Welcome Back to Music!

In just a couple days students will be coming to start our new school year, and I can't wait to see them! This year brings lots of excitement with it!

In elementary music we have adopted a new curriculum, which students have already previewed in the spring. They loved it! Quaver's Marvelous World of Music
"makes learning music Seriously Fun for students AND teachers!

Quaver teachers believe FUN is essential to creating:
More energetic classrooms
Far greater student retention
Rejuvenated music programs
and a lifelong love of music in their students!

At the heart of Quaver’s Marvelous World of Music – is of course Quaver!

Quaver serves as an energetic teaching assistant for today’s music teacher. Whether he’s chasing after strong and weak beats bouncing around his music shop or popping up in cartoon form to introduce the Blues, Quaver is an entertaining and instructive guide through the learning and fun happening in the music classroom!"

If you would like to check out the website, the address is here. Students will be getting their own account set up at school in the next couple of weeks. While this program is based online, students will still be doing activities within the classroom--singing, playing, creating, composing, responding, and performing. In music we will be focusing on meeting the goals of the National Core Arts Standards, which you may check out here. Quaver Music also has its core in these educational standards.

This year in specials, students will be on a three day rotation, between PE, Music, and Technology. Each specials class period will be for 45 minutes. For information on individual grade levels, be sure to click on the tabs at the top of this page. Also, I periodically am adding sites which interest me musically or educationally. A favorite I am adding today is Sing Books With Emily. This blog gives wonderful ideas of picture books which involve music in some way; some you can sing, some simply are about music. Check it out here!

Please feel free to contact me at anytime throughout the year! I'm looking forward to an excellent year teaching your children.

NEW National Core Arts Standards

Yesterday (June 4th) at 1:00 p.m. the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADAE) on behalf of the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) rolled out the new set of Core Arts Standards for our nation. This set of standards has been a long process, a long-time in review, under the discretion of many sets of eyes throughout the country. The arts in these standards are Dance, Media Arts, Music, Theatre And Visual Arts.

The standards for general music are arranged into 3 different artistic processes--creating, performing, and responding. A 4th artistic process, connecting, is essential during all artistic processes in music, so it is used open-ended throughout all of the processes, unlike some of the other arts.Within these artistic processes there are a set of anchor standards, which each include enduring understanding statements, and essential questions, along with performance descriptors for each anchor at each grade-level (PreK-8)

Also, there are model cornerstone assessments (MCA) available at several grade levels for students. At the elementary level, these are at grades 2 and 5. These assessments include strategies for inclusion for students with disabilities, strategies for differentiation in the classroom, a variety of resources to assist in task implementation, several rubrics, and instructions with teacher checklists and materials for task implementation.

Finally, as teachers, we have the option to customize our own handbook, weeding out our "necessary" information from all of the various arts and grade levels. This is a wonderful feature! I can't wait to get started. The new website was posted yesterday on the web (link is below), and the NCCAS says they will be continuing to do updates to it as they move forward in the upcoming months. The second link (below) is for the NCCAS wikispace, which is where all of the work for this project has been done up until this point, including the original Launch Webinar from yesterday at 1:00.

www.nationalartsstandards.org
www.nccas.wikispaces.com

Just a few moments from this school year...

We had an outstanding time in the GJAL music department this school year! The year came to an end with 35 acts of talent in the GJAL gymnasium for our students, families and friends. As I have been winding down at home, I have come across and been loading some pictures to my computer, which I want to share with you!

 March is "Music in Our Schools Month"! In celebration, we had two musicians perform for our classroom in grades 3, 4 and 5. I don't have any pictures of the first group, but we thoroughly enjoyed the voices of members of the Little Egypt Barbershop Quartet. These men sang several varied pieces of music for the students, and they spoke to the kids about creating 4-part harmony in music, along with being involved in music, in school and peer pressure. The second performer we had in our classroom was local musician Chris Slone, performing a variety of styles on a variety of instruments, including voice, guitar, keys and flute. He talked to the kids about having dreams and following them. Pictures below are of Chris Slone performing with our very own Coach Harris, a close friend of Slone.

 

 

On May 24th Murphysboro had the General John A. Logan Centennial Celebration, including the dedication of 6 historical markers at the courthouse and the General John A. Logan Museum, along with a parade, ceremony and picnic. 15 members of the GJAL 5th grade chorus, along with 15 members of the MMS chorus dressed in 1914 costume and participated in the days activities. Directed by Ms. Jessica Herring and myself, the students performed two songs at the ceremony, Proud We Live in Egypt and Home Sweet Home, which were both performed at the original 1914 ceremony in Murphysboro.

All students and directors on the steps of the Jackson County Courthouse in Murphysboro,
just following the historical marker dedication.

The Logan Day Historical Marker

Students waiting for the dedication to begin

The dedication begins with Mayor Stephens

Mr. Grode, the Assistant Marshall
for the Citizens of the Parade

On Friday, May 30th, following our final day of school 17 of the GJAL 5th grade students arrived at the Murphysboro VFW for Wounded Warrior Weekend and made me such a proud teacher. We were too busy to get any pictures, but the students performed for soldiers from Ft. Knox and Ft. Campbell and they did a wonderful job! They performed selections from our 2013 Veteran's Day Concert. The soldiers who came to speak with me following the performance were so thrilled with the performance and the warm welcome and blessings they felt from being in Murphysboro and in the presence of the students. These students got to really demonstrate Murphy PRIDE and show their patriotism, even after the school year had ended! Thank you students and parents!

Talent Show Rules, Information & Entry Form: Print from Here!

Illinois Music Education Conference

On January 22-25 I attended the Illinois Music Education Conference, Music at the Core, in Peoria. What an outstanding time! Mrs. Tracy Schubert and I learned so much through professional development, and I can't wait to apply it to the classroom.Thank you to our school districts' administration for allowing us to go and receive such wonderful professional development! I documented all four days on my blog if anyone is interested. They are on four separate posts :)

Illinois Music Education Conference: Day 4

Session 1: Recorder Apprentice

Clinician: Wendy Barden, Neil A. Kjos Music Company

8:30-9:30

The Recorder Apprentice method book for teaching recorder involves engaging students in learning about the Renaissance period. There are many connections with CCSS in ELA. In addition to learning the notes BAGCD in a sequential order throughout the book, students are given opportunities to work on mapping, writing, composing music, completing formal (challenges) and self-assessments, and do improvisations. This would be very useful for our 3rd grade music students.

Session 2: Bel Canto Treble Choir, Edwardsville

Carbondale Community High School Concert Choir: Directed by Carlyn Zimmerman
9:45-10:45

This was an excellent performance put on by two schools within our local district! Highlights of the concert for me were the Bel Canto choir's performance of Gaudete! arranged by Michael Engelhardt. It is a simple medieval tune which was arranged into a "post-modern quasi-industrial groove-anthem." The sounds were very unique to listen to! The other highlight for me was the CCHS Concert Choir performance of Skip to My Lou. The piece was fun and entertaining, sung with musicality straight to the end!

Session 3: Integrating Technology Into Your Song-Based Activities

Clinicians: Graham Hepburn & Chris Murphy of Quaver Music
1:00-2:00

One of the newest curricula available, Quaver Music offers teachers and students a fun and exciting way to learn the basic elements of music. It was described as "a completely new delivery mechanism for 21st century students." It offers curriculum maps and lesson plans, a lesson plan presenter, lesson plan summary, automated assessments, teacher grade book, 30 short videos, online classrooms, Free online student access to a kid's website, and interactive song-based activities. The curriculum's cost is much less than previous curriculum costs!

Honors Band, Chorus, and Orchestra Concert
3:15-5:15

To finish off our conference experience, Mrs. Schubert and I got to watch some of the finest high school students in the state perform at the All-State Honors Concert. It is always amazing to see these students perform! It is evidence that our music educators are doing a fine job in our state and our future is in good hands, as it takes a fine student to be able to do what I saw these students do!

Illinois Music Education Conference: Day 3

Session 1: Sing, Dance and Play the Windy City Way!

Clinician: Greater Chicago Orff-Schulwerk Association

8:30-9:30

3 teachers presented activities based in the Orff method, which would be highly appropriate and effective in the elementary music classroom.

The first lesson involved a rhythmic activity engaging students with many of their favorite technology gadgets, game stations.

The second lesson took a song, North Winds Blow, and expanded it to make a fine performance, involving instruments, dance, singing, form, rhythm and melody, just to name a few elements.

The third lesson took a literary item, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, by Eric Carle and turned it into a rhythm learning activity with children, involving use of voice and a variety of hand drums.

Session 2: The Chicago Symphony Orchestra presents Orchestra Explorers: Interdisciplinary Curriculum Materials for K-3 Music Educators

9:45-10:45

Information was given on the CSO's Orchestra Explorers curriculum program, which is offered as a free resource for music educators. We explored Aaron Copland's ballet, Appalachian Spring, which is in the third volume of curriculum materials in the program.

Session 3: ABC-Easy Assessments If You Please

Clinicians: Melissa Marchman & Sarah Amrein

11:00-12:00

Ideas were given for giving assessments, given that we are teaching in the elementary classroom with short class periods, which are fast paced and often performance-based. Take pictures to help "freeze" time, make assessments fun (exit tickets, rhythm sticks, etc), don't reinvent the wheel, let assessments help students take ownership of what they do in class!

Session 4: iTeach Music-Interactive Technology in Elementary General Music Education

Clininian: Manju Durairaj

1:15-2:15

Activities were given for use on interactive white board in the general music classroom. Some activities were also adaptable for use on a regular projector with powerpoint. Activities are viewable with free ActivInspire software on the computer. Free IWB and powerpoint files will be given out by email.

Session 5: FINE.com-Using Creative Tools in the Elementary Music Classroom

Clinicians: Sandy Lantz and Gretchen Wahlberg

2:30-3:30

Handout is on the ILMEA website, www.ilmea.org, under 2014 IMEC under handouts.

We were presented with a variety of activities for use in the elementary classroom, starting with a scarf movement activity. Then we sang a cumulative song, William, helping the kids do a little composing, with the option of adding instruments for a performace opportunity. Next we did Polly Wolly Doodle.

Session 6: Oh YES You Can!!-Composing in the K-5 Classroom

Clinician: Jacki Kelly-McHale & EvGenia "Angie" Dimas

3:45-4:45

We began with a group of students demonstrating compositions they wrote within the past hour, as an example of what real-life students are capable of. These students never met the presenter until the teaching hour. Then, more ideas were given for leading students to develop compositions on their own and in small groups with confidence.

Elementary General Music Division Open Meeting

5:00-6:00

Based upon the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS), the meeting began with an overview of the Framework Matrix for the New National Standards for the Arts, which are coming out in the next few months.

Understanding by Design (UBD) was discussed, which was presented as a great curricular book to help us understand some of the curricular goals and where we are headed. We are helping teach kids skills to function in real life...."Enduring understanding in basic expression." Can they (students) talk intelliigently and understand what they are saying about music further into life? Boulder Valley Music Department in Boulder, Colorado has an entire curriculum based on UBD. It is on their website. UBD is separate from Danielson, but it is relatable. With the new core arts standards, administrators will be given information based on the new national core arts standards, helping them to understand how to, being non-music educators, better evaluate us. This is simply a resource made available to them should they want it. Available to teachers will be be cornerstone assessments and skill charts for students.

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Reception

6:00-7:30

All-State and Honors Jazz Band, Jazz Combo and Vocal Jazz Concerts

7:30-10:30

These fine young men and women of Illinois were outstanding performers! I especially enjoy listening to the vocal jazz ensembles and the jazz combo. My favorite highlights of the concert were the All-State Vocal Jazz Ensemble's performance of Without a Song by William Rose, Edward Eliscu and Vincent Youmans/arr. Kirby Shaw. Their performance of these beautiful lyrics and amazing harmonies brought me to tears. The conductor for the Honors Jazz Combo, Ron Westray, was the most animated, fun director I have ever seen. It was unbelievable how he brought the music to life through his movements! Last, there was a young lady who performed the solo with the Honors Vocal Jazz Ensemble during September Song. Her voice was so mature, with breath support and substance beyond what I expected for her age. It was a pleasant surprise!

Illinois Music Education Conference: Day 2

Session 1: Video Production Tools and Techniques: Engaging Students Through Media You Create

Clinician: Doug Pelt, Timothy Christian Schools, Elmhurst, IL

9:00-10:00

Some of the key topics discussed were video, flipped classroom, flipped learning, differentiated instruction, tutuorials, guided practice, enhanced content, video lectures & Project-Based Learning (PBL)

Many useful tips and tricks, in addition to useful/dependable materials/supplies, were shared that may be used for video production. These videos would be used to engage students beyond the classroom setting in a variety of ways, building a community of trust and accountability amongst teacher and students, rather than using ready-made videos all the time. 

Handout http://goo.gl/quUnq9

Slideshow http://goo.gl/x3X9b9

Session 2: Opening General Session

10:15-11:45

Introductions, presentation of awards, updates on CPDU procedures and professional development opportunities 

Keynote: Trends in Music Teacher Evaluation

Session 3: The Magic of Movement-Birth to Seven Years

12:30-1:30

Krista Chmiel taught movement ideas from birth and up through the age of 7, based within the teaching philosophies of John Feierabend and the Dalcroze method, using basic children's folk songs and building up to more exciting works in the upper years, such as an electronic version of Aaron Copland's Hoedown by Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

Session 4: The Mindful Ear-Developing the Skills to Listen to Music

1:45-2:45

Clinician: Jesse Rathgeber

Handout: http://goo.gl/LZgwZL

Website: http://goo.gl/oGyDm8

We learned a variety of ways to involve students in listening activities and engage them in higher-level thinking processes to help process the music, walking away with a much deeper understanding and appreciation for the songs we are teaching.

Session 5: Teaching Traditional Dance to Upper Elementary

Clinicians: Peter and Mary Alice Amidon

3:00-4:00

We learned several traditional dances in a fun, energetic way to teach upper elementary students. We danced to The Noble Duke of York, Sasha, and a couple other songs. My favorite was when we got to be royal kings and queens and ask our partner "May I have this dance?" When I left the sessions for the afternoon I bought the book, "Alabama Gal," which many of the songs and activities came from!

Session 6: Performance by the Millikin University Choir, conducted by Brad Holmes

The Millikin University Choir performed a wide variety of music demonstrating their outstanding harmonies. Their voices complemented one another so well! They looked and sounded stunning! What a phenomenal choir! I wish all of my students could see this performance in person.

Illinois Music Education Conference-Day 1

Today Mrs. Tracy Schubert (Carruthers General Music) and I drove to Peoria to attend the Illinois Music Education Association State Music Conference. The conference opened this evening at the Peoria Civic Center with an outstanding performance by the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. Directed by Allen Tinkham, the CYSO performed a piece by Adam Schoenberg, Finding Rothko. The piece, performed in four movements--Orange, Yellow, Red & Wine--was inspired by the paintings of Mark Rothko. The second piece was Johannes Brahms Symphony no. 4 in E minor, op. 98, of which there was also four movements. These young men and women, members of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, were absolutely delightful to watch in their performance!

I can't wait to see what fun we get to have at tomorrow's sessions! On a side note...it is COLD in Peoria :)

Class Dojo this Week

Due to my absence this week, while at the state Music Education Conference in Peoria, there will not be any Class Dojo reports going out. We will be back at it next week! For the little period I did see the kids this week, their behavior was wonderful! Good job GJAL students!

Welcome 2014! 1/9-1/10

Welcome back to school for 2014! To start off the year, I will be in the main office for a couple of meetings during some of 3rd, 4th & 5th grade on the 9th. For the first day back in class, students are getting new seating in class, updating any changes in the Class Dojo program, reviewing classroom expectations and procedures, and cleaning recorders. Any students who miss this, due to my meetings, will briefly make it up on Monday. 

Any parents who have not signed up to receive regular updates on their child's Class Dojo may send in their email to me, and I will enter it in my system, if I have not already sent you an invite. Then you will receive a behavior report on your child every Friday via email. The easiest way to do this is by entering your information in the contact form to the right of this blog!

Lastly, we are welcoming an SIU student, Mr. Jeremy Holmes, to our classroom this spring! He will be student teaching with Mr. Nick Williams, MMS and GJAL 5th Grade Band Director, and myself for the spring semester. We look forward to spending the rest of the school year learning music with Mr. Holmes!

Here's to a happy and musical 2014!!!