Tom Green Elementary students, like others across the district, learn how music works through the Kodaly approach, led through the process by their teacher, Kodaly-certified James Hickey. The Kodaly pedagogy, Hickey says, “uses folk songs and art music in a highly structured, singing-based and sequential teaching approach that fosters a life-long love of music by understanding how it works.” Singing, movement, and games are all used to engage students in developing musicianship, all while becoming musically literate. Early on--during 1st and 2nd-Grade--students are shown, using Velcro manipulatives, how to notate the pitches to make music notation a tangible experience. (Photo by Jim Cullen)
