Music

Music Ideas for Middle Schools:
 * 1) If we were learning music symbols and note reading, I would include links to sites that drill skills, such as:
 * 2) [|Music Reading: Fun Brain] [|Music Theory Drills] [|music reading games]
 * 3) After a lesson on the elements of music, have students visit [|sound junction]
 * 4) Use Gaggle to send out periodic reminders for kids to practice something specific--then have a "pop quiz" for that person the next day. Or have a special reward for a student who brought in proof (parent signature?) of practice.
 * 5) Time Line: Have a wikispace set up so that kids could put the pieces they are working on in chronological order. General music classes could do this for composers/style periods. Kids could post graphics that matched the period as well as titles or actual clips.
 * 6) Use the Discussion Board option to post comments about a listening assignment done in class or at home.
 * 7) For world music, have a "music dictionary" with pictures of instruments and clips of the instruments being played in context.
 * 8) Also, kids could make their own "music dictionary" of terms they have learned in band or chorus or general music.
 * 9) Use Quia for note reading/vocabulary drills and quizzes.
 * 10) General music students could do a "collage" of where music is found in daily life--video clips or graphics (with sound files) that they could add to throughout the time period.

Have band or orchestra students find websites about their instrument and save them to the "delicious" bookmarks. They could later make a short presentation about their instrument by using a predetermined set of questions. Possible questions could be: What time period was your instrument invented? Name a composer who wrote for your instrument as a solo instrument. List a website that can help you with technique or music fundamentals. Presentations could include powerpoint, or use animoto. Students could take pictures of their instrument or take video of themselves playing (30 sec. or less).