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Friday, August 26, 2016

Alexander and the Rhythm/Instrument Review!

One of my favorite children's books is the classic, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst. Artie Almeida has a wonderful lesson plan in her book, Mallet Madness, that serves as a great review activity for the beginning of the year! Not only does it review basic rhythms but you can also use it for an instrument technique refresher as well. Our HSES 2nd graders have really enjoyed this activity as we have gotten back into the swing of things in music class.

First we read the story together...


Next, we reviewed the quarter note, eighth notes, and quarter rest, and then I had the students discover the rhythm of the repeated phrase in the book, "...terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day."


I divided the students into 4 groups and each group practiced one part of the phrase. Then each group played their rhythm on their instruments and we put the phrase all together.


The woodblocks:


The tambourines:


The maracas:


The drums:



Then I read the book again, and each group played the rhythm on their instrument on the correct words. Great job, 2nd graders!


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12 comments:

  1. lynnkieMarch 29, 2018 at 11:19 PM

    I enjoyed this post but am wondering why the smiley faces over 2 of the students??

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    1. Clare EgglestonApril 18, 2018 at 4:15 PM

      Thanks! They are not allowed to have their picture posted online so I just covered their face. :) Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  2. PeggyJuly 15, 2018 at 7:11 PM

    I do this lesson every year. It is one of my favorite books also! I also add "Australia" as a Crescendo Decrescendo.

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    Replies
    1. Clare EgglestonJuly 23, 2018 at 12:22 AM

      This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    2. Clare EgglestonJuly 23, 2018 at 12:39 AM

      Yes! I have done that with a few classes who were ready to add more detail but I usually run out of time. ;)

      Delete
  3. DMLOctober 4, 2018 at 10:20 PM

    Thanks for the great idea! I usually just use rhythm sticks, but this will be a great review of different classroom instruments for my 2nd graders. How does the Australia part go?

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    Replies
    1. Clare EgglestonOctober 10, 2018 at 11:46 AM

      I think the original lesson plan has students rolling a low C bar to create a crescendo/decrescendo on "Australia." I usually don't have time to add that in but if you have a really sharp class you could probably do it. :)

      Delete
  4. UnknownAugust 23, 2019 at 4:36 AM

    Love this!

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  5. RhondaNovember 23, 2021 at 6:55 AM

    Love your visuals! I did this last year and wasn’t completely thrilled, but with those visuals I will use it in January for rhythmic review. Thanks for sharing!

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  6. RhondaNovember 23, 2021 at 6:55 AM

    Love your visuals! I did this last year and wasn’t completely thrilled, but with those visuals I will use it in January for rhythmic review. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Clare EgglestonJanuary 20, 2022 at 11:18 AM

      Thank you! Good visuals can really change a lesson! :)

      Delete