Week 6/15-6/19
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Dear Third Graders,
Congratulations! You've made it through 13 weeks of distance learning! I know it hasn't been easy but I'm proud of you. Although our sticker chart is still at school, I know it would definitely be filled up by now. In fact, you've earned more than one super fun music reward! I hope you enjoy these games and activities. Love, Ms. Sheridan PLAY: Young Person’s Guide Game After learning about the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra for the last 4 weeks, you can now play the game! Follow Violet as she helps her uncle track down all the instruments of the Orchestra in the jungle! You need to allow Flash to run on your computer for this program to work. Ask your grown-up for help! PLAY: Incredibox! Back by popular demand, this music choice reward is always a favorite! Several of these versions of the game as free to play online. DANCE: Let's Celebrate! Learn this dance and then try to get your family members to jump up and join you! Make a video of your dancing and share it with me at: [email protected] |
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Week 12: 6/8-6/12
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READ:
I am sharing the story of "Lift Every Voice and Sing' by Kelly Starling Lyons this week. You may remember this book from earlier in the year when Principal Miller shared it with us at our assembly for MLK Jr. Sing along with me when the song pops up in the book! LISTEN & SING: Songs that bring us together There are so many things going on in the world around us right now. Many people are feeling worried, sad, angry or confused. These are all important feelings. Sometimes, these emotions can leave us feeling alone. One thing I know that can always help bring people together is music. Humans sing when they are happy. But, we also sing when we’re sad. Making music has a magical way of helping us share our feelings and find the words we need to express ourselves. It can make us feel united and strong. It has the power to lift us up and make us belong. You and your family may be expressing your feelings at home by making signs of gratitude and cheering on our essential workers helping to fight the pandemic. You may be protesting, marching or attending a vigil to show that you know Black Lives Matter. All of these actions are important tools for changing and strengthening our community. Throughout history, music has been the glue to bind communities together when they are unraveling. Each year at Pierce, we sing to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. to remind us of our constant fight for civil rights in this country. What we sing, unites us and makes us stronger. I have shared these songs and more in a playlist below. I encourage you to bring these songs into your homes. Listen and SING as a family and lift each other up. |
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LEARN:
This week we will finish up our unit on the Orchestra by learning about the Percussion family! Percussion instruments are played by hitting, shaking or being scraped. In the Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, we will hear the final family of the Orchestra play both the theme and variation. How many percussion instruments to do see and hear being played? COLOR:
While you are listening to the Percussion family play the theme and variation, go ahead and color them all in using this worksheet. How many different percussion instruments do you see and hear being played? |
Theme:
Variation:
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RECORDER: You've been working hard on your C scale exercises to build your speed and agility on recorder. This week, we will begin working on C Scale Technical Challenge #4 which has 4 different tempos ranging from slow (sloth) to very fast (cheetah!). We will start this week with the Sloth and the Turtle. The recordings to practice at home are below in purple. We will go over all of this in our online class meetings in more detail. Next week, we'll try the Rabbit and the Cheetah!
SLOTH recording
TURTLE recording
SLOTH recording
TURTLE recording
Week 11: 6/1-6/5
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SING: “I am With You” by Olaf!
Listen to this beautiful new song by everyone's favorite snowman. Sing along with Olaf and think about all the people that you are missing. Call you family and friends and sing this song to them. It's a beautiful way to share how much you are missing them while also brightening their day and spreading joy. LEARN: Brass Family This week we are going to be learning about the Brass family. Many of these instruments may be familiar to you. Brass instruments make a very full and strong sound. But they can also be played softly and smoothly! Watch the introduction to the Brass family from Ms. Han. LISTEN: Young Person’s Guide to Orchestra This week, we are on to exploring where the Brass family fits in to Benjamin Britten's piece "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra". Listen here to the Brass theme and variation. Think about our pizzas and the flavor that each instrument adds to the party! ;)
COLOR:
While you are listening to all of these fun videos about the Brass family, color them in on this worksheet as you go! You do not need to make them their real color. You can color them in any way you like! PLAY: Leapin’ Lemurs
Here's a new song for you on recorder! Click below to hear the song and print the music! Music Recording |
READ: Little Melba And Her Big Trombone
Melba Doretta Liston loved the sounds of music from as far back as she could remember. As a child, she daydreamed about beats and lyrics, and hummed along with the music from her family's Majestic radio. At age seven, Melba fell in love with a big, shiny trombone, and soon taught herself to play the instrument. Overcoming obstacles of race and gender, Melba went on to become a famed trombone player and arranger, spinning rhythms, harmonies, and melodies into gorgeous songs for all the jazz greats of the twentieth century. (From Google Books Intro) |
Week Ten: 5/26-5/29
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SING:
Here is a new song for us to learn as we study the families of the Orchestra. You can learn all four verses by watching the video posted here. Focus on learning the Violin and Clarinet verses the most because we have been learning about the String family and the Woodwind family! LISTEN: Last week, we focused on the String family as we listened to the “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra” by Benjamin Britten. This week, we will focus on the Woodwind family! The members of the Woodwind family are: Piccolo, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon. Listen to these musicians talk about why they think their woodwind instrument is the best! First watch and listen to the THEME of our piece played by the Woodwinds. The theme in a piece of music means the 'big idea", just like it does in a book! Britten announces the theme in the very beginning of the piece with everyone playing. Then, each family gets a turn to play the theme alone.
Woodwind Theme: begins at :32 seconds VARIATION:
Next, listen to the Woodwind VARIATION. This means that you will hear the "big idea", but it will be a little different. You can use the listening map below as well! PLAY:
After a few weeks of playing C Scale #1, I know you are ready for something a little bit harder: C Scale #2 and C Scale #3! The notes, and the pattern of the scale stay the same with these two new songs. However, the rhythm changes and this is what makes them a little bit trickier. Practice slowly at first and be sure to read the rhythm of each measure carefully. Then, gradually play faster and faster until you can keep the tempo of the music! C scale #2 and #3 music C scale #2 (recording) C scale #3 (recording) |
COLOR: Another great way to learn about all the members of the Woodwind family is to color them all in! Print out this coloring sheet for Woodwind family and have fun! I would highly recommend coloring your sheet while you are listening to the pieces listed above! 
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Week Nine: 5/18-5/22
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WATCH:
Last week, you had a chance to review some instruments in the Orchestra as you watched "The Remarkable Farkle McBride". This week, we will continue our work with the Orchestra by exploring a piece of music called, "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra", written by a composer named Benjamin Britten. He wrote this piece of music specifically to teach kids! Each family in the Orchestra has a turn to show their stuff, and each instrument in each family also gets a special moment to shine too! We will start this week by learning about the String Family. Watch an introduction to the Strings from Ms. Han and a video that tells you how each string instrument is played. LISTEN: We will now hear from individual members of the String family. First, we’ll hear from the violins, violas, cellos, and finally the big double bass. These are the official members of the string family, however for this set of variations, Britten has also included the harp. The harp has strings too, but these are always plucked, never played with a bow. The foot pedals are used to tighten or loosen the strings which change the pitches/notes. First watch and listen to the THEME. The theme in a piece of music means the 'big idea", just like it does in a book! Britten announces the theme in the very beginning of the piece with everyone playing. Then, each family gets a turn to play the theme alone. Next, listen to the Strings VARIATION. This means that you will hear the "big idea", but it will be a little different. You can use the listening map below as well! To hear the Strings Variation, being the video at 4:59! 
LISTEN:
"Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin" is a great story for you this week because it introduces many instruments of the orchestra, including the violin! Listen and watch carefully to see if you can find all the string instruments that we’ve learned about so far. |
STRINGS THEME:
STRINGS VARIATION: **begins at 4:59
COLOR: Another great way to review all the members of the String Family is to color them all in. Print out this coloring sheet for the String Family and have fun! I would highly recommend coloring your sheet while you are listening to the pieces listed above. |
Week Eight: 5/11-5/15
LISTEN: We will be reviewing what we know about the families of the orchestra in the next few weeks. Enjoy this silly story about a boy called Farkle McBride as he searches for the perfect instrument to play. RHYTHM CHALLENGE: Beat and rhythm are two different things that are both really important for skilled musicians to master. This Rhythm Challenge has you switch back and forth between a steady beat (pat your legs) and rhythm patterns (clap your hands). Can you clap along with these patterns and keep the beat? REVIEW: Last week we worked on reviewing space notes so this week… you guessed it! We will review line notes using this worksheet. Fill it out and send me a photo of your work at: [email protected] PLAY: Now that we know all the notes in a C Major scale we will begin practicing them and working towards playing a scale with confidence. Practice the C Scale Exercise #1 every day and make sure to play through it 3-4 times. I included a picture of the fingering for “F” here because I know that note can be a little tricky. I’ve also added a fingering chart in case you don’t have the one in your music binder! Please note that there is no F sharp or B flat in the C Major scale. You can ignore those notes when you’re looking at the chart! Click on these links below for the music and practice recording. C scale #1: Recording C Scale #1: Music |
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Week Seven:5/4-5/8
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SING:
Last week we began to learn how to sing “April”. This week we’re going to try singing it in a round! To sing a round, everyone sings the same song, but different groups come in at different times. Ms. Han and I tried a 4 part round and filmed it for you. Challenge yourself and try singing the round or get some friends on Zoom or Google Meet to see if you can try it together! "Muddy and dripping with rain is April, Muddy and dripping with rain, oh." PRACTICE: Try to play your recorder every day! When you practice, you can play through any song we’ve learned this year. Flip in your binder all the way back to the beginning of the year and play through for fun. Many of the songs we’ve done are in the Google folder and you can play along. *Zoom Meetings for 3T and 3CO are: MONDAYS at 10:30 am & Thursdays at 9:30 am The invitation link will be sent to your families! REVIEW: Treble FACE worksheet We’re going to continue to practice our note names to help us with our recorder playing. Let's start with Treble clef space notes! Remember the SPACE notes spell FACE. You can either print out the worksheet or write your answers down on a different page! Want to know if you got all of them right? Take a picture and send it to me at: [email protected] PLAY: Petals of the Cherry Blossoms Continue to practice our new song, Petals of the Cherry Blossom, from last week. You can play one part at a time. I would love to see some of you performing it for us! Send a video to: [email protected] |
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Week Six: 4/27-5/1
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SING:
Hopefully you’ve been singing “Singin’ in the Rain” all around your house. Keep working on learning both parts so we can turn it into a partner song. Here is a new round for spring for you to learn as well. It’s called April and it’s all about mud. Listen to the video until you know both parts well and sing them as you go around the house as well! The shower is a spectacular place to sing. Everyone sounds amazing in the shower! :) LISTEN & LEARN: April in Japan is a very special time and is celebrated with a festival called Hanami. Hanami, 花見, or in English "flower viewing", is a long-standing Japanese tradition of welcoming spring. Also known as the “cherry blossom festival,” this annual celebration is about appreciating the ever changing beauty in nature. People gather under blooming cherry blossoms for food, music, and friendship as they celebrate the passing beauty. Watch this performance of the song Sakura by Kasumi Watanabe. She is performing on a traditional Japanese instrument called the Koto. The koto is a cousin to the Guzheng from China which we learned about in music class when we were celebrating Lunar New Year. They are both string instruments in the Zither family. PLAY: Petals of the Cherry Blossom is a new recorder song for you to practice. It is a duet, so there are two different parts that happen at the same time. You can choose which part you’d like to play. I labeled them in 2 different colors to help you follow your part. Print this page and add it to your binder. If you can’t print, just use this file on your computer to practice. There are two recordings of the song here to help you learn it at home. The first version lets you hear how both parts of the duet fit together. The second version has no recorder so you can play by yourself. Once you have your part down, record yourself and email it to me! [email protected] 
MOVE:
This song activity gives you a chance to work on your coordination and musical timing while having fun! The “Deteggtive” will lead you through the song showing you which beat is happening in the music. The picture here tells you what each egg means.
Follow along and try one color at a time. See if you can keep up and make every movement happen with the beat of the music. Then try to do two colors, and finally, try all three! If Level 2 seems pretty easy for you, challenge yourself with Level 3! Level 3 adds a new egg so you can decide how to move for those beats. Maybe try a star jump or a jumping jack! |
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Week Five: 4/21-4/24
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PRACTICE:
Try to play your recorder every day! When you practice, you can play through any song we’ve learned this year. Flip in your binder all the way back to the beginning of the year and play through for fun. Many of the songs we’ve done are in the Google folder and you can play along. WATCH: I know many of you love the Fortnite dances and here is a recorder video with them for you to enjoy! REVIEW & COLOR: Musical Mandalas Go through the folder and pick a worksheet you would like to work on and color! These are not only beautiful and fun to do, they help you review rhythmic values for notes you know! As you color, think about how many beats each example gets when you play or sing it. LISTEN: Play this listening game. Watch the video and try to guess which Disney song is playing. I tried it and didn’t get all the songs! But it was super fun! SING: Continue practicing “Singing in the Rain”. It is one of my favorite songs and I would love to hear you sing. I really miss making music with you. Here are the lyrics for you to practice with at home. Here are two recordings to sing along with as well: Singin’ in the Rain with voices Singin’ in the Rain without voices REVIEW: Keep your note reading skills sharp by playing this game called Staff Wars. It’s harder than it appears. May the force be with you! |
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Week Four: 4/13-4/17
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PRACTICE:
Try to play your recorder every day! When you practice, you can play through any song we’ve learned this year. Flip in your binder all the way back to the beginning of the year and play through for fun. Many of the songs we’ve done are in the Google folder and you can play along. So far, we’ve been working on familiar music we played while still in school AND we’ve been learning these new songs: Dot Spot Fever, Takin’ It Easy, and BAGE Blues. We’ve danced to “Happy” by Pharrell Williams and we’ve written rhythmic and melodic compositions using the site musicplayonline.com SHARE: Your assignment for this week is to record yourself playing one thing you’ve been working on at home and share it with me by adding it the 3rd grade folder. You can also record yourself dancing, or send me the melodic or rhythmic compositions you wrote on the website. SING: The spring is finally here! There have been so many beautiful blooms and rainy days that I couldn’t help but sing one of my favorite songs, “Singing in the Rain”. This song comes from the musical by the same name. It was made into a movie in 1952 starring Gene Kelly. (He’s the one singing and dancing in the rain.) It’s a classic old film and you should watch it with your family! Here are the lyrics for you to practice with at home. Here are two recordings to sing along with as well: Singin’ in the Rain with voices Singin’ in the Rain without voices REVIEW: Keep your note reading skills sharp by playing this game called Staff Wars. It’s harder than it appears. May the force be with you! |
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Week Three: 4/6-4/10
PRACTICE: Try to play your recorder every day! When you practice, you can play through any song we’ve learned this year. Flip in your binder all the way back to the beginning of the year and play through for fun. Many of the songs we’ve done are in the Google folder and you can play along. Make a recording of yourself and share it with me! Email: [email protected]
Please keep working on your two new songs: Takin’ it Easy and Dot Spot Fever. LEARN and PLAY: BAGE Blues
PLAY: Music Note Names Game
MOVE: Get busy! Keep moving and dancing to this choreography to the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. After practicing it last week you should have all the moves learned. Send me a video of you and your family dancing! I’m hoping that we can all dance to it together, the next time we see each other. I’m practicing with my family at home as well! |
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Week Two: 3/30-4/3
PRACTICE: Play your recorder every day. When you practice, you can play through any song we’ve learned this year. Flip in your binder all the way back to the beginning of the year and play through for fun. Many of the songs we’ve done are in the Google folder and you can play along. Make a recording of yourself and share it with me! Email: [email protected]
CREATE: Write a Song for Recorder! Use the website Music Play Online and the username and password pasted in the purple rectangle under the staff. Write an original melody to play at home on recorder. There are different levels, but I recommend you start at level 5 using the notes B, A, G, Low D and Low E. If you want to try more notes, just use the fingering chart in your binder to review them. Record yourself playing your song and email it me: [email protected] MOVE: Get busy! Learn this choreography to the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. See if you can get your whole family to learn and dance with you. I guarantee it will leave you all feeling a little bit happier! |
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Week One: 3/23-3/27
GET INSPIRED: Beatboxing Recorder Player and Fur Elise
These amazing musicians have a unique style. See if you can add some beatboxing into your recorder playing! But make sure you aren’t playing near any family members when you try. ;) LISTEN & LEARN: New Recorder Music! Here are two new songs for you to learn: -Takin’ it Easy -Dot Spot Fever The blue link above will take you to a page where you can print out the music to add to your binder. Get a pencil and label them right away to make learning easier. If you don’t have a printer, just learn them by reading the music on the computer! To listen and learn the songs, click this link for the Recorder Folder on my website. PLAY: Rhythm Composition Use the website Music Play Online (the link is above!) and the username and password pasted below. You can review quarter note, eighth note and rest rhythms while creating a composition and hearing it played by different instruments. Try to play along as well! |
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