Changing voices and other singing problems

Wednesday my plan was to have my fifth graders quickly sing through most of the songs for their show and then get in some recorder time. The classes chose (with their behavior) not to play recorders, and the singing had some issues, some of which I didn't know how to solve.

I have a few students whose voices seem to be changing and are singing down the octave. I try to encourage them to continue to sing higher, but one boy shook his head at me and I don't want to push him too hard if he just can't get those out right now. I need to do some more research about what I can expect from them (I guess I didn't expect so many changing voices in fourth and fifth grades). I also need to demonstrate singing myself more. I have them sing too much with the CD and some of those go back and fourth between low male voices and higher childrens' voices. Plus a lot of my students think the children singing are women...I've been trying to address that with them.

I've also had boys singing up the octave. Someone told me that can be common with autistic children, but these boys aren't. One might have been doing it to be funny, and the other one just seems to be having trouble matching pitch.

And then I had the girl too busy making flirty faces over her shoulder to bother trying. I came down pretty hard on her and felt bad afterward, but 11 years old is way too early to be throwing away your ability to learn on a boy. She had the flirty face pretty well down, too. I think that annoyed me as well.

I've been thinking about taking voice lessons over the summer (I did all my college work assuming I'd teach instrumental music) but I should probably also do reading on childrens' singing voices. Not that that will fix my last problem.

One concert down and one presumptuous teacher

My fourth grade students at one of my schools performed their show last night. I was really happy with how it went. It was shorter than in the past, with fewer speaking parts, and was pretty much just singing and introducing the songs, plus a recorder group. The students sang in five different languages, music they really enjoyed singing. Today when I saw some of them they told me their show was great! and I agreed. A big difference for this year was that one of the teachers, who usually did a lot with the show, had retired, so I was really in charge. I think I'll try to keep the show the same kind of thing for next year, with maybe more instruments.

I have been having issues with a very presumptuous teacher. This is the first year working with her, and she teaches one of my fourth grade classes. She's the teacher who I had an issue with in this post. Thursday I received an email from her, CC'd to the principal. She was informing me that she wanted me to teach her students a railroad recorder song, plus a Gold Rush one if I had time. Then she reiterated that she doesn't want her students to take recorders home. I was mad. So I responded that her students weren't quite at that level (they're able to repeat notes after me, but I don't know what kind of railroad song I'd teach them before they know "Hot Crossed Buns"). Then I said that I have my own set of standards I need to teach and so it's difficult to take requests from other teachers. She responded well to this so I thought maybe she understood now to treat me as a colleague and not a servant.

Then today she informed me that she'd told her students that everyone who came to the show last night automatically receives the highest grade possible in music. What do I do so that she'll let me do my own job, the way it should be done??? At this point I'm wondering if I need to involve the principal.

Heat wave after spring break

This is the first day back from spring break, and boy is it hot! The air conditioner in my classroom is on a timer, which means it never comes on when I need it and the custodian can't change it. Despite that, I had a good teaching day. My sixth graders have been bothering me about singing a Beatles song, so today we did "Birthday".

First we listened to it and analyzed the form (ABCA). Then we sang along. After that, I told them we were going to compose something in ABCA form as a class. They did pretty well, altogether, although I need to work on having everyone participate in that sort of activity without them interrupting each other and shouting. Next week I'll have them write pieces in small groups so I can make sure they're all participating. But I was impressed with how they did. The first class's composition was mostly eighth notes and quarter notes, which was fine. The next class was worrying about pitch, as well. They ended up with a pretty interesting piece of music, and would have kept going if I hadn't stopped them. My last class's A section was quarter notes and eighth notes on an A, their B section was the famous Beethoven motive, and their C section was the class singing the "William Tell Overture". Fun.

After teaching, I resolved the issue of when my shows are (without any response from the principal). Then I drove to my other school and got the lyric-prompting posters ready for my students, so I can run over there tomorrow and be ready for their dress rehearsal.

It's good to be back in the swing of things.

Staying positive

One of the most effective ways to get good behavior in the classroom is through positive reinforcement. I know that, I've read studies that show that, but it's still really easy to forget. One thing I'm working on is, when students are acting up, taking a breath and acknowledging those who are doing what they're supposed to. This generally gets the others in line and improves my mood.

To give the positive reinforcement, I use "credit cards" (an idea I got from a seminar by Rick Morris. Each student has an index card with their name on it. I give them a bit of time the first week of school to decorate it. And I have hole punches which punch special shapes in the cards. I have an eighth note punch at one school and a star at the other. Once my students have 10 punches in their cards, they choose a prize from my treasure box (the prizes are cheap toys from the dollar store).

Last year, my students were responsible for keeping their cards in their folders. That did NOT work for me. They would fall out and get lost, and it took too much time for me to walk over to the student and punch their card, so very few students got punched (they love it when I say it like that).

This year, each class has their cards on a metal book ring. The best is the ring that I can wear around my wrist like a bracelet. This way, I don't lose them, plus I keep them in seat order so I can easily punch them. Plus there's the added benefit of randomness. I can flip through the cards, pick one from the bunch, look at that student, and punch the card if they're following directions. It's fair. And it forces me to learn everyone's names (if I need help, I see who's around them). And if I'm going to call on a non-volunteer, I can just chose from my cards.

Here's my problem: my rings are starting to get too lose, so they won't stay closed. Any ideas for solutions?

More that I've learned about behavior

When I started teaching, I understood that my students were children and would have a hard time behaving in certain situations. I also felt like it was my responsibility to try to teach them how. I still think these things, but the way I respond to them has changed a lot.

Since my first year I have learned a lot about how to pace a class correctly. My first year, I went too fast. I gave directions once, assuming they would know most of what to do, and then I was frustrated when they didn't do what I had asked. My next year, I learned to give directions better. I would say what I expected, write it down, have students repeat it, show examples, etc. Students knew what to do, but blocked out half of what I said.

This year, I keep the pacing somewhere in between. I keep my students busy. This had eliminated most of my discipline issues. My sixth graders were very difficult at the beginning of the year, so I had them drumming and singing and writing, and the situation improved. I'm still trying to find a balance, and making sure that all their business is helping them learn, so if you have any insights I would love for you to leave a comment.