Submitted by Monica, Tennessee
Idea posted October 19, 2006
I had a success with my second graders that I'd like to share. Since they were about halfway through kindergarten, I have taken attendance by first playing a "do-mi-so-mi-so-mi" pattern on the step bells and then singing their names, one at a time, on "so-mi." They learned to reply on "so-mi": "I'm here." If a student is absent, the whole class sings, "Not here."
Last week was the third week of school. I reminded the second graders about how we had opened class in the past. Then, I talked with them about how, when we answer a question in a speaking voice, the answer is not exactly the same sounds (words) as the question. We practiced; I spoke simple questions such as, "What color is the curtain?" "Is it raining?" "In what city is our school?" etc. After they understood and answered in complete sentences, I told them that we could do musical questions and answers. I showed them steps 1 through 5 on the step bells, and I demonstrated singing some questions and answers. We talked about how I could use the same five musical pitches, but I could mix them up to make them different from my question. Then I said, "Any student who wants to try can come up to the bells and make up an answer." They all wanted to do it! Some were more successful than others in making the answer differ from my question, but everyone tried. Some were quite good and even matched their singing pitches to what they played on the bells! I can do this for an opening exercise for quite a while. It teaches question and answer and lets me assess singing in key.