Thank you to:

1. Grade 1, 2 students in rooms 4, 5, 9 and 11
2. Grade 3, 4 students in room 6 
3. Grade 5, 6 students from room 16 

...for contributing to this blog.


Grades 1, 2 (Rooms 4, 5, 9 and 11)
In September, and in the beginning of October, the grade one and two students have also been singing, "Hello," in different languages.  They have played singing games and action songs.  They have been practicing the beat and are beginning to understand the difference between rhythm pattern and beat.  They have begun to learn some specific rhythm patterns and to construct them with hearts and sticks.

The grade one and two students discussed why Canada is such a wonderful place to live.  Now they are learning to sing "O Canada" with enthusiasm and "from their hearts".

1.  Canada is a safe place to live.  (It is not as dangerous as it is in some countries.)  The following reasons make it a safe place.

• No tsunamis
• No wars
• No earthquakes
• No bombs
• Clean water
• Shoes to wear-so we don't get cuts or worms in our feet

2.  Canada is a rich country.

• Lots of food
• Money to spend
• Clothes to wear
• Cars
• Houses
• Bikes
• Toys
• We only hunt if we want to.  We do not have to hunt for food.

Because we are so thankful to live in Canada, we want to sing "O Canada" from our hearts and with much enthusiasm.  We are learning to sing it.

Grades 3, 4  (Room 6)

The grade 3 and 4 students have been learning about the beat:

1. If the beat stops, the song dies.
2. It is like a clock that goes tick, tock, tick, tock, except the beat can go at different speeds.
3. It is like your heartbeat.
4. You have to feel it.
5. You cannot hear it or see it or smell it or taste it.

They learned about rhythm patterns:

1. It is not like your heartbeat.
2. It is not like a clock.
3. It is what you hear.

We practiced the beat and rhythm pattern in songs that move in 3's and in 4's.

Grade 5, 6 (Room 16)

The grade five and six students have been improvising in music.  Improvisation means to "perform without planning".

When they improvised they experimented with body percussion, voice inflections, rhythm instruments such as metals, skins(drums) and woods.

They also experimented with beat, making long and short sounds on the instruments and with different rhythm patterns.