Spooky Season in the Music Classroom

 Oh my gourd, I love fall! 

Spooky season is a magical, mysterious, & mesmerizing time in my classroom.  How about yours?

I'm supposed to love coffee, right?  And pumpkin spice everything?  I still don't love coffee, but I'm down for a cozy cup of cocoa, meandering through an apple orchard, picking pumpkins, and finding little moments of fright!

Set the Scene

By October, most of us have settled into a nice routine with the kiddos.  Mini musicians are singing, playing, & dancing.  More advanced students are working their way through more challenging curriculum.  And you?  If you're not in conference prep, hopefully you're getting ready to enjoy spooky season!

Spookify the Skills

The Core Arts Standards for music invite us to use connect music & holidays, so do just that!  Whatever your curricular objectives, there are so many ways to increase the creepy (or cute) factor.

Looking to create?  

• 
  
  Compose spooky spells with middle school musicians & upper elementary students
• Get crafty with scissors & glue with a Cut & Compose Halloween activity
• Not feeling artsy?  Grab dice to Roll & Compose.  These use tika-tika rhythms which make 16th note practice easy & fun.

• 
  Compose in Chrome Music Lab: Song Maker with guided task cards
• Rhythm & aural dictation are easy to assess as well.  From whiteboards to worksheets, being mindful of color & icons can help kids feel inspired!  I've used pumpkins for Solfege & the rhythm worksheets.

By October, I find I'm looking for ways to assess student skills.  Who can keep a steady beat?  Who understands how music is used in celebrations? Who can distinguish between major and minor chords? 

For me, games are an easy way to check for understanding because:

1. kids are engaged in an activity which leaves me free to wander & assess
2. Kids are motivated to do their best when playing with peers
3. Kids that sometimes feel anxious for "tests" can perform their best without worrying 
4. I also get a nice glimpse into their social skills which provides insight into how they may be when performing in an ensemble

My students' favorite game is Pass the Pumpkin.  They request it for weeks after Halloween as well.  They sing in minor, use head voice, & keep a steady beat! 

THis also checks off the Perform standard in an informal way.  For a song with more rehearsals needed, check out Creepy, Crawly Spider for Orff & Boomwhackers!

Magic & mysteries

If you want to focus on the   Respond standards, might I suggest allowing students to evaluate music through a  Virtual Haunted House ?!

When students have autonomy to explore, their engagement also boosts.  As students age, they'll be able to handle Haunted House Escape Rooms, too!

Ghosts & skeletons & stories - oh my!

Danse Macabre is awesome.  Camille Saint-Saens's programmatic composition is a must-teach for so many reasons!  Firstly, it is a great piece of music.  With easily identifiable melodies for the ghosts & skeletons to teach legato & staccato, even your mini musicians will be able to grasp the material like experts!

Secondly, teaching children to read a listening map is a great pre-reading skill since the maps are icon-based.  This skill translates to following music to identify form. 

Thirdly, being able to connect to other cultures is important!  From a French composer to celebrating All Saints Day on November 1st, there are so many ways to practice connecting music to the world around us!

Head to my TPT and snag your resources today, because Oh my gourd, it's spooky season!

- Jaime