Kindergarten:

Kindergarten students have been practicing songs using shorter and longer sounds. They are learning to copy and echo rhythms by clapping and playing instruments.

1st Grade:

First Grade students are working on identifying higher and lower sounds. They have learned songs that use higher and lower sounds, and are also practicing showing them using their hands and bodies to indicate higher and lower. They have loved playing the game “High High Hill” to practice singing and guessing using higher and lower sounds.

2nd Grade:

Second grade students are working on a dance called “Shake the Papaya Down” and are learning another singing game called “Closet Key”. They are preparing to learn the name of another new pitch!

3rd Grade:

Third grade students just learned a song about Dr. Martin Luther King in honor of his birthday. They have also been learning another song called “Throw it Out the Window” that uses silly nursery rhymes, then “throws them out the window”! It has been fun coming up with variations for this singing game.

4th Grade: 

Fourth grade students are about to start playing the recorder, and have been practicing labeling notes on the music staff. They learned to remember the line notes with the sentence “Every Good Boy Does Fine” and the space notes by using the word “FACE”. 4th grade students will also be attending a special concert with the Dearborn Symphony on the morning of February 9th.

5th Grade:

Fifth grade students have been working on songs for the spring concert which will likely be scheduled for May. This year, they are focusing on songs with instrumental ensembles. One of the songs they are working on is called “Sweet Guava Jelly” that features of recorder part and several drum and xylophone parts. They are also starting to learn another song with drum and recorder parts called “Pat Works On the Railway” in addition to a song about Harriet Tubman. We will start exploring harmony by singing the song “Give Light”.