Episode #80: Top 3 Winter Activities for the Music Room
In this episode, Carrie and Tanya share their top 3 winter activities for the music room, and specifically how we are adapting them for a remote or socially distant environment.
Main Theme: Top 3 Winter Activities for the Music Room
Carrie's Top 3
Snowmen at Night/Once There was a Snowman
I start by reading "Snowmen at Night" by Caralyn Buehner. We notice that the largest snowballs are on the bottom (low) and the smallest are at the top (high). This leads to playing the barred instruments and noticing that the largest bar is the lowest sound and the smallest bar is the highest sound. We also sing the song Once there was a Snowman while moving up and down:
We tag on this ending to the song:
Then we play the descending C scale on the tone bars or glockenspiel. In a remote environment, students can play the virtual xylophone on the Musicplay website.
Cup Game with Sleigh Ride
I used this YouTube video for my inspiration, but I have changed just a few moves. You can modify for your own students. I prefer the Pentatonix version of Sleigh Ride, but it does go fast! Students can do this cup game pattern individually in a socially distant classroom, or with a plastic cup at home via Zoom/Meet. You could have students record a video of themselves recording this on Flipgrid or Seesaw.
Christmas Carol Bingo
Students love this Christmas Carol Bingo set by Aileen Miracle. This year I will be playing via Zoom, so I will be making a Jamboard with all of the bingo cards and assign each student to a different card. That way they can still mark the cards on their Jamboard as we listen to the songs. Tanya's twist is to create your own Christmas/Holiday song Bingo and ask students to contribute to the songs featured in the game by asking them ahead of time what their favorite holiday/winter songs are.
Tanya's Top 3
I Know a Little Snowman and Frosty Weather
After singing and moving up and down with the song, students can do a Seesaw activity where they create an audio recording while singing and tracking the song.
Frosty Weather is great mi-re-do practice for 2nd and 3rd grade, and also for vocal exploration for primary students. Students can track and sing a vocal exploration line on Seesaw.
Nutcracker March with Body Percussion
I teach the students a body percussion routine that highlights the ABACABA form. In a virtual environment, students can go into breakout rooms and collaborate to create new body percussion for each of the A, B, C sections.
December Holidays Choice Board
Students will discover various holidays from around the world with musical examples and then respond on a Google Form.
Know Better, Do Better
Remember to be empathetic to students' at-home situations when teaching remotely. All students might not be able to access the materials and information in a live setting. Consider creating videos or a lesson format like a Nearpod so students who were not able to attend the class can access the lesson at a later time as they are doing the asynchronous work. This is also good for students who are on the live classes, but have a difficult time focusing and participating due to distractions at home or inability to have a positive learning environment.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Tanya has been using online timers (YouTube has lots of fun ones) to allow for students to have wait time for thinking for answering questions. In a Zoom/Google Meet class, this can allow students to have time to answer questions in the chat. In person, timers allow students to have some visual thinking time.
Coda
Carrie has been enjoying the Office Ladies podcast.
Tanya has been enjoying a made-up humming game with her family called "Ho Hum."
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