Fourth graders have had a been year in music. In November, they gave a fantastic program titled "A Night of Nonsense and Silliness." They sang songs that were composed of silly or nonsense words. Each group performed a round and each class created a verse for one of the final songs. The final song of the program was "I've Got a Car" which involved audience participation. I was extremely proud of the students' hard work and performance!
Our focus in fourth grade has primarily been on rhythmic elements. Students have been working to identify 3 sounds on a beat, with 2 sounds shorter and one sound longer. Students have to identify if the shorter sounds occur at the beginning or end. Eventually, students will learn that these two rhythms are called ti-tika and tika-ti. To practice these concepts, we've done various activities. We did a "write the room" activity where students walked around the music room to find flash cards and write the rhythms from the flash cards onto their worksheet. Students have learned a game called "King of the Mountain" where students read flashcards of other students to try and get them sent to the bottom of the mountain.
Students have learned the song "I've Been to Haarlem" which depicts boat travel from the 1800 and 1900's. Students are beginning to learn the cup game that fits with this song. They will also study other versions of the cup game/cup song. The movie Pitch Perfect that came out a few years ago really made this popular! Students will get to see other versions of this song done by students all over the world and even in different languages!
Ask your fourth grader to sing: "I've Got a Car", "Freddy Oaka", "Fire in the Mountain", "Rabbit and the Possum."
Towards the end of the year, students will create their own STOMP project. STOMP is a company of musicians and percussionists that perform in New York City. They create music out of every day household objects. They are truly amazing....check them out on YouTube or just google their name! Students will watch a video of their performances and then have the opportunity in the class to create their own performance with a group, incorporating musical ideas such as form, crescendo and decrescendo, layering, and ostinato. Check back at the end of the year for more info and photos of their STOMP projects!
Our focus in fourth grade has primarily been on rhythmic elements. Students have been working to identify 3 sounds on a beat, with 2 sounds shorter and one sound longer. Students have to identify if the shorter sounds occur at the beginning or end. Eventually, students will learn that these two rhythms are called ti-tika and tika-ti. To practice these concepts, we've done various activities. We did a "write the room" activity where students walked around the music room to find flash cards and write the rhythms from the flash cards onto their worksheet. Students have learned a game called "King of the Mountain" where students read flashcards of other students to try and get them sent to the bottom of the mountain.
Students have learned the song "I've Been to Haarlem" which depicts boat travel from the 1800 and 1900's. Students are beginning to learn the cup game that fits with this song. They will also study other versions of the cup game/cup song. The movie Pitch Perfect that came out a few years ago really made this popular! Students will get to see other versions of this song done by students all over the world and even in different languages!
Ask your fourth grader to sing: "I've Got a Car", "Freddy Oaka", "Fire in the Mountain", "Rabbit and the Possum."
Towards the end of the year, students will create their own STOMP project. STOMP is a company of musicians and percussionists that perform in New York City. They create music out of every day household objects. They are truly amazing....check them out on YouTube or just google their name! Students will watch a video of their performances and then have the opportunity in the class to create their own performance with a group, incorporating musical ideas such as form, crescendo and decrescendo, layering, and ostinato. Check back at the end of the year for more info and photos of their STOMP projects!