Music Educator, Musician
Gallery
Kindergarten Music Video
Lesson Plan Outline:
1. Transition – "Freedom Train"
Students perform steady beat
2. Greeting – "Sorida"
Students perform body percussion in 6/8 Time
3. Body of Lesson – 4-Beat Patterns
a. Students echo, transcribe, and read patterns
b. Students compose, read, and perform their own patterns
4. Transition – "Stick Tune"
a. Students perform steady beat in 4/4 time with rhythm sticks
5. Body of Lesson Part 2 – "Doggy, Doggy"
a. Students perform, transcribe, and read a 4-Beat rhythm they hear in a song
b. Students transcribe, read, and perform a 4-beat melody they hear in a song
c. Students read and perform the 4-beat rhythm and melody by playing handbells and singing
6. Closing - Story/Journey Stick: Language Arts, Humanities, Art Connection
a. Students recall their journey through music class using journey stick they painted, listening to a scale
b. Students perform "Goodbye" using body percussion in 6/8 time
Peer Teach Video
I created this lesson in collaboration with a colleague as part of an asynchronous, collaborative teaching project. The intended audience for this learning video is an early elementary school student.
Micro Lessons: Rote Song Learning
These lessons demonstrate a scaffolded approach to teaching a song by rote. The intended audience for these lessons are middle school or high school students, as first-day pieces or introductions to an exploration of protest music and its relationship to folk song, gospel and spirituals. These styles of music are traditionally taught by rote, which is why it is culturally appropriate to teach them by rote (that is, without sheet music) in the classroom.
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I arranged the song, "Keys to the Kingdom" for 3-part choral singing. On the second of third day of introducing this song, I would introduce voice parts by rote as well, and would give students the opportunity to take solos on verses. Below is an example of what one chorus and verse might sound like.