the tennis balls we added the instruments.
Enjoy the work of 3A and 3K!
Week of January 9th, 2012
Welcome back! I hope you had a great vacation! We will be working very hard over the next few weeks to finish our preparations for the state conference. 3BA and 3BR will be representing the third grade, but all of the classes are working on the same material and they are all doing a great job!
The students are doing a great job playing the recorder and I am so proud that many of them are practicing at home. We will continue to work on playing with a soft sound which I hope they will remember when they practice at home! :) We will also be working on reading on the music staff over the next few weeks.
Week of December 19th, 2011
We have been working on our recorders a lot! The students now know B, A and G on the recorder. We are not playing all together quite yet, but our sound is improving each week! I know a lot of students are using the practice songs that can be accessed through the blog. This is really helping! Enjoy the song All Through the Night from 3BA.
Week of October 31st, 2011
We have completed our first week of recorder! It definitely takes practice to make a good sound. (As I'm sure you have realized by now!) I could tell that many of the students practiced at home because the sound is already getting better! I hope you enjoy an updated video of our work on B.
After the recorder video you will see a video of the students performing the poem "The Dark House." We discussed minor tonality and worked on acting out a poem.
Week of October 24th, 2011
We have begun our work with recorders! I'm sure that you have heard the beautiful sounds of the recorder in your home. :)
We will be working on three main concepts as we learn how to make a good sound on the recorder.
1. Play with warm, tropical air. (This means a very soft sound.)
2. Use your tongue to separate the notes. (We say "doo.")
3. Cover the holes and push down with your fingers. (This will help prevent squeaking.)
These are concepts that we will be working on for quite a while. Please feel free to review these with your child if he or she is playing loudly. It is amazing how great they sound by the end of the year.
Please enjoy a video of our first sounds on the recorder.
The third grade classes worked on ostinato, a repeating pattern, last week. We started with a spoken ostinato, but we will be adding a melodic ostinato soon. An ostinato is harmony, and an early experience in part singing. In addition to working on ostinato, we also worked on maintaing a steady beat, which was very important. If the students did not keep a steady beat, then the poem would not stay together. We also discussed what an introduction and a coda was in music. See if your child can explain those terms to you!
Enjoy the work of 3K!
Week of September 26th-
We began working on adding "do" to our melody patterns this week. The students learned la, so and mi in first and second grade.
We learned the song "Ambos A Dos" and added drums to show where "do" is in relation to so and mi. We also worked on inner hearing. Once the students learned the song with so, mi and do, we took out one of the notes, but continued to sing the rest of the song. The students worked to maintain their pitch even if they were not sining the notes.
Enjoy the work of 3A and 3BA!
Week of September 19th-
The third grade classes spent three classes working on the song Shake Those 'Simmons Down. We began by reviewing quarter note, eight note and quarter rest rhythms. Students discovered the rhythm of the song and wrote it down. After that, they added the melody. It was a great exercise in music literacy! The students followed this with steady beat work on the instruments and in a dance. By the end of the three classes, students were able to perform the piece with a steady beat, good singing and blending as an ensemble.
3BR recorded their song this week. As you watch the video see if you can hear all of the students singing in tune. Watch the xylophones for a steady beat. They had to alternate their hands to do this, which can be challenging. The glockenspiels were playing octave G's at the end of the song. Ask your child if he can tell you what an octave is. Watch how independently the dancers were able to work. Enjoy!
Week 3:
Recorder Time!!!
Third grade students will be starting recorders soon! Please print out the order from located on the right hand side of the blog and bring it back to school by September 15th. The students are very excited to start recorder!
Week 2:
We had a great week back to school! The third grade classes worked on a rhythmic poem to help us learn names. The children kept a steady beat on their bodies and added their name to our beat pattern. It was a good challenge for this early in the year! Stay tuned to this blog for videos of your child's work!
I have included an outline of the curriculum so that you may have an idea of what your child is working on in music class.
Rhythm: steady beat including strong and weak beats, tied notes, dotted notes, time signature, music organized into 2's, 3's and 4's, bar lines and double bar lines
Melody: treble clef, treble clef staff's lines and spaces, solfege: do`,la,sol, mi, re, do, and low la and sol patterns, home tone
Harmony, Tone Color and Texture: ostinato, bordun, accompanied or unaccompanied music, woodwind and brass instruments and their unique sounds
Form: AB, ABA, call and response, introduction, repeat signs
Expression: crescendo and decrescendo, phrase, tempo, accelerando and ritardando, music can communicate mood
History and Culture: music as it relates to the world around us, audience behavior, performing responsibilities
Welcome to third grade! I look forward to seeing many of you again and meeting new students as well!
We will be starting the year with some singing games and reviewing our music reading. One of the best parts of third grade is when we add the recorders! We will be starting them in late September. You will receive more information in early September.
Melody: treble clef, treble clef staff's lines and spaces, solfege: do`,la,sol, mi, re, do, and low la and sol patterns, home tone
Harmony, Tone Color and Texture: ostinato, bordun, accompanied or unaccompanied music, woodwind and brass instruments and their unique sounds
Form: AB, ABA, call and response, introduction, repeat signs
Expression: crescendo and decrescendo, phrase, tempo, accelerando and ritardando, music can communicate mood
History and Culture: music as it relates to the world around us, audience behavior, performing responsibilities
Welcome to third grade! I look forward to seeing many of you again and meeting new students as well!
We will be starting the year with some singing games and reviewing our music reading. One of the best parts of third grade is when we add the recorders! We will be starting them in late September. You will receive more information in early September.
