First Grade Lesson: Up and Down

I don't feel that this lesson is earth shattering or innovative but it worked.  The kids were successful, it was a great review and it was a lot of fun.

1.  Hello Song (3 min.)
 - We do this at the beginning of every class with steady beat movements.  I will probably continue it through the first quarter before picking a new hello song, just to keep things fresh.

2.  Sing Me Your Name  (7 min.)
- I demonstrate how my voice can move up and down by singing a simple SM phrase "Sing Me Your Name".  What's very cute is how all of the kids kind of move their head up and down slightly with me. Then we practice the answer together "My Name is ______" and everyone fills in the blank.  After we practice I go around the room and each student gets to sing solo into the magic microphone.

3.  Moving Up and Down (3 min.)
-This week I had my flute with me, so I played scale patterns up and down and the students responded with movement.  I really liked how this worked.  While I have done this with my students before, I really liked how playing the patterns on the flute made them listen carefully.  When I play a barred instrument or the piano they can see my hands and respond to the direction I move my hands.  Some of the students aren't truly listening.  I will have to remember this in future years.

4.  Playing Up and Down (10 min.)
-In K we learned how to play upwards and downwards glissandi on the glockenspiel.  We reviewed mallet technique and what bar to start on to play up/down.  Then we moved to the floor, seated in 6 lines.  I would say up or down and the person at the glockenspiel would play 1 up/down glissandi.

5.  Hickory Dickory Dock (Idea from Game Plan) (3 min.)
-We have used this poem during the previous 2 lessons moving our voice up and down like the mouse in the poem.  We played up/down sounds on the words in the poem during this lesson.

6.  Mortimer (Mallet Madness) (12 min.)
-If you have not checked out Artie's Mallet Madness, you definitely should!  I love this little story (it reminds me of my brother when he was 2).  For the first reading the kids sang along with me and showed a thumbs up/down for the sounds I was making with my voice.  Afterwards we played up/down sounds on the glockenspiels to help tell the story.  You can find more details in Artie's book.