Kindergarten students began the new year with a new
instrument – the xylophone! After
experimenting with fingers and mallets, each class used this new sound to
retell Robert Munsch’s book Up, Up, Down. Every time Anna climbed up, we played a slow
ascending scale and her inevitable fall was marked by a descending glissando,
followed by a loud “Ouch!” on the drum!
Students also learned about the steady beat during our building project,
in which we accompanied our poems with other percussion instruments. 
Grade One students deepened their understanding of ta (one
sound on a beat) and ti ti (two sounds on a beat) in their Winter Song. After blowing like snowflakes on the wind
around the circle, partners landed behind a short rhythmic phrase which they
used to improvise a melody. Then we
compared these rhythm with the beat by marking the beat of the old classic The Ants Go Marching One by One.
In response to their inquiry work in the homeroom classrooms,
Grade Two students put their heads together to create some music about the
building of Alberta’s railway. We
gathered their ideas into a sung chorus which alternated with commentary about
different community’s response to the train.
Then we layered in an instrumental accompaniment inspired by the sound
of the wheels passing by. After all that
work, students explored a different period of Alberta history by retelling the
book The Drumheller Dinosaur Dance
with drama, dance and instruments.
Grade Three students also learned a new instrument in
January – the melodic chimes. Each
musician played a single note of a chord to accompany the sung chorus of the
book The Snowy Day. Then they exchanged their chime for another
percussion instrument to create a soundscape to retell the story. Each class had the opportunity to perform for
a class of Kindergarten students – who were of course thoroughly impressed by
the big kids and their awesome musical skills!
