I know, I know. I am late. But… better late than never.

Sometimes life can get in the way of blogging and creating new freebies but, as promised, here are the final days of “The Twelve Days of Orff.”

Freebie Number 9

This freebie is a preview of my product “All About the Piano”

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/All-About-the-Piano-4535405

Our littles at Westwood Primary love their Scavenger Hunts!!! This is very similar to acticities also known as write the room. One difference – instead of staying in our classroom, we travel througout the school to find the piano facts. It includes a scavenger hunt, answer sheet, piano worksheets, and visuals for teaching “Chopsticks.” As with all of my products, a clear teaching process is included.

Included in the freebie:

Here is the link:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Twelve-Days-of-Orff-Freebie-Number-9-5158643

Freebie Number 10

This freebie is a preview of my product “Star Light – Spiral Through K-3”.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Star-Light-Spiral-through-K-to-3-4985055

I have been fascinated lately with the idea of a spiral curriculum – same song but building on previous experiences. Using different achievement indicators at each level.

For the K level – Star dancing, melodic contour, and star music improvisation on glockenspiels.

For the grade 1 level – Star dacning, melodic contour, sol and mi on the staff, playing sol and mi plus an Orff arrangement.

For the grade 2 level – Reading sol and mi on the staff and transferring to pitched percussion, more advanced Orff arrangement.

For the grade 3 level – Playing Star Light on the Recorder.

Included in the Freebie:

Here is the link:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Twelve-Days-of-Orff-Freebie-Number-10-5158656

Freebie Number 11

I love the story “The Snowy Day” bu Ezra Jack Keats.  This is a preview from a lesson plan bundle I created recently.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Snowy-Day-An-Exploration-of-Timbre-2345281

I have given you the vocal exploration cards.

Here is the link:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Twelve-Days-of-Orff-Freebie-Number-11-5158667

And FINALLY

Freebie Number 12

This freebie is a preview of a product yet to come – “All About the Clarinet”

It will include a scavenger hunt – of course -, a cup routine to this beautiful clarinet quartet; and a coloring sheet.

I do like the version of this clarinet quartet performed by The Clarinet Quartet of the National Belgian Orchestra” .Their album “Summertime” can be found on Apple Music but this one will do in a pinch.

Here is the link:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Twelve-Days-of-Orff-Freebie-Number-12-5158697

Well… that is the end of “Twelve Days of Orff”. I hope you find all these Orff tools, ideas, and lesson plans useful. Please do let me know what you think.

Take care,

Syndi

 

For the remainder of the ‘Twelve Days of Orff”, I will be giving you previews of products I am going to be using in my classroom beginning in January.

Our grade 3’s look forward every year to learning how to play the recorder. I haven’t found the “perfect” recorder resource so I created my own.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Lets-Play-Recorder-Level-1-4939782

I wanted a resrouce with engaging visuals.

I wanted clear, easy to read directions and information. We have french immersion students and late bloomers in our literacy programs so keeping it simple was important.

My students are very capable rhythmic readers but they are still learning how to read staff notation. I wanted a resource that started without staff notation. It is super challenging to learn:

Hand position

Finger Numbers

How to hold the recorder

How to cover the holes

Embouchure

Gentle Air

Tonguing

It’s a lot for an 8 year old.  I wanted to keep it simple to secure good playing techniques.

After song #2, I review how to draw notes on the staff.

They do have to learn how to read fluently. I do not believe using “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge” or “F A C E “ is promoting music literacy. I am also a literacy specialist, so I understand how children use different meaning, syntax and visual sources of information. It is the same in music. Our brain needs to use startegies like ” What would make sense?” , “What would sound right?”, and “What would look right?”Using the above rhymes mean we are reading note by note when it is so much more efficient to notice melodic contour, steps, skips, repeats, patterns. We start with B, A, and G and we learn what they look like, sound like, and feel like when we are reading and writing on the staff. Instead of passing them sheet music, I have them write their own copy to read.

It just makes sense.

“Let’s Play – Recorder Level 1” includes:

“Hot Cross Buns”

“Merrily we roll Along”

“Hop Old Squirrel”

“Rain Rain”

“Engine Engine Number 9”

“Acka Backa Soda Cracker”

“Old Brass Wagon”

“Old MacDonald had a farm”

Here is the link to Freebie Number 8:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Twelve-Days-of-Orff-Freebie-Number-8-5123794

If you like what you see, you can purchase “Let’s Play Recorder – Level 1” by clicking below.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Lets-Play-Recorder-Level-1-4939782

Take care,

Syndi

On the seventh day of Orff, Ms Syndi gave to me…

Are you getting tired of this yet? I hope not. Freebie Number 7 is another Instrument Scavenger. This one is focused on classroom instruments rather than orchestral instruments. It’s all about choice and teaching goals.

INSTRUMENT CARDS

Score Card

Here is the link to Freebie Number 7:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Twelve-Days-of-Orff-Freebie-Number-7-5122128

Take Care,

Syndi

On the Sixth day of Orff, Ms Syndi gave to me…

AN INSTRUMENT SCAVENGER HUNT!!!!

We celebrate Music Week at our school usually in May. We have grade level sing alongs, music station time, guest performers, and little games that we put up around the school like this scavenger hunt. The kids go with a friend, or two, and they search out all the instrument pictures we have hidden throughout the school. They mark them off on their score sheet and they get bragging rights if they find them all.

Instrument Cards

Score Sheet

I know in the United States, Music in our Schools Month is coming. Try the scavenger hunt and let me know how it worked for you.

Here is the link for Freebie Number 6:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Twelve-Days-of-Orff-Freebie-Number-6-5120162

See you tomorrow for day seven.

Take care,

Syndi

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!! I missed posting yesterday so…

On the fourth and fifth day of Orff, Ms Syndi gave to me…

Unfortunately, we do not have much snow to play with on Prince Edward Island yet but I still LOVE THIS BOOK!!!! And so do my students!!! Robert Munsch uses a repetitive refrain to measure the depth of the snow as Jasmine travels to school in a blizzard. Only to discover, that school is CANCELLED. Sooo funny.

I wrote a little melody for the refrain:

 

For day number 4, my gift to you is the Orff arrangement to this little melody that we used when we performed this story in one of our winter concerts.

Here is the link to Freebie Number 4:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Twelve-Days-of-Orff-Freebie-4-5117245

 

Now on to the fifth day of Orff… I have made you some lovely visuals of the pentatonic tone sets. They are great for bulleting board displays but also for stations.

Here is the link for Freebie Number Five:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Twelve-Days-of-Orff-Freebie-Number-5-5117880

I hope you have a wonderful holiday. See you tomorrow,

Take care,

Syndi

 

On the third day of Orff, Ms. Syndi gave to me…

A new modulator.

My modulator has become my best friend. When I started teaching, it drove me nuts introducing sol and mi without any context. Now, I introduce the whole scale in Kindergarten. We do a little song that was introduced to me by a fellow music teacher, Linda MacIsaac Gallant.

 

We start in a crouching position, (on the first floor), and we move up slowly as we sing the song. At the end, we all say”Express to the Basement” and ZOOM back to the basement. We play this game lots and, inevitably, one of my little darlings will make the connection that our body is going up just like our voices are going up. My next step is showing them my modulator:

 

I explain that notes have names just like people and we go through the scale ascending only. Most make the connection that it sounds just like the “Elevator Song.” We get very comfortable with this.

When it is time to label sol and mi, I actually say “In this song, we use the notes sol and mi” and I take the sol and mi directly from the modulator.

The students unserstand where these names come from and they can see their relationship between each other and the rest of the scale. It just makes sense.

So my gift to you is a new modulator of your very own that I hope you will come to love as well. My friend, Dorothy Dahn, mentioned that you can color co-ordinate them with the colors of the boomwhackers etc. if that suits your teaching style.

Here is the link to Freebie Number 3

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Twelve-Days-of-Orff-Freebie-Number-3-5116176

See you tomorrow

Take care,

Syndi

On the second day of Orff, Ms. Syndi gave to me…

It is day 2 and today’s give away is a Body Percussion piece based on building a snowman.

I love Body Percussion. It is a versatile tool in the Orff world to teach instrument parts but most of all to spark creativity. This little piece can go in many directions:

• Accompany a poem with the layered Body Percussion
• Perform in Canon
• Transfer to Non-Pitched Percussion
• Transfer to Pitched Percussion
• Use it as a Drum Circle
• Use it as an Ostinato in a story.
• Change the words to suit your resrource or teaching topic
• Use as a model to create a new Body Percussion

The possibilities are endless. A possible Form to perform would be :

Stamp 8 beats

Add Pat 8 beats

Add Clap 8 Beats

Add Snap 8 beats

Perform all together 8 beats more

Take away Snap 8 beats

Take away Clap 8 beats

Take away Pat 8 beats

Take away Stamp.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Twelve-Days-Of-Orff-Freebie-number-2-5115241

See you tomorrow for Freebie Number 3.

Take Care,

Syndi

This fall I embarked on a journey. I wanted to share my experience as an Orff educator with all of you. It has been three months…

 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Sellers-Im-Following/Add/Just-Orffin-Around

119 Followers

https://www.facebook.com/justorffinaround/

126 Followers

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1527116180763031/?ref=group_header

42 members

Wow!!!. I feel so blessed that music educators want to hear and see what I do. I am so thankful for all of you. So……

TIME FOR SOME FREEBIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Twelve Days of Orff starts today. From now until Jan 1, 2020, I will be giving away an Orff inspired tool every day. I have carefully picked experiences that have worked really well in my classroom this year. I teach approximately 160 4-9 year olds a day at Westwood Primary School. My process teaching has become very refined. Click the link and download it straight from TpT.

FREEBIE NUMBER 1

This orchestration of “Start Light” was a favorite this year. We did this orchestration in a circle and passed the instruments as others were added.

It was a culmination of our learning journey. We read and played the melodic contour of the Soprano Xylophone; we learned how to hold the ukulele and strum; we colored words with NPP using the guiro and soprano glockenspiel; we improvised star music for our star dances.  Here is the link:

 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Twelve-Days-of-Orff-Freebie-number-1-5115173

See you tomorrow.

Take care,

Syndi