Dinosaur Book Reviews

Dinosaur by Tamara O'Brien Book Summary

How does We’re Orff 1! work?

The units
In this resource there are 5 different units, suitable for preschool to lower primary classes. Each unit is it’s own entity and develops in its own way, in a step-by-step progression, but each unit follows the same Orff-Shulwerk Principles.
Each unit will take several weeks to work through. Progress at a pace that the class is comfortable with.

"Dinosaur" is the fifth unit. You will find the other four units in the iBooks Store.

The activities
Each unit will work through a standard set of activities, in an order appropriate to its text. The activities will vary but will be drawn from the following:
Movement, Body percussion, Speech, Singing, Instruments
Instrument work will utilise both untuned and tuned percussion and involve Rhythm, Melody,
Ostinato, Bordun and/or Canon.
Each unit concludes with suggestions for drawing on the exploration and creative work done by the
students to create a performance (Putting it Together). 

The techniques
Within each of the activities, the following techniques are used: Imitation, Exploration, Improvisation/creating

Orff Shulwerk
Creative music and movement education

What is Orff Schulwerk?
Orff Schulwerk is an approach to music education. It was developed by German composer and music educator Carl Orff (1895-1982) and colleague Gunild Keetman (1904-1990).

How does it work?
The Orff approach integrates Speech, Singing, Movement and Instruments to teach the elements of music.
Students are immersed naturally, as in language-learning, into Hearing and Imitating, then Making Music, and, later, Reading and Writing music.
Techniques include Imitation (simultaneous imitating), Echo, Ostinato, Canon, Question & Answer.

Instruments and scale
The Orff approach uses percussion instruments specifically chosen or designed for children. Both untuned and tuned percussion instruments are utilised.
Untuned percussion: tambourines, tambours, claves (rhythm/tapping sticks), woodblocks, triangles, castanets, guiros, triangles etc.
Tuned percussion: xylophones, glockenspiels, metallophones etc.

Creating music and music education activities that are appealing to the young, and the very young, can be a challenging undertaking. Tamara O’Brien and Mark Carthew have found an answer to this challenge and created a well-rounded publication, which offers a healthy oeuvre of songs, ideas and activities.
Speech, rhyming, singing, dance movement, percussion, visual clues and all the advantages of modern technology make this an accessible publication full of good ideas.
In a playful and child-centred approach, Tamara and Mark lead us to a world of musical imagination. The teaching–learning processes which are offered here follow the Orff way to music education. Children are involved through imitation, exploration and creation.
For those who have never worked with the Orff approach, the publication provides encouraging starting points. And for those who know about the Orff way to music education, there are plenty of ideas, and pedagogical signposts.
We’re Orff takes children and educators into a world full of fun, imagination, moving about and sounding out – and all of it with a sense of ease.
Christoph Maubach July 2012

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