I Love Books
We're sitting on the rug, our bodies are still yet perched forward, all eyes are completely glued to what I hold in my hands, not a mouth is moving...it's storytime. There is nothing more magical to me than storytime. Many teachers use books to help solidify and practice musical concepts with great success, I'm not one of them. For me, storytime is a chance to practice being an audience member, but more importantly a chance to foster a love of music by listening to something that stirs the heart or the mind. I was fortunate enough to receive a grant in 2006 that has provided me with a number of the resources below, but I continue to build my personal library and raid our public library. Click on a book below to enlarge the picture and see what suggestions I have for classroom extensions. Each book I have listed is met with the kid seal of approval
(a moment of silence and then thunderous applause).
(a moment of silence and then thunderous applause).
I See A Song...and a Unit Theme
This book was so exciting that I feel it deserved its own entry. I am lucky enough to have the most fantastic art teacher ever as a colleague and a friend, and we were looking for more ways to work together when I found this book and youtube video. The art work comes to life and seems to dance to the music, likewise the music is enhanced by the illustrations. My idea for next year is to start an "I See a Song" Series. After listening to and discussing a piece in music class, students will create corresponding visuals in art class. We will then scan the artwork and download into imovie on our class set of I-pads. Older students will help to edit the images and insert the original sound recording. I think some voice overs or captions where students explain why they chose certain shapes, colors, and lines will really demonstrate their understanding of the connection between art and music.