Summertime!

Can you believe we made it to the final music class together, First Graders? There are a few bonus activities in these slides for you to explore over the vacation as you relax and prepare to be Second Graders. Have a wonderful summer!!

Miss Buckley

Percussion Play

This week we used lots of non-pitched instruments to make all sorts of rhythm patterns come to life! We figured out a yummy Mystery Word and then put its letters to work in small groups. Then, we learned all about polka music and the composer from Austria named Josef Strauss. He wanted to grow up to become an inventor, but ended up inventing musical melodies instead! Do you remember the German word for "fireproof" that he titled one of his compositions?

Miss Buckley

So-La & Ti-Do

Our classroom became a pizza restaurant this week - the only catch? You had to order your size, toppings, and favorite type of crust by singing! It was so great to see you pair up as waitstaff and customers and intone your questions and selections back and forth. Feel like being silly again? Try the new melody to our pizza pie song on your own and see what other crazy, unheard of things you could put on top, or do the repeat after me Pizza Man song and dance!

Miss Buckley

Pizza Rhythms

We learned some new combinations of sixteenth notes, eighth notes, and quarter notes this week using a very yummy topic - pizza! What other toppings could you add to a slice of the pie? Can you figure out how to notate, or write, the rhythms of the delicious words you add to your pizza on a piece of paper?

Miss Buckley

Ada's Violin

What a treat for me to hear each and every one of you sing solo for us this week! You all are matching pitch beautifully and showing me your solfege skills with pride. Want to see if you can get all fifteen melody patterns on your own? Play the game with Chickie again and invite a friend to play along. After that, see what interesting things are hanging out in your recycle bins. Is there an item in there that could be transformed into an instrument? It's important we all help to keep our planet clean, and like the people of Paraguay, what better way than turning trash into musical treasures!

Miss Buckley

La Raspa

Cinco de Mayo is another fun holiday celebrated in the month of May. This week we learned about a folk dance from eastern Mexico. We learned about an instrument with a scratchy sound called the guiro, and each of us played this percussion instrument that is used all over Latin America! Do you remember the words that we sang, the bleking dance step we used, and the ABACA form of La Raspa? See if you can perform it for your grown ups this weekend!

Miss Buckley

May the Music Be With You

The month of May brings with it some fun holidays and celebrations. May Day on the first, Mother's Day, and Memorial Day are some of the best celebrations of the year! This first week of the month gives us reason to explore some of the music of the Star Wars movies. Did you find all the rhythm imposters among us?

Miss Buckley

Substitute Day!

I was so glad to hear how well behaved and participatory you were in class while I was out! It sounds like the scene from the musical Annie, listening to innovative music using pieces of ice on a frozen lake, and silly songs were some of your favorite videos. Take some time to explore other cool things you might not have had the chance to in school!

Miss Buckley

Lucy Locket

What a great last class before break! I was very impressed with all of you wanting to share your musical knowledge of beat vs. rhythm vs. solfege singing. You can try to play this game as a class again at recess sometime, just use any object to pass on the beat and sing along!

Miss Buckley

Sound Waves

This week we explored more music by the composer Antonio Vivaldi. We learned that music is a science, too! Low sounds have slow vibrations, and high sounds have fast vibrations. Different instruments make different patterns in their sounds waves. We felt our own vocal cords as we sang and noticed that music is something we can hear and feel even though we can't see the sound waves of our voices in action. Try creating an instrument on your own at home and make sure it doesn't have too many things on it so it can vibrate properly!

Miss Buckley

Springtime

We got to hear the music and instruments of the Baroque period this week. Do you remember the composers' names from 350 years ago and today that played the song Spring? Antonio Vivaldi was from Venice, Italy and Black Violin is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Try to keep the steady beat to the mashup of this piece again!

Miss Buckley

Rattlin' Bog

Hi Ho! This week we continued to learn about all things Irish: the unusual instruments, the different types of dance tunes, and even sang a silly Irish folk song. Did you know that rattlin' bog in Irish slang means "splendid" bog? It's so fun to keep adding words and motions onto the song, it could almost go on forever!

Miss Buckley

Jazz and Jigs

Both Celtic music and jazz involve complex melodies that are often improvised, or created on the spot, and both have a swinging rhythmic style. This week we learned about a famous modern jazz musician with a fun nickname: Trombone Shorty. He started playing when he was only a 4-year-old! Then we learned some words in Gaelic, the language of Ireland, and danced along to a jig. Do you like the soft shoe style of Irish dance, or do you prefer the hard shoe step dancing?

Miss Buckley

Solfege Snowman

The weather played tricks on us this week with warm spring days and snowy, icy mornings, so we managed to build a snowman with music, and melt it too! Do you remember the jazz musicians we listened to this week? Charlie Parker was a saxophonist who payed bebop, and Ella Fitzgerald was an amazing scat singer. Create some cool scat words on your own and sing it to a friend!

Miss Buckley

Dragon Dancing

We have already learned a lot about the traditions of Lunar New Year, and this week we focused on another fun part of the celebration. There is a lot of dancing at parades and parties for the start of a new cycle of the moon's phases over the next 12 months. Find a scarf or small piece of flowing fabric and see if you can create the motion of the Dragon moving through the sky. Remember, the longer you dance, the more luck it will bring!

Miss Buckley

Be My Valentine!

Rhythm can be found in all the things around us - even the words we speak! In class this week, we used Valentine's Day words to create some pretty neat rhythms. Can you create 4 beat patterns using words to another theme - maybe winter words, or school day words, or even words about a favorite book or TV show. Share your compositions with your grown-ups and see if they can clap along!

Miss Buckley

Ai Hai Yo

Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, is a tradition celebrated by many people all over the world. This week we learned one song that is performed at this time. Like our tradition of singing Auld Lang Syne on New Year's Eve, Ai Hai Yo is a song about the sun shining on us and bringing success, happiness, and good fortune. We also saw a performance of a Tanggu troop doing a choreographed drum show. Grab a box, a pot, or even the seat of a hard chair and see what rhythms you could put together for a Dragon Drum piece!

Miss Buckley

Change Sings

Whenever there's a holiday, it's important to learn a little more about why we have a special day off. This week, you shared lots of things you know about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the legacy of peace he left behind. We even saw how another writer, young poet Amanda Gordon, is spreading her message of inclusion and paying it forward today. Can you teach someone else how to plant seeds of love, joy, and peace?

Miss Buckley

Happy New Year

Welcome back! This week we celebrated the turning of the year in lots of fun ways. Remember the song Big Ben plays at midnight on New Year's Eve? What new things are you going to try this year?

Miss Buckley

Last Music class of 2021!

One final chance to play instruments, sing with sign language, and put on our dancing shoes for the year! I hope you had as much fun watching kids your age perform the classic story, The Polar Express, on Broadway as you did moving and grooving along to the song Hot Chocolate yourself! See you next year!

Miss Buckley

What is Form?

This week we learned all about a composer from Russia named Tchaikovsky. You already knew so much of his music! The Nutcracker ballet has many different dances, and the Russian dance called Trepak was fun to play with classroom instruments. The pattern of the music was easy to hear, and we discovered a way to label each section: AABA. Practice reading some rhythms to the melody of the song again - remember this one has a very fast tempo!

Miss Buckley

Give Light

Learning sign language through song has been something fun for us so far this year. Think about all the holidays that celebrate light this last month of the year. What are some ways you can give light to another person?

Miss Buckley

Turkey Day

This week we learned what a folk song is and one of America's oldest folks songs is Turkey in the Straw. Watching a jug band perform the tune and dancing along to the music was fun! Can you do the Turkey Wobble, too?

Miss Buckley

Thanks A Lot

Did you have fun learning new sign language of all the things for which we are thankful? See if you can memorize the whole song in sign language and impress your friends and family over break!

Miss Buckley

Veterans Day

What are the branches of the military? We celebrate the people who served our country to keep us safe and help bring peace and end wars. Do you have a family member who is a Veteran? Perform our Thank You Soldiers song for them and show them how much you appreciate what they do for the red white, and blue!

Miss Buckley

Pumpkin Palooza

All sorts of new music symbols showed up in class this week. Do you remember what a tie connecting two quarter notes does? That's right - it makes it sound a little longer! It can also look like a hollow Du, and we call that a half note. Play our rhythm soup game again and make new rhythm patterns with the syllables of yummy fall words!

Miss Buckley

Spooky Rhythms

Which witch was which? Were you able to listen to the tapping feet and match it to the correct rhythms? Your ears worked extra hard this week to determine singing voices and speaking voices. We even started to read melodies like professional singers this week! Try to get Ghostie to dance again, or better yet, teach someone else our dance - the Halloween Hustle! Be sure to check the book out in the library sometime.

Miss Buckley

Vamos a la Mar

This week's music came from a country in Central America called Guatemala. You've learned so many words in Spanish this year! Did you enjoy having the chance to play maracas, rhythm sticks, and castanets? Singing our song while having some students keep a steady beat while other students played rhythms really made for some cool sounds all together!

Miss Buckley

Drums and Chocolate

I hope the performer Tito Puente on his drums inspires you to start learning an instrument - maybe you can tour the world someday too! What interesting facts did you learn about chocolate? Is it always used as a sweet dessert treat? Tell a friend how to mix up some Mole Sauce!

Miss Buckley

Music from Mexico

Since it is National Hispanic Heritage Month, we are learning about different cultures and music. You really impressed me with your Spanish speaking skills. Do you remember what los pollitos say? Try playing the beat vs. rhythm game again and see if you can get them all correct on your own.

Miss Buckley

Apple Tree Beats

Keeping a steady beat and speaking rhythms is getting easier for us! Did you predict which apple was the last to fall off our Beat Tree correctly? I hope you enjoyed the silly mixed up story today, too. It was wonderful to listen and practice all the different rhythm patterns you created in class! Try making up longer patterns, maybe something that is 8 beats long!

Miss Buckley

Moving with Mozart

This week we learned about a new composer with a long name, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. We moved to the beat of his song, Rondo Alla Turca, and even danced like puppets to the music! We are starting to recognize the difference between steady beat and rhythm, and our Apple Tree song was the perfect way to show what we know. Can you explain the difference to your grownups at home?

Miss Buckley

Using Our Voices

Sing, speak, whisper, shout - let the world know what it's all about! This week was all about the different ways we can use our voices. I loved seeing the patterns some of you created for our rocket ship sound off! Try keeping a steady beat again with the song "Be Nice" on your own, or teach a friend our silly words and motions for Bobo Ski Wotten Totten.

Miss Buckley

Moving with Beethoven

Did you enjoy hearing the different sounds the Djembe drum can make during our name game this week? Playing in the center of the drum produces a deeper sound than playing near the edge of the drum. Pretty cool! We also had the chance to see what it was like for people in the 1800s to dress up for a ball and do the dance to Beethoven's music. Try doing the special movements to a new composition we heard by Beethoven called Für Elise with your grownups, or maybe take turns singing our melody about what you're wearing today!

Miss Buckley

Happy New School Year 2021-2022!

Welcome back, First Grade!! This week we settled in to our new routine, got to know one another, translated some music room rules into rhythms, met a new composer named Beethoven, and even heard some of his music played by a young pianist. See if you can share your expert listening skills with a family member and notice the changes in dynamics, or how loud or soft music is, as Yuvraj plays one of Beethoven's dance songs!

Miss Buckley

Week 35

Time to say goodbye! On our last day, we put together all the musical skills we have been working so hard to master this year. Your note reading and singing, rhythm recognition, and even your ability to describe the sounds you hear have really grown this year. Send me a message in SeeSaw with a reply to one of the "last day" questions, move and rap along with Summertime's Coming again, and challenge yourself for next year with a musical pirate adventure! I will miss you all so much this summer. Happy Hunting!

Miss Buckley

Week 34

This week was all about solfège and silly pizza songs! You were so creative in your out-of-this-world topping creations; I can't wait to try a supreme strawberry no-crust pizza some day! Your pitch matching was excellent and your ability to show me the proper pitches with hand signs was impressive. Now, get out those wiggles again with our repeat-after-me Pizza Man motions, and try practicing our new French pizza words a time or two more!

Miss Buckley

Week 33

Do you love pizza as much as I do? We served up several slices of the cheesy stuff this week, rhythm style! Using our math skills, we cut up whole pizzas into as many as 8 sections and learned that we could match the different size slices to different types of rhythmic notation: whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, and eighth notes. Try playing our pizza music math game again and see if you can get all the answers correctly on your own! Maybe your grown-ups could order a real pizza and you could sing our solfège song with them as you ask what they'd like on their slice!

Miss Buckley

Week 32

What would you do if your home was actually surrounded by all the trash you and the people in your town produced? What if no one ever came to take it away? How would you conquer a really big problem like that in your neighborhood? The people of Paraguay in South America have this problem. They turn their trash into MUSIC! One teacher on Easter Island off the coast of Chile also got creative and turned the trash that washed up on the shores of her homeland into an entire building for a music school! What ways could you turn your recyclables at home into musical treasures?

Miss Buckley

Week 31

We needed our dancing shoes this week! The music of Central and South America brought a fun new sound, rhythm, and movement to class. From Mexico, we learned how to dance and sing La Raspa with lots of new words in Spanish. We even had the chance to review our knowledge of form in a piece of music. Can you recall the three separate sections of La Raspa? Then, we went from the traditional dance to a current modern form of Columbian music with the song Soy Yo. Doesn't electro tropical, psychedelic cumbia music make it extra fun to sing and dance? Remember what the words mean - you are YOU and there's nothing better than that!

Miss Buckley

Week 30

May the MUSIC be with you! This week we got to celebrate two fun things - Star Wars day (May 4th) and Cinco de Mayo (May 5th)! I was so impressed with your listening and rhythm skills in class. Play along with our games again, and practice your new words in español. We will learn more traditional rhymes and words in Spanish next time!

Miss Buckley

Week 29

Welcome back from spring break! This week we tested our listening skills by determining beat and rhythm with the help of our dancing bunny. Then, we learned about a different jazz stye, Latin Jazz, and the King of Mambo, Tito Puente. Do you think you could improvise on the drums as well as he does someday? Try memorizing our Spanish chant about chocolate on your own!

Miss Buckley

Week 28

I hope you and the substitute had fun exploring the music of Harry Potter!

Miss Buckley

Week 27

This week we listened to another song by Black Violin and talked about all the impossible things that have been made possible through science, practice, and technology. Earning a black belt in karate? Playing a new song on the guitar? School on Zoom? Vaccines for the future of our health? A year ago all of this may have seemed impossible! We also discovered some music written 200 years ago to celebrate the technology of safes and how they protect what's important to us. Can you try to guess all the sol-mi patterns with our little chick friend again?

Miss Buckley

Week 26

Welcome spring! The music of Baroque composer, Antonio Vivaldi, is a perfect soundtrack for the season. What do you remember about the harpsichord and lute? How are they different from their more familiar cousins the piano and guitar? Listen to the hip-hop version of the classical strings piece from the Four Seasons by Black Violin again and keep the beat with body percussion!

Miss Buckley

Week 25

This week our focus was on the traditional instruments used in Irish music. Do you remember some of the names of these new instruments and the unique sounds they make? Sing our new song, The Rattlin' Bog, again and see what else you can add on to the words and motions!

Miss Buckley

Week 24

Celebrating Irish music is fun! In our comparison between the jazz music we've listened to and the Irish music we've danced to, we discovered some big differences in the style, rhythm, and feel of the two genres. Try teaching the Irish jig and the new Gaelic language words to your friends and family!

Miss Buckley

Week 23

This week we finished up with a rap about Ella Fitzgerald, The Queen of Jazz and discovered the new music of famous New Orleans jazz musician, Trombone Shorty. He was only 4 years old when he started playing instruments! Can you imagine being in street parades carrying something twice your size and making fun improvisational music with all the grownups in your neighborhood??

Miss Buckley

Week 22

March is National Women's History Month, and this week we learned all about an important female singer in music history and black history as well: Ella Fitzgerald. She was a participant in the civil rights movement, sang in a new jazzy way called scat, and even won the first female Grammy Award at the very first ceremony in 1958 (and 13 Grammys total through her career!). Listen to some of her most popular songs again and try creating some scat melodies of your own.

Miss Buckley

Week 21

February was such a busy, snowy month! We sent the month on it's way in style with a little bit of everything. Some Valentine rhythms, recognizing loud and soft music, hearing some classroom instruments change pitch and how the inner ear works to absorb sound waves. See if you can fill water bottles with different amounts and play a song on your own!

Miss Buckley

Week 20

Sounds can be high or low, loud or soft, and though our eyes can't see them, our other senses can recognize and feel them. What did we learn about creating an instrument? As much fun as it is to put lots of things into your creation, it may stop it from working correctly. See what simple instrument you can create with materials at home!

Miss Buckley

Week 19

This week we connected science and music with our knowledge of sound waves! We saw what the sound waves of different instruments look like and tried to feel our own vocal chords as we sang about vibrations. Try some of the at-home sound experiments with your grown ups!

Miss Buckley

Week 18

Finishing up with Dr. Martin Luther King, you sang beautiful solos for me this week! Still have some wiggles to get out? Try doing the penguin dance again - Penguins attention!

Miss Buckley

Week 17

We prepared for the long weekend celebrating MLK Day learning about Dr. King and singing a new song with sign language for planting seeds of peace, joy, and love. What are some different ways we can be mindful and peaceful?

Miss Buckley

Week 16

Welcome back! Celebrations deserve bells, and that's why we sang about ringing in the New Year. Do you remember all the motions and where to snap, clap, or jump in our song? Our body percussion rhythms were tough this week, so see if you can master the patterns in your own practice time.

Miss Buckley

Week 15

Our composer spotlight this week was on Tchaikovsky and all the special ballet music he wrote. Trepak from the Nutcracker has a form we are familiar with, one that uses two different melodies we labeled A and B, but with an extra repeat: AABA. Try our cool down activity of drawing while listening to classical music of your own choosing and share your artwork with me in SeeSaw!

Miss Buckley

Week 14

This week we worked on the idea of form in music again, but in an advanced way! You have used all your skills so far this year in keeping a steady beat, reading Du, Du-De, and Shh rhythms, and singing and playing instruments from things around your home. Keep working on the patterns in Sleigh Ride with your plastic cups that sound like horse hooves!

Miss Buckley

Week 13

Another beautiful song made more beautiful by your performance with sign language, First Grade! It gave my spirit lots of light to sing with you this week. I know how much you enjoyed keeping the beat with the hip-hop style rhythm reader, so keep practicing on your own with Snow Day!

Miss Buckley

Week 12

Would you like to preform in a Jug Band? Grab some pots and pans and keep the beat with the fiddler in the instrumental version of the American folk song, Turkey in the Straw. Try sorting out the feast words into syllable rhythm groups, or tap to the apple pie rhythm play along again!

Miss Buckley

Week 11

Getting our turkey to dance with high and low sounds was tricky this week. Try again on your own, and don't let the turkey fall down! Can you save the turkey from the farmer for Thanksgiving dinner? Share your fancy dance moves to Turkey in the Straw with your grownups!

Miss Buckley

Week 10

Sign language is a great way to express the words of a song with our hands. You all did such a wonderful job remembering the motions while singing Thanks A Lot with me! See if you can make the turkey dance on your own with the soft and loud game.

Miss Buckley

Week 9

This week we sang a song to honor and thank our Veterans using our rhythm reading skills and solfege hand signals. Then we made up some plates of vegetables and practiced creating quarter note and eighth note rhythms. Do you remember hearing our Autumn Stew song in a lesson at the beginning of the year?

Miss Buckley

Week 8

Learning a new rhythm is fun! Remember, a quarter rest gets 1 beat of silence. Learning a new way to sing a song is fun too! Can you practice using solfege hand signals while singing our squirrel song?

Miss Buckley

Week 7

We challenged ourselves with more rhythm listening and reading this week. We also sang a spooky minor key version of Down By The Bay and got dancing with the Halloween Hustle. Create some more spooky word rhythms and share your compositions with me in SeeSaw!

Miss Buckley

Week 6

See if you can play the speaking voice or singing voice game on your own! Then try singing our new pumpkin song in a minor key or listening and recognizing Du and Du-De rhythms again.

Miss Buckley

Week 5

This week we are learning all about form in music. Songs can have repeating melodies or a tune that changes in the middle. What were all the different ways we used our bodies to show the form as we listened to Humoresque by Dvorak?

Miss Buckley

Week 4

We are starting to read music in first grade! How do we clap the rhythms for quarter notes and eighth notes? Show your grownups you know the difference between keeping a steady beat and playing a rhythm!

Miss Buckley

Week 3

This week we are talking about beat, practicing 4 different ways we can use our voices, and getting all tangled up in ourselves with a silly song and motions! Can you sing Bo Bo Ski Watten Totten without showing your teeth, or elbows, or eyes?

Miss Buckley

Week 2

Let's sing a school meeting favorite, do some gentle movement, learn some hands motions to a new song, and sing about what we are wearing today in Zoom class!

Miss Buckley

Welcome Back!

Hi First Grade,

I hope you had a great summer! We will be working together virtually this year on Zoom, but every week you can find the slides right here for you to practice on your own, or share with your family what you're learning! Can you remember the moves we did for the song by Beethoven? I look forward to singing, dancing, and reading music with you this school year!

Miss Buckley

Week of June 22, 2020

Hi First Grade,

This week, you will be watching the Fifth Grade Play with your classes! It's a story of kids finding a way to still perform by going online! Then, pick one of your favorite songs or lessons from this year and perform for your grownups, your stuffed animals, or virtually for someone who'd love to hear your music making skills! Try completing this bingo board over school break!

I hope you have a great summer!

Miss Buckley

Week of June 15, 2020

Hi 1st Grade!

Check out the video and printouts below for this week's music class.

1. Watch this week's video using the story of Jack and the Beanstalk and sing about fairy tales!

2. Print out this week's worksheet on rhythms!

3. Print out the different fairy tale vocal explorations to practice moving your voice like the lines, then create and perform two of your own!

4. Listen to an instrumental piece of music - can you imagine the story of Jack as you listen?

Have fun!

Miss Buckley

Week of June 8, 2020

Hi First Grade!

Check out the video and printouts below for this week's music class.

1. Watch this week's video and then create your own version of the opera Hansel & Gretel by clicking the Interactive Opera button!

2. Print and cut out the action card game, head outside, then have your grownups read them to you as you act them out!

3. Print out four different Fairy Tales and make your own books to read!

Have fun!

Miss Buckley