Culmination Song 1A - "I Will Remember You"

5th Graders -- here is the second song (of 3) we will be learning -- "I Will Remember You" by Sarah McLaughlin. I'm calling it song 1A because we will be using it as a partner song for "In My Life." We will also not be using the whole thing. Although I am posting the whole song here, you just need to learn the lyrics posted here:

I Will Remember You
by Sarah McLachlan, Seamus Egan and Dave Merenda

I will remember you.
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by.
Weep not for the memories.

Remember the good times that we had.
We let them slip away from us when times got bad.
Clearly I first saw you smiling in the sun.
Wanna feel your warmth upon me; I wanna be the one

I will remember you.
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by.
Weep not for the memories.

Culmination Song #1 - "In My Life"

Hi Fifth Graders. Here is the first culmination song we will be learning -- some of you may already know this famous Beatles tune. Use this blog to get a head start on memorizing the words. Play the tune by clicking on the play button below. I am also posting the lyrics here:

"In My Life" by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

There are places I'll remember
All my life, though some have changed.
Some forever, not for better.
Some have gone and some remain.

All these places had their moments,
with lovers and friends, I still can recall.
Some are dead and some are living.
In my life, I've loved them all.

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you.
And these mem'ries lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new.

Tho' I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before.
I know I'll often stop and think about them.
In my life I've loved you more.
.

First Grade Week 1 -- How Does Sound Work?

One of the central of focuses of general music in first grade in how music actually works. This week we conducted several experiments to illustrate the properties of sound waves -- their tendency to bounce, their conductive properties and the fact that they move more readily through solid objects. The point is to get the kids to think about music and sound scientifically and also to prepare them to learning how musical instruments can be classified both by how they produce sound and what kind of sound they make.

Kindergarten Week 1 & 2 - Music and our senses

General music began in Kindergarden two weeks ago. (My apologies for not posting separately regarding week 1, due to camera failure). At any rate we're off to a terrific start. In week one we talked about how we use our senses to evaluate music. Using a kind of paper funnel called a sound catcher, the kids were given opportunities to listen closely to both ambient sounds and musical ones. Hopefully the experience will help them focus on the musical qualities of the material we'll be covering this year.

In week 2 we continued using our senses to make aesthetic evaluations. We also used the Jamaican folk tune, "Bam Chi Chi Bam" to study the importance of patterns in music and in our environment. In the process we reinforced an important kindergarten math standard.