Rhythm Centers

First grade students have really been enjoying their rhythm centers!  This has given them a chance to practice identifying, performing, and creating 4-beat patterns using quarter notes, quarter rests, and eighth notes.  Here are some of the fun games they played:

Center 1:  Koosh Ball Rhythms (SMARTboard) - The students take turns tossing the koosh ball at the board and when they hit a circle a rhythm will pop up.  They then have to read that rhythm correctly to their team.

 

 





Center 2:  Rhythm Board Game - When it is their turn, the student draws a card and reads the rhythm to the group.  If they read it correctly, they can roll the dice and move their game piece.

 



Center 3:  Rhythm Bingo - One student will be the "caller" and will read various rhythm patterns aloud to their group.  The group members then have to find that rhythm on their card and cover it up with a Bingo chip.  The first student that gets Bingo will be the new caller of the game.

 



Center 4:  Rhythm Composition - The students will take turns being the "composer" who will create a 4-beat rhythm pattern hidden behind the "screen."  The composer will read aloud their rhythm and the group members have to notate the rhythm using their rhythm cards.  The composer will then reveal the rhythm by lifting the screen and check who got the right answer.

 



Center 5:  Rhythm Matching - Students will take turns flipping over two rhythm cards trying to find matches.  If they get two cards that are the same, they have to say the rhythm correctly to claim the match.



Stomp Display

I do not usually have very much student work to display since my students' "work" happens during our class performances.  However, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to show off the 4th and 5th grade Stomp Projects.  Each group completed a worksheet to show the rhythms they chose, the instruments they played, and an explanation of their performance.  The students really enjoy finding their group's work in the display and checking out all of the pictures! 

 Update: After many requests, I have decided to share my Stomp: Trash Percussion Group Project! Click here if you would like to download a copy. :)



Musical Pumpkins!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Halloween Sound Stories

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year because there are so many fun and engaging activities we can do in music!  One of my favorite lessons is using Halloween poems to create spooky sound stories.  A sound story is using instruments or various objects to add sound effects to a story, poem, or book. 

In Second grade classes, we started by learning a Halloween poem together as a class.  Once we read through it a few times, we decided which words needed a sound effect.  They discovered that important words and onomatopoeias were great choices.
 

 

Next, I showed the students a collection of sound effects instruments and the students chose appropriate sounds for the words that they had circled. 



Then, the students performed the poem collaboratively using the instruments. 

 

The students then got into small groups and began working on their own Halloween sound story.  The groups followed the same steps that we had followed together as a class.

 

 

The groups received a bucket full of classroom percussion instruments that they used to create their sound effects.  It was so neat to watch each group's creative process! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each group performed their sound stories for the class.

 

 

  

 

 

 They definitely got me into the spooky Halloween spirit!! ツ

 

Stomp: Trash Percussion Projects

Have you ever heard of Stomp?  Stomp is a percussion ensemble that uses a variety of everyday objects as percussion instruments.  It combines rhythmic percussion, movement, and physical comedy.  The group originated in London, England but now has companies that perform on Broadway and at venues all over the world. 

My students LOVE Stomp!!  How could you not??  Their performances are engaging, funny, and very impressive!  Recently in music class, 4th and 5th graders used Stomp performances as inspiration for their own rhythmic performance.  Check out some of their favorite video clips:



 

 

 

  

And their favorite ...

 

  

The classes LOVED doing their own version of Stomp!  They brought in all kind of trash/recyclable items to use for their instruments such as cardboard boxes, plastic containers, and tin cans.

 



 

They worked with small groups to create a performance piece using contrasting rhythm patterns performed on their trash percussion instruments.  Some groups used props, created choreography, or added their own dose of Stomp humor!  ツ  I was so proud of their creative compositions!

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Musical Terms Centers

As the culmination of our "Musical Terms" unit, the second graders are participating in centers.  I love using centers to help my students practice particular skills or concepts and also to assess their knowledge at the end of a unit.  They love it because they get to play fun games!

 

 

Station 1:  Simon Says Symbols - The students take turns choosing a question...

 

 

And circle/highlight/underline the correct symbol on the musical example using a creative pen!

 

 

 

 

Station 2:  Musical Terms Board Game - Students will draw a card and answer the question about a musical term.  If they answer correctly, they can roll the dice and move their game piece.  I put the questions on the outside of an envelope and the answer on an index card inside the envelope so that they can check their answers easily.  By the way, I found this board game at the Dollar Tree.  

It's a great place to get ideas for centers. :)

 

 

Station 3:  Musical Terms Scavenger Hunt - The students work together to find musical symbols in their music textbook and record the page number on their worksheet.

 

 

 

 

Station 4:  Musical Terms Hangman - The students draw a card and write the correct number of blanks on their dry erase board.  The other students in the group take turns guessing letters until they figure it out!  Most of the students already know how to play hangman and any time you can get a dry erase board in their hands it is a good thing!

 

 

Station 5:  Musical Terms Bingo - I created a "playlist" of music passages using Audacity where each clip features a particular term.  When the students identify the term that they heard, they place a Bingo chip on that symbol.  For example, if the students identified the musical clip as being loud, they would cover up "forte" on their Bingo card. 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed a sneak peak of some of our fun music games!  Check back soon for more musical centers!

First Graders are Officially "Real Musicans!"

As we are wrapping up a unit on "Musical Opposites" in first grade, we are preparing to tackle basic rhythm patterns.  Our last two opposite words were "Long and Short" and students spent some time singing, playing, listening to, and moving to long and short sounds. 

 

A great way for me to assess their understanding of long and short sounds is by using scarves!  I told the students to pretend that they were famous painters and that they had a huge blank canvas in front of them.  They were to listen to the music and use their scarves paintbrushes to paint long strokes or short strokes according to what they heard in the music.  They did a great job and had so much fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Now we are working on transferring their knowledge of long and short sounds to the introduction of basic rhythms.  They are learning about the quarter note (tah - long) and the eighth notes (ti-ti - short) and how to put them together to make patterns.  Over the next few weeks they will be working on identifying, performing, and creating patterns using tah and ti-ti.  As I said to my first grade class today... "You are now REAL musicians!"  They thought they were big stuff!  ;)

 

Playing... 

 

 

 

Identifying...

 

 

 

Creating...