Grade 1

Welcome to Mrs. Santos Music Class! I am looking so forward to meeting you. We will be exploring our singing voices, learning different sounds we can make, dancing, and listening to music. Below is a review of the curriculum your students will be engaging in all school year. 

First Grade students are introduced to a vast repertoire of tunes and rhymes. Through the various repertoire students begin to explore and strengthen their singing and chanting vocabulary and skills. Using curriculum from First Steps in Music, Jump Right In and many other resources, students are introduced to a variety of repertoire. Students scaffold off of their previous year and learn more instrumental skills via classroom percussion through accompaniment and beat motion. Students will develop expressive sensitivity through movement with music (folk dancing) and without (fingerplays and rhymes). 

Our Music 

For families interested in singing our classroom songs at home take a look at these Albums they are on Spotify!:

• Had a Little Rooster 

• There's a Hole in the Bucket

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3aCSkY96xs58GtXxFeFbCe 

Unique Aspects of the First Steps in Music Curriculum by John Feierabend

• The curriculum is based on folk and traditional songs and rhymes because of their ablity to connect generations and because of their natural melodic expressiveness, natural flow of the language, and texts filled with wonder. 

• The curriculm is based on eary childhood research related to the development of: 

  1. Music intelligence

  2. Singing skills

  3. Sensitivity to the beat and beat groups

  4. Expressive movement

  5. Musical memory 

  6. Preference and

  7. Neurological Connections 

Goals for Children : To experience activities that will prepare children for development of 

• 1. Accurate rhythmic skills

  2. Accurate singing skills 

  3. Sensitivity to the expressive qualities in music. 

Our Musical Workout (like an aerobics class") 

1. Pitched Exploration (Vocal Warm up) 

2. Song Fragments

   • Echo Song 

   • Call and Response Songs

3. Simple Song

4. Arioso (Child-created Tunes)

5. Movement Explorations (Movement Warm-up)

6. Movement for Form and Expression

   • Fingerplays/Action Songs/Circle Games

   • With Recorded Music

7. Beat Motions

   • Songs/Rhymes

   • With Recorded music

8. Song Tales