Back in the Swing of Things...Almost

We started back at school January 2nd after the Holiday Break, but it has taken me until now to finally feel back in the swing of things.

Why? Because after Thursday and Friday we had an arctic wind hit Wisconsin where we experienced down to -65 degrees Fahrenheit at times. It was so cold many buses weren't working and one of my school districts cancelled school for THREE days in a row!

The cold weather definitely has made it difficult to get back to business and focus on the task at hand. This is my 4th year of teaching and I have to say that though it doesn't always get easier with each year, I do feel much more focused and have a clearer idea of what I want to accomplish each year.

This week I'm going to share two things I'm doing in my classroom as part of Steph's 2/4 Tuesday Linky Party:

1) Introducing Low Do using Peas Porridge Hot:
Now that we are back from break and done with concerts it is time to add another note to Music Street. For my 2nd graders the new note was low do. To teach about low do I put together an interactive powerpoint where students reviewed notes they knew and learned about low do.



They even got to learn about the Do Key!

Then for extra practice students used the staff dry erase boards to write the notes on themselves. This was great for me because it allowed me to see how each individual student was doing. It also helped me see if it was a large group that needed the extra practice or just one or two.

You can get the file I used for teaching Low Do in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store HERE.

2) Reviewing Half Notes
I've also been spending some time working on counting half notes. To continue practicing this I have been using Lindsay Jervis's Dashing Through the Snow game (click the picture to buy it yourself).

She has a similar rhythm game for Valentine's Day HERE. My students love this game, but for right now I'm having them play it a little bit different than the way it is described. My 2nd graders just learned half notes, so instead of racing one by one I am having students work in a group. I clap the rhythm and as a group they try to find the answer. If their group gets the correct rhythm after I clap it three times I give EVERY group with the right answer a point. Eventually I will make it more difficult by clapping it less times or making students work individually, but this seems to be a simpler way to make the game work and they still really enjoy it.

I hope you find these tools and resources helpful! :)

Just a quick reminder that I am holding a 100 Teachers Pay Teachers Followers Giveaway, as a celebration of reaching 100 followers on my Teachers Pay Teachers account. For more details on how to enter you can click the picture below: