1st grade students are exploring beat and rhythm through singing, moving, and playing instruments. They read rhythms that include quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter rests. The 1st graders explore beat and with the clapping game “Haida” from Israel. They are learning to play as an ensemble with the song “Stars Shining.” The students play the rhythms of the song on small percussion instruments like triangles, and finger cymbals, and large percussion instruments like xylophones, metallophones, and glockenspiels.
1st graders are exploring movement and beat by playing the game and singing the song “Little Johnny Brown.” The focus is on maintaining a steady beat with the ensemble. They 1st graders are also learning about pitch and melodic direction. They are beginning to listen for high and low pitches are can write those pitches on a simple staff. The students will play songs with specific pitches on classroom instruments like xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels, Boomwhackers, and tone chimes.
1st graders are focusing on binary songs (songs with an A section and a B section) during their form unit. They will sing and move to show AB form in a song called “Rig a Jig Jig”. They will sing and play rhythm sticks to show AB form (and call and response form) in a song called “Walk the Dog”. 1st graders will also experience playing with body percussion and small percussion instruments in a song called This Little Song. We want the students to begin experiencing how different instruments have different roles to play in music.
Theme: Story Telling
The 1st grade concert is on Thursday, February 5 at 6:00 pm. At the concert, the 1st graders will be singing songs that tell stories. They will work on good vocal production, good performance practices, listening and blending. After the concert, the students will have one more day to reflect on their performance and celebrate their hard work.
1st graders are focusing on the timbre of classroom percussion instruments during the texture unit. Through inquiry and the scientific process, the kids will observe and record the characteristics of the instruments. They will then organize the instrument into families (drum, jingle, ring, click, and scrape). The students will continue to experience the instrument timbres by playing the instruments in the song, “When Sheep Get Up in the Morning.” Finally, 1st graders continue to practice beat, rhythm, and singing voices with singing games like “Rover.”
1st graders are learning how to write rhythms using Popsicle sticks and markers. They will also begin to add melodic contour to the rhythms they write. The first graders are also learning a simple lullaby, “Star Light, Star Bright,” which they will use to practice harmony playing. The kids will sing the melody while playing keyboard instruments, Boomwhackers, and tone chimes to add harmonic structure. They will add the lullaby to a picture book to create a complete performance.