We are song writers! We started the week by deciding on the main idea for our song- Idaho! With a main idea, we then worked hard to develop a supporting idea. We chose Mo & Powder, no homework, outdoor activities and our mini-bus! On Thursday and Friday we were incredibly lucky to have Beth McIntosh working with our class not only on the school song, but our class song as well! On Thursday, Beth helped us write our chorus and set a beat with our bodies to the chorus. We then helped Beth brainstorm ideas for our school song with the Los Torres. Before leaving for the day, Beth asked us to be our school “experts” in helping the other classes learn our school song- we all agreed. On Friday, Beth was back again! Overnight, our own resident singer-song writer Hilary, worked to craft our supporting ideas into lyrics. We listened to Hilary’s work and were impressed! We learned the importance of matching syllables and phonemes in our lyrics to our cover’s lyrics. Having practiced so much this year sorting words by sound patterns we really understood what it meant to match phonemes. Then just before lunch we practiced our song to the music of “I Will Wait”. We have a lot of practice to do, but the most important work is done- our ideas. 

We are the Starlings! This week we were busy choosing a band name and song to cover. We started the week talking about why bands choose their names and what makes a good name. Brainstorming, we realized names help us remember and not confuse bands as well as help explain the type of music we might hear from them. After a long deliberation, we were down to “White Fang” and “Starlings”. Starlings won by a hair! We are the Starlings- the “little stars” J

After deciding on our name, it was time to choose a song to cover. We listened to our favorite songs for music to use, but lyrics to change. We brainstormed together “what makes a song good to cover?” We wanted a song that included as many of our musical instruments that we studied, one with a catchy beat and a song that was not too fast or too slow. Our final four choices were “Timber”, “Can’t Hold Us”, “One Way or Another” and “I Will Wait”. In deciding these final four songs I would like to emphasize not the lyrics, but rather the music was the focus. Regarding conversations with your child and these songs please continue to emphasize the music is our focus and not the lyrics or music videos as both can be inappropriate for class discussions.

This just in- “I Will Wait” by Mumford and Sons has won!

This week the Tiger-Wolves continued to build their musical instruments in art class and used their research to help guide their designs. Each instrument is incredibly unique and built with a creative and clear understanding of their instrument. 

At the end of the week we meet together to regroup about our last two “to do” items-write a song and perform. Throughout this project we have learned that being in band is not all lights and glamour as we may have once thought and that being in a band requires a lot of background knowledge, problem solving, and collaboration. As our project nears its final performance, it is time to turn us back into rock stars! In small groups we brainstormed how to keep moving forward with energy and excitement with our final two items. We have decided that we will write a “cover” to a favorite song and continue listening to music each day at dismissal. We will also watch some real “rock concerts," decide on an exciting band name and begin assigning subgroups for our final performance. Watch out for our performance coming soon!

This week the Tiger-Wolves finished learning about how the ear works.  In small groups, we made models of a thin membrane that vibrates when sound waves hit it.  We decided as a class that this represented how the ear drum works.  Then we did a crossword puzzle to learn the functions of the other parts of the ear.  We also were able to watch a short, animated video of how the ear works.  From the video, the Tiger-Wolves were able to figure out that sound can travel through gas (air), solids (bone), and liquids (the fluid inside the cochlea or "snail thing") all inside our ears!

This past Tuesday we started exploring the anatomy of our ear. Students were given an "ear diagram" that they will use for the next couple of science classes.  We experimented with how the shape of our ears influence the way we hear sound.  Next week, we will explore the middle and inner ear.

Informational articles of our musical instruments are off and running! Our ideas right now are living in clear and concise graphic organizers and we are ready to begin writing next week!

This week during “science of sound”, we explored a little bit about how sound travels.  We first learned about how fast sound moves by having a class-wide relay where we compared the speed of sound to the speed of the Tiger-Wolves. Once we learned that sound travels quickly, we experimented to see if sound is the same when it's traveling through solids, liquids, and gases.

This week during “science of sound”, we explored pitch using straw kazoos and glass bottles.  We discovered that we can change pitch by changing the length of air that vibrates.  We changed the length of air in the kazoos simply by cutting the straws, and we changed the length of air in the bottles by adding and removing water. We discovered that "instruments" that are shorter make a higher pitch than those that are longer. We also discovered that this is only true up to a point; if a kazoo is too short or a bottle is too full of water, there is no space for the air to vibrate and no sound will come out. 

Friday we learned and jammed out with Brian Maw of Maw Band ! We LOVE learning from bands, enjoy the photos of our presentation on the slideshow!

Wednesday afternoon the Tiger-Wolves did a wonderful job presenting their Kelly Campus trip in a cozy room filled with  1^st/2^nd graders and their parents. Enjoy the photos from our presentation in the slideshow if you were unable to attend.

Tuesday during “Science of Sound” we were full of inquiry, investigating sound with rules, rubber bands and balloons.  We continued our conversation on vibration and began brainstorming ideas about pitch. It was a “noisy” class, but full of collaboration and problem solving that the Tiger-Wolves could not get enough of!

Throughout the week we continued to synthesize our musical instrument research and began taking notes. Please see the update in our language arts section.

During project this week, we began planning our Kelly Campus presentation! We have decided to share our trip through a slideshow presentation next Wednesday 3/12/14 from 2:00-2:45pm in our classroom. We look forward to seeing you then!

Toby & Chrissy (AmeriCorp volunteers), began our investigation of the science of sound on Tuesday. We started the class getting to know our two new teachers and answering, “What does a scientist look like?” Through small group work we illustrated “scientists” and used our pictures to create a definition of a scientist. We ended class sharing what we want to learn about the science of sound and are excited to dive deep into this learning next week!

Wednesday and Thursday we had more musicians from our class share their own instruments and talents! So far this year we have had Phoebe on violin, Hailey on guitar, Seamus & Finn on drums, Kai & Caleb on electric guitars, and we look forward to many more! Look to our language arts section for an update about our “instrument research”!

We began the week with our project investigating sound with rulers! We re-tested our theories about vibration and began discussing pitch and tone. Sadly, our music class with Jack ends next Tuesday, but we are lucky to have two wonderful AmeriCorp volunteers (Toby & Chrissy) continue our investigation into the physics of music during this time slot! We look forward to having them work with us!

Thursday and Friday we looked over our “to do” list and realized that we are already on  “make our own instruments”! Thursday we investigated books about musical instruments and then each child chose their three top favorites for the instruments they want to study. Throughout our investigation of musical instruments we will learn how the instrument makes sound, its history and which type of musicals/music use the instrument.  Then we begin building our own models! We look forward to this work beginning early next week and continuing on after our KC trip!   

On Monday we focused on “What do we need to be happy, safe, and comfortable away from home?” Through community building games and reader’s theater we came to understand what learning and living as a team actually means.

Tuesday, playing her acoustic guitar and singing along beautifully in our main classroom, Jordan was our first musical performance! Afterwards, she invited us to ask questions. The student’s questions were extensive, ranging from asking her about her musical background to what it was like performing on stage.

Wednesday, we continued collaborating with Jordan to understand the Kelly Campus legacy. First, we learned who the Muries were and about their lives as naturalists. Next, we identified some skills or tools that would help a naturalist do his/her job. Concluding, we then created our own definitions of a “legacy” and how we too can become part of the Kelly Campus legacy.

“How can we as musicians make a successful band?!”

This week we began our investigation into the physics of music. This week we were busy experimenting with vibrations! Through homemade “musical instruments” we experienced sound first hand. We learned sound comes from vibrations, which create sound waves. The sound waves move through mediums like air and water prior to reaching our ears. Our ears then vibrate in the same way to the original source of the vibration thus letting us hear many different sounds. Make sure to ask your student how to make a "straw kazoo!"

We spent a good amount of time this week listening to, and investigating music and musicians. Each afternoon we gathered together and listen to “music greats”. Monday’s artist was Lorde, a choice inspired by Sunday night’s Grammy Awards. We researched a bit about the Grammys in general and started off our week of listening to the 2014 song of the year, “Royals” by Lorde. Moving away from modern day pop, we celebrated the life of Peter Seeger on Tuesday by listening to “This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land”. Wednesday was James Brown’s “I Feel Good”, Thursday was “Yesterday” by the Beatles and Friday we ended the week with “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley. Students listened carefully and reflected on the instruments they heard after each song, what they liked and didn’t like about each and how the songs made them feel.

The “greats” of this week were inspired by Legends, Icons & Rebels: Music That Changed the World by Robbie Robertson and a the PBS article “What Music Should My Child Listen To?”. As we move on to the physics of music next week, please continue to encourage your child to share the music, songs, and musicians they love!

“How can we as musicians make a successful band?!” This week we listened and analyzed music from Beethoven to Bob Dylan, with music teacher Jack. We have also been busy in music class turning John Denver’s “Country Roads” into our own song and practicing with rhyme and beat using percussion instruments. In class, we have been working to “plan” backwards. We started by setting a date for our performance and then looking our list of “what we want to learn” and deciding when to do work on each item. It is an impressive and extensive plan!

“How can we as musicians make a successful band?!” This week we were busy investigating “what makes a band, a band?” We challenged our views watching three “unique” videos and sharing ideas in small group conversations, writing and whole group discourse (Below are the links to three different videos we watched, enjoy viewing and continuing conversations!). As personal views were shared we practiced “debated skills” as ideas where challenged. At the end of the week we reflected and came up with our own definitions of “what is a band?” Enjoy the photos of our definitions!

Baikal Ice

Landfill Harmonic

Orchestra “Flashmob”

Projects at TVCS are central to each student’s academic and social learning. They are full of cross disciplinary content and grade level standards. Students learn inside and outside of the classroom. Knowledge around a project is built through books, research, experts, first hand experiences, experimenting and constant questioning. But what really makes projects a powerful tool at TVCS is that they are student initiated and driven. This past week we spent each afternoon in serious work, deciding our next project. Our brainstorm process was democratic and intentionally designed to be meet a variety of learning styles so that each child’s voice was heard. Thursday we voted. Through multi rounds of voting our final three categories were “UFOs”, “African Safari”, and “Band”. Before the final two rounds, we carefully clarified what each topic meant and the reality of each topic. Our final vote? Band!