NAME:
Mrs. Julie Jones
SCHOOL:
Matthew Whaley elementary school
CLASS:
Music, k-5
SCHOOL PHONE:
757-229-1931
Welcome to the Matthew Whaley Music room! I have been the music teacher for
grades k-5 general music since September, 2001. My undergraduate degree is in
music education from the College of William and Mary. I have done two levels
of Kodaly training at the Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford.
My previous teaching experience includes 3 years at Walsingham Academy Lower
school in Williamsburg, Va, and 9 years in Chesterfield County Public Schools.
At Matthew Whaley, the children are scheduled for a weekly 45 minute long
music class. In general, the activities for each grade level are as follows:
Kindergarten classes experience music through rhymes, songs, singing games,
dances, and playing rhythm instruments. Basic musical concepts of loud/soft,
high/low, fast/slow, short/long, creating text and movement, steady beat and
timbre are introduced. The children learn social skills such as taking turns
and making choices. They build a repertoire of songs, games and rhymes.
Starting in First grade, basic music literacy skills are introduced. In
First, Second, and Third grades, this is done primarily through songs, games,
rhymes and folk dance.
In the Third grade, the children are introduced to the recorder, as well as continuing to learn
singing games and folk dance.
Fourth grade ties together the literacy skills prepared in the earlier grades
with a semester long study of the recorder. A motivational program called
Recorder Karate is used, in which the children receive different colored
"belts" for passing the songs in the sequence. The recorder unit culminates
with a holiday concert in December. This experience with the recorder opens
up a whole new musical experience for children by involving them with a
melodic instrument. In addition to learning musical notation, they also learn
the discipline required to master a musical instrument. For this reason, the
recorder is also considered a preparation for playing a band or string
instrument in the Fifth grade.
In the Fifth grade, students continue to reinforce music literacy skills
through songs, games, and dances from countries around the world. This culminates in a
performance of favorite world music learned in a performance at the end of school.
They also have the opportunity to participate in band, strings, or chorus. The band and strings
classes are taught by itenerant teachers who are at Matthew Whaley twice a week. I teach the 5th
grade chorus once a week.
While each child at Matthew Whaley has the opportunity to be in a grade level
or class play during the school year, the Fifth Grade chorus is a performing
group with several concerts during the course of the school year. In the
past, the Chorus has performed at the Williamsburg Lodge Tree Tagging in
December, holiday concerts for the school, annual holiday sing in December,
Williamsburg-James City County Choral Festival, Fine Arts night at Matthew
Whaley, the Volunteer Tea, and the fifth grade graduation. The chorus is open
to any fifth grade student who loves to sing. It is an opportunity to sing
more difficult music than is possible in the general music classroom. Chorus
members also learn beginning choral behaviors, such as posture, breathing,
diction, following a director, etc.
