Since Last Time...

It's been over a week since I even really thought about blogging. Well, it's been a very busy week.

I had a birthday, for one thing. And my formal observation on which my evaluation as a teacher is based. And both of those were the same day.

I have blogged previously about using my rhythm cards in middle school choir that I had made when I was teaching elementary music. I have had some flashes of brilliance that are working themselves into innovative and rigorous lessons for my students. I don't want to sound arrogant for tooting my own horn, but sometimes there are things that need to be broadcast out there for everyone to know. It's just that good. This is one of those things.

So I was lying in bed one morning, not wanting to get out of bed, or else maybe I was lying there about to go to sleep at night, I don't remember which, when this idea came to me. A GROUP COMPOSITION PROJECT!!!

I had already used all the cards, having the students transition to the big-girls & -boys way of reading rhythms. I'd already had them composing by writing solfege syllables below rhythm cards. I had not, however, had the students writing notes on the staff. This is something that can seem very daunting to most students. It's difficult and strange at first. But what if I broke it down and made it easier? Here's what came to me:

This is what the students were given on a half-sheet of paper. The beauty of this is the PRE-writing exercise in the boxes at the top. By the time the students write on the staff, they have a clear picture of what to write. I have taught them how to find where to place the solfege on the staff. I got to teach them about notation and stem direction. This is all some very in-depth stuff that I have never had to teach before. It has always seemed like there wasn't enough time. This project just took half a class period for two class periods. It could be done in one day if the teacher was willing to sacrifice singing for a day.

The product is going to be our sight-reading book for the next few weeks. The students were given very specific guidelines about the melodies they were to compose. If they let me check and they had broken one of the "rules" then I'd bounce it back to them for a rewrite. I want the melodies to be simple enough for them to read. Difficult skips were off limits.

I think I'll do this project again, but next time I'll change the melody rules. I could also change the key signature, which would add another skill. Eventually I'd like to be able to hand them a page of stick notation and they can transcribe it to the staff.

I apologize to any non-musicians who are bored or lost with this post. It's like reading about quantum mechanics would be to me. I don't know and I barely care what that's all about.

Today you get to write the song in your head. Print the picture and try it out!! (Just kidding!)