Special Area Spotlight
Chantilly Montessori
December 2015
Media
Lower El - Students are learning about the elements of folktales while studying author/illustrator Paul Galdone. Ask your child to tell you about one of Galdone's tales and why it is considered a folktale.
Upper El - Students are learning about the fiction genre and will study one fiction writer. Ask your child to tell you about one type of fiction or the author he/she has chosen to study.
Music
Primary - Our focus for December is on differentiation between the singing voice and the speaking voice. We will use traditional nursery rhymes and children's songs for this body of work.
Lower Elementary - Our focus for December is recognizing note and rest values and applying them to speech pieces and songs. In addition, lower elementary classes will focus on the meter of the music (2 vs. 3).
Upper Elementary - Our focus for December is the application of prior knowledge and instrument playing techniques to create 8 and 16 beat rhythmic ostinatos to accompany songs and poetry. In addition, upper elementary students will explore how the vocal mechanism works.
Chorus members continue to meet weekly to prepare for winter and spring performances in the community.
Orchestra students are playing with and without the bow in the keys of D and G major.
Please email me if you would like to observe your child's music class and I will help you arrange that visit.
PE
Lower El- Lower El will work on smooth and timely transitions between movements. The students will be working on these skills in the form of dance. They will engage in traditional dances as well as create some of there own movement patterns.
Upper El- Upper El will create their own movement sequence. They will work on smooth fluid movements with a variety of rhythmic patterns. The students will also investigate different ways to demonstrate a variety of verbs or action words.
Health- We will finish our unit about personal and consumer health. During this unit we focus on chronic diseases and how an individual's lifestyle can impact his/her health over a long period of time as well as prevention. We discuss communicable diseases and how to prevent those as well. We also focus on eye, ear, and skin safety.