Teaching Notes, 20090313

This week was a little unusual. I was still suffering from a cold that involved coughing and rough voice, and so I informed the teachers that I didn't want to get them sick, and that it was at their discretion whether or not to have music class. The second teacher cancelled, but the first teacher never responded, and so music class for them continued. That actually worked out pretty well, since typically the first class doesn't cover as much material as the second class.

Down by the Sea	Opener, march to the beat while doing the hand motions associated with the song
It took a little more than usual to get all of the children seated and in a circle. I tried to emphasize the beat with my feet (stomping), and only a few students followed my lead with the feet. They seemed to remember to song well, though, doing all of the motions with little help with the exception of "feeding the gulls". After the song was over, I did ask them about what my feet were doing; students responded with things like "I was stomping evenly", but none said "beat".
Rhythm Instruments	Revisit the same 1-2-3-4 plan from two weeks ago with various instruments.
This was my way of teaching while eating minutes and saving my voice. Again, I passed out a variety of instruments, including the kpanlango, djembe (two), shekere (two), guiro (6), tambourines (4), and talking drums (2). I split the class into the large drums(1), shekere and talking drums (2), guiro (3), and tambourine (4). I returned to the single hit on a beat exercise, still starting with the big drums on 1. Then, I went to the board, and wrote out four vertical lines, illustrating four even beats. Next, I wrote a line underneath, with two lines for beat 2, to illustrate an even double hit for the shekere and talking drums. I didn't tell them that they were playing eighth notes. After the 1-2-1-1 pattern, I then drew out a 1-2-1-2 pattern, which the students then played with reasonable success. Next, I had the students do a 1-2-3-2 pattern, which drew some oohs and aahs. The triplet sounded a bit like mud, but the students had fun trying. It was a little helpful to also have the set of 3 be the largest group, and with the instruments that could make the shortest sound (if you hit the guiro instead of scraping it). I realized that the talking drums are easier to play with mallets, as opposed to a hand. That made the talking drum holders a lot more satisfied.
I Am A Pizza	Review 1st stanza while putting away drums, then teach 1st stanza in French, then Spanish.
One of the things I hope my students take with them by the end of the year is that music is universal and transcends typical languages. I was able to cover the first stanza while putting away nearly all of the drums, and then I started talking about how one could sing the Pizza song in any language. Students immediately chimed in, asking to sing in various languages, including Spanish (which I was actually hoping to do), and Chinese. Teaching them in French wasn't all that easy. The students had no idea what I was saying, and while I tried briefly to teach them what some of the words meant, they weren't exactly equipped for a foreign language lesson. I reminded them that they had to watch and listen carefully. I spoke the phrases, and they repeated them, sort of. Then, I sang the song slowly, and they did a pretty good job responding, except for the unison "Je suis une pizza" near the end, which they couldn't exactly get. In fact, they were pretty lost by the end of the stanza, and so I quickly moved back into English for the last two stanzas to recapture their attention. It didn't make sense to try Spanish after that, so I ended the exercise with the pizza that was now a mess.
Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar	Review the game quickly, and then have students pick their target. Try keeping a beat during the game with hands/thighs.
I didn't get to this.
Bonanopstekker	Review the steps and song
This was an easy way to close out the class. I reviewed the dance, and emphasized how important it was to keep connected when on the outside of the circle. When students entered the circle during the song, it was still chaos, and when going out of the circle, I never got the class to recover enough to change directions. Near the end of the song, I had the students follow me clockwise, and I led them to the door.

There were actually a lot of other things I wanted to do, including "Each of us is a flower", and talking about the elements again. I also wanted to re-try Sarasponda with Boonda, but there was clearly not enough time for that. Other backpocket items included My Bonnie (with the 'b' movement), and Energy (by Laurie Berkner)