MUSIC AND MOUVEMENT / DALCROZE EDUCATION PROGRAM FROM K to 4

I am Mrs. Zurita and  I teach music classroom from K to 4 grade, I am also the director of the Choir and Handbells.  In my music class the students will be able to experience music not only trough their ears, songs, or instruments, but also trough movement using their bodies as their first instrument, we will be able to learn   progressively  all the basics of solfege trough the  Dalcroze method (explained below).

When kids  get to 3 & 4 grade they have an extra class where they will be able to  apply, internalize and consolidate all the knowledge and skills learned on their journey from k t 4  by playing an instrument the  “ Xylophone or Glockenspiel,  this is an opportunity for everyone to play an instrument,  in order to get the prepared and ready to choose  one of the bigger ensembles that our music program offers  Handbells,  Choir, Orchestra, Band, Steel drums. 

MUsic classroom / dalcroze goals and objectives

1. Rhythmic, metric, and expression knowledge: moving, listening, singing, analyzing, writing, improvising, and deep understanding of the following musical concepts . 

   • Note values: Quarter Notes, Eighths, Half Notes, Dotted Half Notes

   • Simple meters of 2, 3, and 4

   • Phrases, musical gesture, slurs, form

   • Expression symbols and their musical meanings: for example: Forte and Piano.

2. Pitch matching and identification: developing the ear for accurate intonation and healthy singing.

   • Students will learn to sing and identify scale degrees 1-5 in major and play them on a xylophone.

   • Corporal embodiment of pitches in physical space.

   • Identification of major and minor tonal landscapes.

3. Musical use of materials: hoops, bean bags, ropes, scarves, ribbons, batons, balloons, balls of various sizes (kicking, tossing, bouncing, rolling), etc.

4. Musical use of different instruments: claves, drums, maracas, xylophones, etc.

5. Solo work: working or performing solo develops confidence, assurance, and independence.

6. Cooperative learning and beginning ensemble skills invite students to learn flexibility, adaptability, and compliance in addition to coordination, intention, balance, and control):

   • Moving, dancing, clapping, sharing, improvising, singing with a partner or small group.

   • Exact mirroring of gestures provided by the teacher or other students in the class.

7. Imagination: gestures, images, story-telling, and programmatic music (music that tells a story) helps to encourage, stimulate, and develop the child's imagination.

8. Appropriate knowledge and use of body parts and joints (head, trunk, hips, limbs etc.):

   • How different parts of our bodies move, their range of motion, and their dynamic qualities

   • Basic independence of the limbs (move one limb while the others are stationary)

   • Basic large and small motor skills

9. Spatial awareness: both physical space and musical space.

   • Spatial and Movement Qualities: above and below, over and under, side to side, up and down, closed and open, curvy and straight, forward and backward, right and left, near and far, center and periphery, around and through, away and toward, beginning and end, front and back, jagged and smooth, heavy and light, thick and thin, opposites, contrary motion, crossing the midline, etc.

   • Basic shapes with the body: lines, circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, ovals, etc.

10. Various types of locomotor skills:

    • Movement across the floor on one's feet, back, stomach, side, knees, hands and knees (crawling), hands and feet (bear walk, crab walk), etc.

    • Creative Movement: Rolling, crawling, sliding, creeping, growing, collapsing, sneaking, walking, marching, trotting, jogging, gliding, running, tip-toe walking/running, stomping, lunging, leaping, jumping, hopping, galloping, chassé, skipping, swinging, swaying, spinning, turning, shaking, wiggling, etc.

    • Emotional and Musical Impact from moving in these different ways.