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Music Learning at Home

Families,

Here is a link to some musical activities you can do with your child while we are away from school.  

Mrs. Lawrence

Download Music E-Learning

First Grade Spring Musical BUGZ!

On April 30, 2020, students in Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Chaney, Mrs. Lopez, and Mrs. Luna's classes will present the musical, BUGZ!, in the cafeteria at 6:30 P.M.  Permission Forms were distributed to students last week.  Please sign and return as quickly as possible.  Remember to include your child's T-shirt size on the form.  If you need another form, I have attached one here.  Thank you!!

 

Download BUGZ 2020 Permission Form

Download Spanish BUGZ Permission Slip 2020 Music

Kindergarten SPRING SING

 

Our Kindergarten SPRING SING programs are approaching quickly.  This year the dates are March 26th and April 2nd, 2020 both at 8:30 a.m. in the cafeteria.  Please see the attached invitation for the date on which your child's class will present.  Join us to see and hear some of the songs, activities and concepts your child has experienced in Music class this year!

 

 Download Spring Sing 2020 Invite

Christmas at Piedmont

CHRISTMAS AT PIEDMONT is tomorrow for students in Ms. Black, Mrs. Usrey, Ms. Lofton/Mrs. Ahola and Mrs. Cole's classes who returned the PERMISSION TO ATTEND ONE DAY FIELD TRIPS FORM required by Cobb District Schools for all events taking place off school campus.  We will perform selections from our holiday musical.  The event will take place at Piedmont Church, 570 Piedmont Rd. in Marietta.  McCall sings from 10:30 - 10:45 on the INSIDE STAGE in the MAIN sanctuary.  We need to be there by 10:00 to warm up.  

Parents are responsible for transportation to and from CHRISTMAS AT PIEDMONT.   There is NO PARKING on-site.  Everyone is required to park at either:  Daniell Middle School, Old Time Pottery, or the Cobb Antique Mall.  Shuttle buses will transport you to and from the church campus.  Please allow EXTRA TIME FOR PARKING.  

Students should wear jeans or blue slacks with a holiday shirt or sweater.  This will take place rain or shine.  After our performance time, you are welcomed to stay and enjoy the festivities with your family.  Hope to see you there!!

Download McCall Christmas at Piedmont INFO

Download Maps for CAP

You are invited to...

"WHAT I WISH FOR CHRISTMAS"

A Holiday Musical presented by the students of

Ms. Black, Mrs. Cole, Ms. Lofton,
Mrs. Ahola and Mrs. Usrey

Thursday, December 5, 2019 at 6:30 P.M.
McCall Primary Cafeteria

Students may wear dressy attire and should report to homerooms at 6:00.
(Please return permission form to participate in this event.)

ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE
Friday morning, December 6, 2019 at 8:15
For McCall Students/Teachers

"CHRISTMAS AT PIEDMONT"
Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 10:30
Main Sanctuary of Piedmont Church in Marietta

Parents are responsible for transportation.
We will meet at 10:00 to warm up.
Parking is available at Daniel Middle School and Old Time Pottery on Canton Rd. and the Cobb Antique Mall on Piedmont Rd.
Shuttles will transport to church campus.

NO PARKING AVAILABLE AT CHURCH.

PLEASE ALLOW EXTRA TIME TO PARK.
Maps will come home soon.
(Must have PERMISSION TO ATTEND ONE DAY FIELD TRIPS form signed and returned.)

October Opus

This has been a fast month. There are so many fun happenings during the Fall months that the days and weeks just fly by. Here is what we accomplished in Music.

Kindergarten:

During second quarter, Kindergarten students are assessed on ability to distinguish between contrasts in music (pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, form, etc.) and to echo simple rhythmic patterns using body percussion and/or instruments. During this year we do a lot of preparation activities to help students be successful as they continue their music studies through elementary school. Much of this work focuses on comparatives…high/low, fast/slow, loud/quiet, and many experiences with beat and rhythm activities etc.

During October we continued to hone our skills with steady beat by “chopping” ingredients for a pizza and then singing a funny echo song called “I am a Pizza”. (Ask your student what happened to the pizza at the end.) We also learned the chant Engine, Engine #9 and made a train line as we moved to the Linus and Lucy Theme by Vince Guaraldi. While reviewing steady beat, we pretended to hammer to the beat of the song, “Cobbler Cobbler Mend My Shoe”. Then the students took turns tracking and pointing to the hammer icons on the smart board.

We practiced using quiet voices as we sang the lullaby “Star Light, Star Bright” and pretended to rock the beat buddies (beanie babies) to sleep. The students had the opportunity to also play a wind up game called “Snail Snail” in which we moved our feet s l o w l y to the beat as we made a snail shape. To cap off the week, we played “Five Little Jack-o-lanterns” on the tubano drums and demonstrated abilities to sing high and low and match the teacher’s pitches.

One day the students sang/played the familiar children’s singing game, “London Bridge”. Then they participated in a STEM activity. The task was to build a bridge that would not fall and to leave a space where the boats could pass under the bridge. There were four groups… one with wooden blocks, one with foam blocks, another with various cardboard pieces like paper towel rolls, oatmeal cannisters, and styrofoam cups and the last with LEGOS. The students did a great job working together to come up with one creation per group using the engineering design process… ask, imagine, design, create, improve.

First Grade:

During second quarter, first grade students are assessed on ability to consistently echo simple singing and speech patterns and to read/identify quarter notes, quarter rests and barred eighth notes using iconic (pictures) or traditional standard music notation symbols.

In first grade, it’s all about the games and there is much knowledge acquisition during play. We reviewed some familiar singing games such as Chase the Squirrel and Bow Wow Wow. They also learned to play Naughty Kitty Cat which is a favorite chase game. They learned how to clap the way the words go which is called “rhythm”. We approach this concept by clapping the syllables in the students’ first names. We played the rhythm of a familiar rhyme on the xylophones using correct mallet technique and alternating hands. Later on, I will use this familiar repertoire to introduce the students to music literacy as they learn to read and write music using actual music notation.

Using Eric Carle’s book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, the students sang the text to the tune, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. Then they chose beanie baby animals and altered the text. Each student had the opportunity to sing part of the song as a solo.
The students enjoyed creating rhythms using miniature erasers of spiders, bats, pumpkins, webs and candy. Their task was to create a four-beat rhythm pattern using any four of the objects and be able to say and clap the pattern accurately. We discussed which words had two syllables and which words only had one. The students had fun clapping their rhythms for each other.

Students in Ms. Lofton/Mrs. Ahola, Ms. Black, Mrs. Cole and Mrs. Usrey’s classes were busy rehearsing for their Winter Musical, “WHAT I WISH FOR CHRISTMAS”. They will perform at McCall on Thursday, December 5th, at 6:30 and again for Christmas at Piedmont on Saturday, December 14th at 10:30 at Piedmont Church in Marietta. Please join us.

We are looking ahead to another amazing month in November. Check back soon!

A Successful September

It's hard to believe September is GONE already!  It was HOT outside but  cool in the music room where one could find us singing, dancing, playing instruments, listening, analyzing and creating.  Here are some of our achievements this month.

KINDERGARTEN:  As part of the Georgia Music Standards of Excellence, during the first quarter Kindergarten students are assessed on:

• Sings and echoes simple singing and speech patterns
• Imitates steady beat with accuracy

We took an imaginary trip to the farm.  Each day a different animal puppet greeted the children in the barn and brought an unpitched percussion instrument to show.  On Monday, we played tamborines with the hen; on Tuesday the sheep brought some maracas; on Wednesday it was cowbells with the cow; Thursday the horse taught us how to play the toneblocks and sleigh bells; and finally, Friday's guest was the pig who shared the drums.  We sang various farm songs such as "The Farmer in the Dell", "Had a Little Rooster", "Hunt the Cows", "Old MacDonald" and "When Sheep Get Up in the Morning."  The students listened to The Wild Horseman by Robert Schumann and analyzed the form of the piece in an age appropriate manner (same/different/same).  Then we took turns galloping on the stick ponies to the music!  The students even sang a song in Spanish, "Mi Cuerpo hace musica" (My body makes music) to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.  They learned the Spanish words for body, mouth, hands, feet and hips!  We also sang along to a fun echo song by Laurie Berkner, "I Know a Chicken" and played the shaker eggz.  The students demonstrated fast/slow, high/low and loud/quiet which we will focus on in the second quarter.  It was a busy, but extremely fun month!

FIRST GRADE:  In first, students are assessed on:

• Consistently performs call and response songs with accuracy
• Performs steady beat and simple rhythmic patterns with appropriate technique using body percussion and classroom instruments.

Our lessons centered on animals and apples for themes.  We explored call and response form as we played "Come Back Home, My Little Chicks".  The Hen (or Rooster) sang the call (questions) as a solo and the "chicks"  (other students) responded with the answer.  At the end of the song, the "wolf" appeared and attempted to catch the hen/rooster.  The students adored this singing game and would play it til the cows came home.

On another day, we focused on one of my favorite animals... dogs.  We played the singing game, "Doggie Doggie Where's Your Bone".  Each student had the opportunity to play the role of the doggie and listen to the soloist to guess who took the bone (no peeking!). At this age, students are more and more confident with their singing voices and many are matching pitch quite well! 

The next day, our activities were all about apples.  We chanted the rhyme, "I Climbed Up the Apple Tree" with motions.  The students practiced inner hearing (audiation) by pretending to "lock" their voices in their heads and only doing the motions. They also played the rhythm of the words on the xylophone, learning to go up and down the instrument.   We practiced steady beat by playing "Apple Tree, Apple Tree" (a chase game) and using the apple shakers to demonstrate the beat.

For Hispanic Heritage Month, the students learned "Buenos Dias", a greeting song in Spanish and practiced singing the question and answer with a partner.  We also danced to "Los Machetes" from Mexico.  Never fear though; no machetes were used in this activity, only rhythm sticks.  Ask your student to show you the dance.

It is hard to summarize all the amazing work the students do each week in music class.  I am proud of their progress.  Please continue to encourage your student to do his/her best each week by:

M -  making smart choices

U -  using kind words and respectful manners

S -  speaking after they raise a quiet hand to ask a question

I -   getting involved and participating

C -  taking care of the equipment and supplies

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST AND SUPPORT!

What's happening in Music Class?

 

 

We've had a terrific first month in Music class!  I have met with all the K/1 classes at McCall now.  It's been a smooth transition and we are prepped to have a fabulous year.  Here are some highlights of what we accomplished...

In all classes, we discussed our M.U.S.I.C.  expectations:

M - Make smart choices

U - Use good manners

S - Speak when it's allowed

I - Involve yourself

C - Care for the classroom

All the students learned this little song to help them remember what each letter stands for.  We also discussed what this looks like, especially in the music room setting.

(Tune:  Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)

Make smart choices with your mind; use good manners and be kind.

Speak only when it's allowed; otherwise it gets too loud.

Involve yourself, participate.

Care for the classroom 'cause it's great!

 

Kindergarten:  We met Froggy and learned about our speaking voice and also got to play with Ellie the Elephant who thinks singing voice is the best.  The students took turns asking Ellie to do various tricks with their singing voices.  She would not respond if the students asked with their speaking voices.  We also worked on imitating steady beat and pretended to make a pie with the fingerplay, "Chop, Chop Chippety Chop."  The students  explored and experimented with the rhythm sticks, frame drums, and shaker eggz.  One of the assessed standards this quarter is echoing simple singing and speech patterns so we learned the echo song, "No More Pie".  We moved to the songs, "Elephants Have Wrinkles" and "Frog in the Meadow" and practiced color recognition with "What are You Wearing?".  

 

First Grade: Students began learning the song, "Shine, Shine, Shine" which fits perfectly with the Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E. program that some of the teachers are implementing this year at McCall.  Each letter represents a way for students to learn about, appreciate and demonstrate their uniqueness.

S-  self

H-  heart (passion)

I -  inspire

N - navigate

E - exceptional

 

We worked on AB form with the song, "Shoo Fly" and added song,  movement, instruments, puppets, and finger lights  to the Eric Carle story, The Very Lonely Firefly.

This quarter, First Graders are assessed on performing call and response songs where a leader or group sings one part and another group responds with a different part.  We sang, "Once I Caught a Fish Alive" and students responded individually on the B section.  We also read the book, Mama Built a Little Nest, in which the class performed a  musical response  after each page was sung.  It was fun learning about the different kinds of birds, especially the whydah and swiftlet!

The students also practiced steady beat and echoing simple rhythm patterns with the song,"Little Bird".  Each student chose a different unpitched percussion instrument (drum, maracas, woodblock, cowbells, tamborine, etc.) and played at designated times during the song.  Then they rotated to another "nest" or instrument.  They enjoyed getting to review the various instruments!

These activities are just a sample of all that we did in August.  Our 50 minute classes are filled with singing, moving, dancing, playing, listening and learning!  Please check back to see what else is taking place this fall. 

Welcome Back!

I am looking forward to seeing everyone for a new school year!  Please download my newsletter here:

Download Music Class Newsletter August 2019