With this large 4th Grade class, we are going to be able to get some great sound when singing and playing instruments. So far, we have danced, played drums and bells, and we are about to start reviewing and really learning how to play some fun material on the recorders. That said, this coming week, I will be constantly reminding the 4th graders to locate their recorders at home and to bring them in so we have them on Thursday.
A singing game the class has enjoyed is one I have borrowed from a great middle school choir director that we call,"The Forbidden Pattern." You may be familiar with solfege--- do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do--- from having watched "The Sound of Music." In that wonderful musical, Maria teaches the children about singing with "Do, Re, Mi." "Do, a deer, a female deer... Re, a drop of golden sun..." Solfege is a way of singing musical scale tones using syllables, and it is useful when teaching pitch and reading vocal music, especially when sight-reading. This game also encourages ear training and listening, both so magical to witness truly occurring in a large group of students all at once. I sing different solfege patterns and have the students echo my examples. Then I name a pattern the students canNOT sing. As I continue to sing patterns, if the students listen and can keep quiet when I've sung the "forbidden pattern," they get a point. If not, it's a point for the teacher! We will continue to battle it out during the quarter and see who can collect the most points.
That is just a little insight into something we have enjoyed together thus far. I will be sure to post more soon!
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