concerts

	Shelburne Community School Unified Arts K-3 Music News Homepage
Shelburne, Vermont	Teacher: Diana Burritt

Welcome to the Shelburne Community School's Music News Web Page. Several times each month this page will be updated to include news and events in the K-2(3) Music Program. Please check back often.

First/Second and Odyssey Third Grade Concert

Our spring concert, "A Time for Peace," was on May 23rd. Approximately 225 students from grades 1-3 joined voices to sing about friendship and peace. Narrations were written by the students. Students directed a group of Partner Songs (Five folk songs which were sung at the same time!), as well as a 3-part round. Several students created a PowerPoint presentation which was shown during our concert.
Thanks to RETN, (Regional Educational Television Network) we broadcasted live to our surrounding communities. Our two 6th grade production assistants were the cameramen for the entire broadcast!
We also had 10 "technicians, from our first and second grade classes. They trained during their lunch and recess time to learn how to assemble and run the sound system and microphones. Technicians set up, and helped clean up all equipment needed for the program.

Kindergarten students completed their dictation notebooks, and have begun their Music Composition Journals.

After creating 4-beat patterns, students are adding melody. (Using sol and mi on the xylophones) Melodies will be notated on the staff and performed for their classmates.

Kindergarten classes have also been creating "Sneaky Snakes," using the letters of the musical alphabet. We began with the ascending C major scale and have progressed to the the descending scale. This activity reinforces the notes on the xylophones, and will help students as they notate their sol-mi patterns.

All first and second grade students, and the Odyssey third grade students have completed their songwriting unit. During this in-depth project, approximately 225 students created a four measure musical composition, which demonstrates their knowledge of music theory skills.

Students worked independently, or with a partner, and were given the opportunity to combine their song with other students to create a longer composition. After completing their songs on paper, students had the opportunity to enter their notes on the computer. They learned a variety of skills, which include creating text boxes, selecting different fonts, and editing their text and music (copy and paste). Students were responsible for saving their work to their class folder, and then locating it during their next class. Several classes learned how to save their songs on a disk. All students were taught how to use our notation software to select different sounds. (From 100 MIDI sounds)

Students have taken great pride in their work, especially the written reflection. In most cases, spelling was corrected, but in some, students felt corrections changed their thoughts. Please understand this is not an oversight on our part.

Students were asked to explain the songwriting process to their parents, using their completed portfolios to demonstrate the process. I am very proud of the concentration and effort of every student. I will be posting some of the 200 compositions on this web site during the next few weeks.

Please view the list of National and State (Vermont) Standards met by this unit.

Here are the steps for writing our first songs:

Using your rhythm cards. Create a 4-beat pattern.
Write your pattern, then, repeat your pattern.
Practice playing and saying your pattern using rhythm sticks.
Play your pattern using one note on the xylophone.
Now experiment using the notes C, D, E, G, and A. (Pentatonic scale)
Create many different melodies. Pick your favorite one!
Write the letters of your notes underneath your rhythm, patterns.
Create a different melody for your second rhythm pattern. (Try to find the “home” tone)
Write the letters of your melody below the staff. Do one measure at a time, and don’t forget your rests.
Complete your note practice worksheet.
Carefully place the note heads above each letter on the staff. No stems yet. Don’t forget your rests.
Add stems to notes. Add bridges for “tee-tee’s,” and “ti-ri-ti-ri’s.” (Eighth and sixteenth notes)
Enter your work on the computer. Be sure to save your work.
Listen to your song. Name your song. Choose an instrument. Add composer’s name. (That’s you!)
Write about your favorite and most difficult parts of writing your song.
Meet with Mrs. Burritt to complete your assessment.
Print out your song. Practice and perform your composition on the piano or xylophone

Read about our live broadcast with Charlotte Central School!

Back to SCS K-2 Music Web Page

Home Page maintained by Diana Burritt
dburritt@scsvt.org
Last updated: July 18, 2003