Carol of the Bells: 6th grade x 3 (November 21, 2014)

When I went to teach Mrs. Pruyt's class Carol of the Bells, I was surprised to discover that some other 6th grade teachers wanted to be involved, too. Before I knew it, I was in the hallway with the piano teaching 3 classes of 6th graders (about 90 students) Carol of the Bells! There was so much energy with the group, and I was so grateful that the kids were so excited to learn the song. I was amazed at how quickly they picked up the different parts. I arranged a simpler, 3-part version of the song so that they could learn it easier. They did amazingly! Then about half-way through my lesson I looked up to see my program director, Doug Allen, observing my teaching. He gave me some helpful feedback about moving more quickly through the parts (the kids were anxious to sing the whole song), and incorporating more physical motion. It was such a fun and rewarding experience. Now these 6th graders are going to continue to practice their parts so they can perform in a school Christmas program!

Pat-a-Pan (Nov 14 visit)

After talking with Mrs. Pruyt, we decided that it would be really fun for her class to learn some Christmas music so they can perform it in a school assembly. I decided to try a simple song for my first time singing with her class, just to gauge their abilities. And, since the class is doing a lot with studying ancient cultures, I thought an old carol might be a fun idea. I chose to do Pat-a-Pan, a Renaissance French carol.

I gave the students a brief historical background and then we dove right in to learning the song. We started with the words, then moved to the rhythm. I was very impressed that the students already had some knowledge about different rhythms. As a class, they are very strong in this area. Then, I brought out my flute to teach them the melody. I thought this might be a fun idea since we sing about a flute in the song. Teaching the melody was a little more difficult. Pitch was a little bit of a struggle, but by the end the students seemed more comfortable. We added a drum accompaniment, which the class beat on their desks, and I accompanied on my flute. It was fun, but I think that the song was a little too simple for 6th graders. Next time, we'll do something more complicated and up-beat.

For some application of their studies, we used their knowledge of Ancient Egypt to make new words for the song. We imagined what Christmas might be like if it took place in Ancient Egypt. We replaced words like "Wille", "flute", and "drum" with things like "mummy", "tomb", and "pyramid". It was fun, and I was very impressed with all the cool facts they knew about Egypt.

Here are some pictures!