Around the Classrooms

Performing Arts

We've been having amazing fun in the Performing Arts classroom, with students showing me fantastic improvement in their music and dance skills!  Every single grade has been working on their dancing skills through some different level of folk dances, using music from the band The Shenanigans.  Students are still asking me to play the music every lesson, the dances have been so popular!

The Preps have been working on their musical understanding of loud and soft, slow and fast and high and low playing a detective game to find Funkey Monkey.  They've also been beginning to learn the musical notation associated with each rhythm of ta, ti-ti and za, and playing games such as poison rhythm or four corners to help them learn which symbol belongs with which sound.  

The 1/2's are further developing their understanding of musical rhythmic notation using a game and song called Shimmy Bop.  Students have sung the song, played the game and completed worksheets on what rhythmic notation fits the gaps according to the rhyme.  They have been composing their own rhythms and then swapping and playing them using ta's, ti-ti's and za's and the occasional tika-tika or ta-ka-ta for the more adventurous.  

The 3/4's and 5/6's have been learning about timing in music, including the correct terminology for the length of notes.  We've been playing a game called beat tag to strengthen students' understanding of time signatures and when the first beat of the bar is, and how many counts are in each bar in a piece of music.  We've also played four (or five!) corners to learn the duration of notes.  We'll begin applying this knowledge in pieces of music, using pianos and recorders for the 3/4's and pianos and ukuleles for the 5/6's.  It's great to bring all these musical concepts together where students are listening to each other and playing in unison.

Students should be congratulated for their hard work and enthusiasm!

Happy singing and dancing!

Emma Cooper