Music Commercials

I watched the following commercial. It is about Beats Audio and the character is Ellen DeGeneres. In this commercial, she searches for the best music and best beats to listen to so that she can dance. Compare this to the story of Goldilocks. Music has an innate power to control and change how people do things. This is evident from the commercial. How can we use music in our classroom to change people and their behaviors? This will be a major goal and concept for us the remainder of the year.

Wordle

I found this new word picture site called Wordle. It is similar to Taxedo in that one can create word art. In this picture I created, I used instruments and other musical items to create the Wordle. This site can be used as an aid for projects and I can see the value in creating graphic organizers if the information is formatted correctly. This seems like another fun site to use in the classroom and we will be using it to improve learning.

Performance Assessments

Congratulations on your success CMD!!! As you know, we recently had to performance assessments in one week and suffice it to say, you are did a wonderful job! Choral music is still alive in Alabama and in the country and we are living proof that this is true. I am so proud of my students and their hard work and determination. I can truly say that it makes me feel good as a director to have such as hard-working and determined group of gifted singers.

We did receive some very constructive criticism (more for me than you all) but it is always good to have someone else's opinion about your work so that you can look more objectively at what you are doing. Keep up the good work!!!

Spring Break

I know that each of you are enjoying your spring break! The week is almost over (actually it is over including today) and we get right back into the swing of things on Monday. Over the break, I hope that you have been thinking about what plans you have for the future and the remainder of the school year. We are in the last 9 weeks grading period and we have a lot of music yet to learn and perfect. We did well over the past few weeks considering the amount of time and number of performances that we have had. Please take a moment and read the information on the following site. It will provide you with some additional support as we prepare to finish the school year. Enjoy the rest of the week!

Click here to access the article

Tagxedo!!

Tagxedo is a website that allows users to create word paintings and other pictures using words. You can use any shape or design that you want and then either add words or use words from a website. This can be used in the classroom in the following ways:
1. To reinforce words or vocabulary that students need to know
2. To allow students to create brainstorming ideas
3. As a project where students need to relate words to a specific discipline

Click here to access Tagxedo!

I made this image on www.tagxedo.com. This appears to be a useful site that I believe my students will use in the future.... Finding all this new technology will prove beneficial to the students in their future.