Kindergarten is learning about a steady beat, how stories have a steady beat and can be set to music, and how to dance and move our bodies.
First grade has been learning about how music is used in our communities. We hear music all around us and use it in many ways. We hear it on the radio, at sporting events, in parades, or even as the wind blows through the trees. We also use music to help us learn things and tell stories. "Child of Song" talks about the many ways music is part of us. When we hear music "I will be dancing all day, for I am a child of song." In the song "Let Us Sing Together," we learned the words "one and all together in song," which is slightly different from the video here. (The tempo is also much faster in this video than we do the song in class.) Isn't it amazing how music brings us together, no matter what language we speak or how different we are from one another!
Second grade is learning all about stories and how music is part of stories. We read fairy tales and learned a song from the fairy tale Rapunzel. We also learned dance movements, choreography, for the song. We also learned about fables. Our favorite is the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. We learned a song about the "Takin' My Time Turtle" and how he moves at a slow tempo. We learned another song about a lion, the "Mane Man" and lots of puns in the song. Do you remember any of the puns? Our animal songs also connect back to "Carnival of the Animals," which we studied earlier in the year. Do you remember all the signs for "Light a Candle for Peace?"
Third grade is learning about instruments around the world. We are learning a song from Japan, Australia and another in Swahili, which is spoken in the eastern central part of Africa. We located the countries on a map and learned how different cultures have their own songs, stories, and instruments.
In Fourth grade, we are preparing for our trip to the NC Symphony in the spring. We are learning about the elements of music, such as dynamics, tempo, form, melody, texture, and rhythm. One of the exciting parts of the concert is when we get to sing with the Symphony. We will sing an arrangement of a traditional Mexican folk song, De Colores, in both English and Spanish.
Fifth grade is learning about the history of musicals. We are also starting a unit that will take us through the rest of the year and involve multiple enhancement and classroom teachers as we explore the connections between subjects, centered on one topic.