Elem Band

On April 2nd I observed Jennifer Murphy’s fifth grade band. I found it interesting that she used “Band in a Box” and had a small giggle about it because I had not considered using it with such a young group. I will probably give it a try now if I have the software in my classroom. The orchestra at Irving had about 13 cellos who meet the music room at the same time that 5th grade bands meets. Because of this, Mrs. Murphy has fifth grade band on the third floor in a regular classroom. I thought that this could hinder the learning process, because of space issues. The band seemed pretty good for being fifth graders. The music that they played was for their fifth grade band festival. One of the pieces that they worked on was Reglaial March from the Standard of Excellence Book. I had worked on this piece with students who participated in Arts without Boundaries; it is challenging for fifth graders because it features 1st and 2nd endings. However, the band handled the endings very well. The last 5 minutes of class were spent making announcements about the upcoming festival.