Mama Goonie Bird

First Graders learned the song "Mama Goonie Bird" to help them practice keeping the beat.  Beat competency is such an important skill for students, and we spend a lot of time on it in our First Steps in Music curriculum.  So many advanced musical skills build off of the ability to keep the beat.

Ask your child to sing the song for you.  It goes like this: 

Mama Goonie Bird, had seven chicks,

Seven chicks had Mama Goonie Bird.

And they couldn’t walk,

and they couldn’t talk,

But they all could go like this!

Spoken: One wing!

Repeat the song, adding

“Both wings!”, “Add your foot”, “both feet”, “add your head”, “sit down”

As students add each body part, they should continue singing, keeping the beat with their "wings" or feet. This is a skill that takes practice, especially when adding multiple movements at once. Try it with your child!

Hear Mrs. Tibbett's class sing the song below:

Below is another great recording of this song, sung by Jill Trinka. We moved to this recording in class after the students had learned the song well.

Once students were comfortable singing this song on their own, we also added instruments.  Students used the tambourine, tone block, jingle tap, maraca, and claves to keep the beat instead of their bodies.

Down, Down

In honor of autumn, 1st grade students learned the song "Down, Down."  We focused on musical contour in this song, listening for when the tune was high and when it was low.  We used our bodies to show how the notes moved, falling gently like leaves, then gradually standing back up.

Ask your child to sing this song for you.  The words are: 

Down, down, 

Yellow and brown,

The leaves are falling 

All over town.

Up, up, 

Up they fly,

Over the roof, 

Up into the sky!

Hear Mrs. Tibbett's 1st grade class sing the song here:

Once students were comfortable singing the song independently, we added the Boomwhackers! These colored plastic tubes make different sounds when we hit them. Students used their science knowledge to discover that the smaller the tube, the higher the sound. We were able to play the whole song using the Boomwhackers.

Two Little Apples

Kindergarten students learned a fingerplay called "Two Little Apples."  Fingerplays helps students learn to speak and sing using expression by matching their movements to their voices.

Can your child teach you this rhyme?  Here are the words and motions: 

Two little apples, (Make two fists)

Hanging in a tree. (Point up)

Two little apples, (Make two fists again)

Smiled at me. (Touch mouth and smile)

I shook the tree as hard as I could.

(With both hands shake imaginary tree)

Down came the apples, (Make fists fall down)

Mmmmm, they were good. (Rub tummy)

Students quickly memorized this rhyme and were able to perform it independently. Next, we brainstormed sounds that we might hear while eating an apple. Students came up with words such as "crunch, crunch," "drip, drip, drip," "yummy," and "mmmm." We used these words to create a rhythmic pattern which we used as the B section of this song, alternating the rhyme with our own pattern.

Creating our own short musical ideas is one of the goals of the Massachusetts Music standards, so this activity was good practice for students.

The Leaves Are Green

Kindergartners just learned a new autumn circle game!  Circle games are an important way for children to learn to work together and participate in musical play.

This circle game is called "The Leaves Are Green."  Students walk in a circle, holding hands, until the very end when they all fall down together!  We talked about the way leaves fall from trees and modeled it with our bodies to make sure we were all falling safely and gently like leaves.

The words to this song are:

The leaves are green,
The nuts are brown.
They hang so high,
They won't fall down.
Leave them alone 'til frosty weather
And they'll all fall down together!

Play this game with your child.  We played with the whole class, but you only need two people to play!  Vary the speed every time and try changing directions!

Hear Mrs. Curci's kindergarten class sing this song below:

Miss White Had a Fright

2nd graders have been hard at work learning to decode patterns and songs in duple meter.  Recently, they were challenged to decode the rhyme "Miss White Had a Fright" the first time they heard it!  Students heard a line of the rhyme and immediately repeated it back using rhythm syllables.  This was challenging because each line of the rhyme had a different rhythm.  Being able to hear these rhythm syllables in the music we listen to will help us to eventually be able to read and write the rhythms.

This rhyme goes like this:

Miss White had a fright,
In the middle of the night.
Saw a ghost, eating toast,
Halfway up the lamppost.

Can your child teach you this rhyme?  Are they able to decode it using rhythm syllables?

Pumpkin, Pumpkin

2nd graders learned a festive circle game called "Pumpkin, Pumpkin."

The words and movements are: 

Pumpkin, Pumpkin

(pat legs, clap, pat legs, clap)

Round and fat.

(pat legs, clap, clap partner’s hands)

Turn into a jack o’lantern

(keep hands joined with partner, switch places)

Just like that!

(clap, clap, jump to turn around)

Students enjoyed discovering a new partner each time they sang the song. We knew the song was done when we arrived back at our original partner.

Hear Ms. Steiger's 2nd grade class sing the song below.

 

In the Hall of the Mountain King

Third grade students have spent the month of October learning about the song "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Edvard Grieg.  This piece was written as part of the Peer Gynt Suite, and each part of the song tells a story of the adventures of Peer Gynt.  During this particular song, Peer sneaks into the hall of the mountain king, tiptoeing along until he is caught and needs to run out.

We started by listening to the song and adding "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" movements.  As the song got faster, our motions got more complex.  Can your child teach you the motions?  Try to do the motions with the music:


After hearing the song for several weeks, I posed the following question:

"What is the mood of this piece of music? How did the composer use elements of music to convey the mood of this piece?"

Students wrote their answer, using wonderful musical vocabulary to explain that the song was spooky or intense.  They provided examples such as "the song went from slow to fast" or "the song went from soft to loud" to support their topic sentence.

After writing, students finally learned the title of the piece, and we read the book of the same title, adapted by Allison Flannery and illustrated by Vesper Stamper.  This story told the story that went along with the song.



To close out our unit, students got to play the song on the Boomwhackers, colored plastic tubes that each make a different sound.  We played along with this video:

No More Pie

As students learn to use their singing voices, kindergartners sing a lot of echo songs.  Echo songs are a simple way for students to hear and memorize and short phrase and immediately sing it back.  First, students echo as a whole class, then individuals sing solos.

We have had a lot of fun with the rhyming song "No More Pie."  Once students were comfortable singing the song, we even got to play it on the xylophone!

Can your child lead you in this echo song? The words are:

Oh my (echo: Oh my)
No more pie. (No more pie.)
Pie's too sweet. (Pie's too sweet.)
I want a piece of meat. (I want a piece of meat.)
Meat's too red. (Meat's too red.)
I want a piece of bread. (I want a piece of bread.)
Bread's too brown. (Bread's too brown.)
I think I'll go to town. (I think I'll go to town.)
Town's too far. (Town's too far.)
I think I'll take a car. (I think I'll take a car.)
Car won't go. (Car won't go.)
I stubbed my toe. (I stubbed my toe.)
Toe made me cry. (Toe made me cry.)
I want a piece of pie. (I want a piece of pie.)
Oh my (Oh my)
No more pie. (No more pie.)

Hear Mrs. Scavone's kindergarten class sing this song by clicking this link: No More Pie.

Did your child sing you this song from their "Ask Me" sheet? Let Mrs. Hiltz know by filling out this form.  Your child will earn a sticker!

Frog in the Meadow

As part of our First Steps in Music curriculum, preschoolers and kindergarteners have learned the simple song "Frog in the Meadow."  A simple song is a song that students learn through a whole song approach - listening to the song sung to them several times until it is internalized and they can sing it by themselves.

First, students listened while the song was sung to them.  Following the words of the song, students used a "stick" (their finger) to stir the meadow grass around to find the frog.  They got to choose different parts of their body to look for the frog in until he popped out of the tall grass.

After several weeks of only listening to the song, students were given the opportunity to sing the song as a group, accompanied by Mrs. Hiltz on the frog guiro.  This helped to build independence, as students sang without help from the teacher.

After some practice singing the song as a group came the ultimate test of their singing independence: students sang the song solo for the class while playing the frog guiro.  

Ask your child to sing the song for you.  The lyrics are below:

Frog in the meadow
Can't get him out.
Take a little stick and 
Stir him about.

Hear Mrs. Scavone's class sing the song by clicking the link below:

Frog in the Meadow

Did your child sing this song for you?  Let Mrs. Hiltz know by filling out this form.  Your child will earn a sticker!

Hop Old Squirrel

 1st Graders just learned a new simple song called "Hop Old Squirrel."  Students learn simple songs through the whole song approach.  They listen to the song several times until they have internalized it and can sing it themselves.  Luckily, we could have the squirrel do all sorts of motions and act them out to keep us busy while we listened.

After a few weeks of just listening, students were able to sing the song independently.  They sang as a whole class, small groups, and then many students sang a solo!  Students who sang a solo got to add a fall leaf to our solo singing wall.

Hear Miss Carroll's class doing a great job singing this song by clicking the link below:

Hop Old Squirrel

Did your child sing this song for you?  Let Mrs. Hiltz know by filling out this form.

Old Raggy

As 3rd graders continue to prepare for their new rhythmic unit, they learned a song called "Old Raggy."  The words are: 

Old Raggy, Old Raggy with your pack on your back.
Old Raggy, Old Raggy, put down your load.
Can it be candy bars, toy trains or little cars?
Open it, open it, don't let us see.

They started out by listening to the teacher sing the song and choosing an item for Old Raggy to pull from his pack.  If the students liked the item, they would respond with "mmmmm" and if they disliked the item, they would respond with "ewww."  Students enjoyed choosing items to pull from the pack.  After hearing the song several times, students were ready to sing the song themselves.

Once students were comfortable singing the song, we added a game.  Four students were selected to play the game at a time.  Students would sing the song and select an item to pull from the pack.  The could choose a desirable item, an undesirable item, or "dogs to chase you."  If students chose "dogs to chase you," the students playing the game would need to run to the other side of the rug without being tagged.

After playing the game, students were very comfortable singing the song and they were asked to decode the rhythm of the song using rhythm syllables.  Students will eventually be able to read and write the rhythm of this song using those rhythm syllables.

Hear Mrs. Fazio's third grade class sing and decode the song using the links below:

Old Raggy
Old Raggy - Decode

Closet Key

2nd Graders came back to an old favorite song from 1st grade, but with an added layer of difficulty for 2nd grade.

We started off our year reviewing the song "Closet Key" and playing the accompanying guessing game.  One student would hold a key and another student would have to guess who had the key by listening for their classmates singing louder and softer.  This game incorporated student solos, and almost every student sang a solo on this song!

After students remembered the song, they were asked to decode the rhythm of the song.  Using rhythm syllables, students could sing the song, demonstrating understanding of the correct rhythm.  Soon, we will learn to read and write these rhythm patterns as well!

Hear Ms. Steiger's 2nd grade class sing the song, then decode the rhythm using the links below:

Closet Key
Closet Key - Decode

Did your child sing you this song from their "Ask Me" book?  Let Mrs. Hiltz know by filling out this form.  Your child will earn a sticker!