Each year the first grade students study Camile Saint-Saens, The Carnival of the Animals. We take an in depth look at each of the fourteen movements that are all based on an animal. Through our studies, students learn how to move to music, identify musical instruments, identify form, describe tone color, and identify each animal they hear. The first grade loves exploring each new animal through movement and games. We also explore the different instruments and their families!
After we have mastered all the movements of the piece, we talk about some animals that Mr. Saint-Saens may have forgot and make our own movement.
Each first grader picked an animal and composed their own musical rendition of their animal. First graders selected rhythms that represented how the wanted their animal to move and dynamics for how loud or soft the creature should sound. After composing an four measure piece of music, each student completed and illustration of their animal and presented their musical composition to the class!
Here are some images of first graders working on their animal compositions!
Here are some of our compositions and illustrations!
