Grade Three

Just Orffin' Around: Let's Play Recorder Level 1

A huge thank you to Ms Syndi and Just Orffin' Around  for creating this booklet we will be using to learn recorder in class.

Day 1: Recorder rules, parts of the recorder, recorder rap, first sounds.

Recorders

It's everybody's favorite time of the year! Recorders are in! Students may use Soprano recorders from home, or purchase one through the school for $6. 

We will be spending the next few weeks learning recorder, and completing a "Recorder Karate" unit where students will gain different coloured "belts" (yarn) as they learn and perform new songs. 

Inuit Throat Singing

We learned a little about Inuit culture, and learned how to throat sing. Most classes had enough time to pair up and practice throat singing together. 

Sing You Home

Day 1: Discuss Remembrance Day. What is it? Discover 5 remembrance day words: Peace, Love, Friendship, Compassion, and Kindness. Students split into one group per word, and create an action to represent the word. Share with the class. 

Day 2: Watch youtube video of "Sing you Home". What happened in the video?  Review words. Pick one instrument to represent each word. Create an intro to "Sing you Home" video using these instruments and words. 

Trick or Treat

Day 1: Introduce Poem by rote. Perform poem AB style while keeping a steady beat on our laps (A= Saying the poem out loud, B= Saying the poem in our heads)

Day 2: Review poem. Review steady beat and rhythm, then put the steady beat on our laps and put the rhythm in our hands. Split class in half, and give half the class drums and half the class woodblocks. Play AB form where A = steady beat on drums with poem and B + rhythm on woodblocks with poem. Switch instruments and play again.

We're Going on a Goon Hunt

Day 1: Introduce Story, have students repeat in rhythm.

Day 2: Create a Soundscape with story.

The Hall of the Mountain King

Day 1: Introduce song, listen to orchestra playing, and draw what we hear.

Day 2: Review song and introduce game.

We Are Scary Skeletons

Day 1: Introduce song, move like scary skeletons, freaky Frankensteins, ghoulish ghosts, etc. 

Day 2: Review song and movements, students create own monster movements.

Pumpkin Stew

Day 1: Introduce song via echo, add pats keeping a steady beat, perform AB form where A = patting steady beat and singing out loud, and B = patting steady beat and singing in our heads. Students take turns adding to the pumpkin stew.

Day 2: Review song, tap steady beat on our laps, then on our heads, then students decide where to put the steady beat on our bodies. Introduce partner game.

Day 3: Play game in AB form where A = Sing the song and B = clap a rhythm from the rhythm cards.

Rhythm Pumpkins

Quick review of rhythms and their values. Students draw 4-beat notations on a slip of orange paper, then Ms Tara helps staple into a pumpkin. Students add leaf with their names.  

Story + Freeze Dance

Day 1: Read the story, then celebrate with the Turkeys with a Turkey Freeze Dance! 

Gobble Gobble Gobble

Day 1: Introduce Poem by echoing. Perform in AB form (A= the poem, B= students imagine their hands are turkeys and do a short "turkey dance" on the drum. The class claps back the turkey dance rhythms.)

Day 2: Review poem and finish turns. 

Turkey in the Pan

Day 1: Discuss Thanksgiving meals and favorite thanksgiving foods.  Introduce poem, and begin turns putting imaginary food items in the pan. Class claps back the rhythm of the food in the pan. 

Day 2: Review poem, and resume turns. 

Orff

We will be spending the month of October and some of November focusing on Orff music and instruments. 

Julie Pellissier- Lush Videos

Please click here to follow the link to Our Musical Island where Julie's videos can be found. Thank you to the Our Musical Island team who created these incredible resources. 

Orange Shirt Day

To honor the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we spent our music class learning stories and  a Mi'kmaq Round dance with Julie Pellissier-Lush. A huge thank you to Julie for sharing her knowledge and time, and also thank you to Our Musical Island for creating these incredible resources.

Best Day of My Life

Day 1: Play along with video

Groove & Fill #2

Day 1: Explore rhythms (focus on the ta-di  that is both on the rim and middle of the bucket drum), learn pattern by ear

Day 2: Review pattern and play with song

Terry Fox La Persévérance

We listened to this song and sang along as we coloured our own versions of Terry Fox's sneaker.

Terry Fox Playlist

Day 1: Discuss Terry Fox, and all the great qualities he has (perseverance, strength, positive, courage, etc). What songs do we know that show those qualities? Pick a song to add to a running playlist for Terry Fox, and explain your answer. Add songs together, and listen to the class playlist.

Groove & Fill #1

Day 1:  Define "Groove" and "Fill" and give example, learn drumming pattern

Day 2: Review pattern, play along with Best Day of My Life  by American Authors

Rhythm Review/Collab

Quick review of rhythm notation and names. Students then break into groups to decode rhythms, practice rhythms on instruments, then work as a class to layer the different parts into one 4-part groove. 

Rhythm #1 - Bucket Drums

Rhythm #2 - Tambourines

Rhythm #3 - Jingle Bells

Rhythm #4 - Shakers *extra challenge = crescendo 

Jack be Nimble

Day 1: Introduce Jack be  Nimble poem with rhythm sticks. Practice different stick patterns, and transfer to bucket drums.  How many different sounds can we discover?

Bucket Drumming

We will be spending the month of September working on bucket drumming. Exploring different sounds, reading rhythms, learning basic beat patterns, and creating our own grooves are just a few of the fun things included in this unit. 

Your Name is a Song

Day 1: Read Story

Day 2: Review the message of the story, talk about names. Share a xylophone with a friend, and create our own name songs. Share song with the class.

Jump In, Jump Out

A great game for learning more about our classmates!

Day 1: Introduce poem and game

Day 2: Play game while class chants poem and teacher plays drum

Day 3: Continue game to ensure everybody gets a turn