Music EdVentures Vancouver BC

I am off to the Music EdVentures conference in Vancouver. Thursday I get to present how I integrate technology into the SongWorks method. For me, I see technology following the principle of giving children the opportunity to express themselves in a variety of ways. Technology isn't for every student but the many varied ways just might be what one child needs to feel successful. I am embedding my Prezi presentation for anyone who might be interested. Plus I will also include my handout here.

SongWorks in Action on Prezi

Bumpity Bumpity Yellow Bus

or is that a Bumble Bee?

At the beginning of the school year, I always sang Hickety Tickety Bumble Bee with my young students. Using it to learn their names and encourage them to sing by themselves. Unfortunately when my classes were large, I would end up singing the song 20-25 times because everyone's name had to be sung! So finding Bumpity Bumpity Yellow Bus in the Song Play book was a nice surprise. It works very similar to how I used the other version but in the Song Play book, movement was a main focus. My students enjoyed adding the movements while singing the song. But the primary focus here was on the individual student and how important their name is and how they say their name. They all wanted us to hear and say their names. I noticed though when some students would say their names, we didn't always echo it back the same. So we would stop, and really listen to their name and their voice and repeat it back just as they had said it. You could see on that child's face the pleasure in hearing their name said in the same way.

We also tapped the names as we said them, listening carefully to how many times we would tap for the names. Sometimes we would practice a name a few times to make sure we had it correct. We also listened  to the strong sounds in the names and tapped them harder in our hands.

Playing with their names was a fun activity for the students. A person's name gives them an identity and it is important to let children know their name is important. It is equally important to say their name as they say it.

Come and Follow Me

Come and follow me in a line, in a line.
Come and follow me, we will stop this way.

Following the script, the students were very attentive and followed what I did. They listened carefully to the song and when asked "what did the song tell us to do?" they answered "stop this way". Some also responded that the song asked us to "follow in a line". Moving on, they were asked to watch my feet and notice what happened at the end of the song. We continued on, following the script and I could write out everything the book says and my students responded as you would expect. They loved the game and we played with some of the variations in switching leaders.

I've used this song with other classes over the years but followed the script in the Song Play book. What I have observed in following the scripts is that they are very well thought out. Children will typically respond exactly like the book suggests they will. This result is caused by how the questions are worded and I have found that to be an important factor with the SongWorks approach. Words have so much impact on people. And children, who don't know all the intricacies of words may interpret your words differently than you would expect. Our words when chosen carefully can make someone happy or ruin their day. What words will you say?

Hot Cross Buns

It seems that Hot Cross Buns is one of those little songs that literally everyone knows. Such a simple little melody.

Following the script in Song Play, I introduced the hand signs to my students. They were so attentive and ready to go. (Sometimes I just want to chuckle out loud as I look at their eagerness. They are just fun to watch.) Going through each one, practicing, reviewing and then finally I sang the song to them using the hand signs. Observing doesn't last long since they were quick to see what was happening and tried to follow me. They learned the song quickly and put the hand signs with it. We practiced with one hand, two hands, with a partner (they always love that) and as a group. We also practiced the hand signs while the song was in our inner hearing. They especially love to do this but there is always one character that "sneaks" out a word or two. I find it interesting when they get upset at this student for leaking the words out loud. They definitely want to "hear" it only inside their heads.

Once they were comfortable with the song, I introduced the solfa syllables to them. There was no slowing them down! We sang the song both ways and played with our hand signs. Only then did I show them a smart notebook page with the hand signs. Some children exclaimed "that looks like what we were doing!" They also recognized the mi-re-do words on the page.

We also talked about what a real hot cross bun is and when they were eaten.

Grieg In the Hall of the Mountain King Story and Listening

I don't know if this qualifies as a SongWorks lesson but it's from one of Peggy Bennett's books, specifically Playing with the Classics. Wonderful resource for using classical music in the classroom with engaging lessons covering from story making, to moving and score reading. I have used Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King many times in my music class but had not used the ideas in the book before. I introduced Grieg to the children and we talked a bit about him and some things about his life. Did you know that Grieg did not like school and would find ways to get his close wet on the way to school so he would be sent home for dry clothes? Well by the time he went home and came back, school would be over. Tricky boy, eh?

I then began to share the story with the children although I did adapt it a bit and kept it closer to the Peer Gynt story including the trolls! I found that they were familiar with the story the 3 Billy Goats Gruff and knew what a troll was- grumpy! I asked them questions as we went along, what did the princess look like? Why was she riding a pig? What was the pig's name? and so on. I had created a smart notebook file for Grieg and revealed pictures of the story as we went along. They loved the story and I probably could have gone on for 1001 and nights! (Sorry that was a bit cliché)

After the story we listened to the music and imagined Peer, the princess and the trolls. Again, they loved the music and talked about how the music sounded just like Peer being chased by the trolls out of the mountain. Of course they all wanted to listen to it again and again!