This is a fun and interactive music class for a small group of learners who are seven to eight years old.  Through actions, pictures, singing, movements, listening, and games, we will have a great time learning.  We can improve and gain knowledge in lots of fun ways when we sing, clap, and move to great music.  Okay, let's get technical!

In this course, learners will gain musical knowledge and skills through participation.  Your learner can learn songs that increase their knowledge base and prepare them for learning to read folktales, stories, and other kinds of reading and vocabulary in the future.  In each class, we will practice conversation by saying, "Hello, I am," and then we will say our names.  We will learn the words, see pictures, and sing songs.  In our first class, we will learn to sing "On Top of Old Smokey," "La Cucaracha," and "America, the Beautiful."  While we sing the songs, we will practice musical skills like steady beat, accented beats, and the downbeat.  We will recognize high and low pitches, short and long sounds, fast and slow tempo, and loud and soft volume.  Students will learn that melodies go up and down and that phrases can be alike and unalike.  We will also begin to learn the special way that music is written down by learning what whole, half, and quarter note are.  Students will clap rhythms and will practice echo singing.  Learners will also learn to move responsively to music by marching, walking, hopping, and swaying.  Learners will learn to sing unaccompanied by instruments.  This class is very fun and friendly.  The literacy goal is to introduce these songs, pronounce the vocabulary words correctly, and to make their meaning clear.  We will talk and ask questions between songs and when we are learning the words.  At the end of each class, we will say goodbye.

The Music and Literacy course involves participation, discussion, and learning activities.  Learners will apply what is learned in this class in the Music Appreciation course by listening and talking.  I have broken an hour-long course into two separate courses intended to be taken during the same semester.  The First Grade Music Appreciation course involves listening to great works of music, identifying, and applying what is learned through experience in this course.  This pair of eight-week courses covers half of what a first grader should practice weekly in order to fully learn the musical skills and gain the knowledge base they need before second grade.  Another pair of eight-week courses will be offered during the spring semester to cover the second half of the musical training first graders need.  It's going to be fun!  I hope to see your learner soon!