Somerset Elementary April Specialists Newsletter
Art with Mrs. Lewis
Kindergarten – CIRCLES!
Students continue to explore two-dimensional shapes and three-dimensional forms, now
focusing on the circle. After completing a project on rainbows where they learn that an arc is a
segment of a circle, students find arcs and circles in paintings by Sonia and Robert Delaunay.
They then create their own circle/arc paintings. These two-dimensional paintings are then
transformed into three-dimensional cylindrical windsocks. Students are asked: How is a
cylinder a circular form? How could a windsock be both a tool and a toy? (In social studies
students are studying how tools and toys meet needs.) How does expressing an idea in multiple
ways help everyone understand the idea?
Sonia Delaunay, Rhythme
First Grade – CARS!
First graders are designing and manufacturing toy cars which move. They experiment with
paper folding and cutting techniques to make the chassis, body, axles, and tires of the vehicle.
Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings of a bicycle, a tank, and other modes of transportation give
students inspiration to try new ideas. Students are asked: How can cars harm the
environment? (In science first graders are studying human actions that harm the environment
or limit natural resources.) How could your toy car actually help the environment? (Recycling
materials) How does using different materials, tools, and resources help you create new ideas
or products?
Leonardo da Vinci
Second Grade – Sumi-e Paintings of Butterfly Garden
Second graders learn techniques of painting with a sumi-e brush and ink. They are challenged
to carefully observe 3D plants in a garden and represent them as a 2D artwork. Students are
asked: How can you represent a form with minimal strokes of a brush? Why could sumi-e
painting be considered a spiritual experience? How did you feel when experimenting with this
art form?
Third Grade – Chinese Painting in the style of Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein painted enlarged images of comic strips. Later in life he applied this technique
to painting oriental landscape compositions. Why did he do this? What do you think of the
results? Which paintings do you find most powerful: the original oriental landscapes or his
interpretations? Third graders draw a pine tree using oriental guidelines for landscape
compositions. They then collage their designs with colored papers patterned with dots.
Roy Lichtenstein
Fourth Grade – Trunks
Fourth graders study immigration in social studies. In art, we create miniature ceramic trunks.
Students imagine a person sailing from Europe, through Ellis Island at the turn of the century.
They sculpt and ‘pack’ the belongings this individual will need for survival; for remembering old
world culture, family, and friends; for maintaining spiritual beliefs; and for adventure in the
new world. Some questions students ask themselves: Why is my person leaving her homeland?
What will her profession be in the new world? What items will be most valuable to her in the
United States?
Trunks on display on Ellis Island
Fifth Grade – Van Gogh’s Iris
Fifth graders examine Van Gogh’s ‘Sois Bois’ (undergrowth) paintings currently on display in
Philadelphia. They then paint Iris in a still life and are challenged to develop their own style.
How is your style of painting different from Van Gogh’s?
Van Gogh
PE with Mr. House
For April - Grades K-2 students will be emphasizing activities and games emphasizing aerobic fitness and
utilizing the FITT principle. FITT stands for Frequency, Intensity, Time (of exercise), and Type of exercise.
Kindergarten students will use the skills of underhand and upward movements to explore force of
movements such as with using a rolling and bowling motion, and underhand striking, such as with
paddles and balloons, and beach balls.
Grades 1 & 2 will examine how participating in activities that improve strength and flexibility promote a
healthy lifestyle. And, through games answer the question of how practice, effort, and persistence lead
to skill improvement.
Grades 3-5 will also play a variety of games emphasizing aerobic fitness and utilizing the FITT principle.
FITT stands for Frequency, Intensity, Time (of exercise), and Type of exercise. Grades 3-5 will play games
that emphasize sequentially using cues to throw, catch, kick, dodge, flee, and pursue, or strike objects to
others and/or safely move through space?
Instrumental music with Mr. Glabman
Both orchestra and band students are gearing up for our sensational Spring Instrumental Concert, which
takes place on May 23rd at 7:00 p. m. We will be performing primarily as a combined fourth and fifth
grade orchestra and a combined fourth and fifth grade band. Get ready for a really big sound and some
wonderful music!
The concert will feature diverse music including a piece I have written for the band. Last summer, I took
a string refresher course at Ohio State University. One of the composers-in-residence was Elliot Del
Borgo, one of the most famous composers for school groups. Mr. Del Borgo has written many
outstanding works. The Somerset orchestra will be performing one of them, the “Classic Sinfonia.” This
work is a Mozart-like evocation of the Classical period in music. It is a challenging work you are sure to
enjoy. The orchestra will also perform “Coronation Scene” by George Best, a work requiring great
control of dynamics and expression.
The Somerset Band will feature an African Trilogy of songs including the now-classic “Siyahamba.” As
well, we will perform Victor Lopez’ exciting piece “Armada,” which lets the entire band shine. The work I
have written, “Saxophone to the Maxophone” of course features our fifth grade saxophones but also all
of our fifth grade students.
See you at the concert on May 23rd at 7:00 p. m. in the APR!!
General Music with Mr. Hopkins
In kindergarten, are continuing to work on musical opposites, such as long/short and high/low. The goal of these
st
experiences is to prepare students to be introduced to rhythm (long/short) and melody (high/low) patterns in 1
grade. We will soon be experiencing composition by arranging pictures and icons to indicate sounds. Students will
also continue to work hard on developing their ability to match pitches vocally as well as expand their vocal rage.
First graders are having their first experiences with notating pitches on the staff. We are transferring our
knowledge of how to recognize and sing “sol-mi” patterns to writing “sol-mi” patterns on a simplified three-lined
music staff. Students also had a fun time create our own rhythm piece using found sounds as instruments. Next
week, students will begin to compose a rhythm piece about recycling!
Second graders continue to experiment with improvisation as they respond musically to artwork. This is a part of
an effort to explore the connections between music and other disciplines. We are also developing our musical
vocabulary as we learn the Italian musical terms for loud and soft (forte and piano) and fast and slow (allegro and
largo or lento). Consider quizzing your students to make sure they have this essential vocabulary under their belts.
In the next couple of weeks, we will begin composing simple rhythm patterns and notating them using standard
notation.
Our third grade students are continuing to learn the fundamentals of recorder playing. We are beginning to
realize how very challenging, and yet fun it is to learn how to play an instrument. There are many things that we
have to think about at the same time to be successful. We are now working on songs that include three pitches
and a variety of rhythm patterns. Please be on the look-out for information concerning the new date and time of
our in-school recorder concert! Aside from recorder, we are wrapping up our intensive study of dynamics
(volume) and tempo (speed) by studying how these elements can gradually change in music over time rather than
instantly and learning the Italian music terms associated with this concept. We are also exploring what “Do”
means in music in order to prepare us for the intensive solfege exploration we will be conducting in the fourth
grade.
The fourth grade has been working with rhythmic dictation by notating rhythms that are performed for them. This
is a skill that is studied in AP Music Theory classes as well as college-level musicianship courses. We are also
comparing and contrasting two recordings of the same songs. This task provides us the opportunity to combine all
of the aural analytical skills we have learned thus far to holistically understand the musical choices that performers
make. And of course, we will continue to work on our music reading skills. Students will have more opportunities
to learn songs without assistance through the application of their knowledge of rhythm and solfege syllables.
The fifth grade has just started a unit on African drumming that will take us through the end of the year. Students
will be able to perform a variety of techniques on our collection of djembes as well as have the opportunity to play
some other instruments that native to West Africa. When we study drumming, we change the layout of the seats
in the class to form two semi-circles, which symbolizes the importance of equality when studying music. We have
also just learned about syncopation, which is the act of stressing rhythms that occur between beats, using the
classical Jewish celebration song, Hava Nagila. We even had the chance to dance the hora with it!