First Grade General Music
Hickety Pickety Bumblebee
Can you clap your name for me? Can you tap it on your knees?
Can you stomp your name for me? Can you snap your name for me?
Can you whisper your name for me? Can you shout your name for me?
Mwa Ha Ha
We learned that a solo is a piece of the music that is performed by only one person. If you are singing with a friend, take turns singing a solo on the purple words!
cool turkey facts
* Turkeys live in North America.
* Girl turkeys are called hens and boy
turkeys are called toms. Toms have bigger
tail feathers.
* Turkeys can fly! They like to sleep in trees at
night to stay away from predators.
* Domestic turkeys are turkeys raised by
people. They are usually larger than wild
turkeys and cannot fly.
AS I CAME OVER YONDERS HILL
The Nutcracker
In December we listened and moved to music from Peter Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker. A ballet is a special kind of performance where dancers tell a story by moving to music! There is lots of wonderful music in The Nutcracker. You can listen to some of the music here.
We learned that there are special words we use to talk about the volume of the music.
FORTE MEANS LOUD!
Piano means quiet.
You can learn more about music words in The Music Show. Can you sing along to this song in a forte and piano voice?
A Big Black Bear
In class we learned all about different kinds of bears as we sang "A Big Black Bear." You can sing and move along to this song at home by watching the video. How is Emily's version of the song different from the way we sing it in class?
Peter and the Wolf
Sergi Prokofiev was a composer, that means his job was to write music. Mr. Prokofiev wanted to write a story for children without using any words. And so he composed Peter and the Wolf! Each character has their own instrument and theme. Can you name all the characters from Peter and the Wolf and their instruments?
It's Time to Plant a Tree!
This year, Arbor Day is on April 24th. Arbor Day is very important, because it's the day we stop to celebrate trees! Trees give us oxygen to breathe, food to eat, and wood to make all kinds of things. Just look around you and you will see lots of things made from trees! You can thank the trees by singing It's Time to Plant a Tree. The words are sung to the same melody as the 100 Days of School song. You can find the music and lyrics below, or pretend to be a tree with a yoga pose!
It's time to plant a tree.
It's time to plant a tree.
Today is Arbor Day you see,
It's time to plant a tree.
We're very proud to be
A fine community.
Let's show the world how much we care for you and me.
The sun and rain will do their job when we are done.
Let's help to make our planet a much better one.
It's time to plant a tree.
It's time to plant a tree.
Today is Arbor Day you see,
It's time to plant a tree!
Rainsticks
The rainstick is a percussion instrument. No one knows for sure, but many believe it came from Chile, a country in South America. Original rainsticks were made from dried out cactus tubes with the spikes hammered inside. The tube would be filled with beans or rice or small pebbles. When you turn the tube, the pebbles inside hit the spikes on the way down, making it sound like rain!
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You can create your own rainstick
by clicking on the PDF and
following the directions.
* You can change the name in the song from "Johnny" to your name or the name of someone you know!
* This song uses sol and mi. Can you sing along while using the solfege hand signs?
* Take a look at the rhythms in this song. Tap a steady beat and read on the syllables titi and ta.