Monday, February 23, 2009

Black Labrador Puppet




This adorable puppet is one of my favourites and an excellent addition to any classroom. Your kids will fall in love with him.

This wiggly little fellow can plant your face with puppy kisses and cock his head with curiosity. This cuddly Black Labrador puppy features a soft velvety coat, realistically weighted ears and tail, and soft pink tongue. Also comes in Chocolate.

Check out the Puppets section of the Resource Shop at www.crescendo.com.au

Bouncy Bouncy Bally - FREE DOWNLOAD

This is just one of the free songs for download at www.crescendomusic.com.au

The text of the song is clearly set out with an illustration. Great for display in your classroom, sending home or using to create books that the students can "read".

Young children sing this with a large bouncy ball, throwing or bouncing the ball in the air on the WHEE. Not only is it fun, but even the children that are having difficulty finding their singing voice will switch on their 'heard voice' for the WHEE at the end.

Excellent recourse for all teachers. Check it out in the download section at www.crescendomusic.com.au

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Monday, February 16, 2009

FREE Downloads

Crescendo music offers a vast range of free downloads to help teachers with their lessons.

Check out the range including:

Song Repertoire
Visual Art
Music Count Us In
Behavior Management
Signature pictures
Choral Music
Games and Activities
Clip Art
Art Music
Worksheets
Early Childhood Music
Music Samples
Fun Stuff
Teacher Resources
Assessment and Reporting

Go to www.crescendo.com.au for all these FREE downloads.

Become a member for only $50 per year and access exclusive downloads not available on the regular site.

Go to 'register' on the home page and follow the prompts.

Teaching Improvisation

Debbie O'Shea believes that in every lesson, as often as possible, we should give our students the opportunity to improvise and create. This somehow must be slotted in with everything else that has to be done in each lesson. The writer shares some methods that work for her.

Young children are naturally creative - just look at the many ways a toddler can use containers in the plastic cupboard - or listen while they talk, chant and sing their way through a game with a simple toy or object and a pile of dirt! As music educators we must try to nurture this natural creativity and build the confidence of our students. This daunting task would be easiest with small numbers of students for a long period of time. Most of us have neither numbers nor time on our side.

Here area few ideas I've found that work for me. They are very deliberate quick and easy. They aim to build students' confidence and to encourage 'risk-taking'. They are designed to develop students' ability to form ideas and opinions about the music they create while striving to improve. They are firmly placed within the lesson structure and not just 'stop everything, now we are going to create'. Creating is a natural part of music making, and therefore of the music lesson. These situations also provide opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know, as they apply that knowledge to create something uniquely theirs. This provides a perfect opportunity for assessment. (I should point out that my program is aurally based, developmental and sequential.)

The listed activities can be adapted to any level. They are just ideas that I hope will spark other ideas and maybe add something to your classroom.

To read the rest of this article go to www.crescendo.com.au. Article appears under the heading of Newsflash in the bottom left corner.

This article appears here with the permission of the publisher:
Music in Action, PO Box 2363 Fitzroy Victoria 3065

Membership

Become a member of www.crescendo.com and enjoy all the benefits of years of teaching knowledge.

For only AUD$50 per year you will have exclusive access to Resources, Worksheets, Teaching Ideas, Repertoire, Games, Activities, Clip Art and more.

To register and become a member go to www.crescendo.com.au, click on "register" in the login section in the bottom right corner. Follow the prompts.

Join today and begin enjoying all the resources this great site has to offer.

www.crescendo.com.au

Welcome to Crescendo Music

Welcome to our new Crescendo Music Blog.

Just a bit about us.

Debbie O'Shea, founder and director of Crescendo Music Education, is dedicated to improving the quality of music education. This will be achieved by providing high quality music related products and services.

We have an exciting website that will equip music teachers around the world with resources to help them teach and train children of all ages.

Stay tune to our blog for more info.

Check our www.crescendo.com.au