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DATES TO REMEMBER:
FRIDAY,
OCTOBER 3RD - 4TH, 5TH AND 6TH GRADERS AT ROBINSON THEATRE TO HEAR THE
ARKANSAS SYMPHONY PLAY WORKS FROM "THE NEW WORLD SYMPHONY" BY DVORAK,
"STAR SPANGLED BANNER" BY FRANCES SCOTT KEY, "SYMPHONIC PORTRAIT" BY
IRVING BERLIN, "HOE DOWN FROM THE RODEO SUITE BY AARON COPELAND AND
"AMERICAN SALUTE" BY GOULD. Students will wear their Victory Baptist t-shirts and jeans.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11TH - 4K-2ND GRADE CHRISTMAS PROGRAM, 7:00 p.m.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18TH - 3RD-6TH GRADE CHRISTMAS PROGRAM, 7:00 p.m.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19TH - 4TH-6TH GRADE CHRISTMAS AT THE STATE CAPITOL (no time at this point)
WHAT ARE YOUR CHILDREN LEARNING IN CLASS?
4K-5K CLASSES
Our
4k and 5k classes are getting accustomed to music theses next few
weeks. There is much to learn such as how to come in and sit down
quietly on the mats and how to listen to directions. Each week I will
draw a name from the class to be our Music Leader that day. The music
leader will receive a picture with their name and will get to help pass
out items and to take up items as needed. They will be the example for
the class to follow and will sit in a special place in front of the rest.
For
the next few weeks, we will be learning the "steady beat" in various
ways : passing balls, singing, body percussion and instruments. We
will also be learning that music has places of silence or rests and
places of sound. Learning that they have 4 kinds of voices and how to
use them is another thing they will be learning as well music can move
"up and down" and "soft and loud". We will play games and sing songs
to reinforce this. There will also be times we will be moving in the
classroom to music to follow the steady beat and to follow directions
given.
Some
songs we will be leaning include: Puppy Dog Parade, Happy Face Hokey
Pokey, Tip Toe, Very Nice to Know You, Sing Praise and many others.
Rhythm and Orff instruments will be another form of instruction. They
love playing these!
We
are off to a great start! Soon we will begin learning our Christmas
music for our program in December. We usually begin this in October
since I only have them 20 - 25 minutes per week. If you would like to
help with props or costumes for our program, please contact me at
school or e-mail me at pam.lowery@victorybaptistschools.com.
1st & 2nd GRADE CLASSES
Our
1st and 2nd Graders are learning about musical notation such as:
quarter notes, eighth notes, rests, repeat signs as well as other
notation. they will use these and learn to recognize them in the Music
Makers that they will be reading music from. It is a challenge for 1st
graders to know how to follow the music, especially when there are
stanzas, choruses and such to look for in the music. They will be
learning to clap and play musical instruments utilizing the notation
they have learned. I plan on pulling our the Boomwhackers to teach
some of this. We are also concentrating on steady beat using songs and
body percussion etc. We will also be learning to match pitches and to
"sing on target" as we sing vocalises to warm our voices. Fun songs
will be included in the repertoire along with songs from our Music
Maker Books.
We
have several composers that I hope to expose them to. Some include:
Beethoven, Mozart, Saint Seans, Guthrie and Korsakov. I want to expose
them to all kinds of music that they will enjoy! We will also use our
Orff instruments as well as many others to teach basic chords and
rhythms.
3rd GRADE CLASS
Our
3rd grades will review many of the basic musical notations learned in
1st and 2nd grade. They will be using the Music Maker Books as well as
the Young Musician books. I will begin building more intricate rhythm
patterns with instruments and singing 2 part harmonies using rounds and
partner songs. Some composers I will introduce to them will be Mozart,
Strauss and Sousa.
3rd
graders are at a great point where they can independently learn
instruments and rhythms without a step by step process. Therefore we
should be able to accomplish more in those 30 minutes per week than
with the younger ages. We will also be learning to match pitches with
vocalises and singing simple songs. There will also be some fun songs
that will reinforce steady beat, matching pitches and basic rhythms.
We will begin learning our Christmas music in October. Since they do
not have but one segment of music per week, we get started pretty early.
4th GRADE CLASSES
4th
Grade Classes have already began a study on Francis Scott Key, who
wrote the words to our National Anthem. They are learning the history
of the War of 1812 and why the words were written and by whom. They
will learn it by memory, if they haven't already, and will hear it at
the concert in October at the Robinson Auditorium. There is also a
great video on the same that will reinforce this. They will also have a
unit on Antonin Vivaldi, a wonderful Italian composer. Our unit is
called " Venice, Violins and Vivaldi. They will hear about the
interesting city of Venice and a story of Vivaldi and the girl"s
orchestra he directed while there. They will hear works and see a DVD
on one of his works " The Four Seasons".
They
are learning about time signatures, how to follow the signs in music
and musical notation. All of this will be reinforced through their
songs and activities in their Young Musician Books, in playing
instruments and through simple and fun songs. We are using fun things
to warm-up their voices when they sing and to warm up their bodies as
well. They will learn things that will prepare them to learn their
recorders this year - rhythms, reading the music staff and following
music signs. They have much to learn and have already gotten off to a
great start!
5th and 6th GRADERS
I
have put these two grades together because they will be learning many
of the same things. We are presently learning to read rhythms in 6/8
time which is considerably different that what they have done before.
They will play games and read music in 6/8 time to reinforce this.
They will also learn to accompany a song in 6/8 time with boomwhackers
and Orff instruments. Everything we do will hopefully get us to the
point of playing he hand chimes. In order to do this they will have to
read the treble and bass staffs and know the musical terms to follow
the music. They will also have to know more difficult rhythms than
before and know how to follow their own part.
I
will be using fun songs, the Young Musician Books, instruments as well
as 2 part songs to teach musical concepts along the way. They will also
learn about classical composers. The 5th grade will soon have a units
on Beethoven and Mozart. 6h Graders will have a brand new unit I wrote
for them. It will be about a Bohemian, romantic composer by the name
of Dvorak. He wrote one of the symphonies that they will hear when we
go to hear the Arkansas Symphony in October. I hope to also include a
new unit on Aaron Copeland which is another composer they will hear.
We will briefly go over the family of the orchestra before attending in
October as well.
As
you can see, we are busy learning many things in music. There is not a
moment they are not learning something! I hope your children enjoy
learning music as much as I love teaching it to them. You can contact
me by leaving a message with the office or e-mailing me at pam.lowery@victorybaptistschools.com.
As always, I am asking for volunteers for help when it comes time for
our programs. I am already getting ideas and my thoughts together. It
takes many people to make it happen. If you did not get a chance to
sign-up to help,please let me know what you could do. We usually need
help with costumes, props, set design, lighting and sound. Your help
is always appreciated!
Pam Lowery
Music Teacher
Victory Baptist School