Bridge Street School Music
Seroe Michaud, music specialist
Kindergarten
May/2001 We have had a great school year. We have been playing a lot of games that help tell stories that we can enact like The Old Gray Cat, The Elephant and Thorn Rosa. Moving to music is an integral part of our program, we dance in every lesson. We focus on enjoying the music through games like Stop and Go and High and Low. Our favorite songs include O Be Joyful, O Be Jubilant and No More Pie. One very rainy day we made a thunderstorm with our rhythm sticks, cymbals and timpani drums. We took turns conducting the storm, what fun!! Songs that have a limited range of five or 6 tones are great to sing with your child. We also sing songs that are repetitive to help us open up and sing. The premiere goal of the kindergarten music program is to allow the children to experience music as an activity in which he/she can enjoy through participation. As I am sure most parents are aware by now that all children naturally love music. Our goal is to help the child to realize that they can make music. We cover many other wonderful activities including a melody unit on xylophones and making simple instruments.
FIRST GRADE MUSIC
May/2001 The first graders LOVE music classes! . We have so much fun singing our favorite songs and playing percussion instruments. This year we are learning to sing from a chart that has quarter and eighth notes and rest. We now can sing patterns of sol and mi and la with the Kodaly hand signs. We completed a melody unit on xylophones. Our favorite songs thus far are Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Round the Valley, and Corner Store. In first grade the techniques of Carl Orff and Phyllis Weikart are employed. These systems involve movement to multicultural music, playing patterns on percussion instruments and xylophones and clapping rhythms from sight. We focus on macro and micro beats in our moving games, trying to find new and fun ways to move to the CD recordings from "Building the Foundation". Ms. Monopoli and Mrs. Keefe's classes will be in the June 15 Concert. This is a great time for parents to see how much the children enjoy the activities that we do in general music classes. See you at the concert.
Second Grade Music
May /2001 New this month we have been singing in rounds and playing xylophone melodies in rounds. We have mastered macro and micro beats and can do many folk dances.We have learned several dances including La Raspa, Limbo Rock, and the Alley Cat, Irish Stew, Troika and Les Salutes. Students have been experimenting with percussion instruments from around the world like the cabasa, hoof rattles, maracas, Native American hoop drums and claves. In second grade we also use the techniques of Weikart and Orff as we did in first grade. That's a lot of different activities to cover in 40 minutes per week. It's difficult to get bored when we use so many fun filled games in which to experience great music. Mrs. Bowler and Mrs. Vachula's classes will be in the June 15 concert.
Third Grade Music
May/ 2001 This year third grades focused on the orchesta and our presentation of Peter and the Wolf. Since March they have begun to play recorders in music. They are learning to play B,A,G, C ,D, Sharp and Low E songs and proper technique for good tone. Third grade students should stop by the two fantastic symphony sites for kids that I have linked below. Your child will be able to tour the Avery Fisher Symphony Hall in cartoon characterization and hear some famous pieces played by the individual instruments of the orchestra. They also have some interviews with the great composers.
Fourth Grade Music
May/2001
The fourth graders have been continuing their intensive study of the soprano recorder. To hear a variety of works online for the recorder see this sound files page. Many great composers have written music for the recorder including Bach, Bernstein, Cage, Gluck, Handel, Poulenc, Purcell, Telemann, Vaughan Williams, and Vivaldi. In other words this recorder program is not just a stepping stone into a band instrument, it is an instrument that has it's own place in music history and pedagogy. Our instructional program teaches student to read standard music notation as well as to play with lovely intonation. Currently children are expanding their range to the lower notes on the recorder, now using both hands. We are learning to slur tones and play in phrases. Our repertoire will include folk tunes, popular music and multicultural songs. Fourth graders had fun singing, dancing and playing Orff ensemble music as well this year. Students are currently involved in a drama unit, and we are now the Music, Theatre and Dance department. The unit involves mime, improvisation, and creativity. It is a favorite among the students! All the fourth grades will perform in a concert on June 8 to showcase the instrumental program.
Fifth Grade Music
May/2001 Last year the elementary music teachers completed the Expanded Teacher Units for grade five to meet the National Standards and Massachusetts State Frameworks for the Arts. This year fifth grade students have completed a unit on the acoustic guitar, rhythmic dictation, Presentation reports and are currently preparing music for graduation.. We will be singing three songs from the Dreamworks picture The Road to El Dorado and a song by Vitamin C called Graduation.
Links for parents
Massachusetts DOE Curriculum Frameworks for the Arts (Download)
The Mozart Effect The official site
Music Appreciation: From the National Association for the Education of Young Children
Education Through Movement: (Weikart) Building the Foundation
Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation helps schools and individual students get musical instruments.
Springfield Symphony Orchestra Homepage
Links for kids
The Charlie Horse Music Pizza (K-2)
Ted's Guitar (A virtual guitar you can actually play) Gr. 5
Play music.org An Interactive Symphony site gr.3-5
Music Notes (History, Careers in music, theory) Gr.5-12
N.Y.
Philharmonic Kids Interactive site Gr.3-5 
How music and math are related
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