April, 2020 Parents: Here is a great article about how music helps with literacy (reading and writing) skills.

Students: eLEARNING & Chorus Audition practice. Third and fourth graders interested in chorus for next year should learn and practice the audition. Four videos are under the "Chorus" page. I'm sorry we can't sing through this together. But hopefully my videos will help.

MARCH, 2020 eLEARNING - All students were given a sheet of art, music, and PE activities for the next two weeks. Students should engage in 25 minutes of art, music and PE each week. Based on your child's grade, choose acivities from the following activity sheets:

Kindergarten-grade 2 Grades 3-5

Grades 3-5 include activities from www.QuaverMusic.com . Your child's Chromebook user name is your child's Quavername. Their QuaverMusic password is different than their Chromebook password. Their QuaverMusic password is in their GoogleClassroom for MUSIC. If your child has difficulty accessing their student account, email me rcoggins@greenville.k12.sc.us [My music students should NOT sign in with Google. This creates a new account with a terribly long user name of random letters and numbers that no one will be able to remember. ]

Go to "Assignments" - click on the assignment name on the leftbside of the page - click "launch" at the bottom right. When you finish an assignment, be sure to "SUBMIT" so I can see the awesome work your doing!

Google Music classes are also active for questions and comments though email is the best way to contact me. If you call my school voice mail, it will roll over to email. Feel free to leave a message. I'll get back to you within 24 business hours.

February, 2020 - Let's hear it for the STRING FAMILY! Third graders will play dulcimers and fifth graders will play ukuleles for about four weeks. A few weeks ago, some fifth grade classes created compositions using technology from our online curriculum www.QuaverMusic.com technology. Kindergarten, first and second grade classes have studied the four instrument families: percussion, woodwind, brass and strings. Each grade will watch a different version of Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf."

First graders are studying So-Mi melodies and second graders are studying Mi-Re-Do melodies as well as half notes. Kindergarteners have explored tempo changes with songs and movement.

November, 2018 First grade classes continue preparing "Holidays Around the World" for our December PTA program. Second grades and Kindergartens are using fall song to explore new musical concepts. Third grade students learned to sing a triple meter song "Black Cat," playing a two-part uneven pattern and adding the music to the book "Bad Kitty." We are introducing their studies of music from The Nutcracker Ballet. The Greenville Ballet will visit on Nov. 30 to prepare students for their field trip to see a live performance of the ballet.

QuaverMusic.com Assignments! We are so excited to announce the use of Quaver assignments. Third, Fourth and Fifth grade students have Quaver accounts, using their Chromebook login names. They've been given the password in class. Email me if they forget the password. Directions for accessing their assignments. Third grade students have assignments about ballet and duration. Fourth and fifth grade students can practice their recorder playing on any computer. They will record and send me a video of their playing. I will comment and grade them. If students don't have access to a computer at home, they can test on Tues. or Wed. mornings during breakfast, 7:30-7:55.

October, 2018 RECORDERS Fourth and fifth grade students are beginning their recorder studies. Students should keep their recorders and music folders in their bookbags so they can practice every day at home and not leave their instrument or music at home.

Second Grade Composition: Second graders finished a unit where they composed rhythmic patterns based on apple names and played them on unpitched percussion instruments. We then performed our patterns in a rondo form with a song about going to an apple orchard.

First Grade PTA Preparation: First grade classes have begun preparing their "Holidays Around the World" PTA performance. We'll sing and play instruments while we travel the world, learning how people use music to celebrate special days. We'll also look at how different celebrations are similar by using color, candles, special foods and games.

October, 2018 PTA REFLECTIONS CONTEST - Audacity APP

Music entries do not have to be written, but must be recorded. Music can be instrumental or with words. Students need to add a statement of how their music relates to the theme. The music must be original, their own creation. They cannot perform or arrange an existing selection of music. Audacity is a great, free, easy to use app for recording student Reflections entries. Here is a link to download Audacity.

April, 2018 What crazy, exciting weeks since Spring Break. Thanks to Riddle who flash funded Donors Choose Grants, we now have ukulele's!!!! Our fifth graders are exploring how to play the C, F, and G7 chords on ukuleles. Thank you Donors Choose and Riddle for flash-funding our project!

Oct. 1, 2017

What an exciting and busy new school year. All classes are reviewing rhythm and percussion instruments. Fourth and fifth grades are beginning their recorder studies as well as absolute pitch names of notes on the staff. Third grade students are learning the lyrics (words) to our national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner." Their assessment on lyrics is during their music class beginning Oct. 5 Second grade students are composing rhythms using apple names. First grade students are learning/reviewing quarter notes and eighth notes. We love the songs by Music K8 on Quarter Note and Give It A Rest.

Kindergarten students are playing a new un-pitched percussion instrument each week, learning about timbre (the unique sound of an instrument.)

Several students have been recording auditions to be sent to our South Carolina Honors Choir.

PTA Reflections for music need to be recorded. A great, FREE app for recording is Audacity.