Engine Train game

I blogged a few days ago about "Engine Engine Number Nine."  Last year, I found this great resource for FREE on Teachers Pay Teachers:

Find it here:  Engine Engine Number Nine

Lindsay Jervis, a fellow Kodaly teacher here in Kansas (but 3 hours away in Wichita - I'm near Kansas City) has mapped this out perfectly for the Kodaly classroom.  Even if you're not Kodaly trained, you can totally benefit from this.  It has beat charts, iconic rhythmic notation, and is just very, very cute.

Anyway, I'm working with my 1st graders on ta and ti-ti, and getting them to clap them correctly.  So I decided to take a different direction with this.  I made 2 versions of this game - one to play with the whole group, and the other to play at centers or with smaller groups.

The large group game starts with this menu screen:

I've uploaded this to Teachers Pay Teachers as a PowerPoint, so you just click on one of the numbers, and it takes you to a rhythmic slide, like this one:

After they have tried, click on the train in the lower right-hand corner to bring you back to the menu screen.

Each slide is worth 1 or 2 points, so you just split the class in half, keep track of points, and the winner is the one with the most points at the end, or the first team to 10 points, depending on what you want.  I like to use this version first, before I split into smaller groups/centers, to give the kids a chance to learn how to play.

Now, for the small-group version, I actually made it a board game.  It's kind of on the same level as Candyland, so I practiced playing with my 4-year-old daughter.  Granted, she knew what ta and ti-ti were when she was 2, but still......

Here's the game board:

You can print out these differently-colored trains and laminate them to use as tokens:

Or, you can do what I did and use those cute little train whistles from Oriental Trading as game tokens:

 Choose a player to go first (I usually settle arguments with rock, paper, scissors), and they draw a card.  The cards have the same rhythms as the group game, but are smaller.  You can print this part out for the back if you'd like.  I actually just glued all the smaller cards on red construction paper, then laminated them:

And here's a view of the fronts:

The first player draws a card and claps it.  If they clap it correctly, they can move forward 1 space for 1 point, and 2 spaces for 2 points.  Here's a picture of my daughter clapping the rhythm:

And here she is moving her train:

Simple, but effective!  My favorite kinds of things!

You can get the whole train game here:  Engine Engine Number 9 Train Game.  It's not free, but hey, I'm trying to save up for adopting another child and adoption is expensive :)

Kokoleoko

As my theme this year is "Music Around the World," I've been looking into lots of different folk songs from around the world.  I found this little gem, Kokoleoko.  I've found it in several different places, all slightly different versions.  The version below is the most common, found in "Spotlight on Music, Grade 5," as well as several South American sources.

If you change one note of this song (the f sharp to an a), it is a great recorder piece - using only the notes G-A-B-C, as shown in this example:

The translation is pretty simple.  Apparently "Kokoleoko" is just another way of saying "cock-a-doodle-doo," and "ahby" is "goodbye."

Now, each source I find this song says something different about where exactly it's from.  Most often, they say either Liberia or Ghana.  So, I've just labeled it as a West African folk song to be more accurate.

Anyway, this song is great for teaching the half note, which I do in 2nd grade.  We spend awhile preparing, using songs that have half notes, before actually labeling what they are.  This song is also great if you bring it back in the end of 3rd/beginning of 4th, or whenever you teach syncopation.

There is a clapping game that goes with this.  It looks more complicated than it actually is.  My 2nd graders are challenged by this, but really enjoy doing it.  You can watch an example below:



I recently made a Teachers Pay Teachers product for this song that has rhythmic practice slides, melodic practice slides, clapping game instructions, and notation for both voice in the original version and recorder in the revised version.

You can find it here:  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:kokoleoko







There is even a great treble choral arrangement out there by Mary Donnelly and George Strid.  Here's a cute recording I found of it on YouTube:

Hope you can find use for this great song!  My kids are absolutely loving it :)

Music Around the World

I'm going into my 7th year teaching, and this is the first year that I'm really trying to have a "theme" for my classroom.  So, over the summer, I spent a lot of time on Pinterest, looking at different blogs, and just thinking about what my theme could be.  Then, I found this poster in my room: 

Sorry it's a little blurry.  The quote reads "Music may achieve the highest of all missions:  she may be a bond between nations, races, and states, who are strangers in many ways; she may unite what is disunited and bring peace to what is hostile."  -Dr. Max Bendiner

Now, this quote is way over the heads of most of my kiddos, but I love the thought behind it.  I was born with somewhat of a travel bug, and I absolutely love learning about different cultures and places, and I love traveling too.  I've lived in 4 different countries and now 5 different states, and have traveled to Europe, Africa, Asia, and a lot around the USA, Canada, and Mexico.  We're planning lots more trips, because my hubbie likes to travel as well!  Anyway, there is just a wealth of songs from other cultures that I would love to use with my students, so I used this quote, and the idea of the flags on the border, to come up with the theme "Music Around the World."  Not too original, but much more to the level of my kiddos.

My school went under extreme renovation this summer. They added a whole new office/teachers lounge area and several new classrooms - including a brand new music room!  I have more space than I did last year, for which I am very grateful. It's still not quite big enough if I want to do folk dancing or something with especially my upper grades, but we have a large room called the flex room I can reserve for those times.  Well, it seems that many schools in my district went under renovation, so on the first day of school, they were still not quite done with my room.

Here is a photo of me and my daughter, looking through the gaping hole in my door!  Luckily, they finally installed glass this past week, but we went through about 8 school days with no glass in my window, and the entire school was getting to hear singing and instrument playing.  I don't really apologize for that - I was just doing my job :)

 

A PEEK AT MY ROOM

 

Anyway, they are still not quite done with everything in my room.  I have a wonderful storage closet that doesn't have shelving yet, and I'm supposed to be getting a couple of bulletin boards.  Until then, I'm not really supposed to hang anything on the walls, so I've gotten a little creative with my decorations this year.  Here are a few photos:

This is my "WORD WALL" which is no longer on a wall - I had to put it on a cabinet :)

I made a couple of posters that go along with the theme - which I'd love to put on the wall at some point, but for now, they're on the white board.  I totally used part of Lindsay Jervis's theme Lindsay's theme for inspiration, but took a different direction with it.

I have great plans for an amazing bulletin board for this one - I was going to have string going to different countries of songs and composers we learn about this year.  Mozart is hanging out in the middle because I'm still developing an idea I have for a game called "Where in the world is Wolfgang Amadeus?" (based on one of my favorite shows/games as a kid - Carmen Sandiego).  Watch for an upcoming post about that one!

I am allowed to string things from the ceiling, so I printed out a bunch of flags in color, laminated them, and put them on string to form this little hanging banner with the theme.  My kids love this!

Here's a slightly better view, that also shows some of my cabinets:

I have storage baskets above my cabinets, which I sort by class.  Each class is making "Music Passports" this year - watch for a post about that later too - and I'm keeping all of their supplies and everything in these baskets - purchased at the Dollar Tree!

I have shelves for my instruments (sigh; I wish I had more).  My adorable 4-year-old daughter loves coming in and playing my xylophones :)

 

I use this bookcase to store "art supplies" and other random things - pencils, crayons, etc.

I have this little mailbox I found at Target a couple of years ago.  I tell my students that sometimes they might have a question that I might not have time to answer, or they might want to ask me something not in front of the whole class.  I keep post-its or scrap paper right next to the mailbox, and they can ask any questions they want to.

And finally, a view of the front of my room - white board, projector screen, teacher desk area in the corner, and a cute little music rug I use for so many things.

 

Anyway, I feel that this year I'm not quite decorated as much as I'd like to be, but I'm honestly just glad to have as much unpacked as I do.  Once I feel I'm more up-to-date, I will post more pictures.  This year is a work in progress!











Engine Engine Number Nine

Engine, engine number nine

Going down Chicago Line.

If the train falls off the track,

Will I get my money back?

 

That's the way I learned it - there are so many versions, all of them good but a little different.

 

Such a great chant for teaching ta, ti-ti, steady beat, and so much more!  I also like using it to get the students to improvise a so-mi melody.  So many uses!

 



A couple of years ago, I found these really cute mini train whistles on Oriental Trading. 

 

I just checked, and they don't carry these exact ones anymore, but they have other cute train stuff, including some cute wind-up trains I'm really tempted to buy.

 

Like many of you, I love using this chant to prepare/present/practice steady beat, quarter notes and eighth notes.  My kids really like it too, because I always have them form little trains and walk around the room to either the beat or the rhythm, depending on what we are working on.

 

Then, I came across these adorable train track beat charts on bethsmusicnotes.blogspot.com.  (I just adore her blog - she's got so many great songs and resources)

 

I thought it would be great to actually give each student a train whistle so they could visually move it across the chart as the song progresses, like this: 

Instant success!  Some of my (1st grade) kiddos were having a hard time pointing at regular beat from left to right, but the little manipulative really helped them.  Love it so much!



Classroom Rules

How do you do rules in your music classroom?  I have seen so many cute ideas on Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers.  A lot of teachers spell the word "MUSIC" and have each letter represent a rule.  In fact, Lindsay Jervis at www.pursuitofjoyfulness.blogspot.com has a great idea using this concept, and she has also come up with cute little songs for each rule.  You can find them at Teachers Pay Teachers here: Lindsay Jervis music rules.

I've always used them a little differently.  I picked the 5 most important (to me) things I want the kids to do in my classroom, and just figured out the rhythm of the words.  On the first day when we go over them, I actually like to get a little body percussion round going on with all of the rules.  I'll split up the class and have them start on different rules.  I also use them whenever I need a simple ostinato for a song.  They are also great for preparing syncopation (the last 2 rules).  I've even had the kids transfer them to instruments on my Orff-inspired days.

My rules are:

Be respectful
Stay in your seat (even if your seat is on the floor)
Raise your hand and wait your turn
Follow directions
Always participate

I made a pdf file of these rules that you can get for free on Teachers Pay Teachers here:  Jaylene Scott music rule posters.  I made them both with and without the music notation, so you could use them in other subjects, or figure out your own notation - or make the students do it!

Here's a preview:

What do you do?

Dum-dum!

Today was my 3rd official day with students.  I do something new with them on the first day of school every year.  This year, I'm actually really excited about - more to come on that later.

Dum-Dums!

Anyway, as an attention-getter this year, I found this really fun youtube link:  Minnesota Boy Choir Dum-Dum.  I love it so much, and can think of so many ways to use this in my special chorus, general ed classes, and just for fun.  However, I learned the song more like this: 

I'm using this song with my 3rd through 5th graders right now, and they are loving it.  They are also coming up with different ways to change the actions, but especially the tempo.  (They absolutely love going as fast as possible).  It is a great quick transition song, great attention-grabber, and I can see myself using this a lot this year.

More fly swatters!

A few weeks ago I was at Dollar Tree (I really should by stock in that store since I get a lot of stuff there) and found these awesome fly swatters:

Just for an idea on how big these really are, here is my 4-year-old daughter holding one up:

My students absolutely love them!  One student told me that these were big enough to "whack an elephant!" 

Love it!  You must go buy them now!

I have blogged before about my "fly swatter" games that I like to play in class.  I have recently uploaded a few products to Teachers Pay Teachers (some free) that would be great to use these with:

1. Rhythm flash cards (one set is free, the others are a bundled set).  I like these because they are color-coded by rhythmic concept. I include large flash cards for large-group practice, and smaller flash cards that you can print, cut out, and laminate for small group practice, fly swatter games, memory games, etc.

You can get the ta ti-ti set for FREE here:  Ta ti-ti flash cards

You can get the bundled rhythm set here:  Bundled flash card set  Not free, sorry - but $4 gets you lots and lots of flash cards for all of the following rhythmic concepts:  

ta, ti-ti, ta rest

half note, half rest
sixteenth notes (tika-tika or tiri-tiri)
sixteenth/eighth note combinations (ti-tika, tika-ti or ti-tiri, tiri-ti)
syncopa
dotted quarter, eighth note (tom ti)

Here is an example of what a flash card looks like:  Simple, but effective

2. Rhythm Fly Swatter game:  you can get the ta, ti-ti, ta rest set for FREE here:  Ta ti-ti rest bug swatter game

Here is an example of one of the printable pages.  You cut them out, laminate, and swat away!

3.  I don't just advertise my own stuff.  I would be nowhere without the examples and help from other music teachers.  One of my heroes - never even met her - is music teacher Amy Abbott.  Read her amazing blog here:  Amy Abbott's music blog.  Anyway, she has recently uploaded a lot of "fly swatting" games to TpT - with rhythmic, melodic, and recorder skills.  She has them for sale individually, in bundles, and more.  Check them out here:  Amy Abbott's fly swatter games.