Melodysoup Video Wednesday - Week 5

THIS is my favorite music career video because I learned some things too!  Having never been in a recording studio, it's hard for my to explain all of the jobs related to the work.  This is basic and clear AND interesting!  

Terrific Tips for Tuesday - Keeping things Special

I am so happy that when my students come to my class they expect to sing and dance and play instruments.  After all, we are musicians and we make music!  Making music is beautiful and making music is FUN!
But even musicians have to get out pencil and paper sometimes and ya'll, I'm not lying when I say that I've had students cry about it.....Sooooo - I've gotten sneaky!

When a student asks me what we are going to do I always say a variation of this "Oh, today, is a SPECIAL day!, I've got something extra special planned just for you that I know you will enjoy".  That way if we are singing and playing = Hurrah! If we aren't singing and playing for the entire class = Hurrah!   They are happy and I'm happy and then I get out the SPECIAL supplies...... are you ready????

"Special" assignments: 
Not every written assignment is special....Only special assignments get special supplies.  When I say "Special" assignments, I mean the ones that you need to do that are going to smell a whole lot like....dare I say it.... "school work"......(gasp!)  I mean, the ones that might elicit grumbles of "Hey! This is Hard!" . I typically use the "Special" supplies when our activity is verging on "note taking"....  When I ask my students to write out the notes and their duration, that is "SPECIAL".  When I ask my students to write a reflection on yesterdays performance that is "SPECIAL".  When I ask my students to create a vocabulary chart, or a fingering chart for recorder, those are both "SPECIAL".  The assignments where I'm going to get to work with individual students who need some one on one time and where I may ask some students to be a buddy to another students..... Those are all "SPECIAL".

"Special" supplies: - It's amazing how much harder my reluctant learners will work when they feel special. 

Special paper: - I use left over copy paper for "SPECIAL" assignments.In Houston we have humidity and humidity is the death of copy paper.  Humidity is especially lethal to that last 10 pages from a ream of salmon paper used for a note home from the PTA.  There are handfuls of left over colorful copy paper all around and because they aren't in reams they are very difficult to use in the copy machine without causing a jam.  So that riotous rainbow of otherwise unusable copy paper becomes my opportunity to bless my students with something pretty.  Ever now and then when I am running low, I'll buy a colorful ream, but I rarely need to, I just always make sure I have enough for 1 grade level to be "special" at any given time. 

Special pens - I found some colorful pens at the dollar store and so I bought a couple of class sets.  They work even better than the special paper, so if I have a particularly reluctant group, we may just use the special pens and call it happy. These work particularly well with older grades who may need to label their scores.

Special pencils - Mechanical pencils - I only buy these at the dollar store because they might not last the class, but I get nice neat work when I would have otherwise received  scribble, so I'll take it.


Special effort is worth special regard - Music teachers don't have as much tangible written work to display as other teachers because most of our work is "you had to be there" work..... BUT, when we do give the time to our students to create a valuable paper product, we should display it.  As you may remember from previous posts, last year my 4th grade recorder experience was consistently poor, I'd never had to work so hard to motivate children to play recorder in all of my life.  One day as an act of desperate reteaching, I got out my "special" supplies and we create a recorder "cheat sheet".  For once my class of unpleasantly frustrated students applied themselves and really worked.  I stapled those "cheat sheets" up to my wall before class was even over because I wanted to communicate to my students that they had done well!  They got it!  They were so proud of themselves, they left puffed up like peacocks AND they finally learned those notes!

Ya'll have an awesome day!

Marvelous Mondays - Recorder fingering chart foldable

 My favorite way to help students remember the notes they can play and read on recorder is to have students make their own "cheat sheet".  Now ya'll know that a "cheat sheet" is nothing more than a student created fingering chart, but there is something powerful about facilitating an opportunity for students to write down for themselves what they know.    This is particularly useful if you are trying to remind students about what has been taught either the semester or year before.  My 4th and 5th graders are about to pick up their recorders again after a two month break, so this will be a good review and reteach.

  

We start with a plain piece of paper

Fold it in half

Fold this in half again.   I find that folding the paper is VERY important because it helps my students  pace themselves.   Especially for my students who need more support, folding the paper keeps them from being overwhelmed. 

I always write on my paper in marker so that my students can see the work.
 Often I'll fold chart paper so that I can make mine bigger too.
 I ask my students to draw five parallel lines.

Depending on the students and where they are,  I may or may not ask them to draw a treble clef. 

After asking students to draw a blank fingering chart, I provide one piece of information, either the note, the fingering or the note name...... Then I facilitate the discovery, or the recall of the other information, either the note, the fingering or the note name.  Some students are more certain than others, so some will just fill their chart in while others wait for confirmation.  We watch carefully for error because the students know that they will be able to use these later. 

Unlike the pictures here, I encourage and model keeping my paper folded up.
Keeping the paper folded up while writing helps students focus on one note at a time.  

Depending on how far a particular class has  progressed this may be as far as we get. 

The nice thing about drawing with pencils is that you can easily use both sides of the paper.  

Another option if you want to have room for middle (low C) is to double up a note as I do with F and F sharp

Melodysoup Video Wednesday - Week 4

Good advice for students who want to become working musicians. 

Terrific Tips for Tuesday - Organizing papers

Each grade level has a bin.  

This is where we keep our "work in progress".
 When  we are finished, these folders help me keep the papers organized until I can return them.
The instructions are right on the folder, so I can get them back in a timely manner.

Inside each bin is an inclined file organizer.  I got mine at King Dollar here in Houston!
The best Dollar store EVER!

Now all the work is neat, organized and easy to retrieve.....
but WAIT!  I can't see the class name!  OOPS!   After using these all  this fall,
I have found that I NEED to be able to see the teachers name! 

See what I mean?  I can't see the teachers names!
 Next year  - Maybe even tomorrow, I'm going to label the envelopes right  along the top edge!
These 9x12 envelopes hold about 2 assignments which helps me remember to return papers,
but you may want a large size

Always a work in progress!  - hope you find this helpful!  

In 4th and 5th grade my students have folders.  I use these folders for keeping track of recorder money and t-shirt money and permission slips and contracts and stuff and sometimes papers if we ran out of time to get out folders.  It's a great place to keep things until they can be placed in student folders.