This March, we began our unit on Pitch, which includes learning about the scale and melodic direction for Kindergarten and Grade 1 - are the pitches high, middle, or low? Do they go up? Do they go down? Or do they stay the same? Kindergarten and Grade 1 students next had the opportunity to put this new knowledge into action by exploring pitch on the xylophones.
For Second and Third grade students, our pitch unit includes learning about the staff, and about which pitches go where, and how we use these skills to learn to read music. Then we applied this knowledge by learning to play ukulele in Grade 2 and Recorders in Grade 3.
In May, we have been learning about Form and Design, or the shape of music. For our Kindergarten and Grade 1 students, this unit includes learning about echo songs, call and response songs, same and different, ostinato, and rounds. Students in Grades 2 and 3 are reviewing this information, and moving on to learn about binary, ternary, and rondo forms, as well learning how to recognize repeat signs in written music and what we do when we see them. We will be wrapping up the school year with our instrument family unit in June.
We held our traditional Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony around the flagpole last Friday, and students sang their patriotic songs beautifully.
Afternoon Preschool students are looking forward to their end of year Dem-In-Stration, and Grade 3 students are practicing choral and recorder songs for their Step Up Ceremony. Grade 3 familes, please look for song sheet packets to which are going home today so that students can begin practicing the songs at home.
Both of these events will take place in the Gymnasium at M.E. Small on Wednesday, June 24, 2026:
PM Preschool Dem-In-Stration - 1:15 - 1:45
Grade 3 Step Up Ceremony - 2:30 - 3:00
As always, if you have any questions about what we are doing in music class, please feel free to reach out via Parent Square or email -
healyk@dy-regional.k12.ma.us.
Remember to keep a song in your heart!
Ms. Healy, M.E. Small Music Teacher
