Mr. Knight's third grade classroom appears normal; there are math worksheets in the basket, vocab words on the board, and spelling tests every week. However, if you peek your head in during music time, you will see a group of quiet children transformed into budding singers and actors. For the past few years, Mr. Knight's class has written and performed an opera with an original story, lyrics, tunes, costumes, and stage set.

As the Arts Bridge Representative in Mr. Knight's classroom, I have the wonderful opportunity to help the children prepare for their operatic experience. The theme for their opera this year is Living vs. Non-living things (Science Standard 2).

My goals for the class are that the children will...
1) Develop basic vocal technique, sing in tune, and sing out.
2) Build confidence in their own singing.
3) Write a good opera that encorporates the science core.
4) Understand the structure of an opera and important opera vocabulary.

Friday, November 6, 2015

#2- OPERA IDEAS




Today we acted out our Rumplestiltskin opera and then brainstormed together about topics for their opera. These kids are so creative!

State Standards and Objectives Covered
Science Standard 2: Objective 1a
Identify characteristics of living things (i.e., growth, movement, reproduction).

Music Objective 3c:

Play singing games, enjoy traditional fold dances, patriotic songs, and musical stories that have originated in the cultures of the community. Explain what they mean personally.

Learning Objectives
  •  Students will act out the “mini-opera” about Rumplestiltskin.
  • Students will understand that a Greek Chorus is homogenous group of performers.
  • Students will understand that movement and growth are characteristics of living things.
  • Students will begin thinking of ideas for the story line and characters of their opera. 


Lesson
            Today I opened the lesson with “Sing with me” again. This time, I asked the children to choose verbs they would like to sing the song with. They chose march, crawl, pat, tap, and run.
            Then I had them act out their mini-opera using facial expressions and actions. I assigned students randomly to be certain characters and asked them to sing the line that corresponded with their character. When we got to the part of the song that goes, “high-ho the dairy-o…” the rest of the class was instructed to sing along. This allowed me to introduce the term Greek Chorus, (the opera chorus that repeats important parts of the song so that the audience can hear.)

            Then, we discussed more characteristics of living things: movement and growth. We discussed how plants, while not able to voluntarily move to a different location, will move their branches toward the sun. Then, after briefly reviewing the key elements of a story line, I gathered the students onto the rug and we brainstormed ideas for their opera.
Opera Ideas
Overall, the lesson went really well. The kids are so creative and they are getting excited for the opera. I was really impressed by their ability and courage to sing by themselves in front of their peers. I want to continue giving them many opportunities to sing alone and gain more confidence. If I were to do this lesson again I would not have them discuss ideas in a group. At one point I asked the students to turn to their table and think of ideas for the opera. As I walked around and listened, none of them were on task and it was not effective. For right now, it is better to do it as a class

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