Voices

When I first see Kindergarteners, I teach them the following two songs, which we sing at the beginning of every lesson for the whole year.

Hello Song

For the next song, the students take turns singing their names. This not only helps me learn their names, but I get to know how well they can match pitch.

Hickety Pickety Bumblebee

In order to help students learn to match pitch, I use the words "singing voice" and "talking voice" all the time - throughout all of the grade levels. So many students don't know how to produce a singing voice. They need help producing their head voice. So, I spend the first few months talking about "voices: singing, talking, whispering and 'calling,'" which I tell them is better for their throat than yelling. 

It often helps students to think of where each voice would be used. This PowerPoint is helpful for that.

Voices locations

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Here is the assessment.