Grade Two/Three

April

Students in grades 2 and 3 will be learning a Japanese folk song. This is a Japanese Rain song.

They will sing the melody, learn accompaniment parts on xylophones, temple blocks, chimes and finger cymbals.

We will also be exploring more rhythm reading and the difference between beat, rhythm and meter.

Beat = the steady pulse of the music, equal measurements of time

Meter = groups of beats with emphasis on one particular beat in the set creating a pattern feel

Rhythm = the sounds or silences on each beat including sounds on subdivisions of the beat

And we will take a look at the Music Centres in the music room. There are centres to help the children learn about:

• Rhythm
• Melody
• Harmony
• Note Reading
• Movement

January/February/March

We are learning songs for Primary Days of Music this term.

Primary Days of Music is an event unique to the Burnaby school district. Grade 2 and 3 students will be gathered together to sing and share music on March 12th at 1:00pm at Cameron Elementary school. Unfortunately, there is not enough room for parents to attend.

Here is why we participate in Primary Days of Music:

Goals for Primary Days of Music:
• To model good choral singing at the primary level
• To promote the joy of singing
• To foster vocabulary development
• To help preserve the knowledge of many “folk” and traditional songs which are
no longer as commonly known by children
• To provide an opportunity for teachers and children to share what they have
learned and develop camaraderie as members of choral ensembles
• To provide professional development for teachers
• To develop a sequence of opportunities for training and involvement that may be
carried forth in choirs at the intermediate level
• To provide “built in” repertoire for school-based concerts and Nights of Music
• To provide an opportunity to hear new repertoire performed
• To provide an opportunity to showcase and develop continued support for school
music programs

Key information
• Four or five schools participate at each concert.
• Only students in Grades 2 & 3 may participate.
• Each school prepares two selections to share with other choirs on the same program.
• Each school may attend only one performance
• Participating schools will learn the selections indicated for massed singing.

*Please note, this event is not open to parents or the public. Unfortunately, there is simply not enough room for an audience as the gym is full of young singers!

Here are a list of the songs we will be learning for this event:

O Canada – in English and in French
Rattlin’Bog
Lil’wat Song (Salmon Song) by Russell Wallace
Music Of The World A’Turning by Estelle Levitt and Don Thomas
Poor Wayfairing Stranger
The Cuckoo and Mr. Moon
Shenandoah
Kye Kye Kule
Canada Is by Roger Whittaker

Head and Shoulders Baby

Inchworm

Here is the YouTube playlist of our songs to practice along with:

 

Lil’wat Song (Salmon Song) – click here

Canada Is Background Music

 

November

Here is the choreography for Ms. Andaya’s class and Ms. S’s class to practice along with.

And here is “The Hustle”. This dance will be performed by Mrs. Albert/Mrs. Clark’s class, Ms. Ford’s class, Mrs. Blake’s class and Ms. Koh’s class.

We will also sing “Frosty the Snowman”, “Bonhomme, Bonhomme” and “In Summer”. You can practice “In Summer” here.

October

Students in grades two and three are preparing a song for our upcoming Remembrance Day assembly. They will be singing: I’d Like to Teach the World To Sing. Here is a recording to practice along with:

We will also be starting rehearsing for our concert. The choreography is below so students can practice at home.

Divisions 12, 13, 14 and 15 will be learning to do “The Hustle” – a dance from the 1970s. Here are two videos going over the main choreography:

September

Welcome (back) to Armstrong grade 2 and 3 students!

We will begin this school year with singing activities. We will be singing “This Land Is Your Land” at the Terry Fox assembly in September. We will also sing many other classic campfire tunes like “Quartermaster’s Store” and “On Top Of Spaghetti”.

We will review O Canada, the Coast Salish Anthem and The Armstrong School Song for the assemblies coming up this fall.

We are also going to learn about Form and patterns that create forms in our music.

Here is a video that we are going to use to learn about musical and movement patterns.