BRIDGES TO THE COMMUNITY SERIES: PART 5: ASK ME: THE SEQUEL!
Lillie H. Feierabend, FAME Teacher Trainer
Often a single experience will open the young soul to music for a whole lifetime. This experience cannot be left to chance. It is the duty of the school to provide it.
Zoltan Kodaly, Children’s Choruses, 1929
As discussed in my previous article (October 2019), Ask Me notes are designed to go from the Music classroom to the home where they serve to strengthen and reinforce students’ musicianship skills and independence. This month I would like to continue to sing their praises by taking them from the Music classroom to the General classroom. By sharing our rich curriculum with classroom teachers, Ask Me notes, and indeed, our entire Music curriculum, can make a significant impact and help reinforce and strengthen the Language Arts, Math, Social Studies and even Science curriculums, all without compromising our musical goals and standards.
We wear two hats; our primary and most important hat is that of a Music Educator, we Teach Music. We do everything we can to develop our students’ music potential; nothing should take precedence over that. Our second hat is that of a Resource Educator, we should help our colleagues Use Music so they can help nurture, develop and enrich their students’ potential in the other intelligences, as well. Through the years, I have done some of these activities in the Music classroom to enrich students’ musical understanding and development. However, since there is never enough time in the Music classroom and since writing assignments are an integral part of the elementary curriculum, it seems that sharing our topics with our classroom colleagues serves to help in both areas, especially since the goals are the same, to nurture, develop and enrich our students in all disciplines. For several years I was assigned an “Integration” period on a daily basis. I went into selected classrooms to collaborate and integrate our curriculums. Many of the following ideas were developed at that time. I hope you will share these ideas, developed for my classroom colleagues, with your classroom colleagues. The possibilities are endless; here are just a few ideas.
MORNING MESSAGE This is what started it all for me.
One day I walked into one of my kindergarten classes and saw the words to Wake Up You Lazy Bones on large chart paper, laminated, and on an easel. The students were playing “Detective,” trying to find all their Word Wall Words (those words that each grade level is responsible for knowing, using correctly and spelling correctly). And here was an Ask Me full of them! At that time, a third of their Word Wall Words were contained in Wake Up You Lazy Bones. The kindergarten teacher was reinforcing the Language Arts curriculum by using their Ask Me as the Morning Message. She had been keeping track of them and using those that were applicable to what she was teaching.
When I took a closer look at my other Ask Me notes, I realized how rich they were with material that could aid in Language Arts development, and not just Word Wall Words. Additional Language Arts learning drawn from Ask Me notes include Letter Recognition (upper case/lower case/location), Vowels and Consonants, Compound Words, Contractions, Quote Marks (differentiated speaking voice), Initial Blends, Ending Blends and Vowel Blends, Rhyming Words, Descriptive Language, Pictorial Representation, One-to-One Correspondence, and just plain Authentic Reading Material. Once I learned the components of the Language Arts curriculum from my classroom colleagues, I began to see connections in each and every Ask Me, and so did they. For example, in The Bear Went Over the Mountain, not only are there 29 “Detective” opportunities, but even though providing reading material was not my intent, I quickly learned that in the kindergarten classroom, it was used for exactly that. The very attributes that make this an easily accessible song to sing are the same attributes that make it easy to read; few words, familiar and repetitive.
Lazy Bones (19 students can play “Detective”)
Homes (how many different kinds of Hs can you find? And where?)
Bear Went Over the Mountain
SEQUENCING
Just about every song we sing and chant we speak in our elementary music curriculum contains a Main Character/Setting, a Beginning/Middle/End, and a Problem/Solution, important components in both the Music and Language Arts curriculums. It’s important for my students to know the sequence so that when they do sing or chant, they do so with understanding, confidence and authority; they sing musically without loss of momentum. In the Music classroom, an initial lesson for Frog in the Meadow might look like this…
T sings song: Frog in the meadow, can’t get him out; Take a little stick and stir him about.”
T: “What is this song about?”
Students: “A frog!”
T sings song: “Where is the frog?”
Students: “In the meadow.”
T sings song: “Is there a problem?”
Students: “Yes, he is stuck!” (This is wonderful inferencing since the text is not explicit).
T sings song: “Is there a solution?”
Students: “Yes, take a stick and stir him about.”
T: “Then, let’s take a stick (one finger) and see if we can help the frog by stirring.”
In the General Classroom, various worksheets are used, depending on what the classroom teacher is working on at the moment. Here is an example of Main Character/Setting. After the class sings/plays Frog in the Meadow in a circle, they rush to the worksheet on their desk and fill in the Main Character and Setting, then rush back to the circle for the next activity. Can you guess the other songs and chants?
Main Character/Setting (1st)
What happened first? Next? Then? Last? My first-grade colleagues use this as authentic assessment.
Sequencing: Five Little Leaves (1st)
Sequencing: The Horse Stood Around (1st)
Sequencing: Tailor and the Mouse
The older the student, the more detail is required, often with the use of a Graphic Organizer prior to writing their essay. Sometimes we use standard organizers and sometimes we create our own.
Fox: Graphic Organizer (2nd)
Fox: Essay(2nd)
Crabfish (2nd)
Noble Duke (2nd)
Noble Duke (2nd)
WRITING PROMPTS
The number of writing assignments that can come out of the Music classroom is limitless. Music activities mastered by students provide relevant and meaningful material to write about because they have formed relationships with the characters, they know the characters. Not all students share the same experiences, but all students know and love Cousin Peter and The Tailor and the Mouse. I think there should be a permanent Music Writing center in each elementary classroom. Classroom colleagues regularly report that students write more when they are given a Music prompt. The more they are involved with a subject and the closer they feel to that subject, the more they have to write about. My Art colleague understands this and makes it part of the Art curriculum. Through the year, she will have students write about their experiences creating or their creations. Sometimes their responses are pages long. Here are a few ideas.
Descriptive Language
Classroom teachers may tell students, “Last week Your Ask Me was about Tailor and the Mouse. Describe the characters. What do you think they look like? Where do they live? What are they wearing? Describe their house.”
Tailor and the Mouse, p 1 (1st)
Tailor and the Mouse, p. 2 (1st)
How-To-Books
Almost anything learned in Music can be turned into a How-To-Book. Just as teaching a loved one a mastered Ask Me activity, writing how to do something also sharpens mastery. Try some of these titles;
How to play Circle ‘Round the Zero
How to Dance the Virginia Reel
How to Behave at a Concert
How to Play the Autoharp (any instrument) or play Obwisana
How to Play the Autoharp (2nd )
How to Play Obwisana (2nd)
Persuasive Writing
After having attended a concert, older students write persuasively, giving reasons why others should attend the concert, as well.
The Bushnell, page 1 (2nd)
The Bushnell, page 2 (2nd)
Music Review
This could be of a concert attended, a piece performed in class, or one of their favorite pieces heard somewhere. This student filled out the graphic organizer then used it to write the essay. All the essays went on the bulletin board for all to read.
Symphony Review, Graphic Organizer (2nd)
Symphony Review , Essay page 1 (2nd)
Symphony Review, Essay page 2 (2nd)
Class Symphony Responses (2nd)
Thank You Notes
After attending symphony concerts, or having guest artists come in, students are always asked to write Thank You notes.
Thank You
Music Program
Toward the end of each semester students create a performance program for us to use as a lesson plan. This works well when they are encouraged to work in groups so everyone can contribute. They need to plan for a regular forty-minute class and balance activities, so our class runs smoothly and musically.
Alternate Endings
This is one of my favorite writing prompts, using a mastered Ask Me selection as a catalyst for creative writing. What other adventures did The Tailor and the Mouse have? What happened when Cousin Peter went back home? What other colors can Miss Mary Mack wear? Since students know the characters, a prompt such as this allows them to think of other things they might have done in addition to, or even instead of what actually took place in the song.
STUDENT CREATED FOLLOW-THE-LEADER BOOKS
Follow-the-Leader songs that invite endless creative verses make great classroom books. Just as they create and lead in the Music room, they should create, write and illustrate in their classroom. Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush, Bow Belinda, and Do Do Pity My Case are some of our favorites. If we play it in the Music classroom, they have already orally rehearsed and are ready to write and illustrate. Sometimes we record the song to go along with the book, and sometimes we don’t. That way, sometimes they (and families) can sing along with the recording and sometimes they can sing a cappella, creating their own family choir.
Mulberry Bush (K)
Mulberry Bush (K)
Mulberry Bush (K)
Mulberry Bush (K)
LISTENING LESSON BOOKS
Carnival of the Animals, The Nutcracker, and Peter and the Wolf are rich with descriptive possibilities. Younger students should draw each character and write about how the character moves to match the music. Older students may discuss how the character’s movement and attributes influenced the composer’s choice of instrumentation and tempo. Students create a sheet for each character so at the end of the unit, each student has their own beautiful book of drawings and writing.. What a lovely gift for parents to share.
Swan (1st)
Turtle (1st)
Kangaroo (1st)
Nutcracker (2nd)
Peter and the Wolf (2nd)
This is also a great follow-up if there has been a movie shown, even with a substitute.
Substitute Writing (2nd)
INSTRUMENT BOOKS
As students learn to play instruments (maracas, claves, guiro, djembes, tubanos, axatse, autoharp, violin, drums….) there should be an opportunity for them to create a booklet of the instruments with pictures and directions. At the end of the year they will have a wonderful booklet. As with the Listening Lessons Booklets, parents will be impressed with the breadth and richness of these experiences.
STUDENT CREATED RHYMING BOOKS
We enjoy Oh, A Hunting We Will Go so much that we create our own rhyming books. Then we record the class singing their version and it becomes part of the Classroom Library.
Hunting Cover
Hunting-Ferret
Hunting-Cat
PRE-JOURNAL READINESS
While not directly related to an Ask Me, Arioso provides a wonderful catalyst for Journal Writing. If students have just shared Arioso in Music class, they will have orally rehearsed, an important step prior to journal writing. My classroom colleagues are thrilled with this concept. They meet their students in the Music room and instruct them to quickly go to their desks and write their Arioso in their journals. Always make sure to ask your students to sing about at least three things to help with detail and sequencing. With topics such as What I Had for Breakfast, or My Favorite Toy, or What I Will do This Weekend, students often write more than the three things they sang about.
SONG TREE
How to Make a Song Tree; laminate an Ask Me, create a hole at the top for a yarn loop, and hang on a branch (one from outside works nicely). One of my kindergarten colleagues draws an appropriate picture on the Ask Me so her students have a visual. During Morning Meeting, the Star Student selects one for the class to perform together to start their day and another one at the close of the school day as they are waiting for busses to be called. What a lovely way to begin and end each day, as a community, led by students, demonstrating leadership and independence.
Ask Me notes provide an endless source of curricular inspiration in the General Classroom. Your colleagues will learn a great deal about the Music curriculum and be amazed at the countless ways it positively impacts the growth and development of their students in all areas. In addition to Ask Me notes going home on a regular basis with information about each of these activities, how wonderful to know that additional Musical material is going home via the General classroom. We know our students are well on their way to becoming Tuneful, Beatful and Artful; we also know that by sharing the power of our wonderful curriculum, our students are being nurtured and strengthened in all their intelligences.
That’s a lot to sing about!