New and refurbished ideas for LDS Primary Music Leaders (a.k.a. Primary Choristers)

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

ASL VS PSE: STAND FOR THE RIGHT CHEAT SHEET

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE VS. PIDGIN SIGNED ENGLISH
Using sign language in teaching a song is a great method to help teach and reinforce the words to the song, especially for the younger children.  It also is a way to incorporate movement while the children keep their focus on you while concentrating on learning the song. "Stand for the Right" is a very easy song to teach with sign language.


Now, the true American Sign Language (ASL) has a different syntax than the spoken English, that is, the sentence structure is not spoken the same as the English speaking sentence structure a.k.a grammar.  Because true sign language will not match up with how one speaks the spoken word, or in this case sings the words, it can sometimes be confusing for children who want to relate the sign they are doing to the word(s) they are actually singing.  For this reason, I tend to teach sign language using what is known as Pidgin Signed English (PSE).  This combines English syntax with ASL signs; in essence, combining many signs from ASL but using it with a sentence structure more closely related to English.  This is actually a very common way for hearing signers whose first language is English and who doesn't sign on a regular basis as well, to sign with those who are deaf, and those who are deaf are very adept at understanding and using this form of English signing.  At least, this is what I have been told by those I know who are deaf.


Being that English is my first language and I am not deaf and the children in my Primary being the same, I am comfortable with not teaching signing in its truest sense, but teaching it in a way that is easier for non-signers to understand with the way they speak by using PSE.  The reason I am explaining this is so you know another way to sign and also can understand how I write out my cheat sheets I have made for songs that I teach signing for in case your preference is to teach true ASL; the cheat sheets are written in the order of PSE—signing in the order we sing the words—not ASL.


Here is a PSE cheat sheet file I have made for the simple signs for "Stand for the Right". It is laid out in a column format; you read down the first column of the page on the left and then down the right column before going to the next page.  The JR's love to do things with their hands and the kiddos will pick it up quickly—well, as for me, that's another story.



Tuesday, February 28, 2012

STAND FOR THE RIGHT: VISUAL IMAGERY

March is just around the corner and it's time to review  “Stand for the Right”...again.  It is nice to have an easy song after two months of new songs with three verses that the children have really never sung before in Primary.  But, then again, because this is an easy song this month, it will be a great opportunity to learn some extra songs we will be singing in the program or singing just for the fun of it. More on those songs another time.

With Fewer Words
Many of you may already have a visual for this song from last year, but for those that may not or would like something different than a flip chart, here is a visual I made using speech bubbles; after all, it is about our prophet having some  words for you!!!  

I've also included speech bubbles for President Hinkley's 6 B's in case you want to have some fun and switch out the "Be True" ones for a set of one of his 6 B's.


With Words
I printed these on card stock, laminated them and put magnetic strips on the back.  

HERE ARE THE FILES:
If you want to save on ink, you can print the 6 B's with the no background color just on white or on colored card stock.

The 6 B's files have the "Be True" speech bubbles in the file as well, so if you print the "Stand for the Right' visual, you won't need to print the "Be True" ones on the 6 B's files.

As they learn the song you can start removing them to help them re-memorize it. Maybe even take turns having a child leave the room, have another child remove one, bring the other child back in and guess which one is missing.  What about mixing them up and having a child put in order before you finish singing this song?

Stay tuned for a fun singing time review later this week using the 6 B's concept.

HAPPY SINGING IN MARCH!



Saturday, February 25, 2012

CTR GAME


My husband, who by the way is a great support to me and my calling and sings his BIG ol’ heart out in Primary every Sunday, teaches the CTR 4 class this year.  One day as I was perusing through his “Primary 2: Choose the Right A” manual for the year I came upon this black and white CTR game board in lesson 14.  Well, that just turned on the light bulb in my head with the whole CTR theme for this year and of course I thought I would have to somehow implement this into singing time.  The game is a take off from the game Chutes and Ladders.

The color person in me just did not like the plain ol’ black and white version, so I decided to recreate it in living color.  I printed it out in a poster format in Adobe Reader by selecting in my print options “Tile all pages” under “Page Scaling”.  I’m a Mac person so this is how it works for me, but I would imagine Adobe Reader should have the same print option for the PC version.  Just to give you an idea, below is an image of the print screen so you can see where the option is for doing a poster.  Make sure you have the box checked for “Cut Marks”.  That will help you know where to cut off the excess edges.  I printed it at 250%, which printed it out on 9 pages and which gave me about a poster board size game board.  Depending on your printer, you may have to adjust the percentage until you get the size you want.  You can print it smaller or larger depending on your preference.  I printed mine on cardstock, cut off the edges and then butted them up to each other and taped them together on the backside using packaging tape.  This way it was sturdy for my liking yet I could fold it up.  You could print on paper and mount on poster board or just use paper if you prefer.

Print Screen
ITEMS NEEDED TO PLAY THE GAME:
  • CTR Game Board
  • 1-2 Magnetic Game Tokens
  • Dice or Spinner (I picked up a set of 2.5" sized dice from the Dollar Tree store.)
  • CTR Sticks or CTR Game Cards or Slips of paper with questions & Container
  • Key Sheet for Questions (Word docx or PDF)
  • Song Visual Aids (optional)
  • Magnets

 
PREPARATION:
Make the CTR Game Board as mentioned above.
Prepare questions by writing them on the back of the laminated CTR Shields on the stick (found here in this post) or just make the CTR Shields without the stick for cards by using either a dry erase marker (may rub off if handled too much) or those wet erase markers like Expo Vis-à-Vis markers that you use to write on transparencies (won’t rub off easily but writing can be cleaned off with a damp paper towel or cloth.)  I’m planning on just numbering the back of the sticks and referring to my question key sheet to ask the questions.  More simple.  Place the sticks in a container to pick from.   If you have already made and used the CTR sticks for other activities, this is another way to reuse something you already have by using them for the children to pick the questions from.  If you don’t have or want to use the CTR Sticks/Shields, you could write or print and cut out the questions and place them in a container to choose from. 

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME:
I don’t split into teams for my JR since they are too young to handle competition, but I do on a rare occasion for my SR.  They are able to handle and do enjoy a friendly competition once in a while.  I have a lot of boys and that just seems to work for them in keeping their interest.

Take turns having a child come up and pick one of the CTR questions for the group/team to answer.  After they answer the question, let the person who answered the question correctly roll the dice to see how many spaces to move, sing the song if applicable.  If they don’t know the answer, give them a chance to discover the answer while the Primary sings the song and then let them answer after singing the song.  If they give the correct answer before you sing the song, tell them we’ll sing the song to check and see if they got the answer right.  Ohhhhh, we music leaders have tricks up our sleeves to get that singing in one-way or the other.  If they land on a CTR shield with a ladder, they get to move their game token up to the space at the top of the ladder.  If they land on a Wrong Choice space, they slide down to the space at the end of the slide or chute.  Obviously, they win when they reach the end at the Big CTR space.

CTR Poster
I plan on starting with having them roll one die each turn and adding a second one if needed to help speed the movement on the game so we hopefully can finish the game before the time is up.  Some questions are WRONG CHOICES! and they will have to roll the dice to see how many spaces they have to move backwards.  Some questions are not song questions so the team has a chance to answer it, if they can’t, the other team has a chance to answer and take the move. 

The game board and questions files are attached.  The links are above in the “Items needed to play the game” section.  I’ve chosen songs to sing that I would like to review with my Primary.  Feel free to adapt to the songs and questions you may want to review with your Primary.

Hope you have fun playingChoose the Right game.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

RHYTHM STICKS OR CLAVES


Kids love rhythm sticks or claves (Klay-Vays—African/Latin) probably because they make loud noises and they get to bang them together.  Hey, when it comes to kids, it doesn't get much better than that especially when it comes to instruments.  Songs with an upbeat tempo such as “Choose the Right” and “Follow the Prophet” are great for using rhythm sticks.

You will need two sticks per child.  If you don't have enough, you can take turns by class.  You can purchase rhythm sticks for around  $2 and up a set.  Here are a couple of places on the Internet you can purchase them from: Front Row Experience and Amazon.  There are other various versions of the sticks as well. Purchasing rhythm sticks can be a bit costly though.  

If you don’t have a Primary budget for it, here are some options.

  • You can make your own by purchasing 5/8” diameter dowels and cutting them into 8”-12” lengths.  You could fancy them up by painting them or keep them au naturel.  To even save more on the cost, you could go with a smaller diameter, but they won’t make as loud of a noise, which could be good or bad depending on how you look at it.
  • You can also make them from ½” - 1” diameter PVC pipe
  • You could buy pencils, especially during the back-to-school sale time.  Because of the size, the pencils will not make as loud of a sound.  Is that good? Bad?  Like I said before . . . your preference.  Oh yeah, don’t sharpen the pencils.
  • Check out your local Chinese specialty grocery store and get some inexpensive wooden Chinese chopsticks, the ones with the blunt tips, not the Japanese ones with the more pointed tips. They usually have fairly inexpensive ones.  You could even collect those cheap disposable ones for free from the restaurants whenever you go and eat Chinese.  Just go out with a bunch of family or friends and have them all ask for a set, of course, wash them well after eating with them.  Cut off the tips and sand down if they are still a little too pointy. The best ones are the ones that you don't have to pull apart, but if that is all you can find, then make sure you sand down the rough edges where they are torn apart.  Maybe if you ask nicely, the restaurant will give you extra ones for free or for a nominal charge.  They aren't very expensive for the restaurants when they buy them in bulk—usually a few cents each or you can probably buy some in bulk off the internet for $5 or less for a set of 100. 
  • You could check with your stake to see if they have some rhythm sticks that you can borrow.  If not, maybe you could suggest to the stake music leader to purchase some that can be shared with the wards in the stake.
  • If you know someone that works at a school, you could borrow from there.  I’m fortunate to have a sister who works in a school that I am able to borrow the sticks from about 2-3 times a year. 
If you have never used rhythm sticks before, introduce them first by showing the children how they are tapped together to make a sound.  Explain that when the music is played or you sing the song, rhythm sticks are tapped together to the beat of the music (# of beats in a measure or can also be the tempo) or the rhythm of the music (sounds and silences in the music with differing lengths or gaps between them—basically the patterns of the notes/words being sung).

Before passing out the rhythm sticks, you must make sure you have made clear your expectations regarding the use of them.  I always explain that I know that they will treat the sticks nicely, that they will make sure they don’t poke, hit or hurt others with them, that they know stick fighting with them is not right (yep, all those boys I have), that they will keep them out of their mouth and when I say “sticks up” or have my sticks pointing upward, they must also have their sticks up and quiet.  Also let them know that if they choose to not follow the rules that the consequence will be to have their sticks taken away from them.  And most importantly, you must follow through if any children do not behave properly.  You can always return them to the child after a short time has passed with the reminder that they will be taken away again if they choose to not use the sticks right.  Setting the ground rules up front is a real important step to remember to do with anything you hand out to the children to use so that you can keep some semblance of order. 

WARNING!  This activity can be real fun for the children, but it can also get out of control if you don’t maintain control of the group.  Does it always go reverently—quietly?  Of course not, but having the guidelines and following through helps a lot.  Also, there will be some noise with the sticks hitting together, which is part of the experience, so, as an adult, if you are a bit sensitive to noises, rhythm instruments may not be for you or just use smaller diameter sticks. Yes, this is one time that Boyd K. Packer's quote of "Reverence . . .does not equate with absolute silence" will be generously utilized.

Here are some suggestions on how to use them:

  • Have them tap the sticks together only on certain parts or words of the song.
  • March around the room as you play the sticks.  This is mainly for JR.
  • Sit on the floor in a circle or in a group and tap the sticks on the floor in front 4 times then tap sticks together 4 times. Repeat.  Add another tapping version to the mix, such as 4 taps above the head, after they have mastered the pattern taught.
  • They can be played with a partner similar to hand clapping patterns I have explained in the "Books in the Book of Mormon" post here. (Scroll down to the bullet points.) This is usually too complicated for JR.
  • Use the dynamics in the song to direct how to play the sticks; loud vs soft, staccato vs legato.
  • After doing a few basic movements with the sticks, ask the children if they can think of a different way the rhythm sticks can be tapped together.  E.g. above the head, down low to the ground, behind your back, on the left side, on the right side, on the floor in front of you, on the floor to the right, left or either side of the legs, on the lap, on the shoulders, with a partner, turn then tap, kick a leg forward then tap, stomp-stomp-tap-tap, step to the left-tap, step to the right-tap, oh, the list could go on and on.  Oh yes, you can get a good workout from this!

As you can see, playing rhythm sticks is not only fun, but they are also great for reviewing a song over and over, teaching the rhythm and beat of a song as well as the children are able to use movement in their singing.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

NEW GIVEAWAY WINNER PICKED


Since one of the winners did not respond to claim their giveaway gift,
the gift will be given to Someone Else.
Literally, the

New Winner
picked from Random.org is . . .

SOMEONE ELSE


So if this is your blog profile name and pic,
you are the winner of the CTRs on a stick.
I have already used these a few times in a variety of ways
in my primary and the children have loved them.

Please email me within 48 hours with your information
so that I can send you your gift.
I’m excited to hear from “Someone Else!”

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

SUPER SINGING SECRETS: FLIP CHARTS


Welcome to the first installment of the
Super Singing Secrets!
No, this isn’t about how to sing better.  I’m definitely not the one to teach that.  It is about those technical secrets that help make singing time flow more smoothly.  Okay, it really is just a fancy, smancy way to say the tips and tricks of the calling that I have learned.  I just like alliterations and the way they flow off the tongue in a fun way so I’m calling it “Super Singing Secrets” So There!


There are many ways that people put their flip charts together.  I thought I would share with you the way I do it and why. You could print your flip chart on both sides of the card stock, laminate each page and then have them hole punched and bound with those coil thingies.  This is a very nice way to do it and it does make it easy to grab the individual flip chart booklets you need for the day.  However, I prefer not to use this method because it can become quite costly to laminate and bind each flip chart, but mainly it is because I prefer to use my visual aids in more than one way so I can get a variety of uses out of them as well as I think the variety helps to keep things fresh for the children.
Page Protectors

I prefer only printing one-sided on the card stock and the versatility of using page protectors.  Often when I am first teaching a song with a flip chart I will not use it in the traditional way; page protectors in a binder.  I will use page protectors that I have cut off the 3-hole strip section on the side so I have a pocket sleeve for the page and that I’ve added magnets to the back of the sheet protector. If you use the thicker, stronger magnetic roll strip, you usually only need a piece at the top, but I would suggest at least a couple of pieces at the top in each corner to help it lay flat against the board, but if you use the magnetic tape that is not as strong, I would suggest to use a piece in all four corners. I have used both types of magnetic strip/tape and they both have their pros and cons, but I think I may lean a little more towards the magnetic tape since it is not so thick and just a tad easier to apply since I don't have to remove any adhesive backing. I buy the magnetic strip or tape from craft stores and always use my 40-50% off coupon. I make these magnetic page protectors so I can mount them on the magnetic chalkboard in the Primary room as we go through the song.  This allows me to be more mobile as well as it keeps my hands free for other things. You don't have to mount permanent magnets on the back. You could just post them on the board with loose magnets holding them from the front, but I have found it is much easier to switch between songs if I don't have to handle the loose magnets. I just keep the stash of these magnetic page protectors in a file folder and pull out how many I need for a given song as needed. I have enough so I can keep 3-5 flip charts in these at a time for the newer songs being worked on. Another reason I do it this way is so I have the versatility to play games such as:
  • Have a child leave the room and remove one or two pages, then have the child come back in and as the children sing, the child guesses which phrase(s) is missing.  For the SR kids you could mix the pages up after removing one to make it harder for them to figure out which one is missing.
  • Mix the pages up and have a child or two put them in the correct order as everyone sings.
  • Remove 1 or 2 pages at a time as the children are learning the song to help them memorize the song.
  • Match the phrases up.  One way to do this is by passing out the second half of a phrase to each class then you sing the first part of the phrase and the class that has the matching phrase sings the matching part back to you continuing through the song as each class sings their part.
  • Pass out in random order 1 or 2 pages to each class and you sing through the song with the children singing only their group's parts from the flip chart sheets they were given.  Rotate the pages and sing again.
  • You can do what I call "Singing in the Round" by posting the phrases around the room and having each class or group of children stand by one of the phrases and then each class/group in turn sings their phrase they are standing by in order and then you repeat the process after you have them rotate to the next phrase.  Keep it moving by beating a drum or using a rhythm instrument or by having the pianist play the intro or some marching music right AFTER they sing the song as they quietly and quickly move to the next phrase before the short musical interlude is finished and then immediately go into the song again or you could have them rotate as they all sing the chorus part.
  • You can do the 4-Corners game using the phrases instead of numbers and posting a phrase in each corner.  You have a blindfolded child select a phrase of the song after the singers (the children sitting down) sing the song while the movers (a class or group of children) move quietly around the room stopping at any one of the phrases by the time the song is finished being sung.  The movers standing at the phrase that the blindfolded child selected after the song was sung must than sit down and join the singers.  Repeat until only a few or 1 is left. When there are only 4 children left, I will tell them that they must each be in their own corner or sometimes I will declare the last few movers in that group the winners and let another class or group have a turn.  Sometimes I may have the blindfolded child pick two phrases to help speed things up so there can be more turns.  This is a musical chair kind-of-concept.
  • And of course the most basic reason is that I can have children come up and hold the pages up as I am teaching them.  You could also have them holding the FC in a mixed order and then putting themselves in the correct order as you sing.  I would suggest, however, to only do one or two phrases at a time instead of the whole song so you only have two to four children up front, otherwise, it could become quite a mess when there are too many kiddos scrambling for position. (Learned that the hard way.)
Portrait & Landscape Mode
Sample of flip chart pages in magnetized sheet protectors on the board


Flip Chart Binders
It is usually not until after we have gone through learning the song do I then put the flip chart into regular page protectors with two pages back-to-back per sheet protector and then into a ½” ring notebook binder so that it can be easily used for review singing.  As more program songs are learned, I keep adding the flip charts to the binder.  I will end up with two, ½” ring notebooks by the time we have gone through all the program songs.  I do have a 1” ring binder but I have found that I prefer the lighter weight of the ½” ringed binders.  The program songs stay in the binders throughout the year, but I will also add to the front of the binder any other songs I will need flip charts for that we will be singing that day, such as the opening song or extra singing time songs, and then I remove those flip charts so I can add the next Sunday’s songs.  Yes, that does mean I have to remove any weekly flip charts from the sheet protectors to insert the next flip charts, but it only takes a few minutes to switch them out.  I just need enough page protectors for any of the program songs I made a flip chart for and extra sheet protectors for the weekly songs to be sung.  I just store the flip charts that are not in use in my song files.

Mixed Sized Pages Taped Together
Large Sized Pages Taped Together
I have some visuals that are printed on several sheets that need to be bound together such as my melody maps or I have used larger sized paper for a visual or using two different sized papers that obviously won’t fit into a binder, so I have used packaging tape to bind the sheets together making it more "poster" like but yet can fold up smaller at the taped "hinges".  I don't usually laminate these.  If you would still like to laminate and bind your flip charts into a booklet, here is a great idea I recently found that uses a similar idea for binding regular sized flip charts together using packaging tape instead of those coil thingies.  With this taped binding you could also add an extended page that hangs out for a descant or chorus.
So, as you can see, there are many different ways you can use a flip chart
for other than just as a flip chart when you don’t lock it into just being a flip chart.


Monday, February 13, 2012

BLOG GRAND OPENING GIVE, OH! GIVE AWAY WINNERS!!!

What a  BLAST! it was to read all the comments.  I Oooooooo'd and Ahhhhhh’d.  I 

laughed and cried (okay, I really didn't cry, but was touched by some of the comments) as I read through them.  If you haven't read them, you ought to. There are some great ones and what a "feel good" read it is.  This giveaway has been exciting to do.  I did not quite expect the response there was and am totally floored by it. It has been so exciting to hear from you all, as well as I have sooooo enjoyed spreading my “wings” out and meeting new people through this blog.  Okay, enough of the ramblings and mushy stuff.  I'm sure you are here to find out if you are the  WINNER!

REMEMBER, you must email me your contact information to nabirdhouse@gmail.com no later than February 15, 2012 by 8:00 am MST.  Gotta have that info so I can mail you your gift.  If I don't hear from you by then, a new winner will be drawn.


AND THE WINNER FOR THE 
“Follow, Follow Me!”
GIVEAWAY
IS
.
.
.
.
.
.
Lorinda
YOU WIN THE CTR SHIELDS ON A STICK!



AND THE WINNER FOR THE
“Stand for the Right”
POSTER VISUAL GIVEAWAY
WHO'S COMMENT WAS

"My most recent favorite moment was last month when we finished reviewing As a Child of God (and some others) and a 7 year-old said, 'whew, I'm sweating.' I loved it!" 
IS
.
.
.
.
.
.
Betsy

 I don't know about the kiddos, but I know I'm often "sweating it"
by the time I'm done with JR primary.

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and following my little blog.  I look forward to more good primary singing times together!




Friday, February 10, 2012

FLIP CARD OR THE ENVELOPE GAME?

WHICH IS IT????


Well, the Envelope Game has been around for some time in the Primary Singing World and is mainly for the SR Primary because it involves reading.  It is a game whereby you make wordstrips for each word in the song grouping the words by phrases and then placing each phrase's group of words in it’s own envelope.  If you have a larger primary, make more sets of wordstrips and envelopes as needed.  The game is played by dividing the children into groups of around 3-8 children per group depending on the average of how many words are in the phrase and/or how difficult the words in the song are, and giving each group one of the envelopes with a phrase of the song.  You then sing the song to them two or three times or play a recording of the song while the children listen and put the words together in the correct order for their phrase (singing to the children is usually better for them to hear the words but sometimes it’s nice to change it up a bit and play a recorded version.)  Once they have the wordstrips in order, sing the song with the children a time or two having each group sing their phrase.  Afterwards, have them place the wordstrips back into its envelope making sure the words are mixed up and then pass it to another group.  Repeat the process letting each group have a turn at putting the wordstrips in order for each phrase then singing that phrase.  At the end, everyone sings the whole song together.

Another variation is to have just the key words to the song in each envelope so that the children are all putting the same key words of the song together.  This is a great teaching method for learning a new song.  You get lots of repetition, the children have to use their little noggins to think and they are actively participating.

Now here’s my little twist to the Envelope Game that I call the FLIP CARD GAME.  I cut up mini versions of the flip chart for the verse or verses I want to teach giving each group or class a set.  I actually won't be putting the flip cards in an envelope.  I’m just going to clip each group’s set together with a binder clip.  I will have the teacher pass out 1 or 2 cards to each of the children in that group.  I’ll probably do 6 in a group so that each child can have at least 2 cards, maybe less for the oldest classes.  As I sing the song, they need to flip down their card in the correct order.  Oh yeah, make sure you clarify what "flip your card down" means, otherwise, some of the kiddos will interpret it differently than you had intended.  Yep, I've got me some lots of boys like that.  So as you can see, it is not a FLIP CHART but a FLIP CARD.  Get it??????? ;-)  Yeah, I know, a little dry sense of humor going there.

Since we have the melody, first verse and chorus down for the SR primary, I plan to work through both the 2nd and 3rd verses this Sunday, so each envelope will have a set of both the 2nd and 3rd verse as well as one set of the chorus.   After we WARM UP with the 1st verse and chorus, I’ll start the game by singing only the 2nd verse and chorus.  They will have to figure out which cards will be played first by each child laying their card down in front of them in the correct order.  Depending on the age of your group and how well they are getting the cards in the correct order, you may want to just sing the 2nd verse a couple of times and then continue on into the chorus after the 2nd or 3rd time through the song.  Some children may like to play this on the floor and others may want to stay in their seats.  I usually bring these chipboard sheets that I once scrounged up from work that are about the size of a piece of paper for those who want to do it sitting down. That helps to give them a flat surface to work on.  After they have the song in order, we will sing the song together.  Then I will have each team select one or two of their cards to remove and give back to the teacher after each time we sing to motivate them into memorizing the song.  I still plan on referencing the melody map and having them help to figure out where the different pictures go on the melody map.  That will help them to not just look down at their cards the whole time but to focus on the melody going up and down as they sing.  Gotta keep them thinkin' so they don't get bored.  Oh yeah, and don't forget about the Faith in God award challenge from the last post!  That will be my Attention Getter at the start of singing time.

I’ve attached the Flip Card files below for each verse and chorus that you can pick from depending on what you would like to work on.  Each file has a set of 4, so if you only plan on having four groups, you only need to print and cut one sheet per verse and/or chorus you will be teaching.  Easy-peasy—not much paper to print, just a little cutting up.

After clicking on the file below, click on the "Download original" button in the top, right corner of googledocs for the best resolution.