Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Hello Poplar choir!

Hello choir!

Here is the recording we made from todays rehearsal. You are very fast learners! Because we are performing it next wednesday and Mrs Bennet won't be in school to practise with you can you please listen to it and sing along with our recording. This will help you learn the words and you can practise the actions.

Who can remember which phrase is the quietest?




Thank you choir for taking the trouble to find the blog and listen. I think we need to create our own choir blog to put up useful information and some audio clips. What do you think?

Happy singing!


Monday, November 19, 2012

Music resource for early years/KS 1 - meet Mr Greg!



I recently discovered Mr Greg's musical madness on youTube whilst looking for some resources on dynamics for my classes. Have a look on his website for more videos to watch

Friday, November 9, 2012

Musical pebbles




Sophie Thomas is an ex pupil from Poplar Primary school. When she was just five years old her Daddy and her twin sister Louise were killed in a terrible car crash.


 Sophie is now 16 and she has set up a project to raise funds for Winston's Wish - a charity that supports bereaved children, in memory of Louise. Sophie hand paints words or symbols on pebbles and presents them beautifully in little organza bags.




I have commissioned her to produce me a pack I can use in music lessons. My key stage 1 classes love passing them around and using them to mark the pulse. Why not ask Sophie to make some for you? She sells them on ebay - click here  They are very reasonably priced £1.20 per pebble and postage only  79p for a bundle!

Perfect present for teachers!

 Sophie writes an incredibly moving and honest blog about her life called "The Pebble Garden Project" Please share with anyone you know who may be coping with childhood bereavement.


Thursday, November 8, 2012

Christmas at school

Have been trawling through christmas music to help teachers with the christmas concerts they are arranging.Having waded through lots of cheesy and cheerless "musicals" I asked for help on twitter. Within minutes @SteveBrooks13 tweeted me a link to this And that is why I LOVE twitter

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Three apps I have used this week in music lessons


I have been using my own ipad with music classes and have amassed many apps that are very popular with my classes. I have decided to blog each of the apps I use each week So here are this weeks offerings


  Soundrop.

I often use this as kids are entering the room. They build up complex rhythms which they can predict and copy. I started with the free version but am now using the paid for version as you can change the balls to different instruments.


  Rhythm Sight Reader Trainer

This is a fantastic tool for teaching note value. I use the Kodaly system and then demonstrate it with this great app. The kids adore clapping along and are keen to demonstrate their skill by competing to get 100%. You can adjust the metronome and set the level very easily so you can adjust for your most timid learners and your most confident learners. it shows you exactly what you have played next!


  Madpad

This is a fantastic app to demonstrate to the kids that music can be created out of the everyday life all around us. You simply use the ipad to record the sounds that all around you and then use these to mix up some great music. You can share the sets on twitter and use other peoples sounds as well. Incredibly creative.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Hello Reception classes!

I hope that you are enjoying "The Leopard's Drum"
Here is a puppet version of the book you have been looking at


Class 1E have been doing some work on this book. Click here to see the fantastic pictures they have created.

Children in 2C have created am amazing collage - click here to see



Here is 4 year old Issiah playing the djembe




Here is a little boy from the USA reading the book to his Mummy



Have a look here to see how traditional West African drums called djembes  are made







Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Poplar have started a choir!

We are very lucky to have Mrs Bennet join us to teach year 4 & 5. She has started a choir and they are are making great progress. Have a listen to them sing "Drunken Sailor" in 4 parts.




No bad for a few weeks practise!

Saturday, October 6, 2012

A song for Black History Month 2012


For last years Black History Month I did lots of work on the fabulous song


 "Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around"

with years years 3, 4 5 & 6



The children were incredibly enthusiastic and needed very little prompting to sing it with an atmosphere of determined defiance. year 6 boys (who can sometimes be reluctant to sing) were queuing up to sing it solo.

There is a brilliant version of this on the  Sing Up website that I would highly recommend for key stage 2.

This year I am going to be teaching

"I wish I knew how it would feel to be free" - (also on the Sing Up website)

Here are the lyrics (as sung by Nina Simone)





I wish  I knew how it would feel to be free
I wish I could break all the chains holding me
I wish I could say all the things that  I should say
say 'em loud, say 'em clear
for the whole round world to hear.

I wish I could share all the love that's in my heart
remove all the bars that keep us apart
I wish you could know what it means to be me
Then you'd see and agree
that every man should be free.

I wish I could give all I'm longing to give
I wish I could live like I'm longing to live
I wish that I could do all the things that  I can do
though I'm way overdue I'd be starting anew.

Well I wish  I could be like a bird in the sky
how sweet it would be if I found  I could fly
Oh I'd soar to the sun and look down at the sea
and I'd sing cos I'd know that
and I'd sing cos I'd know that
and I'd sing cos I'd know that
I'd know how it feels to be free
I'd know how it feels to be free
I'd know how it feels to be free
There are some great versions on YouTube to show your classes but here are a couple to get you started.



Monday, October 1, 2012

Another musical poem for National Poetry Day

I have only just discovered 'I hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman. I love this photo story of it



I am going to challenge my year 6 class to write a verse for " I hear London singing ". It seems particularly apt after the Olympics when there was such an intense focus on London and some of our more hidden communities got a chance to have their voice heard.

Still looking for more poems about music so please share your suggestions!

Sunday, September 30, 2012

National Poetry Day 2012 - ideas for music


This Thursday 4th October 2012 is National Poetry Day. The theme is 'Stars" and there are some fab lesson plans and resources on the National Poetry Day website

However as I teach music I have decided to use this Pie Corbett poem

When I heard the music by Pie Corbett



I am going to play "Say Ladeo" from Vocabularies by Bobby McFerrin and then see what it inspires the children to write!

 

I am going to start collecting poems about music so if you have any suggestions to get me started please leave me a comment!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Using class music lessons to teach maths


One of my schools is concerned that some of their able girls are under performing in maths so they have decided to have a whole school focus on improving maths standards. I believe music lassons can play a real part in improving kids maths so the challenge is on for me to do just that. I am going to start by looking at what attributes successful learners have and try to identify some of the barriers that stop some children making progress are. Then I am going to have a go at seeing how they can be explored in our music making.

 More ideas:

1.I am planning to create a "Maths loves Music" display. Tweeter @DWar has very helpfully suggested I put up 2 lists of maths and music words and get the children to draw the links between them as they occur in lessons.

 2. I shall be listening to this In our Time radio 4 episode exploring the relationship between maths and music

 3. Explore the nrich website which makes the kinks between maths and the real world explicit and is a fantastic celebration of the power and beauty of mathematics. Here is an example of a music maths problem from them

 4. Find out more about the "Count the beat project"

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Playing for Change Day 2012


Just come across this organisation - it looks fantastic. They have picked 22 September to be a creative day of musical action to create positive social action. Will have a little think about how I can get my schools involved. Have a look at their website. Some fantastic videos to show classes. Play for Change.

Friday, September 7, 2012

The joy of wordle


Wordle: Music blog Wordle: music manifesto

HMI guidance for anyone observing music lessons


Guidance From HMI Observing Music Lessons I was very pleased to find this document! It can be quite traumatic having a music lesson observed by a member of the senior leadership team that has a template approach to what makes a successful lesson. Music teaching needs to deviate from the set piece lesson formula which may (or may not!) work for other subject. The document above makes clear that we DON"T have to start with sharing objectives or put unnecessary stress on literacy objectives. It gives real clear guidance for staff who may not be familiar with teaching music about what makes a successful music lesson. I found this document on the Teaching Music website. I would heartily recommend signing up if you are a music teacher. Lots of interesting discussion forums and some brilliant teaching resources to be found there.

Does good music teaching make kids better at maths?


This year one of my schools is focusing on raising attainment in maths. It has got me thinking about how music lessons can contribute to children's mathematical development. I can see immediately how a number of the activities we do in lessons are very mathematical but the challenge is how to make it transferable to other situations other than music games. I am going to go in search of some maths experts and see if I can get some ideas. I plan to create a corridor display for the children showing how many mathematical concepts we explore during our music making. Plan to get in touch with Nrich - and get some advice from them Watch this space!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

The Simpsons theme tune by Nick McKaig


Found this via pinterest. Plan to use it with year 6. Nick McKaig is definitely worth looking up on YouTube. He has done lots of vocal arrangements of well loved shows and films. His Star Wars is awesome!

Monday, August 20, 2012

BBC music clips library


I'm impressed with this library of short musical clips the BBC have put together. They have chosen pieces to illustrate the different elements of music. Nothing earth shattering but its great to have someone else do the legwork for you! Now I just need to remember to use it! BBC music clips library

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Take five


I cant way to give this a try!I think I will need the slowest version of "Take five" that I can find. Plan to have a go with year 4. What would I do without youtube for inspiration? Am still staggered that there are schools who block it.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Happy holidays!

Below are some clips which might come in happy for next years lessons. I need to thank the literacy shed for sending me some.

Friday, July 6, 2012

St Teresa's Olympic opening ceremony


Spain
Jamaica
Poland
Philippines
Ireland
Sri Lanka

Thursday, July 5, 2012

A fantastic blog teachers should read

Soo Bishop is an inspirational music educator. When I first met her she was an outstanding Advanced Skills Teacher in Merton. She is now Programme Director for Merton Music Foundation. She is the reason I am now a music teacher. I was blown away by the fantastic performances she got from children. I have followed her around ever since and copied all her ideas and resources. Soo has now decided to share her knowledge on her blog. I highly recommend you sign up to follow her posts. Click here to go to Soo's blog.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Helping new teachers teach primary music


I shall be working with some just qualified teachers this week who are taking part in a music teaching pilot for general class teachers. Of all the subjects taught at primary school music seems to be the one that there is most anxiety about. There is is hidden assumption that you have to be be musically gifted before you can begin to teach music and that it is best avoided and left to the "specialists". Regular readers of this blog won't be surprised to learn that I think that is total rubbish and that this hands off approach is denying millions of kids the chance to learn.

 Given that this reluctance exists what can we do to support those brave teaching souls who are prepared (despite not being grade 99 piano) to get stuck in? The first place to start is to suss out the teaching staff. If you can't find anyone who teaches music at your school here is some advice

 1. Use Sing up. 

Even if you work at an unenlightened school that think they they have better things to spend their money do not dismay - you can still stream songs. There are nearly 100 videos on youtube and a whole section on the website with tips and advice. If your school does have membership - even better. You can access the teaching notes and lesson ideas that accompany every song.It isn't aimed at specialist teachers - it is designed to support EVERYONE who works with kids what ever their musical history. And if you do come across a piece of jargon that you don't understand be sure to TELL THEM! It is a really fabulous resource.

  Link to Sing Up 


2. Find your nearest Music Hub. 

Hubs are the latest big idea from the government for organising music education. Mainly they are led by local authority music services. These people are desperate to find teachers who want to champion the arts in school.If you know what you want - suggestions for listening projects, feedback on your kids soundscapes, ideas on how to improve the quality of singing these people will WANT to help you.

  Link to list of music hubs


 3. Make friends with your ICT coordinator.

Tell them you want to explore technology and music making. Ask for access to the school iPad and then look shocked when they say they don't have one. They will be so pleased you have sought them out there is a good chance they will give you preferential treatment with computer time and help you to explore music technology. Even the most cheapskate school generally has 2Simple music toolkit which can be used on an IWB. If they do have an ipad there are some fantastic apps to use to teach music see my earlier post. Top 3 iPad apps


4. Teaching Music UK
 This website may be more detailed than you want but it is jammed full of ideas.I t is really worth registering so you can ask questions on their forum - a very nice person moderates it and will ensure your question is answered. I'm not suggesting he will plan all your music lessons for you but it is a fair bet you will get some brilliant advice and ideas.

  Link to Teaching Music 

5.Twitter There is a brilliant worldwide teacher community on twitter. Follow some music teachers and get a look at the resources they are sharing. I am on as @JackieSchneider and can point you to lots of music teachers


 Here is a presentation I gave at a recent staff meeting to get you going


FINALLY: Don't give up! How ever badly you think it is going what ever you provide will be better than nothing. A calm piece of music to defuse the latest playground scrap - a shared song to bond over - a whole class screeching We are the champions at the tops of their voices, powerful drumming rhythms stamped out and played on the desks - all of these experiences make us more human and are to be celebrated.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

My presentation on Music and ICT

This is a presentation I gave on Monday this week.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Fun mje alafiah

This is a lovely welcome song. It is from Nigeria and sung in the Yoruba language. It means welcome and blessings. It was taught to me at a Sing Up training day. It is easy and quick to learn and sounds great sung in canon. Listen to the clip below and you will pick it up quickly!
It is one of those wonderful songs that looks deceptively simple but you
do so much with.


Have a listen to us being taught this song


Why not get the djembes out?



Friday, June 22, 2012

Ofsted report on music

I am not a fan of Ofsted but I do think that this is a great report on music teaching in schools. I think the slides below are well worth a look though be warned it is a LONG presentation!

Making music with technology

Primary music in Ireland




 I recently came across this website which details the primary music curriculum. Thought it might be worth a look. Just click on the picture above.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Using ICT in primary music



Last week I used 2Simple music toolkit with each year group in the school. The children were very excited and highly motivated. Year 1 did extremely well and were able to find their way around 2Explore, recording their work and selecting instruments of their choice. Year 2 didn't get much further but yr 3 were able to save files. Year 5 and 6 were able to compose and save simple nursery rhymes. using the pitched chime bar options they were able to record fragments of nursery rhymes which yr 1 are going to listen to next week. 

Year 4 looked at 2compose. They have just spent a term learning recorders so have most knowledge of notation. They were able to compose simple tunes and were just starting to understand how to use repeat signs.

It is early days and I am learning alongside the children. My first instinct is to keep going through the programmes. It will never be a replacement for hands on vocal based music lessons but it is another way to introduce musical concepts (such as pulse, pitch, rhythm etc) to the children.  Music technology was clearly identified by Ofsted as an area of weakness of many school music departments. I think that  using 2Simple music toolkit is an easy and non threatening place to start for many primary schools.

Will report back on next weeks progress.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

What happens if you sing 3 blind mice at the same time as Frere Jacque?



Just been to a MMF  music coordinators meeting at the Chaucer centre. Lots of great music teachers shared some great songs. I particularly liked this one and so will be using it tomorrow.

Friday, June 8, 2012

How to make a banana piano



I so want to make a musical staircase!

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Reflections on Peter and the Wolf

I have taught a half term unit of work on Peter and the Wolf to years 1, 2 and 3. I have shared some of the resources on the blog but I just wanted to capture some of my observations whilst it is fresh in my mind.



1. Importance of place.
Many of the children I work with are really reliant on visual cues and find sustained listening difficult unless they are involved. I marked out the room I was teaching in with vast swathes of fabric to create different zones - eg meadow, house, tress, pond, forest. The children didn't need realistic scenery but accepted the fabric. It did involve lots of huffing and puffing from staff as they watched their rooms being dismantled, tables carted over, chairs removed and fabric hung from the ceiling but it was well worth it! We did a couple of drama lessons based on the scenario of a young friendless boy living with his over protective grandad. The kids came up with a host of woodland friends he could play with. When we listened to the music we moved around the different zones. I used a tip that an AST from Wimbledon Park gave me and started in darkness, blacking out the windows and using light from my phone to usher kids into room.

2. Using props.
I used a scrap of fabric to represent the characters - red silk to represent Peter,  fur to be the cat, blanket for wolf etc. The kids accepted this without a seconds hesitation and passed them round to swap roles. I had been nervous that this would break down but kids were happy to comply.

3. Repetition
The kids weren't in the least worried about re working the story and in fact it was really necessary to hear the music over and over for them to be able to pick out different characters and move to the pulse. I think sometimes my fear that class will be 'bored" means I move on to quickly.

4. Music is scarier than pictures.
I did have to be careful at times and stop the lesson and redirect attention at times because many of the children found the wolf and hunters music quite scary. Interestedly it was the menace of the hunters drums that caused most disquiet rather than wolf. We had very interesting philosophical discussions about the death or non death of the duck. I didn't lead discussion on this but simply responded to the childrens own questions.

5. Use of video.
I used 2 videos - the Royal ballet version and the Breakthrough films stop go animation. We had done about 4 weeks work before I showed them as I was keen for the children to build their own mental images before we watched them. I decided against using the Disney version and the Spitting image/muppet version. The kids were absolutely rapt by both versions we watched, really entranced!
I have waxed lyrically before about the breakthrough film but I can honestly say it is the best animated film I have ever seen. I have watched it over 20 times and yet every time I find something new I havent seen before. The sequence with the duck skating matches the music so beautifully it is quite exquisite. The portrayal of Peter as an awkward unhappy damaged child is very touching and his transformation at the end is very moving. We compared similarities and differences of the 2 films.















6. Ipad apps to support

I used "learn the orchestra" on the whiteboard for the children to compose short tunes on bassoon as GrandDad, clarinet as cat etc. This was very popular with the kids and there was some frustration as everyone had great ideas and they had to wait.


There is an ipad book of the film which I have looked at closely. It is beautiful but comes without the music. However if you decide to show your class the movie for PSHE reasons or simply to share in a good film then I would recommend buying it.


I used pupet pal as an after thought with one class to see how well it would work and it was a great success!





The above are just simple examples to see if we could get it to work. next time I would get them to play and record their music with the animation. But you can see just from the short clips what potential this app has!




7. What next?
I have played the classes Romeo and Juliet music which many of them recognise as The Apprentice music. I play to do some work on the Lieutenant Kije in the winter term. I am now looking for suggestions for music I can do an "active listening" project for next summer. Because I took the decision to use the same starting point for 3 year groups it means I won't be re visiting it until 2015! Suggestions for next year?

Friday, June 1, 2012

Olympic opening ceremony at Poplar Primary

Like a lot of schools Poplar Primary will be holding its own special Olympic opening ceremony. I have been busy teaching each year group a song that they will be performing in the ceremony. I have used mainly songs from "Singathlon" by Portsmouth Music Service and from Sing up.

In addition we have been using a  app on the ipad called ianthems (costs 69p)that allows us to play 48 different national anthems. This has been incredibly popular with the children who are thrilled to find anthems from countries they have associations with.



I am planning to use boomwhackers to help follow the olympic torch procession.

Have a listen to some of the songs.

The triathlete by year 5




Aim high by year 6




Learn to swim by year 3


listen to ‘Learn to swim!’ on Audioboo

I've just spotted this on twitter - a link to olympic animations done by pupils at Uphall School








Tuesday, May 29, 2012

3 top ipad apps to use on the whiteboard for music lessons


Now I have got my trusty vga cable I can run my ipad through the interactive whiteboard at school I am using my ipad much more in lessons. Obviously the truly wonderful garageband is the King of all the apps. If I were a headteacher I would buy every music dept a set of 10 simply for this app alone.I am planning to write about how I use garageband with the kids in a later post but for today I want to focus on 3 favourite apps that I really rate

  1. Morton Subotnicks pitch painter



This is truly a joy to use and has my year 3's completely entranced. Using your finger to paint a picture the picture is then represented in pitch. You can change the instrument and manipulate it in all sorts of ways. I have been challenging the kids to draw some of the simple 3 note songs we sing from Voices Foundation and they are amazed that they can get close. They have also discovered they can draw chords. The app is described as being perfect for 3 - 5 year olds but I think you can get a huge amount of work on pitch from this wonderful app. You can save your favourite compositions. Well worth £1.99! Click here for more details

  2. Learn the orchestra






This app has fitted in perfectly with this terms work on Peter and the Wolf. The children get to see the layout of the orchestra and you can ghost out whole sections so you can listen to familiar pieces of music with just one instrument at a time. So now the kids are familiar with the bassoon as Peters grandpa we listened to the bassoon playing a number of pieces. in addition you can click on an option which brings up a keyboard for the instrument of your choice so the children had a go at recreating the sound of the bird flying on the flute and the cat creeping on the clarinet. £1.49 extremely well spent. (NB - I can't remember who alerted me to this app but it was from a teacher I follow on twitter so until I rediscover who it was here is a holding thank you) Click here for details 


3. Visual metronome




I know there are lots of free metronomes but I love the look of this one!I sometimes turn the lights out and have this flashing on the IWB to really help the kids internalise the pulse. There are a million and one different games I play with every class from year 1 to year 6 to help them begin to mark a steady pulse. it is £1.49

There are hundreds and hundreds of apps for music teachers and I plan to work my way through them to see what other gems I can find.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Creating a fanfare

In today's music lesson we are going to be composing fanfares using our recorders and the notes BAGCD. During tudor times a fanfare was played to announce the arrival of a a very important person. They could be quite short and limited to just a few notes. Below are some resources you might be interested in. There are some modern fanfares below for you to listen to

This is a piece of music called Fanfare for the Common Man, written by Aron Copeland. It stirs up all sorts of feelings everytime I hear it. What does it make you think of? Lessons & Instructional Materials | Fanfares: What is a Fanfare?

Friday, May 4, 2012

Music and ICT at primary school


Whilst I use lots of technology tools in my music lessons - such as audioboo,garageband and social networks I have n't yet tackled teaching any of the ICT components. However that is set to change as I have agreed to teach the music element of the ICT scheme of work we follow. Just for one half term I am transforming the music room into an ICT suite with 30 netbooks, headphone and splitters. I already have an IWB and access to YouTube which is surprisingly uncommon! I plan to use 2simple music, audacity and garageband. I'm a little scared as I don't have much experience in teaching ICT but I think if I focus on the music objectives I will find my way. The good thing about doing it at the end of my first year is that each class has a bank of practical experiences with instruments such as djembes, recorders and boomwhackers that we can take as our starting point to record and begin to experiment manipulating. If anyone has any advice or suggestions please get in touch! I feel more confident knowing I have excellent member of staff at St teresa's that I can call on as well as the talented music teachers I follow on twitter for help. I will be keeping a record of how it goes on this blog so watch this space.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Learn to swim! - a song for school olympics


This is one of the Sing Up songs featured in their latest issue. Listen to year 3 sing it. They are going to be performing it for our Olympic opening ceremony. Please take a listen and leave us a comment. I am so proud of the children's performance. They worked really hard and made a big effort with their diction so you can hear the words clearly

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Peter and the Wolf - puppet fun


Since my last few lessons on Peter and the Wolf I have found the children 'playing' Peter and the Wolf in the playground. This has inspired me to have a go at creating some puppets and setting up small world scenes for the children to act out. Ideally I would prefer to let the children make their own puppets but as I only see them once a week I don't have time. Next half term I am going to ask the children to introduce their own character into the story and to create its unique music. Am busy exploring simple music software that will help us do this. Think I will be able to use 2Simple Music. Watch this space! Meanwhile have a look at this shadow puppet version.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

http://audioboo.fm/boos/588122





Monday, April 16, 2012

Peter and the Wolf




Peter's Grandfather is very grumpy.

He won't let Peter play out in the meadow. In todays lesson we are going to explore where Peter lives and work out what sort of a boy Peter really is. We might need to create a story map.

Bring your imagination and stay close.

Follow me....

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Songs to celebrate the Olympics for primary schools.

I recently bought a copy of "Singathlon" from Portsmouth Music Service. It contains some great songs that could be used to support Olympic work that schools will be doing. I have chosen a couple songs for each year group in my schools to learn and one or two that the whole school will sing as part of our schools opening ceremony. There are one or two duds and I'm really not sure about "Losers like me" but they are outweighed by some cracking songs such as "Five United Rings" , "Triathlete" and "Bronze Silver and Gold".

It will be useful beyond the Olympics as many of the songs celebrate various sports.

I am planning to ask year 6 classes to make a video of themselves singing "5 united rings" cut with images of sporting images from the school. (We may even find ourselves singing "5 olympics ring"s who knows!)

I am also using the songs from the Sing up website that are featured in the latest issue of the magazine.

We should find out soon which children's song has won the competition to be Merton's official Olympic anthem. Fingers still tightly crossed it will be a St T pupil!



Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Peter and The Wolf


I have only just discovered the very fantastic stop start animation film "Peter and the Wolf" by Breakthru films. It was the 2008 Academy award winner for best animated short film.



Be warned it is quite shocking. Peter has a harsh lonely life with his scary Grandfather. There are some big changes to the story which I won't spoil for you but you know what - it really works!

The animation is absolutely remarkable, the attention to detail means you can watch it over and over and still find something new. It fits so well with the music.

I am planning to use it with my key stage 1 classes. The website has a really good education pack which you can download here

You can find further resources here

I am also in the process of creating my own slideshow which I will add to this post later.

In additionaI plan to show the children this beatboxing clip

This new orleans version is also worth a watch!


Thursday, March 22, 2012

Year 3 pentatonic compositions





Year 3 have created some sensational work this half term. We have been studying pentatonic scales. We used the book "The Magic Paintbrush" by Julia Donaldson,( author of the Gruffalo) as our inspiration for our compositions. It is a beautiful book with the most exquisite illustrations by Joel Stewart and published by McMillian books. The company have very kindly allowed me to reproduce the images we used as inspiration for our work.



Please have a listen and let us know what you think of our work! Michael Rosen the author has had a listen to all of the clips and sent me a message saying how fabulous the work is and praising the children for their creativity! He said on twitter that this is "wonderful stuff" and what is more he sent a message to all of his followers telling them to have a listen to our work!

"Galloping Horses" written and performed by Bobby, Milan, Juzmin & Sergio





"Jolly Melody" composed and performed by Courtney, Selin, Sosan, Alysha & Robina



"Heartbreak" -






"Angry Emperor" composed and performed by Isaac, Ilja & Hussain.








"Magic Paintbrush"
composed and performed by Danielle, Dhivyah, Justin, Shyloe & Suveyda. This group worked exceptionally well together. Each person made an important contribution.






"Joy"
composed and performed by Muneeb, Daniel & Sienna







This is just a selection of all the work we produced but I hope it has given you a flavour of the fantastic work these talented children are creating. Next week we are going to be evaluating our work and I hope to post up some of the children's evaluations. In the meantime if you could leave us a comment in the box below that would be fantastic!