I just HAD to brag on my 5th grade class today!!! We've started a new group project using improvisation and the students were to use the words "Beep", "Honk", "Twrrrrrr" and "Ding" to create a Musical Machine. They were in groups of 3 or 4 students and as a group they created a 4 beat soundscape using the words. Last night, as I was preparing for today, I started to get really concerned about how it was going to work. This class tends to have less than excellent behavior...so, I said, "Self, if tomorrow blows up in your face it will be a lesson learned. BUT, give them a chance!" And, boy, did they rise to the occasion!!
My co-teacher told me she's had her students enter the room and sit quietly to listen to a selection of music for a listening exercise. So, I thought - that's GREAT!! I'll try it!! That was a GREAT GREAT GREAT way to start the class. They had to sit quietly and LISTEN! and that's what they DID!! Woohooo!!!
Then, we started on the activity and they did such a great job!!!! I can't WAIT til next week to see how they complete their work and we're going to put their creations all together to create a "machine"! This lesson came from the book Making the Grade: Creative Standards-Based Lessons for the Music Classroom by Valeaira Luppens and Greg Foreman and can be purchased at www.alfred.com.
