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Monthly Archives: May 2014
Issue 131: Welcome to The Jungle
This sudden Summer weather has beguiled me out of doors to try and tame the wilderness which is what our back garden has become. I refer to it as an “Energy Conservation Zone”. Anyway, I have abandoned the brambles in … Continue reading
Posted in The Jungle
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Issue 131: A useful little filler activity
One of my classes arrives in the school hall piece-meal from several different places. Consequently it is very difficult to plan a tidy start to the lesson. Yesterday, as they shambled in through the various doors, I struck upon a … Continue reading
Issue 131: The Chatty Djembe Class
There is a class of year 3 and 4 children that I teach to djembe to who must take the gold medal for being the most chatty class anywhere! The big problem is getting them to watch and listen … Continue reading
Posted in Class Teaching, Djembe, Lessons that have happened
Tagged behaviour, behaviour management
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Issue 131: Class Discussions
I find this one of the hardest parts of a lesson to get right. We listen to a piece of music, or look at a picture, or watch a video clip, and I ask leading (“open” questions) about it, and … Continue reading
Issue 130: Welcome to the Jungle
Hello again – your three articles for the week have been posted! This has been a rather more gentle weekend that usual. More and more, I find that I need the weekend to be a sort of reservoir, of peace and calm, after … Continue reading
Posted in The Jungle
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Issue 130: Theory – Grouping of Notes
I have been teaching Grade 2 Music Theory for the first time ever this year. There are just half-a-dozen children, aged ten and eleven, taking the exam next month, and they are all at least Grade 2 or 3 on … Continue reading
Posted in Theory
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Issue 130: Two new verses for “The Shark Song”
The shark song is a fantastically useful, wildly successful song that I use every Summer Term with years 3,4,5 and 6. I’ve found it to be just a little too gory for younger children, and had to edit some of … Continue reading
Posted in Songs
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Issue 130: Sharks and Recorders
I’ve always tended to say “shark”, rather than “sharp” when teaching piano – as in “watch out for Freddy Shark” when teaching G major scale. It seems to make it more memorable. I have now discovered that children have absolutely no … Continue reading
Posted in Recorders
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