Movement and Reading Music Notation

I was noticing That Were students having a hard time distinguishing Between Similar-looking musical symbols. While some symbols are very different from each other, like others have many Characteristics. For example, quarter and half notes look very like - the only difference is one is That filled in and the other is not. Half and whole Rests Rests are exactly the same, but one is upside down from the other. Sharp and nature symbols are similarly shaped Also. However, These symbols all have very different meanings. To address this problem, I incorporated activities focusing on physical movement and interpretation.

For the first activity, the 6th grade band students Were broken into small groups and one of the Commonly Given misinterpreted rhythmic symbols. They Were Given the task of working together as a group to form the symbol With Their bodies. In order to do this Effectively, the students needed to identify identity the distinguishing Characteristics of the symbol and then recreate it in a group.  

After This task was Achieved, then They Were Given the task of coming up with a sound or a movement took place That over the correct number of counts. For example, a quarter note 1 beat Receives Their movement or sound and had to be one beat long (and able to be repeated). A half note looks like but gets two beats so Their movement had to be slightly longer (And Also repeatable). Once the groups Were ready, They presented to the class who had to determine what was being symbol being depicted.

In a different activity, the goal was to assist the students in internalizing the Differences Between sharps, flats, and naturals. Although the flat is fairly distinctive symbol, the symbol are sharp and Natural faq frequently mixed up. To aid the students in the recognition, the students play a Simon Says-type game. Using Their bodies, the students imitate what does the symbol to the note. When shown a sharp, the students need to raise Their arms over Their Heads to Demonstrate the sharp raises the pitch. The Natural Involves the students being ordinary or freezing. For a flat, They need to sit down as Quickly as possible, Because the flat lowers the pitch.  

As a result of These activities, the students have improved Their recognition of the symbols and Their meanings as evidenced by improved playing quizzes and answers to in-class questions. Also It has led to Increased student engagement During These Times as Often students appreciate the movement to break to allow them to engage different parts of their minds.  

The next step would be to continue to expand to cover more activities These musical concepts. Adding movement to activities've Helped Reinforce awareness of Their student bodies. Also There are creative movements as the students begin with a literal depiction of the present concepts, and then move into a creative process. They are utilizing movement to depict various concepts Involving musical pitch and rhythm. Also, in the future, students will begin a composition unit by working on interesting movement exercises in Addition to the musical exercises. They are expanding to include Their creative experiences Their bodies and musical ideas. This reinforcement of concepts Between different areas of the arts will continue to Improve student understanding. 

Movement in Poetry "Dances From a Hat" 8th grade Language Arts

We have been studying Poetry and "Dances From a Hat" is great way to generate lots of vivid vocabulary.  Students ultimately used the list of words to build interesting poems.

I learned the technique from Barry Oreck's Arts Integration Workshop held here at ECA in September.  I was also fortunate to have several other teachers help during this process.Carolina F, Kat SR, and Michael A helped with supervision, planning, and the much needed debriefing at the end of the process.

Similar to what Barry did in our workshop, I first did some warm-up activities with students including 'Away and Back' and 'Move Freeze' .   (For more on activities check out this link:  Dance Activities)  I did these warm-ups over the course of several periods. The warm-ups are crucial to the success of the activity.

The phrases I used in my hat were: falling raindrop,gathering fog, burning fire, and melting ice cream.

DANCES FROM A HAT (Adapted from Mary Joyce)

Get into groups of 3 to 5 people. One person from each group draws a card with a word or phrase on it. The group looks at the card but does not show it to the other groups. Explain that the group will become one of these things. People may play different roles but they are all parts of the same thing – not different characters, people, or things in the surrounding environment. The structure for the dance is shape – movement – shape. The group starts in a still opening shape, moves like this thing and ends in a still closing shape. There are no sound effects or props in the first stage of explorations. Suggest that the group first discuss the qualities and characteristics – decide on the size, direction, energy, force, speed, where it starts and ends. Suggest that group members take turns stepping out to watch during the process. Give at least 10 minutes to prepare. When the dance is performed the audience is directed to describe what they see – not guess what the image is. After descriptions have been collected you may ask if any images come to mind.

See below for a video clip from one the dances. 

When we were done viewing each dance, we brainstormed lists of words which could describe what had been seen.  This requires a good bit of encouragement.  When all the dances and brainstorming were complete we wrote poems using the words.  The poems didn't necessarily have to be about the dances themselves, but many were inspired by their own dance.

Some of the students used these poems as part of their own poetry anthology.  Below is one of the poems (the poet added to and edited the poem several times before this final draft):

           Storm

by Ethel R

The sky turns into a sorrowful grey.

Pillows from the sky cry, and smooth drizzling begins.

Crackling drops of cold rainfall dive heavily like stone.

Sudden lightning electrifies the city.

bursts of thunder shout out to the wind

smooth drizzling starts to swiftly die.

Looks like heaven is heartbroken.

Below is a video of part of one of the dances-"Burning Fire" 

  

Words and Movement

This is a great video clip to illustrate how words and movement can go together. A very emotional piece where David Rakoff explains how getting cancer changed his willingness to try new (or old things) things.  Maybe wait till the end to tell them he died of his illness just about a year ago. Maybe more effective on High schoolers:

Human Map

Social Studies 6

Social Studies 6 Teachers Michael and Kat Stein-Ross combined their classes and used movement to build "human maps" of the region surrounding Ancient Egypt and the Kingdom of Kush. Students played the roles of the geographical features that influenced human settlement (Mediterranean Sea, Nile River, various Deserts, Lebanon Mountains) as well as the roles of settlers who were choosing a spot to build their community. The geographical features had to act out certain attributes: the Deserts whispered "hot and dry, hot and dry" and the Nile students showed the flow of the river by moving their arms from South to North. Here is a snippet of the activity they caught on video:

School Transformation Through Arts Integration: Resources and information from Edutopia

By focusing on the shapes and sounds of Balinese musical instruments (above), Bates Middle School students learn about radius and diameter. Test scores show knowledge retention improving; students say they enjoy learning and feel connected socially. Credit: Zachary Fink

Edutopia is an educational resource network developed by the George Lucas Educational Foundation. In their School Transformation Through Arts Integration section, they have many resources, articles, videos, and lesson plans from Bates Middle School - an Arts Integration model school in Maryland. 

ArtsEdge

ArtsEdge, from The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, is one of the leading Arts Integration resources. The online network is full of lessons, guides, and more.