November Specialist’s Newsletter – 2013
ART with Mrs. Lewis
Kindergarten-Pinch Pots
Students experiment with pinching clay to form pottery. “Where does clay come from? How
can it make a useful object? How could you add real texture and pattern to your pinch pot?”
Later students will draw their pots and learn the difference between real texture and visual
texture.
First Grade
Chicks Hatching
Students in science observe chicks hatching from eggs. In art we will sculpt a chick and
eggshell by pinching, rolling, and joining pieces of clay. “How can art reflect an interest in
living things?”
Second Grade
Leaf Dish
Students will collect leaves from outdoors and classify them by shape or color. We will make
ceramic dishes from these leaves using slab construction methods. Questions students
address are: “ How does art reflect objects around us? How does investigating and
comparing properties of materials help you classify objects?” Students will glaze their bisque
ware.
Third Grade - Mosaics
Third graders will continue exploring Roman Art by focusing on domestic mosaics in the
Roman home. Students will experiment with the art elements and design principles they
discover in Roman mosaics. They will select and test possible compositions by making at
least two draft designs before executing a final product. Tesserae will be cut from glossy
magazine photographs.
Fourth Grade
Bay Sculpture
Students will have the option of sculpting an underwater or above water view of the
Chesapeake Bay. We will review techniques of rolling, pinching, creating slabs, carving, and
joining clay. They will expand upon their 2-D paintings of a food chain or web by making
parts of these compositions 3-D. Students address: “What do I need to know to set an
achievable but challenging goal?”
Fifth Grade
Chimineas
Fifth graders will sculpt small chimineas based on Aztec and Mayan art forms. “How do
cultures, traditions, tools and techniques, and available materials influence the design of
artwork?” Students will focus on Pre-Columbian sculpture as they construct working
chimineas (fireplace or hearth).
Music with Mr. Hopkins
Things have been cooking in general music so far! Students are settling in well to classroom
routines and are ready to try new things! Students understand that although we have fun
and play in music class, play helps us to learn real musical concepts that we can use in
instrumental music and use to foster a life-long musical appreciation!
Many of the classes will be enjoying Halloween-inspired musical activities over the next few
weeks!
In Kindergarten, we are identifying, moving to, and singing musical opposites such as fast and
slow and loud and soft. We are also learning how music tells stories! Students will learn the
story song “The Old Gray Cat,” which will help them make logical choices about loud and soft
and fast and slow in performances. Groups of students will be able to perform the song for
each other while other students will practice what it means to be a good audience. We have
also started to explore the myriad of classroom instruments at our disposal and have used
these instruments to echo rhythms from the many songs we have learned. We are also
working on understanding that all beats are NOT created equal, that certain beats receive
greater emphasis than others. And of course, we are continuing to have fun learning silly
songs and finger play games, many of which I’m sure you learned when you were your son’s
or daughter’s age.
In first grade, we are going into some depth with musical opposites such as loud and soft,
fast and slow, and high and low. We have also almost finished our introduction to classroom
instruments this year. During this process, we have used these instruments to keep the beat
of some pretty cool songs and musical compositions. Ask your student to name some of the
instruments he or she has used so far this year! In the coming few weeks, students will have
their first experience with solfege, a method by which students will eventually be able to
read music at-sight!
Second graders have been hard at work preparing for their field trip to Strathmore Hall to see
the National Philharmonic Orchestra perform! We have learned about a wide variety of
classroom instruments and will be learning about orchestral instruments by watching videos
that show how these instruments are played. We will classify these instruments into four
major families: string, percussion, woodwind, and brass. We will also discuss appropriate
audience etiquette. We will learn choreography to “The Berry-Picker Song” which is
excerpted from “The Little Train to Caipira” by 20th century composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, a
piece that the National Philharmonic Orchestra will perform for our students! In the coming
few weeks, we will also be focusing on being able to keep the beat of a song while
performing sequences of choreography.
In third grade, we will begin to use our Orff instruments (classroom xylophones,
metallophones, and glockenspiels) to create melodic ostinatos (repeated patterns) to a
beautiful Negro spiritual called “Over My Head.” They probably have this song and the
accompanying pattern stuck “over their heads,” so ask your student(s) to sing it for you!
Starting soon, we will begin our study of meter (or time signature). Meter describes how
beats are grouped together in a piece of music. Most of the music you hear on the radio is
made out of groups of four beats. However, we have been introduced to music that is
grouped into three beats and two beats as well. Students will be able to identify the meter of
a piece by looking at the music (with the meter symbol removed) or by kinesthetically
engaging with a recorded performance.
Fourth graders are continuing to expand their knowledge of solfege (sight-singing) as they
locate “Do,” “Re,” and “Mi” in written music. They have become quite proficient in singing
these pitches in a variety of different keys when shown the hand-signs for each pitch! They
are well on their way to being able to read a normal melody at-sight! We are also working
hard on composing and performing our own rhythmic ostinatos (repeated patterns) to sung
pieces, such as a neat African children’s play song called “Sansa Kroma.”
Our big fifth graders have been digging deep mentally to analyze and dissect a wide variety of
musical listening examples for music elements such as timbre (tone color), dynamics
(volume), articulation, tempo (speed), mood, and instrumentation. We have been keeping
music listening diaries to help us to record what we learn and organize our thoughts. We are
now working on performing chordal accompaniments on our Orff instruments (xylophones,
metallophones, glockenspiels) to a great old, folksy Negro spiritual we have learned called “I
Saw the Light.” Chords are simply two or more musical notes played simultaneously. For
students who are not piano players, this is a great introduction to keyboard playing, because
the layout of the pitches on the Orff instruments is identical to that of the piano!
PE with Mr. House
Healthy Feet!
As the warmer weather begins to give way to colder, chillier days, P.E. classes will continue to
enjoy the fall weather outdoors whenever possible, but throughout the colder, winter
months more opportunities for indoor activities will abound. Therefore, utilizing the
gymnasium and caring for the floor requires that students wear proper P.E. shoes, which are
sneakers of most varieties. For safety reasons, you should avoid sending your child to P.E.
wearing fashion statement sneakers such as the ones in which the heel of the shoe is
elevated at a greater height than the usual cross trainers. The elevated-heel varieties are
responsible for thousands of sprained and broken ankles, nationally. Closed toe sneakers
protect the feet and keep them healthy for indoor activities such as soccer, floor hockey, and
more. In addition you should also avoid skateboarding sneakers in which the front of the
front of the sole possesses the same elevation as the back of the sole. Shoes with this type of
design also cause ankles to roll unexpectedly. No boots or shoes of other varieties will be
allowed in the gym so if your child doesn’t want to wear sneakers during the day they should
keep an extra pair of sneakers in their classroom cubby.
P.E. Activities for Fall and Early Winter
K-2 students participate in indoor activities which include many skill building activities – from
learning to run faster to throwing and kicking a ball properly. In addition, we’ll continue with
a variety of exercises such as jumping rope, pull-ups and chin-ups, and an array of exercises
and calisthenics are taught. Exciting games like Capture the Flag, Pirates Treasure, and
Gophers in the Garden round out the good times with a great cardio workout! Grades 3-5 will
be playing games such as Speedball, Capture the Flag, Safety Bases, Touchdown Tag, Snatch
the Flag! When outdoor P.E. is not possible due to inclement weather, grades 3-5 play
modified, indoor versions of soccer, Olympic team handball, floor hockey, cricket, and
lacrosse. In addition, fun, fitness-related and skill-building activities are taught.
Photos Needed!
Please send in photos for the P.E. bulletin board outside the gym! I would love to post photos
of students participating in their favorite physical activity. More than one photo is fine and if
they want to write a brief (one sentence) description of that activity that is also good, as well,
but not required ... Happy Thanksgiving!
Instrumental Music with Ms. Crenwelge
Instrumental music students have been busy playing their instruments since the end of
September. Beginner students have been learning how to produce a good sound on their
instruments, how to tongue, and how to identify notes. Advanced students have been
reviewing material learned last year. I am excited for the students to show off their skills and
hard work at the Winter Concert in January!