2015 Term 1 Week 6: Saint Patrick's Day

The 17th of March is Saint Patrick's Day

Here's a Saint Patrick's Day puzzle. Match the pictures. Look for a leprechaun, a pot of gold, a shamrock, a horse shoe, an Irish flag, balloons, and  a leprechaun's hat. 

Here's a jigsaw puzzle of Irish dancers. Look at the top of the page and you can change the number of pieces you want to have for the puzzle.

Saint Patrick’s Day is a special holiday in the Republic of Ireland and  Northern Ireland.  

It marks the death of the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick. 

Not a lot is known about Patrick, but we do know that he was born in Britain, and at the age of 16 was captured  by Irish raiders  and taken back to Ireland where he was kept as a slave, working as a shepherd.  He became Christian, and escaped from Ireland  to return to Britain where he trained as a priest. He then returned to Ireland to convert the largely pagan Irish to Christianity.  Eventually he returned to Britain where he died.

Saint Patrick’s Day is  a day when many people with (or without) Irish ancestry celebrate the Irish culture and history.  It is also a popular festival in the USA where many Irish people immigrated since the 1700s.    Early Irish immigrants to America started the tradition of a Saint Patrick’s Day parade which still happens today.  

People wear green and often drink Irish beer or whiskey and eat Irish food - especially corned beef and cabbage.

A shamrock, pot of gold and leprechauns are all associated  with Saint Patrick’s Day and are all associated with good luck.

 

Here's a short video with some of thehistory of Saint Patrick's Day. 

Saint Patrick's Day is an important celebration for many people in the USA. Here's more information about it.

Some of the most well known instruments in Irish music are:

- The tin whistle. It belongs to the wood wind section of instruments.

- The bodhran drum (pronounced  a bit like bow-ron ). It belongs in the percussion section of instruments. Watch it being played here.

The fiddle is just another name for the violin.  

The uilleann pipes  are the Irish version of bagpipes. Notice from the picture below that you don't stand to play them, or blow into the mouthpiece as you do with the Scottish bagpipes. You can see them being played here.

Here's a group playing many traditional Irish instruments. Can you pick out the sounds of the tine whistle, the uilleann pipes, the fiddle, the harp and the bodhran?

Here is music with the whistle and bodhran and many images of Ireland. 

Instruments used in traditional Irish music.

Irish music is also very much associated with Irish dancing. Here's Riverdance from the 1990s. 

And here's a computer-generated version of chimpanzees dancing to Riverdance. No animals were harmed in the making of this video...

By popular request - here's some more Irish dancing. 
This is a modern take on Irish dancing. 
 This one's  called Warriors by a dancing group called Feet of Flames.
And Happy Feet! 

Here's an Irish dancing flashmob - at a shopping mall in Vienna.  

The Rattlin' Bog is a fun Irish folk song about a  a tree in a bog (swamp).  As with most folk songs, there are many versions  of the song, and the lyrics (song words) differ in each version. 

Here's one version of The Rattlin' Bog. 

(Chorus 2x) 

O ro the rattlin' bog

The bog down in the valley - o 

O ro the rattlin' bog

The bog down in the valley - o 

And in the bog there was a tree

A rare tree, a rattlin' tree

With the tree in the hole 
and the hole in the bog,

and the bog down in the valley-o 

(Chorus 1 x) 

And on the tree there was a limb

A rare limb, a rattlin'  limb, 

With the limb on the tree, 
and the tree in the hole, 

and the hole in the bog

and the bog down in the valley-o. 

And on the limb there was a branch ...

And on the branch there was a twig ...

And on the twig there was a nest ... 

And in the nest there was an egg ...

And in the egg there was a chick ...

And on the chick there was feather ...  

And on the feather there was a flea ... 

 This is a well known Irish group called the Corrs, playing the tin whistle, fiddle and bodhran. They are accompanied by an electric piano.  

The Muppets do Danny Boy - usually a very sad and serious Irish song. 

Teacher notes from TKI for the Rattlin' Bog. 

2015 Term 1 Week 5: Sing a Song of Sixpence

Sing a Song of Sixpence 

As with most nursery rhymes, the real story behind this song is not known.  Some think the words could have come from plays in the early 1600s.  It's definitely been around for  at least 270 years because the first verse was published in London in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book in some time around 1744: 

What do you think children from the 1700s might think about the picture books we read today?

Sing a Song of Sixpence,

A bag full of Rye,

Four and twenty Naughty Boys,

Bak'd in a Pye

 In the next known printed version (about 1780) has two verses, and the boys have been replaced by  birds.  Other verses were added later on for a happier ending for the maid - with the bird returning her nose. 

It is also believed that the song started out as a coded message used to recruit new crew on pirate ships in the 1700s. 

Here's a fun version of Sing a Song of Sixpence, with several different parts. You can see the four different singing parts - and follow the music here.  The four different singing parts are called soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Listen for the crescendo and decrescendo. 

This is a Wiggles version. How do you think they fitted all those blackbirds in the pie?  

And a Teddy Rock version.  

This is an animated version made by a group of young children in Belfast, Ireland.  

Here is an early record of Sing a Song of Sixpence from 1927.

This is a possible explanation of the origin of Sing a Song of Sixpence. 

You can sing along with this version. 

Here's a version for adults to sing. 

From Beth's Notes blog

 

Vocabulary: 

This is what a New Zealand sixpence looks like. It used to be the similar value to five cents. (Jelly Tips used to be sixpence.) his is what a British sixpence looked like in the 1700s - about the time the rhyme was first known to be published.  

 Rye is a type of grain - like wheat. It's a bit like grass with seeds, and it is used in cereals, bread,  and even some drinks.

Here's some revision on piano and forte. Can you remember which one means loud and which one means play soft? 

And this one reminds us about the crotchet rest for one beat. In this video it's called a quarter rest - for a quarter note, which is another name for crotchet. 

We have already learned about crotchets and quavers. Today we are learning about minims - also known as half notes in the US and some other countries. A minim has the same value as 2 crotchets. You hold the note for 2 counts. 

This is a short video which explains half notes or minims.  

 

Practise clapping or beating these crotchets, crotchet rests, and quavers from last week:

Can you keep up with this rhythm? You may need to practise  several times.  
Here's another crotchet and quaver rhythm with no rests.  Keep practising! 
Here's a real test of keeping up -  a Star Wars  crotchet, crotchet rest and quaver rhythm pattern

Now try the rhythm pattern of quavers, crotchets, crotchet rests and minims (below). 

2015 Term 1 Week 4: Mary Had a Little Lamb

This week's dance is the Sid Shuffle from Ice Age: Continental Drift.

Here's a tutorial to help you learn it step by step.   

And here's the Sid Shuffle in Spanish! 

Mary had a Little Lamb

This week we are practising  rhythms with crotchets and crotchet rests, and adding quavers.  

Here's a speaking rhythm to practise reading and playing crotchets, quavers and crotchet rests.

Can you keep up with this rhythm? You may need to practise  several times.  
Here's another crotchet and quaver rhythm with no rests.  Keep practising! 
Here's a real test of keeping up -  a Star Wars  crotchet, crotchet rest and quaver rhythm pattern.  You might get lost at the beginning of some bar changes, but listen to the rhythm, watch the pattern, and join back in when you think you've got it.

This is a recording of a metronome. It helps you keep a steady rhythm. You can make it go faster or slower. We will use this to help us keep in time with our clapping and percussion rhythms.

Thomas Edison invented the first machine that could record and play back sound. In 1877, Mary had a Little Lamb was the  first spoken recording by him on his newly invented phonograph. Listen very carefully  and you will hear a cornet (a brass instrument a bit like a trumpet), “Hello, Hello” and then the rhyme Mary had a Little Lamb. After that he recites the rhyme Old Mother Hubbard and then you can hear him laugh.

Thomas Edison with his second phonograph in 1878. What did he use for power to make the machine operate? 

Here's a short clip to show you how he recorded and played back sound.

Here's an animated clip showing  Thomas Edison making the first recording and playing back Mary had a Little Lamb.

It is believed that a man in France recorded sound in 1860 - but was not able to play it back. Here is a story about that. 

The nursery rhyme Mary had a Little Lamb is based on what is believed to be a true story of a young girl called Mary Sawyer, in Massachusetts, USA, who rescued and raised a new born lamb after its mother died (just as Mrs Fowler did last year). Her brother suggested she take it to school with her. There was a young man visiting the school that day, and he was very much amused by the incident of a lamb at school and wrote a poem about it. There are several versions of this story but Mary Sawyer was definitely a real person who believed this rhyme was about her.

This is the house where Mary Sawyer- and her lamb - lived.

William Wallace Denslow's illustrations for Mary had a little lamb, from a 1901 edition of Mother Goose.

 

 It is thought that another woman (Sarah Josepha Hale) added the extra verses to the poem in 1830 and published it. The music was added in 1830s by Lowell Mason. Some think that Sarah Josepha Hale wrote the whole poem -  but there are several versions of the origins of this rhyme. Sarah Josepha Hale is also the person who convinced the President of USA  to make Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863.

This is the real school that Mary went to.  What's the same and different about Mary's school and ours?

This is inside Mary's school. I wonder what Mary would find unusual about our school?

Here's a video to help you play Mary had a Little Lamb on the ukulele.

Juniors: Have a go at following these actions to go along with the song. 

Have a go at following this chart while you sing the rhyme.

Here's the Muppets Honkers performing Mary had a Little Lamb. Can you work out how many notes are in the tune?

Kermit the Frog meets Mary and her lamb.

Practise your air guitar to a live version of Mary had a Little Lamb by Stevie Ray Vaughan. 

Here's the Funky Monkeys' version of Mary had a Little Lamb. 

And here's a sing-along version with lyrics.

Here's a dance version of Mary had a Little Lamb.   

Here's another version of a Mary had a Little Lamb dance - with quite a different tune.

2015 Term 1 Week 3: Chinese New Year

 

This week is the start of the Chinese New Year festival. It is also known as the Spring Festival as it is the first day of their spring season.

Chinese New Year is special because it is everyone's birthday. If you are born between the first and last days of the Chinese New Year, you can add one year to your age. For example, if you are 9 now and your 10th birthday is in October, you can already say you are 10.

The Chinese New Year is 15 days long. Each day represents a celebration, and the final day is celebrated with a lantern festival - like the one in Albert Park, Auckland. 

Chinese New Year can be celebrated with a feast, fireworks, hongbao - red envelopes that contain money, new clothes (traditionally each person will buy new clothes for Chinese New Year), spring cleaning in the days leading up to it,  and visiting family.

Each year is represented by one of the 12 zodiac animals.   This year is year of the sheep/ ram/ goat.

2004 was the year of the monkey

2005 - rooster

2006 - dog

2007- pig

Here are some traditional Chinese instruments being played  with some modern backing instruments. Can you identify them using the chart below?

This video is from one of the main TV stations in China. It is the New Year’s celebration filled with many traditional songs, dances, instruments, clothing and so on.

Here is a Chinese New Year song. You might want to watch it several times to follow the words and characters.  By the end of it, you might be able to remember how to say "Congratulations".


Here's a poster of many different kinds of traditional musical instruments from China. 

Traditionally, Chinese instruments fitted into 8 main categories: silk,  bamboo, wood, stone, metal, clay, gourd and hide.

You can hear the pipa played here. The pipa is a pear-shaped stringed instrument which traditionally had strings of silk.

The erhu is a two-stringed instrument played with a bow.  Here is some more information about the erhu.   You can see and hear the erhu in this video, and learn a bit about its background.

You can hear the xiao played here.  The xiao  is a type of flute and is made of bamboo or wood. Look how he blows across the hole of the xiao - it's like blowing across the top of a bottle. (Try that for homework!)

The tanggu is a big drum. You can see it played here.  Here's more information about it.

Here's  a group of young people playing several different types of traditional Chinese percussion instruments.

Seniors:
This week we are learning about crotchets and crotchet rests. Crotchets are also known as quarter notes.
Use the video to practise reading and beating crotchets and crotchet rests.

Here's our listening game from last week. Let's try the harder levels this week.

This is quite a tricky listening game of matching the same sounds, but with a bit of practice, I'm sure you will be able to master it.

Juniors: We are learning about nursery rhymes this term.
Hickory Dickory Dock  first appeared in a book of nursery rhymes in 1744.  Hickory is a tree growing in America, and dock is a weed. There is no particular story behind this rhyme, its just a fun way to start to learn to tell the time using rhyming words. 

Hickory Dickory Dock. 

Hickory, dickory dock
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory, dickory, dock.

Actions for Hickory Dickory Dock

 Print by Margaret Tarrant- 1940s

Here's a  dance for Hickory Dickory Dock 

 Kermit has a bit of fun with Hickory Dickory Dock.

And this is a short cartoon about Hickory Dickory Dock with a different ending.

2015 Term 1 Week 2: Valentine's Day

      Valentine's Day (or Saint Valentine's Day) is February 14th. There are many different stories about the background of Valentine's Day, and here is one of them. Is it true? Well, the facts have been lost or confused over time, but it's  a good story anyway. 

     Valentine is said to have lived in Rome during the third century, when Rome was ruled by an unpopular emperor named Claudius. 

Valentine

    Claudius was having trouble getting men to serve in his army because they did not want to leave their wives and families. He thought that if men were not married, they would join the army. So Claudius passed a new law which did not allow any more marriages.

Claudius II - it was said that he once punched out a horse's teeth!

Rome in the third century

   Valentine, who was a minister, did not support the new law and he kept performing marriage ceremonies secretly. He was caught and thrown in jail and told he would be put to death. 

   Many young people came to visit Valentine. One was the daughter of the prison guard. On the day of his death Valentine wrote a note to the daughter, signed, "Love from your Valentine". This was on February 14, 269 A. D. 

    Some say this started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day.

Here's a short video telling one of the stories about Saint Valentine.

  

One of the greatest love stories is Romeo and Juliet - a play by William Shakespeare who is regarded as one of the most important playwrights in English. Several composers have told the story of Romeo and Juliet through music, including Tchaikovsky.  

This is one of the most well-known pieces of his music from Romeo and Juliet. It's called the Fantasy Overture.  Here's a short part of it. 

- can you identify the sections of the orchestra? 

- what instruments can you name?

- can you hear where it starts to get louder (crescendo - getting louder) and softer (decrescendo or diminuendo)? 

- what are the words we use for loud and soft? 

- how does the conductor communicate with the musicians?

Here's a very short part from the musicians' view of the conductor.

- have a go at copying him.

- what changes does he make in his movements, and how does this show in the way the music is played? 

 Vocabulary:

overture: a piece of music played before the start of a ballet or opera. It usually includes parts of the music of the performance so the audience will know what to listen for. 

crescendo: gradually becoming louder. It uses the abbreviation cresc.  This symbol   means getting louder. 

Decrescendo (decresc.)/diminuendo (dim.) both mean gradually becoming softer.  This symbol means getting louder. 

Here's a short video to help you learn the difference between crescendo and decrescendo.

Learn how to say happy Valentine's Day in Spanish. 

Here's a funny song about love by Kid President, Lennon and Maisy. 

Seniors: 

Here's a funny Valentine's song about a boy who gives a Valentine card to his friend by mistake. 

Here's another song by the same song writer; it's called "I love U". 
 

In Roman mythology, Cupid was the god of love and affection. He carries a bow and arrow, and whoever is hit by one of his arrows falls in love. Cupid is a popular symbol of Valentine's Day. 

 Cupid is also the name of an American singer who holds the Guinness World Record for the most people line dancing his song the Cupid Shuffle. Here's a link to the dance steps.
And another link.   We will work on this over the next few weeks. Here's the official video of the Cupid Shuffle. 
 Here's an animated version with a few  advanced moves to try out. 
And here's a Kid's Bop Shuffle version of the same song.

And just for balance - here's a song called Dumb Love .It's in the key of D if you want to play along on the ukulele. 

 

Some songs and activities for Valentine's Day:

Here's a fun dance called Accidentally in Love from Shrek. 

My Valentine Heart  (echo - tune of Hokey Tokey )

When I say I love you

(Point to lips)

It comes from my heart

(Hand on heart)

You hear it in your ear

(Point to ear)

And it sounds very smart

(Point to head)

I love it when you're proud of me

(Stand very tall)

You say it all day long

(Stretch arms wide)

And when I hear you say it

(Point to ear)

My heart sings a happy song

(Hand on heart)

Ohhhhhhh my  Valentine (make a big heart)

Oh  my Valentine (make a big heart)

Ohhhhhh  my Valentine (make a big heart)

Won’t you be my Valentine  (Clap on the beat)

Be My Valentine
Sung to Mary Had A Little Lamb

You're a special

Friend of mine

Friend of mine

Friend of mine 

You're a special

Friend of mine

Be my valentine!

H-E-A-R-T

Sung to: Bingo

 To show you like your special friends,

Just give them each a red heart. 

H-E-A-R-T, H-E-A-R-T,

H-E-A-R-T,

Each read heart says I like you!