Music - Ms. Pesa

Term 2

2023-2024

Hello Wessagusset families, parents, and guardians, and happy spring!

Throughout term two, students have worked diligently to build their skills as both musicians and performers. From playing and exploring various musical instruments to singing and learning spring choral repertoire, I have been impressed with the students’ ability to handle instruments with responsibility and care, respect each other's unique singing voices, and listen intently when another student is sharing a musical thought or idea in class.  

Grades K, 1, and 2:  

Students in kindergarten, first, and second grade have learned a plethora of important musical skills that lay the foundation for more advanced music concepts to come in their later elementary years. Throughout term 2, students have been practicing the music for the spring chorus concert coming up in May! K, 1, and 2 students learned about proper singing posture and how to sing with a healthy tone (including breath support). They are continuously demonstrating these singing skills each week in class while practicing our nine concert songs. I’m so excited for the concert and to put on an amazing performance! They’ve worked so hard and I can’t wait for you all to hear the songs. 

Grades 3 and 4:  

Students in third and fourth grade have learned a plethora of important musical skills that lay the foundation for more advanced music concepts to come in their later elementary years. The majority of term two was a continuation of building recorder skills. This includes reading music on a treble clef staff (basic rhythms and notation symbols). Students learned how to play several music notes on their recorders and have strengthened the skill of identifying and naming notes by playing various folk songs through the Recorder Karate curriculum. As of late, we put the recorders to rest and are learning a plethora of other musical concepts. The 3rd grade students don’t need the recorders until next year, while the 4th graders will move on to other instruments next year. The students learned about Irish music and instruments (in lieu of St. Patrick’s Day) as well as how to read and identify notes on a bass clef. The concepts learned in term two will aid the students in the upcoming terms and their future endeavors in music beyond elementary school.  

Grade 5:

Students in fifth grade have learned a plethora of important musical skills that lay the foundation for more advanced music concepts to come in their middle school years. To commence the term, the students learned about the four different instrument families in music: percussion, woodwind, brass, and strings. This included which instruments belong in each family and why, the characteristics that make up percussion, woodwind, brass, and string instruments, and how instruments from each family produce sound (the science behind it). With this knowledge, the students spent several weeks creating, designing, and building their own instruments out of various recycled materials. It was so fun to watch the excitement on their faces as their musical creations came to life and replicated the sounds of several well-known instruments! To conclude the weeks spent building, the students presented and performed their musical instruments to the class, identifying which instrument family it belonged to and how it produced sound. The concepts learned in term two will aid the students in the upcoming terms and their future endeavors in music beyond elementary school. 

“I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music.” ~Billy Joel 

Thank you and have a fantastic remainder of the school year!