Knowing When to Stop.....

As an Orff specialist, I am always challenging myself to create the next great new idea to help my students discover their inner musician.  Through experimentation and student feedback, I have created some very engaging lessons that have become grade level traditions.

There is The Bremen Town Musicians in Kindergarten; Hickory Dickory Dock in 1st grade; Mr. Pine's Purple House in 2nd grade; recorder bird calls in 3rd grade; the Hot Cross Buns monster in 4th grade; Canoe Song Islands in 5th grade.  It's all pretty cool stuff and I'm not just saying that.  The reason I keep on teaching these lessons is because year after year, my students have enthusiastically enjoyed them.

But, as an Orff specialist, I am always challenging myself to create the next great new idea to help my students discover their inner musician and, truth be told, experiments don't always work.

Recently, I attended my local chapter Orff workshop and was inspired to try something we had done.  At first, my adaptation of the idea seemed to go well:  randomly played bass bars and crazy, mixed up glockenspiels were a big hit with my little after school Orff ensemble.  And the instrument bit seemed to perk up my 5th graders.  But when I tried to connect the music with movement, their attitudes started to change.  Well, let me try it again with tomorrow's class.  I think I have a better way of approaching it now.  That's what I thought.  And it seemed to go a smidge better, but not much.  Don't give up.  I told myself that they just needed to get comfortable with the movement aspect.  Take away the instruments so they can focus on movement.  What?  Take away the part that got them interested in the first place?  Well, doesn't the saying go, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again"?  Again, I tried, but by that point, my students had already made up their minds.  They didn't like this anymore and they pretty much told me.  "Mr. D, when do we get to do something fun again?" Eduardo said, and I was shocked back into reality.

Despite my best intentions, I had lost sight of my students' needs.  Sure, fun is not listed as a standard and cannot be adequately assessed, but without it, my class becomes little more than musical drill work.  And that's no fun for anyone.

So, onward.  With Easter and spring break on the horizon, I will be reprising some of my kid-tested and teacher-approved activities.  We will bunny hop.  We will have a visit from John the Rabbit.  We will be Going On A Picnic.  And I will experiment with Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit.  I just hope that this time around, my experiment yields good results and doesn't blow up in my face.

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