Newsletter November 8, 2013

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1 Newsletter November 8, 2013 First graders at William R. Davie celebrated the 50th day of school with poodle skirts and coke floats! Students enjoyed learning about the 1950s on the 50th day of school by hula hooping, blowing giant bubbles, listening to 50s music during a sock hop, enjoying coke floats, and dressing in 50s attire.

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3 2 nd Grade Melissa Souther Melissa Souther and Kay McKnight's Second Graders have been studying Veteran's Day and why we celebrate it. We've also been studying symbols of North Carolina. In Math, we are studying place value and learning to regroup. This week has been especially busy since we've attended water safety classes at the Davie Family YMCA. Mrs. Spillman's class also attended this week. The students really enjoyed themselves and learned lots in the process! William R. Davie Music News-11/4/13 It is rhythm time in the second grade music classes. Students have been singing and moving to the half note beat as they traveled to three different African countries to explore traditional songs from each region. Pata Pata was a favorite dance from South Africa that challenged the students to move to the half note, and then quarter note beat. The song Sorida from Zimbabwe gave the students an opportunity to greet their neighbors as they sang the half notes in the song. Our listening example, written by the Nigerian composer, Chief Fela Sowande, used orchestral string instruments playing traditional African rhythms for a very unique, lively sound. Our next rhythm experience was with the fabulous book, Kakadu Jack. What a mess Jack made as he flew through the market exploring the tasty fruits like beautiful bananas and marvelous mangos. Finding the repeated rhythms, learning to write the rhythm, and performing the patterns on instruments was a little less messy for the students than the people in the market.

4 From the rhythm patterns of the Japanese Chi Chi Pa Pa to the clapping patterns of the our traditional Miss Mary Mack, the first grade students have been singing and moving to a rhythmic quarter note, quarter rest beat. Simple dances and partner clapping have challenged their creativity as they learned about traditional songs from our country and some far, far away. It is now time to put those skills to work as they find the patterns in their favorite book, Old Black Fly. Rhyming sounds, new vocabulary, short and long sounds, and lots of beautiful messy illustrations make this rhythmic Alphabet book a great way to practice rhythm patterns. There s a beat, there s a beat, there s a b-e-a-t beat. There s a beat, there s a beat, in my f-e-e-t, feet. That has been the song that got the kindergarten students marching around the room as they explored different ways to show steady beat. From their hands, their feet, and The Giant s Shoes, they have played, stomped, chanted, sung and marched, showing that beat in many different ways. They are now exploring ways that the beat can change, getting faster and slower in music. Riding the Tempo Train, playing letter matching games, and singing about two different Old Ladies have given them many fun ways to perform a change of tempo as they sing and play rhythm instruments. The third grade classes reviewed their rhythm reading skills using the song When I First Came to This Land, a great song about the hard life of immigrants in a new place. Reading the patterns in the song and playing instruments created a very fun sound. They then traveled to Australia to learn about the didgeridoo, a unique instrument that got its beginnings from the Aborigines in the outback of that country. Next, they sang the traditional round, Kookaburra from Australia and created a rhythmic composition of that song using the rhythm patterns it contained. It was music and math time in fourth grade! Using their knowledge of fractions, the students reviewed note values and their relationship to a whole note. They began this unit by performing the rhythm round School, School. They then put their note reading skills to work as they learned the songs North Carolina Symbols and our state song, The Old North State. Their Journey with rhythm will continue throughout the year. Patriotic music has been the theme for our fifth graders as they learned about some of our most loved music to tie into their Social Studies units. From the history of our National Anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, to the emotional God Bless America, the students learned just how important music has been during some very difficult times in this nation s history. Of course, their favorite, as always, was Fifty Nifty United States. Just how fast can you sing the names of the fifty states in alphabetical order?

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