Experiencing Music In A Different Way

This week the 3rd grade students have worked so hard on learning songs for Veteran's Day. We almost have the Military Medley memorized (with the exception of the Marines song.) It's definitely coming together. I hope they continue to work hard on the music where our hard work will pay off with an amazing Veteran's Day Program!


This week the 4th grade students have been experiencing music in a different way. We have been enjoying the different music stations: Instrument Station---playing the boomwhackers; Listening Station---listening to music on the iPods and drawing what they hear and feel; Reading Station---following along in a book while listening to the music on the iPods; Game Station---composing, arranging, and playing musical games on the iPads; Conducting Station---learning the different conducting patterns using the conducting batons and notating music using the dry erase boards. The kids absolutely love this! What a great way to experience music through listening, analyzing, performing, drawing, and evaluating. I also love being able to use technology in our music classroom!!!

Here are a few pictures of our 4th graders in action!

Music Classroom Part 2

Here are a few more pictures of our Music Room!

This is a picture of the "Rest Area." There are instructions when a child has to go to the "Rest Area." The student must set the yellow timer for 5 minutes. During those 5 minutes the students will take out the notepad from the drawer and write why they had to go to the "Rest Area," what rule they broke, and what they can do better at next time. When the child is finished, they put their name at the top of the paper and place it the pink mailbox on my desk.

Here's a better picture of my "Pete the Cat" board. The board has my rules on it and if the students follow my rules then (just like Pete the Cat says) "...it's all good." I use sign language to help my students remember the rules. 1. Listen Very Carefully 2. Follow the Directions 3. Keep my body to myself 4. Always Respect Others

My "Composer of the Month" board is on the left. Every month the students will learn about a different composer. Each week I will add a new fact about the composer to the board. The students write the facts in their music journals. This month was on Beethoven. To the right you will see a "Voice -O- Meter." This will show the kids if they may talk loudly, softly, whisper, or no talking. These are categorized by Loud Crowd, Low Flow, Whisper (Spy Talk), or Silence (Ninja Mode). This was a pinterest find and I love it!

This picture is mainly of my door. On one side of the door I have "What's the Dynamic?" and it shows the different dynamics and their symbols. On the other side of the door I have "What's the Tempo?" and it shows the different tempos and what they mean. I also wanted to point out my podium. My friend, Jessie Biddle, painted this for me. She did a fantastic job. The kids always love it. In my podium I keep all of my class lists as well as my puppet friends. Jessie also painted all of my station signs for me. They are adorable. On the side of the entrance between the yellow wall and the blue cabinet is where I keep my good behavior chart. Each time a class comes to music they are given the opportunity to gain a sticker on the good behavior chart based on how they act and participate. The 3rd grade class and 4th grade class with the most stickers will get a party at the end of each semester. I'm amazed at how well the classes are doing. If they continue doing so well I may end up throwing a lot of music parties.

This is it for now. I will post pictures of the kids at the stations more next week.

Hope you all have a very musical weekend! :)

Music Classroom Part 1

I'm so sorry I'm just now getting a chance to post some pictures of our 3rd and 4th grade music room. Things have been crazy but loads of fun and excitement here at AES! Please note that the majority of my ideas came from Pinterest or other music teachers friends! I love people sharing new ideas with me!

Here's a picture at the front of the classroom! You can see the "Composer of the Month" board to the right and our "Pete the Cat" rules board to the left. I'll post a picture from close up a little later.

Here's a picture of our "What Stuck With You In Music Today?" board. This is where I give the students the opportunity to write on a sticky note what really stuck in their mind for the day. The green and purple table is our "Rest Area." The "Rest Area" is a place where students that are disruptive or don't follow the rules go. At the "Rest Area" the students will answer the questions that I have placed on the table concerning what rules they broke, what they can do better next time, etc. To the right of the board and the "Rest Area" I have my Conducting Station set up. At that station the kids will practice their conducting patterns and much more.

Here's a picture of our Reading Station and our Game Station. At the Reading Station the students will choose a book and listen to the music on the iPods that go along with the book. The kids love this station because the kids love to read. I love this station because it not only involves music, but also reading. At the game station the students play musical games on the iPads. At this station the students can practice their notation, composing, arranging, as well as much more. The kids also enjoy this station.

Here's a picture of my desk area. It's a little junky and I'm sorry! We just have a lot going on in music class.

This picture is sideways but I honestly don't know how to rotate it, so just tilt your heads with me. HA!

This is my Listening Station. I had a friend paint an old spool for me. I bought buckets and screwed cushions on them. At this station the kids listen to music and draw how the music makes them feel. This is where we talk about Major and Minor. Sometimes I also practice instrument recognition here. If the students can hear a guitar, then they draw a guitar. If the students hear a flute, then they draw a flute.

I have an Instrument Station, but I'm going to wait on posting pictures of it, until I have it organized the way I want. I'm having someone construct me a boomwhacker box, and when I get that I'll post pictures.

One of my cabinets houses the students' music journals. I have a shelf for every class with the teacher's name on the outside. Every student has a music journal. We write about composers, instruments, and music definitions. At the end of the year the students can carry these home.

There's a lot more of my music class I haven't shown you, but I will post more soon!

Picture from Grandparent's Day---4th grade

Here is a picture of some of Mrs. Gibson's 4th grade class at Grandparent's Day!

Picture of Grandparent's Day

Here's a picture of some of our 3rd graders. Our school T-shirts came in the next day, but it was ok. They still looked and sounded phenomenal. 

Grandparent's Night

I can't believe September is half way over. The first half of the month we learned facts about Beethoven. We also learned the definitions of flat and sharp. The majority of our class time was spent on learning the words and notes to our songs for Grandparent's Day. The 3rd and 4th graders did an outstanding job! I will post pictures soon of the kids singing on stage.