Our first unit of the year is done, and we are moving on to unit 2. We wrapped up the last unit with our assessments for vocal timbre (using different voices) and matching pitch (using your ears to sing what you hear) and then reflected on how much we learned during this unit. I posted some statements in different parts of the room, and asked the students to put a sticky note with their name on it on the paper that matched how they felt. Some photos of student responses are on my teacher blog.
Though we are done with the melody and vocal exploration unit, we are not going to be done singing or exploring our voices. Our next unit called "I Got Rhythm" involves learning how to read basic music notations. We will be looking at: Musicians use a language to communicate ideas and create music, and inquiring into: *Music as a language and *Signs and Symbols as a tool of communication. We will be reviewing the rhythms learned in grade 1, adding more rhythms, and connecting with the classroom unit of inquiry to talk about drum circles and communities.
