At The Biome, we inspire our students to be curious and to explore their interest in the world around them.
Specialist teachers provide creative and enriching learning experiences in Music, Art, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) and Physical Education.
ADAPTIVE THINKING OVERVIEW (Art and Tech)
Adaptive thinking uses art and technology to teach students the “studio habits of mind” (Develop Craft, Engage & Persist, Envision, Express, Observe, Reflect, Stretch & Explore, and Understand Art Worlds). Adaptive thinking introduces students to multiple mediums: drawing, painting, 3-d constructions, fibers, Lego architecture: coding, and digital literacy. The classroom is a structured studio environment where ideas and studios are guided by art history, tech history, enthusiasm, and the joy of discovery. Available tools, art materials, and technology are introduced to students, who can then access and arrange these materials independently to initiate and explore their creations, from paintings to video games. Select a tab below to learn more about Guiding questions for Adaptive Thinking at the Biome.
“I like to create different things using code. Someday soon, I want to be able to code my own Minecraft mods. I made a quiz game about different types of government. I am about to get my first 100 lines of code award.”
“I made a Fish game using Tynker. Coding is an opportunity to learn something that most kids don’t get to do in school. I like it because of all the different things you do by learning just one coding language. I have finished 23 projects and made 633 lines of code.”
“I coded a Drum Machine using Tynker. You can use the arrow keys and some others, like shift and the space bar, to make your own music. This year I have created 296 lines of code and 23 projects in Adaptive Thinking.”
“I love all of the lessons in Tynker. I have completed over 20 lessons. My favorite lesson is when we learned how to first make games. I made a cool paper dragon game where you chase fireworks with the dragon. I just got my first 100 lines of code award.”
- Why do we make art?
- How can we stretch and explore in AT class?
- What do artists/creators do when they make mistakes?
- Why do artists/creators plan their work?
- How do artists/creators decide when they are finished?
- How do we reflect on our art/invention?
- How do artists/creators see?
- How do artists/creators observe the world?
- Why do artists observe their processes and their work?
- How do I take care of technology?
- How do we find a happy balance between our online and offline activities?
- How do you say goodbye to technology when you don’t want to?
- How are we all part of an online community?
- What is artistic voice?
- How do artists/creators develop their techniques?
- Why do artists/creators express their ideas?
- How do artists/creators stretch themselves and take risks?
- What are the ways we can stretch and explore as artists?
- Why do artists/creators affect their communities?
- What do I stand for, and what stands for me?
- How do artists/creators communicate?
- What and who do I stand for?
- How do artists/creators form communities?
- How do I deepen my practice in the arts?
- Why are the arts important to a life well lived?
- How do digital citizens take responsibility for themselves, their communities, and their world?
- What does media balance mean for me?
- How does what I post online affect my identity?
MUSIC OVERVIEW
A Teacher’s Perspective
All students study Classroom Music in grades the Primary and Intermediate Programs. Our music program provides opportunities for performing, creating, and exploring music of all kinds. Students are encouraged to be confident performers as well as creative and critical thinkers who respond to music with insight and understanding. Select a tab below to learn more about Classroom Music by grade level.
1. Students will experience, demonstrate, and describe the same and different sounds
- Loud and soft
- Long and short
- Talking and singing
- High and low
- Sound and silence
- Fast and slow
2. Kindergarten students will experience and begin to demonstrate songs that use Long sounds and short sounds together in sequence.
3. Kindergarten students will learn to hold and play non-pitched instruments, as well as pitched instruments
- Hand drum
- Woodblock
- Tambourine
- Cowbell
- Triangle
- Xylophone
- Rhythm sticks
4. Kindergarten students will develop performance skills
- Will develop correct and appropriate movement during dance or song
- Will sit or stand correctly when in an audience or performing
- Will keep a steady beat
- Will develop Rhythmic interplay within group activities.
- Will sing and perform Nursery rhymes that include musical scale tones of Do-re-mi-so-la
- Will perform music with a specific purpose with expression, appropriately for an audience
1. Students will experience and perform basic elements of Rhythm
- Quarter note, quarter rest, and beamed eighth notes.
- Students will create, perform, and notate simple rhythms.
2. Grade 1 students will develop listening skills.
- Will distinguish music that has a steady beat and no steady beat.
- Will identify high and low sounds through movement with one’s body
- Will show through movement and explain how music makes one feel.
3. Grade 1 Students will develop a basic music vocabulary.
- Vocabulary that refers to musical instrumentation construction, such as woods, metals, plastics, etc.
- Vocabulary that refers to musical notation, such as staff, notes, beat, dynamics, repeat, quarter notes, eight notes
- Vocabulary related to types of musical instruments, such as percussion, strings, horns, mallets, etc.
4. Grade 1 students will develop performance skills
- Will perform musical patterns correctly with a steady beat
- Will perform music by singing, playing an instrument, and moving
- Will explore and experiment with musical concepts
5. Grade 1 students will listen to, sing, and share their ideas about the music, where it’s from, and what makes the music artistically unique.
6. Grade 1 students will sing melodies that include Do – re – mi- fa – so – la
7. Grade 1 students will demonstrate how interests, knowledge, and skills relate to personal creative choices and performance choices.
1. Students will experience and perform basic elements of Rhythm
- Will perform, read, and notate songs that include the half note, half rest, and the eighth note
- Will aurally identify Do – re – mi- fa – so – la
- Will identify High/low, loud/soft, and fast/slow
- Will be a good listener and exhibit “audience etiquette”
2. Students will develop an expanded music vocabulary
- Will define Tempo, Forte, Piano, Obstinate, measure, and rhythm.
- Will learn names of orchestral instrumentation sections
3. Grade 2 students will develop performance skills
- Will perform music by singing, playing instruments, moving, and listening critically
- Will perform music with expression, technical accuracy, with a steady beat
- Will explore musical concepts of various styles
4. Grade 2 students will strengthen their musical reflection artistically
- Will identify musical styles and musicians from around the world
- Will critique their musical performances of themselves, as well as others
- Will apply personal and expressive preferences in the evaluation of music for specific purposes
- Will generalize and conceptualize artistic ideas and works
1. Students will perform, read and notate the elements of rhythm.
- Dotted half notes
- Whole notes
- Whole rest
- Half rest
- Beamed sixteenth notes
2. Grade 3 students will develop creative skills
- Create short melodic and rhythmic patterns
- Use musical notation to record musical ideas
- Can edit and revise ideas to create a finished product
3. Grade 3 students will expand their musical vocabulary
- Bar line
- Double bar
- Canon/round
- Time signature
- Unison
- Major/minor
- ABA form
4. Grade 3 students will develop performance skills
- Will perform on musical instruments with appropriate technique
- Will read and interpret standard notation
- Will adjust the performance of a musical selection based on classroom feedback
5. Grade 3 students will strengthen their musical reflection skills
- Will identify music from around the world
- Will critique one’s own musical performance, as well as others
- Will use appropriate musical vocabulary to discuss musical ideas
- Can select music that represents one’s culture and communities ideals
1. Students will perform, read, and notate songs with elements of rhythm
- Beamed and broken eighth notes
- Beamed sixteenth notes
- Dotted half notes
- Half note, half rest
- Whole note, whole rest
2. Grade 4 students will strengthen their creative skills
- Compose a melody in a major or minor key
- Can use notation to record musical ideas
- Can improvise a short rhythm or melody
3. Grade 4 students will expand their musical vocabulary
- Accelerando
- Chorus
- Verse
- Ritardando
- Scale
- Syncopation
- Meter
4. Grade 4 students will increase performance skill
- Adjust the performance of musical selection based on feedback from teacher and peers
- Can read and perform written musical ideas
- Can perform on musical instruments with appropriate technique
5. Grade 4 students will strengthen their musical reflection skills
- Recognize musical ideas from around the world
- Reflect on one’s own musical performances, as well as others
- Can use appropriate musical vocabulary to discuss musical ideas
- Can apply established criteria when evaluating musical performances
- Exhibit proper performance decorum and audience etiquette
6. Grade 4 students have the option to participate in a Choral Ensemble, or Percussion Ensemble
1. Students will perform, read, and notate songs with elements of rhythm
- Beamed and broken eighth notes
- Beamed sixteenth notes
- Dotted half notes
- Half note, half rest
- Whole note, whole rest.
2. Grade 5 students will strengthen their creative skills
- Compose a melody in a major or minor key
- Can use notation to record musical ideas
- Can improvise a short rhythm or melody
3. Grade 5 will expand musical vocabulary
- Rondo
- Repertoire
4. Grade 5 students will increase performance skill
- Adjust the performance of musical selection based on feedback from teacher and peers
- Can read and perform written musical ideas
- Can perform on musical instruments with appropriate technique
5. Grade 5 students will strengthen their musical reflection skills
- Recognize musical ideas from around the world
- Reflect on one’s own musical performances, as well as others
- Can use appropriate musical vocabulary to discuss musical ideas
- Can apply established criteria when evaluating musical performances
- Demonstrate the relation of music to other artisan disciplines
- Exhibit proper performance decorum and audience etiquette
6. Grade 5 students have the option to participate in a Choral Ensemble, or Percussion Ensemble
MIND & MOVEMENT
A person’s attitude towards physical activity and healthy habits is often shaped by childhood or adolescence experiences. Our programs are founded on helping students build motor skills, practice good sportsmanship, and develop physical literacy. Our passionate educators are committed to creating welcoming spaces, a mindset of growth and perseverance, goal setting and achievement, and a culture that values healthy habits to support well-being.
We value Mind and Movement as a vehicle to:
- Improve physical and mental wellbeing;
- Explore experiences and opportunities to develop skills in leadership, teamwork, and goal-setting;
- Be challenged and to build confidence, self-belief, and resilience;
- Make friends and strengthen relationships;
- Laugh and have fun;
- Create opportunities for learning and growth.
MEET OUR SPECIALS PROGRAM EDUCATORS
High-quality academic programming begins with an excellent and caring instructional stall. Positive and secure relationships between educators, families, and children are central to our learners’ development. Each Specials Program Classroom Leader holds an appropriate certification with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
