Specialty Classes Update

Rotation: 01/13/25 – 01/31/25

Music – Mrs. Hunt  [email protected]

1st graders are learning a song called Three Billy Goats Gruff. Once we learn it we are performing the parts and having a lot of fun with this folk tale. We are learning about the treble clef, the staff, line and space notes, and what the names of the notes are called. We are creating music with the notes on the staff and then playing a fun game to help us remember them.

2nd graders are working on their Glow program. We are also learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and learning songs from the Civil War. Our northern song is When Johnny Comes Marching Home and our southern song is Dixie.

3rd graders are learning about Benjamin Britten who wrote The Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra. We will be spending time on the different instruments in the orchestra and the families they are in. We are learning about how the instruments work together in beautiful harmony with the conductor leading them.  We are also learning 2 Spirituals- This Little Light of Mine and He’s got the whole world in His hands.

4th graders are learning Auld Lang Syne and talking about goals for the New year. We are spending the bulk of our time learning the Utah songs for our program in March.

5th graders are learning new chords on the ukulele and learned a spiritual called Rock-A My Soul. We are singing and playing the song and the kids are doing great! We are also spending the bulk of our time learning the Hope of America songs for our concert in May.

6th graders are perfecting the songs for their pillow concert and learning their drum lines. We are also learning about country music- where it all started to where it is now.

Computer Lab – Mrs. Stonely  [email protected]

Kindergarten – Digital Citizenship: We discussed being kind online.  We talked about not only being a good friend on the playground but one online as well.

Lesson: Students explored their digital creative side creating original artwork pieces on the following websites: ABCya Paint, ABCya Mirror Painting, This is Sand and Silk Weaving.

1st Grade – Digital Citizenship: We discussed how technology makes us feel and to listen to what our bodies are telling us when we are online. 

Lesson: Students created two stop motion movies on ABCya Animate. The last day of class students created a short movie and shared it with the class telling their story over the big speakers.

2nd Grade – Digital Citizenship: Students discussed the rings of responsibility and how they can be a positive influence to themselves, their community and the world.  

Lesson: Students were given their own user login name and password.  Students will no longer sign in with the computer lab’s global login.  Students knowing their personal login name and password will allow them to log into school from home and will help prepare them when they go to third grade.

3rd Grade – Digital Citizenship: We talked about keeping online games fun and safe.  Students learned strategies of what to do when someone is unkind or making them feel uncomfortable online.

Lesson: Students created “All About Me” presentation slides in Canva.  Students then shared their presentation with the class using fun Canva presentation enhancers; including bubbles, drumroll, applause and more.  Students will be using the skills they learned in Canva to create and present their biography reports in their regular classrooms.

4th Grade – Digital Citizenship: Students discussed the effects of the words wie use and how it affects others.  We talked about showing empathy and trying to understand another person’s point of view, helping us be conscious of what we post and share online.

Lesson: Students learned the program, ‘Tinkercad, an online 3D design tool.  Students created keychains in Tinkercad and emailed them to Mrs. Stonely to be printed.  Ask your child about their keychain, they were pretty proud of their creations.

5th Grade – Digital Citizenship: Students were given strategies on how to tell if a website is fake or real.

Lesson:  Students started working in Tinkercad again, students are creating pencil toppers.  Students had to design a pencil topper base and put a hole in the bottom of it.  Students will add a “topper” to their base next rotation and then email them to Mrs. Stonely to be 3D printed..  I was really proud of how well the students did working with a 3D design program.

6th Grade – Digital Citizenship: We discussed the affects our words and actions can have on others.  We discussed being kind online and how what we post is seen by future colleges and employers.

Lesson: Students started working in Tinkercad again.  This year they are designing a “desk buddy”. Students must create their desk buddy only using basic shapes in the program.  This week we learned how to manipulate basic shapes and students got to begin creating their desk buddy to be 3D printed next rotation.

Art – Mrs. Clarke  [email protected]

Students worked on a piece of art that will be used to help decorate for the Book Fair next week.   Some did not finish theirs and took it home to work on.  They were told to turn them into me on Tuesday.  Will you please mention it in your classes tomorrow and Monday for those that might need a reminder?  If anyone brings theirs back before Tuesday feel free to put them in my box or just have them save them to bring to me on Tuesday when I’m in my classroom. 

They did a great job with their projects and really cared how they turned out!  They were more careful and deliberate than usual and it really helped to have their chromebooks.  Thanks so much for your support and trust!   So glad you’re willing to share them with me!

Rotation: 10/21/2024 – 11/08/2024

Music – Mrs. Hunt  [email protected]

1st grade is learning about program music. We will listen to the music and story of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice and then create our own story and put it to music. We act out the story while the music is played so we create program music. We will learn Dem Bones and how our own skeleton is important to take care of. We can keep our body strong by eating healthy, exercising, and getting the rest we need. We will be singing fun Halloween songs as well.

2nd grade is learning the Glow songs and is going through the script and learning their parts in the musical. We will learn fun Halloween songs.

3rd grade is learning the Veteran’s Day songs and will be performing for you on Monday, Nov. 11 at 9:30 am. We will learn fun Halloween songs with rounds and circle games.

4th grade is learning how to play the recorder. We will review B, A, and G and then start playing fun songs. We will learn E and D as well. We will learn the Australian unofficial national anthem, Waltzing Matilda and learn fun Australian words.

5th grade is learning to play the ukulele and are playing a few songs with C, C7, G7, and F. We are playing songs with strumming techniques and even singing while playing. WE are learning what a minstrel song is and what minstrel shows were in the 1800’s. They have been learning Camptown Races. We are learning about singing a melody and a descant together. 

6th grade is continuing to learn fun songs for their pillow concert later this year. They are getting better at drum lines and bucket drumming with fun rhythms.

Each rotation has learned about these composers so far:

Beethoven, Mozart, Saint Saens, and this rotation is Bach. Ask your child about any of these composers and see if they can tell you something you don’t know! 

Computer Lab – Mrs. Stonely  [email protected]

Kindergarten – Digital Citizenship: Students learned about media balance and the importance of keeping our lives balanced.

Lesson: Students developed their coding skills by working on the website, “Kodable”. Kodable helps students develop fundamental coding skills, grow confident in their problem solving, and experience the joy of real coding and creation.

1st Grade – Digital Citizenship: We discussed what is private information and when not to share it online.

Lesson: Students got to experience Bee Bots, working with a partner they had to program their robot to follow the sequence of a nursery rhyme and code the Bee Bot through a maze.

2nd Grade – Digital Citizenship: Students discussed how they can help put a stop to online meanness and how being a good friend in the real world is the same when they are online.

Lesson: Students worked with Bee Bots.  Students worked in pairs coding Bee Bots through several mazes.  Students were also introduced to a grid treasure map where they had 3 levels to code their Bee Bot through.

3rd Grade – Digital Citizenship: We talked about the importance of media balance, students discussed the digital habits we form and how some can be good and others are not.

Lesson: Students coded a program in Scratch. Students had to create a program using animation (changing costumes), changing backdrops, adding speech and sound.  It was a lot of fun to see the creativity of the 3rd graders.

4th Grade – Digital Citizenship: Students discussed what a “Super” Digital Citizen looks like and what superpowers a super digital citizen would have.  The students decided that the best super power a person could have is kindness.
Lesson: Students got to experience AI.  Students got to talk to a mountain man and learned about their impact on Utah history.  Students also created a mountain man tall tale using AI and  generated a mountain man picture.  Ask your child about their amazing tall tale.

5th Grade – Digital Citizenship: Students learned about digital friendships, how they can be positive and negative.  We discussed red flags to watch out for as they make friends online.

Lesson:  Students coded maze games in Scratch.  Students had to design the maze, code their sprite (character), incorporating “If / then” blocks.  Some students created  multiple levels to their maze games.

6th Grade – Digital Citizenship: We discussed their plans on how to be safe online.  Students shared their plan of what they will do when they see an inappropriate picture, or receive a message from a stranger online.
Lesson: Students worked on reinforcing their typing skills by working on a Finger Family tutorial.  Students experienced some dictation and had some fun race typing on Nitro Type.

Art – Mrs. Clarke  [email protected]

Our art this last rotation was inspired by the artist Louise Bourgeois who is most famous for her spider sculpture called Maman that can be found all around the globe, including 2 in Washington DC.  We also made spider webs for our tin foil sculptures to live.

Our art this last rotation was inspired by the artist Louise Bourgeois who is most famous for her spider sculpture called Maman that can be found all around the globe, including 2 in Washington DC.  We also made spider webs for our tin foil sculptures to live.

Rotation: Sept. 30 – 18, 2024

Music – Mrs. Hunt  [email protected]

1st grade- We are learning about the instrument families in the orchestra. We are listening to the music and reading the story from Peter and the Wolf and how the instruments in the orchestra represent different characters in the story. We will be able to group the correct instruments into the correct families and know where the families sit in an orchestra. We will watch the movie, Peter and the Wolf. We will also learn the songs Buckle Up, There’s a hole in the bucket, and Skip to my Lou.

2nd grade- We will be choosing a first, second, and third choice in our Glow Musical. We will learn about the characters in the musical, how everyone in the musical is important, and how to share our talents with others. We will learn about crescendo (getting louder) and decrescendo (getting softer and using our voices to create those dynamics. We will learn the songs from the musical and learn Clementine.

3rd grade- We are working hard on learning our Veteran’s Day songs. This is the 3rd year we will have done this amazing program. We will be performing on the morning of Nov. 11, which is Veteran’s Day. Please put this on your calendar now and think about who would enjoy coming in your family who is a veteran or is still on active duty. We would love to honor them. We will continue learning our songs for the program while also learning the difference between a fanfare and a bugle because we are learning Taps, Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, and Stars and Stripes Forever written by John Sousa.

4th grade- We are reviewing musical terms we learned in 3rd grade by playing bingo. We are also getting recorders and learning how to play the first 3 notes B, A, and G. If your child would like to purchase the one they use this year they are welcome to pay in the office in May.

5th grade- We are learning about the Magic Flute Opera. We will listen to the overture and then learn about the story. We will also introduce the ukulele and how to play 3 chords C, F, and G7.

We will learn how to strum different rhythms and play many songs. We will continue to learn our Hope of America songs for our program on May 6, 2025 at the Marriott Center in Provo. Please mark your calendars for this amazing event.

6th grade- We are learning about many tempos we can sing and play our hand drums to. We are learning how to play the different hand drums, rhythms, and layering different rhythms together. We will also be learning the pillow concert songs, I’ve Been Everywhere and The Museum song. 

Alpine Eagles Choir- This is after school on Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30 and includes 4th-6th graders. We are learning some fun Christmas music and I’m very excited about the sound and quality these kids are already practicing with! I love working with your children!!!

Computer Lab – Mrs. Stonely  [email protected]

Kindergarten – Digital Citizenship: Students were introduced to a concept called the Internet Traffic Light. Green means “go,” indicating a site you know is safe. Yellow means “go slow” and ask an adult if it’s safe. Red means “stop,” indicating a website that is not appropriate for you.

Lesson: Students worked on the “Teach Your Monster To Read” website, which helps reinforce phonics skills and develop computer mouse skills.

1st Grade – Digital Citizenship: We read the book, “Good Pictures, Bad Pictures,” by Kristen A. Jensen. We discussed what to do if they see a bad picture: “Turn, Run, Tell.”

Lesson: Students worked in Scratch Jr., learning how to edit backdrops and characters in their program. They coded an alien planet with dancing aliens.

2nd Grade – Digital Citizenship: The concept of digital trails was introduced; students learned that every time they go online, a record is kept of the sites they visit.

Lesson: Students coded a Scratch Jr. grid maze game, learning to create a maze and then code a sprite (character) to complete the maze.

3rd Grade – Digital Citizenship: We learned about our digital trails and discussed that the things we post, share, and create online are permanent. We emphasized our responsibility to be mindful of what we broadcast to others.

Lesson: Students were introduced to coding in Scratch; in previous years, they coded in Scratch Jr. They created an animated word program with letters changing colors, sizes, movements, and bouncing.

4th Grade – Digital Citizenship: We discussed personal vs. private information and what is okay to share online.

Lesson: Students worked in Scratch, developing code to make their sprite change costumes, speak, and change the backdrop.

5th Grade – Digital Citizenship: Students learned about their digital presence and discussed how future colleges and employers look at it.

Lesson: This week, students practiced typing, reinforcing correct finger placement and learning finger families. They also had the opportunity to try dictation and enjoyed it.

6th Grade – Digital Citizenship: We discussed how people use social media to promote themselves and how it doesn’t always portray true reality.

Lesson: Students worked in Google Sheets, learning how to add basic functions and conditionals. 

Art – Mrs. Clarke  [email protected]