Sol-mi+Song+Activity

This activity can be used with any lower elementary grade depending on what they are working on and what level they are at. Also, any sol-mi song could be used.

1. Warm-up- Hello Song 2. Review Snowflake song (Game Plan 1 pg 52) 3. Pass out di-cuts, have students spread out and make very tall statue 4. When we sing the song they move/dance with their snowflake, (quietly) and when the song is over they freeze. 5. Add two xylophone players to keep steady beat (C&G) Each repetition the mallet players pick another person in the class to play a. ASSESSMENT- check who is solid on steady beat 6. Collect snowflakes, have class move to floor by chalkboard 7. Use solfege body signs in place of words a. (sol=hands on head, mi=hands on shoulders) 8. Tap rhythm in hand 9. Have blank three lined staff up on board and snowflakes all around the board a. There are big snowflakes and little ones. The big ones will be used for quarter note values and the small ones for eighth note values. (In two more lessons we will be identifying ta’s and ti-ti’s) Also since it is just a sol-mi melody we will be using the 10. Ask students what they notice about the snowflakes a. (Big ones, little ones, different colors) 11. Go through the process of identifying which snowflake coincides with each word of the song and if it is big one or little one or high or low a. students help with this, have them come up and stick them in the appropriate place etc 12. Sing song again at end while pointing to snowflakes (tracking) 13. Get up and do some activity to get them moving again!
 * Name:** Carolyn Stuwe
 * Subject:** 1st Grade
 * Concepts/Skills/Values:** Steady Beat, Identifying His and Lows, and rhythm
 * National Standards Met:** 1)Sing, 2)Play, 5)Read/Notate, 10)Movement
 * Learning Objectives:** The student will be able to sing, move and play steady beat to “Snowflake “ as well as create and track song on three lined staff.
 * Materials:** Di-cut snowflakes, Xylophone(s), Three lined staff
 * Sequence/Assessment:**

-Be patient with the steady beat, they will speed up! -Remind them to be quiet when dancing with the snowflake -Move around the room, don’t stay by the xylophones all the time -Have staff low enough that short people can reach! ☺ -Some students will catch on right away and some will be totally lost, take the time to let as many students participate as possible
 * Effectiveness Reminders:**

Carolyn, I know which snowflake song this lesson uses! Kids really do love it. When we used it, there were a couple ways we tried to add more improvisation into the routine (we sort of made this into a B section.... C section?) Two students go to the center of the circle and quietly decide on a snow-related activity to act out (skating, snow angels, sledding, etc). They pantomime this for the rest of the class, who guesses what they are doing. As soon as the correct answer is guessed, all the students act this out silently, while OTHER students create "snow music." We used wind chimes, SX and AX glissandi, and scraping on hand drums to imitate a windy, ethereal kind of sound. This music helped keep the kids calmed even while they were acting out whatever their snowy day movements were. You could assess them on what movement they chose (if it was original and hadn't yet been used) and how effectively they were able to pantomime it. Also, if the students as a class can come up with some of those wind/snow -sounding instruments, then they are CREATING as a group. We also always add on intros and codas for all of these songs, and students could be chosen one by one (throughout a whole semester even) to create an intro or coda, which could also be an opportunity to assess creativity. Great lesson! ~Terri Morin

Hey Carolyn, Wow, sweet lesson! There are so many good things about this, especially the fact that you are moving around the room quite a bit. I would love to see a little more detail put into this lesson. What I mean by this is that there were some parts of it that I didn't quite understand. It was great for someone like Terri who has used this song before and the lesson, but I didn't know what making a tall statue meant? It might be something really simple that I just didn't get. But for some this could be an issue. It's great to have all those little details for those who need to know exactly how to do it (like me!). I do like your simple learning objective although I think it could be better explained. I didn't understand what you meant by "create and track a song on a three lined staff". When you actually mentioned this in your lesson, I did understand it a little better but some more clarification would be great! The last thing I'd like to comment on is the last part of your lesson: "get up and do some activity to get them moving again". I just felt that this didn't quite finish the lesson. Even just an idea rather than just "some activity" would be great, although I'm sure you could argue that it leaves room for the teacher to do any kind of movement activity they like. My opinion would be give a last suggestion on a movement activity that might tie into the lesson to finish the class period. This is such a cute idea for 1st graders. I love the idea of cut out snowflakes that students move with. Cute! :) Amanda Coon

Carolyn Great lesson, I like all of the activity, keeping all of them this engaged will make classroom management much easier too. This lesson obviously worked well for you and I firmly believe that if it's not broke don't fix it, in fact I will probably use this lesson exactly how you have it mapped out. As a follow up activity it may be beneficial to have individual students come up to the board and notate the three line staff with the snowflakes. You could have them use only so and mi like in your lesson plan and they get to compose a melody however they want. Then make a huge deal about it that this child created their own song. After they really believe that their melody will be heard in movie soundtracks and earn them millions, ask if another child would like to come up and compose a melody. Of course you know that the overwhelming response will be comical to you. You could also have them put words to their compositions. Jared Bader

This sounds like a really fun activity for kids. It keeps them busy and allows them to ENJOY music as well! I did notice that a section of a phrase may be missing in your lesson plan. In point 9a. you write "...Also since it is just a sol-mi melody we will be using the." It was unclear to me if it was to lead directly into point 10 or if there was simply a segment missing. Your effectiveness reminders are great too. It seems like to many people it would be common sense, however, I feel as though many teachers forget some of these things and their frusterations show through to their students. The reminder beforehand (what students are apt to do and how to handle it) allows for a smoother and more comfortable classroom. Amy Combs-Riede

Caroly, I also liked the lesson! I have to agree with Amanda... I had a little trouble following the lesson at times since I am not familiar with the song. I like the idea of using snowflakes as notes and tracking their motion on the staff. I have never heard of a three line staff... maybe that is a bad thing! :) Is it more helpful than having 5? It seems like it might confuse the kids if they get used to having a three line staff and then you put a 5 line staff in front of them. How does that work exactly? Did the students catch on to this activity very easily? You definitely do a good job of keeping the pace going. There is a lot of activity and changes that take place. The reason I wondered how well the students caught on to this is because I wondered if it may be helpful to split this lesson into a couple lessons since you are spending the whole period on this one song. Maybe you could introduce it and do half of this lesson on one day, allowing time for other songs or activities, and then finishing the lesson with the rest of the concepts the next lesson. Overall, I thought it was great and will definitely try using some of your strategies in my future teaching!