Artful-Playful-Mindful in Action brings to life the framework for music learning proposed by Jane Frazee in Artful-Playful-Mindful: A New Orff-Schulwerk Curriculum for Music Making and Music Thinking (# 843344). This book is a collaborative work by several Orff educators from across the United States, recommended for Orff-Shulwerk teachers of grades 2 – 7. It consists of 12 projects developed and evaluated with their students. Work-based insights and ideas are shared by these teachers as they reflect on how the process played out with their students in the classroom. As these teachers developed the lessons, discussed successes and setbacks, and strategized for future projects, they asked these questions:
Is it possible to help our students grow as musicians while at the same time developing critical thinking and social skills that transfer beyond the classroom?
Which songs and pieces do you think make the best musical models?
Which creative tasks do you find manageable for students to complete within a week?
Did that mindful activity assess what my students understood about the concept?
How can we document and share our work with children?
Part 1. Rhythm Projects Grades 2-3
Project 1: two eighth notes and one quarter note - Karen Benson
Project 2: two half notes - Leonard Davis Grades 4-5
Project 3: eighth note, quarter note, eighth note pattern (syncopation) - Diana Hawley Larsen
Project 4: four sixteenth notes - Rachel Bergeron Grades 6-7
Project 5: two sixteenth notes with an eighth note - Leonard Davis
Project 6: eighth note with dotted sixteenth note - Diana Hawley Larsen
Part 2. Pitch Projects Grades 2-3
Project 7: m-r-d - Karen Benson/Shelly Smith
Project 8: d-r-m-s - Diana Hawley Larsen Grades 4-5
Project 9: d-r-m-s-l-d' - Rachel Bergeron
Project 10: la-centered pentatonic - Shelly Smith Grades 6-7
Project 11: re-centered pentatonic - Leonard Davis
Project 12: Dorian mode - Diana Hawley Larsen Conclusion References