Linky Party: Five Favorite Pins

Thanks to Aileen Miracle, at Mrs. Miracle's Music Room, for hosting this Linky Party!!!

Here are a few favorite pins of mine (not just from this month):

1.  "Dancing Rings":

I'm so lucky to teach in a district that is comprised of so many Kodály music teachers.  We are such a tight knit group and for the past few years have done a monthly "Make-n-Take" night.  One of the things that we have done are these ribbon rings.  They work so well on concerts and are so easy to make!!  We used shower curtain rings from the Dollar Tree and I found ribbon here. 

2.  "Who's Next Board:"

This I use mainly for when there's a substitute.  I swore I was going to use it more this year, but with a student teacher I haven't had the chance. My plan this year is when ever there's a turn in a game to use it- that way the kiddos are always given a "fair" chance rather than me or another student deciding who's turn it is.

3.  Googly Solo-Singing Eyes:

I don't know if that's the name, but I would love to make these this year.  So, these are on my "to-do" list.  What I'm going to use them for is solo singing.  John Feierabend sells similar ones in his vocal exploration box, but I thought these would be a fun variation.

4.  "Shake Dem Halloween Bones" PPT:

I LOVE this book!!!  My great friend, Terry Ann, and I found it in our school book fairs my first year teaching, when I taught in Salem, OR.  I made up my own melody for it (I need to write it down), but the kids LOVE it and it's for fun steady beat and for teaching singing vs. speaking voices (I swear, I'll write out my lesson for it!)

5.  Light Sabers

There's directions on the pin of how to use them for Solfege Wars (a John Feierabend idea, but I've never seen it presented.  I have an idea of how it can work).  I use them for the Rhythm Wars files that I created and are available at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

I hope you all are having a GREAT week!  

Happy Hump Day!

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Augie Great Municipal Band & The Kodály Classroom

The Kodály methodology and philosophy is that children first learn folk songs in their mother tongue, then folk songs of other cultures and then music of the masters (art music).  I think though, it is also important to find ways to teach rhythm and solfége to children in music that is more contemporary.  I was told by Jill Trinka one time that it is equally important, as educators, to know what children are listening to, reading and watching.  This example, "Augie's Great Municipal Band" from Star Wars Episode I," is a little "out-dated/old" in that the movie came out in 1999, but children are still familiar with it, known movie and can recognize the main musical themes.

I use this specific example as a low-sol reading exercise.  The rhythms are very simple and it contains solfa patterns that are easy to sight read.  We start by reading these slides via powerpoint:

After using these slides as a reading exercise we then read them all together.  (Keep in mind that before this activity we'll have used these patterns in games such as "poison" (unspoken pattern), "Who has/I Have" and others):

After reading the excercise slides we then put it with the music.  The original is very quick so the first time or two we use a version that I slowed down by putting it in Audacity.  During the first listen, the student count how many times the pattern occurs.  The next time we listen to it they try to sing the solfa as the pattern occurs.  The third time through, we try to add hand signs (remember, this is a part of a lesson over the sequence of a few lesson.)

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