Chipper Chopper Joe

Click HERE to view Ms. Swanson's class performing "Chipper Chopper Joe" on Orff instruments. Orff Schulwerk, or simply the Orff Approach, is one of several developmental approaches used to teach music education to students that is used daily in the Peck Place music classroom. It combines music, movement, drama, and speech into lessons that are similar to the child's world of play. 

In the Orff Approach, students play rhythm patterns first by using kinesthetic movements, before transferring them to instruments. For example, before playing the "chip chop chip chop" pattern on xylophones, students were asked to clap the rhythm while singing the song. 

Another important aspect of this lesson is audiation. Audiation is a key component of the Gordon Music Learning Theory. It takes place when the students hear and comprehend music in their heads. You will see an example of audiation in the video during the "B" section. The students "think" the song in their heads, yet are still able to play their instruments parts accurately and in tempo.

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Folk Dancing!

There is a lot of folk dancing going on during these cold winter months here at Peck Place School! Students in second grade have been working on the "Virginia Reel", a dance that is performed in an "alley" formation. Click HERE to view a performance of the dance by Mrs. Haskos' class. This dance features a step called "cast off" in which partners turn away from each other and walk down the outside of the set, or formation.

Students in fourth grade have been building upon their knowledge of folk dance steps from previous grade levels through square dancing. Square dancing is performed in a "square" formation and requires a much quicker transition between steps, which are given by a "caller". Click HERE to view a performance of "Simple Square" by Mrs. Tickell's class.

Dance and movement are important parts of the general music curriculum. Dance traditions are passed down through generations to celebrate important occasions from diverse cultures. Folk dancing requires rhythmic competence, challenges students to be aware of their bodies physically, and requires them to use their brainpower to keep complicated sequences of movements in their memories.