Here are some great links that my students are enjoying in the computer lab and on the promethean board! *Tour the Mayflower and The First Thanksgiving---Scholastic.com --This is FANTASTIC! We go through this on the promethean board and then the students make a flip book comparing and contrasting the pilgrims life to the Wampanoag's life. There is also a section with a timeline which is also a great skill to hit..... *On the Trail of John Smith---Online Adventure --Okay, another seriously fantastic resource. The students listen to a section about John Smith's travels and after they listen (they CAN'T just click right through---YAHOO!) they get to play a quick game. This continues several times on different topics from John Smith's point of view. *Jamestown Online Adventure --Students have to go through a simulation to see if they can survive. They can ask different people for their opinions and read different material. At the end it will show their results and then give reasons why if something failed. For example, Your health was poor because you choose to build on a swamp. There were many mosquitos that spread diseases. My 5th graders think this is the coolest thing ever ;)
Sing, sing, sing! I want my students to experience beautiful, in-tune singing and I am always on the lookout for songs with solos. I know students are more successful in pitch matching when they sing unaccompanied and have opportunities to sing alone. While I use several songs with solos in the primary grades, I don't use as many in the older grades. Here is one that has been very successful with my older students. I often start with several knots tied in the rope so that a few students are singing the solo, (which cuts down on the initial fear factor for the singers.) I learned this song from my wonderful Level III teacher, Liz Arcaro. Once a student has sung a solo (or duet, or trio, depending on how many knots I tie in the rope,) they go to a barred instrument and accompany with a simple bourdon on C and G. What are some of your favorite songs with solos?
IWB Music is now on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter, and is ready to share great interactive music resources! You can add +IWB Music to your circles by pressing the link here: While you're on the page, you can also press the +1 button if you like something I have posted, or the "Share this page" button if you'd like to share it with your circles. Those buttons will look like this: If you like fun resources to use in your classroom, then you should also "like" IWB Music on Facebook. Simply press the "like" button below, and feel free to press the share button to spread these great ideas! Finally, you can keep up with all things new on IWB Music through my Twitter feed. Press the button below to follow @WEBraune. Follow @webraune IWB Music is all about sharing great ideas, so have fun making and sharing music!
It has been a busy couple of weeks here at Beal School. I cannot believe that it is already mid October. Let me tell you about a few things we have been up to. Daily 5 is off and running and the kids are really starting to understand how to choose books that are just right for them. We have learned the IPICK song (ask your child to sing it to you), which helps us remember how to choose a just right book. I- I choose my books?, P- Purpose: Why am I reading this book?, I- Interest: Do I enjoy the book I am reading?, C- Comprehend: Do I understand what I am reading?, and K- Know: Do I know most of the words? The kids really enjoy this song and I will post a video of them singing it soon, so stay tuned! Last week I decided that it was time to revamp my library. I wanted all my books out and have them sorted by genre. I have been teaching for 7 years, so you can imagine the amount of books I have. This was a big job, so one afternoon, we decided to do the Great Book Sort. I had all the kids help me sort our books so it would be easier to find books we are interested in. I also added a brand new shelf to allow more books to be displayed. Here are some pics of the process and the final product! All my literacy assessments are done and I am off and running with the Cafe. This is what I base my mini-lessons on and how I keep record of my students progress. My goal is to see 2-3 guided reading groups a day and to have 4-5 one-to-one reading conferences a day. We will see how that works out. Here are the strategies that I have already taught. They are already constantly using these strategies while they are reading! Soon they will have a tool belt of strategies to help them become better readers. Here is my new interactive Daily 5 Check in board. They just drag their picture to their choice and if all the spaces are taken, they will know they have to make a new choice! This is working extremely well and we talk a lot about making sure they get to every daily 5 choice by the end of the week! Doesn't it look fantastic? I love it and so do the kids. For fun Friday last week, Miss Goulet read us the story "Fletcher and the Falling Leaves" We used many strategies during this story. We made mental images to better understand the story. We stopped in the middle of reading and checked for understanding. We made predictions and made connections. After the story we used the mental images we made about the fall trees and the winter trees to make beautiful pictures. Take a look at some of their wonderful work. That's all for now. Have a great week!
WOW! I am so impressed with the composers in First Grade! This week we worked on writing rhythms that use quarter notes, barred eighth notes and quarter rests. These amazing composers created interesting patterns on paper using quarter notes and rests. We also created patterns together on the SMARTBoard to review how to draw notes and rests. The next day in class we used a delicious way to represent notes-Fruit Loops! First we used our SMARTBoard to make "virtual" Fruit Loop patterns. Using a composing grid with 16 boxes representing 16 beats we placed one or two Fruit Loops in each box. If we heard one sound on the beat we knew that the cereal represented a "ta" note or quarter note. If there were two sounds per beat that was a "titi" or barred eighth notes. After experimenting with making their own patterns First Graders listened to a rhythm clapped by Mrs. King and then notated what they heard using the cereal. WAY TO GO First Graders! You are so smart!
You probably know the American folk song, "Chicken on a Fencepost". My students LOVE this simple song and the accompanying game. In this post we'll talk about some great activities to use with this song. First, you probably know this song in a format similar to this one: I teach this song by rote and often use it to introduce 16th notes. During our first class period with this song we just learn it by rote and I tell them that the next time they come we'll use our detective skills to figure out the rhythm of the song and perform a play party game if we have time. The next class period, we review the song. We pat the steady beat while singing and practice clapping "the way the words go" or the rhythm. Next, we use a visual aid to help us notate the rhythm. In the picture below, you see a Smartboard file in use. I don't have this file available for download, but it would be easy enough to replicate. Create a 4x4 table and put a chicken in each square. As students figured out the rhythm, they dragged the correct note and dropped it on top of the chicken. In addition to projecting the file and figuring out the rhythm this way, I've also projected a plain page with the 4x4 chicken grid and had students draw over them onto the board with a dry erase marker. We've also done it on paper when technology wasn't available. You can download this farther down in this post. As time allows (and I usually make sure we have just a few minutes) we get into concentric circles and practice walking and singing the song. I never actually plan to teach the entire game the first time. I know. I'm such a meanie. What I want to do is build anticipation. Before we leave on day 2 I introduce them to my friend, Captain Cluck. Captain Cluck is a rubber chicken that I bought from Oriental Trading. There's nothing really special about him, except he is the Captain of the "Chicken on a Fencepost" game. Okay...he is totally special and sits at a place of honor on my shelf and sometimes on really bad days I'll talk to him like he can hear me, but I try not to share that with the kids. They already think I'm crazy. So, the kids leave singing this fabulous folk song, excited to come back to music to learn the rest of the play party game and play with Captain Cluck. Music teacher win! The Game I think there are probably several variations of this game out there, but this version is my favorite. The starting formation is to have students in two concentric circles. I tend to make the center circle much smaller than the outer circle. In the middle of the center circle is where Captain Cluck resides. In addition to the two concentric circles, I pick two foxes to stand on the outside. Basically they are "it" and try to get through the gates that will pop-up during the song and grab Captain Cluck. I have students join hands (Always say "join hands" not "hold hands" when talking to your students. Trust me on this one.). I have the foxes cover their eyes or step outside the room if the setting allows while I walk through the circle and touch a place for the gate to open on each circle. The foxes come back and we begin singing and walking in our circles. When we sing the last "OH!" the students' hands that I touched raise them high to create an open gate in each of the circles. The foxes race to get through each gate and grab the chicken. I usually let each fox them pick someone to take their place and we play repeatedly until they are delirious or their classroom teacher comes to pick them up. Here is a great video of a group of educators playing this game. It is great fun and I know your students will love it! I use "Chicken on a Fencepost" with 4th, 5th and 6th graders. You can download the worksheets that I use with my students for deciphering the rhythm of "Chicken on a Fencepost" HERE.
Carnegie Hall's listening adventure, "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra," takes you and your students on a fun safari through the African wilderness in a hunt for all of the instruments played in the orchestra. This is the second part of my five-part resource for this excellent website. If you missed the previous post, you can click here for the Four Families Introduction resources. 1. Documents and Multimedia First, I want to make sure that I give credit where credit is due. I did not create the website, the text, or pictures for any of the resources I am sharing with you. The interactive website, the images from the website, and the text used in the student worksheets were created by the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall. The black and white drawings of the instruments come from "Music Instruments: Blackline Masters" in the Share the Music series published by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill. The color pictures of instruments come from the Nashville Symphony Orchestra "NSO Kids" teachers/parents website. I merely put them together in a way that worked for me as a teacher. I created a SMART Notebook file and student worksheets to accompany this lesson. Occasionally, my school's internet is down, and thanks to Murphy's Law, it always seems to go out when I need it the most. Although the website works great by itself, it's always nice to have back-up materials just in case. Dropbox Folder with all files SMART Notebook File Student Worksheet (PDF) I have been playing around a bit with Prezi. I recently created a "Prezi" presentation to go along with the flute. Press the arrows to move from slide to slide. I love how information can easily be hidden within the presentation. I even have a YouTube clip in there somewhere! Flute on Prezi I am still new to Prezi, and I have learned that although this tool is great for sharing information, it can take a long time to make a presentation look good and flow well. My students loved the one I made above, and I plan on making more. 2. Movement and Demonstrations Although this website is primarily dedicated to interactive websites, it is important to understand that interactive whiteboards have their limits. With each instrument on this website, I have a number of activities that I use to get my students up and moving in some way. For the flute, I have my students stand up and turn themselves into a flute! Their head is the head joint, their body is the body, and their feet are the foot joint. We go down to our knees to become a piccolo because a piccolo is missing the foot joint. We pretend to play keys on our body, we point to our lips and mouth for the lip plate and embouchure hole. For the oboe and bassoon, I have my students create a double reed by clapping their hands together. To make the single reed for the clarinet, we turn one hand to a fist (the mouthpiece) and use the other hand (the reed) to clap against it. I also have an oboe reed and bassoon reed that I show to the students. I blow through them and let my students hear the different sounds they make. If any of your students have a woodwind instrument, this is also a great time for show and tell. I had a few students bring instruments from band or from home to share with everyone. 3. Final Thoughts - Sharing Ideas I am thrilled with the positive response IWB-Music has been getting on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Pinterest. Facebook already has over 100 fans! I would love to hear how you use these resources in your classroom. Please leave comments and share or retweet what you like! Thanks for reading and continuing to share great ideas!
Do you use a SMART Board in your classroom? If so, hop on over to my blog to grab yourself 2 FREE games! I you download these FREE games, I'd love to get some feedback from you!
Do you have an interactive whiteboard? Then, you will love these 10 ways to use your interactive whiteboard in the classroom.
Looking for new ideas for using your Interactive Whiteboard? This list includes our Top 10 Whiteboard technology websites and resources for your classroom
Technology is a great way to engage students in learning. These FREE number sense technology tools help students develop understanding.
DreamBox offers teacher tools and sample lesson plans to support teachers in their classrooms. Learn how to utilize DreamBox lessons for the whole class.
CKLA SPELLING TREE | AMPLIFY*FOUR DIFFERENT VERSIONS*COMPLETELY EDITABLE!Add text of the sound you're working on to the trunk of the tree and add the spellings to the branches. Display on white board, smart board, wherever for students to view and work along with you! You can also print off this as ...
So you've been given an interactive whiteboard (IWB) to use and you know you should be using as more than a simple projector or place to screen videos. The benefits of incorporating an IWB into your teaching are many: it allows you to create a bank of learning resources that can be used many times across multiple classes, you can replace some of your physical resources with digital versions so you don't lose them. Luckily, you don't need to re-write your curriculum.
Description
The online resource for Mrs. Tiffany Berting's music classes.
If you’re in search of an engaging time-saving lesson for telling time, this is a winner! All you have to do is stick a hula hoop to the whiteboard, and write numbers around the inside of the circle to make a “clock”. You can make little notches around the inside of the hula hoop to […]
Musings About Music and Technology
Not sure if anyone has blogged about this tool before but just wanted to share because I recently found it and use it ALL THE TIME with my k...
Interactive web-based resources for the music educator
Alfred The Tale of Guido d'Arezzo Interactive CD for Whiteboard - An Interactive Storybook about the Inventor of Music Notation. Long before lines and spaces, flags beams, music had to be memorized because there was no way write it down. That is, until clever Guido came along! Learn how this Medieval monk laid groundwork for system notation that we use today. This true story is told with beautiful illustrations age-appropriate vocabulary, which can read from screen or heard by clicking listen icon. Embedded audio plays period music, whimsical sound effects, a professionally-voiced narration. As you scroll through each interactive page, sure click highlighted elements watch come life. Utilizes flash technology works on individual computers whiteboards. Recommended grades 1--5. Software. accessories, Music Education for Children, Music Teaching Aides & Reference
Are you teaching 3D shapes? If so, I have put together a mini-pack of activities for my classroom that you might want to see. The cover...
First, the bad news. I went to the doctor today. I can’t breathe. If I breathe too deeply, I have a coughing fit. The kids look at me like I am dying, and I feel like I am. So I decided I needed to go. I dislike going to the doctor. One nebulizer treatment (which didn’t do a thing), and a set of chest x-rays later, I go home with some steroids and antibiotics. Acute Bronchitis is the diagnosis. If only the steroids would make my muscles bigger ;) Onto the good news. The nurse thought I looked 23. Enough said. :) So, if you have a Promethean Board you will be able to use this freebie flipchart. If you have a SMART board, I’m sorry, but I don’t know if you’ll be able to use it…..you’ll have to check with your technology person. We try to do this every day, but we don’t always get to it. You’ll have to add your kiddos names to the bottom! Click {here} to download this flipchart! PS – The cute background are made by Lindsey! Check them out {here}
Verb Viper encourages the student to choose correct verb tenses, recognize correct verb forms, and recognize subject/verb agreement. A sub...
Fun and free interactive sight word games for the Smart Board!
Verb Viper encourages the student to choose correct verb tenses, recognize correct verb forms, and recognize subject/verb agreement. A sub...
Following Directions task cards to teach Listening Comprehension (Auditory Comprehension / Auditory Memory) skills! Target multi-step (2 & 3 step) & conditional directions with over 90 direction prompts! • 2-step directions: 10 interactive task cards x 3 tasks per card = 30 tasks • 3-step directions: 10 interactive task cards x 3 tasks per card = 30 tasks • Conditional directions: 10 interactive task cards x 3 tasks per card = 30 tasks Prefer a NO PRINT (digital) version of this resource? Click here. ★ How do DICE DECKS work? ★ DICE DECKS are highly engaging and make learning fun! Have a student roll a die. If the die lands on a 1 or 4, task A will be completed. If it lands on a 2 or 5, task B will be completed. If it lands on a 3 or 6, task C will be completed. ★ What are SLPs saying? ★ “Great resource with plenty of direction prompts! I never have the time to look up prompts and am not great at coming up with directions on the fly. These are great! I have them hanging on my white board, ready to grab and use for whoever needs them. Thank you!” -Amanda P. "My kids always love dice games, and this was no exception! I also love the data sheets. Taking data is somewhat of a struggle at times, but these make it easy! Thank you :)" -Annetta M. "Love not having to fumble to think of directions off the top of my head!" -Hannah C. What's Included? ★ What’s Included in this product? ★ • 30 interactive task cards x 3 opportunities each = 90 opportunities to practice this skill • Black and white {printer friendly} version of task cards • Data Sheets
In May, I blogged about Technology In the Music Classroom. I talked about many wonderful tools we acquired during a construction renovation, including the interactive white boards. We have Promethean ActivBoards which run on ActivInspire Software. In this post, I will share some flipcharts that I have submitted to Promethean Planet and are available for free download. There are brief descriptions below, but you may also click the links to preview the slides before downloading. This flipchart uses the poem "I Spy Elenore" in a 2-3 lesson unit. First, students will perform rhythms with body percussion (option to also perform in a rhythmic or melodic round). Students will count the syllables in candy bar names to discover the rhythmic pattern for each. Students will compose rhythms using candy bar rhythms. There is a printable worksheet for students to compose on their own after practicing on the Activboard. The final performance could be in rondo form, alternating "I Spy Elenore" with candy bar patterns. In this lesson, students will perform a rhythmic ostinato on body percussion to accompany a poem "Once I Caught a Fish Alive." Then, students will try to identify which words the stomps, claps, pats, and snaps occur on. The body percussion will be transferred to unpitched percussion to accompany the poem. Encourage students to try the ostinato with and without the words. I can complete all these activities in one 50 minute lesson. This flipchart features 20 multiple choices questions. Students view an instrument and identify it's instrument family. This can be used with clickers student response system or with paper and pencil. The key is included. This flipchart is used for a 3-lesson unit. It uses the poem "One For Ice Cream" to review rhythm, melodic contour, form, and improvise on xylophones. The final performance would be in rondo form alternating the song "One For Ice Cream" with improvised solos using ice cream flavors as rhythmic building blocks. Be sure to check out the notes on the slides for more tips to assist you through this lesson. In this flipchart, students perform rhythmic ostinatos with body percussion and unpitched percussion to accompany the poem "Cobbler, Cobbler, Mend My Shoe." ***Although all these flicharts are entirely my own creation, the lesson sequences for "I Spy Elenore," "Once I Caught a Fish Alive," and "One For Ice Cream" were adapted from lessons presented by Brian Crisp during Level I Orff Training at the University of Kentucky during the summer of 2006. More About Promethean Planet Click here for a direct link to view all my uploaded flipcharts: http://www.prometheanplanet.com/en-us/Search/resources/?Author=819220 At this moment, these are only 5 that are polished and uploaded. As I add more, I will also blog about them. Also, feel free to add me as your friend on Promethean Planet. Here is a link to my profile page: http://community.prometheanplanet.com/members/rebecca.dennis/default.aspx If you have an Activboard, make sure you also check out these Free Resource Packs: Music Notes and Scales Resource Pack Music Tempo Resource Pack
11 ideas for websites to use on your interactive whiteboard / smartboard
What a busy life we lead in and outside of the classroom! Follow Mrs. Lochel and take a sneak peek into the life of a public school Kindergarten Teacher during the summer months and her Kindergarten students during the school year.
I got the sweetest email from a darling reader who wanted to know if I was okay because of my lack of blogging lately 🙂 I’m a-ok, but my boys…well…they’re a different story. They both tested positive for type A flu last week and I was one busy momma! No time for anything other than …
At our school, we begin the year teaching kindergartners the letter sounds as opposed to letter names. The program we follow is Jolly Phonics. In this program, the kids start blending the sounds …
