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MIDDLE SCHOOL CHORUS

distance learning

LESSON IDEAS

An ongoing and evolving resource of ideas and activities for your students

By Danielle Larrick

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Choir Olympics

THE BASICS

There will be a folder for each day posted in our LMS
Folders will include a video, instructions, and any other necessary information AS WELL AS an event for to complete.
Events will fall into the following categories

Musical Monday
Technique Tuesday
Workout Wednesday
Theory Thursday
Fun Friday

Singers “rank up” by completing events
Singers can earn an extra rank by winning or completing daily challenges!
In my case, students can complete these events at their own pace
Ranks will be tallied at the end of each week
Events & Challenges will be tracked using a Google Sheet. Here is a Sample Sheet that you may copy and customize as needed.

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week 1

FOCUS

Engage

Enrich

Review

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	Preparation	Event & Challenge
Day 1	Teacher recorded video on FlipGrid Check-in with students and share current favorite singer/band/musical	Singers share their responses via FlipGrid CHALLENGE: Singers send link to a favorite performance of singer/band
Day 2	Singers watch Roger Emerson PASTA video	Singers use FlipGrid to explain PASTA or Demonstrate using their favorite song OR Create a digital poster explaining PASTA using Canva, Google Slides, etc.

week 1

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	Preparation	Event & Challenge
Day 3	Singers watch model lung video Singers watch Rainbow Breath Video	After watching the "Model Lung" video, answer the questions below. Describe what happens when you inhale (when you pull down on the bottom balloon in your model). Describe what happens when you exhale (when you push up on the bottom balloon in your model). Why do you think some people can inhale more air at one time than others can? CHALLENGE: Create the project and share a picture of you with your model Now that they are reminded HOW breathing works, I ask them to grab someone in their household and take a moment to try this! Singers aren't the only ones who can benefit from stopping to breathe! After they’ve completed this activity, they describe how they felt BEFORE and AFTER!

week 1 continued

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	Preparation	Event & Challenge
Day 4	Singers sign-up for a free account at Sight-Reading Factory (Offering free licenses right now) Singers watch the tutorial I posted of myself demonstrating the website	Singers complete a sample sight-reading that I set up; Very simple and straightforward to start After students try Sight-Reading Factory, they share what questions they might have? How did it go? What did they find easy? What was challenging?
Day 5	Singers review choir meme directions. Access sample directions here. Make a copy and customize to your needs.	Singers each design one meme. Top 3 earn an extra rank.

week 1 continued

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week 2

FOCUS

Engage

Review of Basics through New Material

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	Preparation	Event & Challenge
Day 1	Singers listen to “White Sand & Grey Sand” (Inspiration from Victoria Boler) Read a history of the English Folk Song Practice Three Sets of Tonal Patterns found in song (Neutral Syllable, Solfege, I sing the neutral syllable and they echo on solfege)	Singers choose they level on which they felt most comfortable and recorded that level of tonal patterns. Submitted via FlipGrid
Day 2	Watch Little Kids Rock Warm-Up Video	After warming up with the video, what techniques did you find the most helpful?
Day 3	Create a poster or image like the one below. I used Canva.	Singers participate in a virtual run/walk as part of practicing self care., then share a selfie.

week 2

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	Preparation	Event & Challenge
Day 4	I used PDF Escape to uplaod a copy “White Sand & Grey Sand” I inserted a form field next to each note in the treble and bass parts. I made sure to put the form field next to the note so students are reading the melodic contour.	Singers open the editable PDF attached to the assignment Singers should be able to click to the right of each note to identify the correct solfege. It begins on "do". Singers fill in each syllable for their voice part. Once finished, they save and upload their work.
Day 5	NO CLASSES

week 2 continued

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meet the author

Danielle E. Larrick is a musician-educator in her 13th year of teaching who believes in the value of middle school music as a means of identity, expression, and connection. She focuses on designing practical, innovative, and engaging music curricula for middle school students. Danielle received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education, with a concentration in Voice, from Temple University. In 2016, she earned a Master of Music in Music Education from The University of the Arts. She currently teaches at Gerald Huesken Middle School, where she directs the 7th and 8th grade choirs and teaches general music courses. She recently published an e-book “Middle School General Music: A Guide to Navigating the Unknown” which can be purchased, along with other resources, at https://www.fflat-books.com/.

@musicalmiddles

Questions or Feedback?

E-mail

musicalmiddles@gmail.com