What To Do With Those Rhythm Sticks

Rhythm sticks have to be one of the most versatile and accessible instruments for the elementary music classroom. If you are starting a new classroom from scratch and prioritizing what to purchase first, some type of rhythm sticks would definitely be at the top of my list! If you're looking for some fresh ways to use rhythm sticks in your classroom, or strategies for using them more effectively, this post is for you.

1. Types

I was actually very confused for a long time about all the different types of rhythm sticks and other similar instruments that I found in my first few classrooms where I taught. There are some rhythm sticks that are ridged, like these, and there are the shorter fatter lummi sticks like these, and then there are claves like these. Then of course even with the basic standard rhythm sticks there are different materials and lengths! Claves are their own separate instrument and should be treated that way- I teach students how to play them completely differently and only use them with older students for that reason. Ridged sticks can be a nice addition to have students practice longer notes on a familiar instruments, like when my 2nd graders first learn half notes, but honestly they are so quiet when scraped that often students can't tell if they're making sound or not- I prefer guiros for that purpose and find the ridged sticks more distracting than helpful. I used to think lummi sticks were great for younger students because they are thicker and easier to hold, but the short ones I have make it more likely that students will hit their own hands when they play them, and the longer ones are too heavy for my younger students, so I actually end up saving them for older students just to have something that has a clearer, slightly louder sound.

Within the category of smooth, thin, standard rhythm sticks, I don't have a strong preference. The plastic ones avoid the common chipping and breaking that happens over time with the wooden ones, but they are heavier and louder, so there are pro's and con's to each material. For my classroom, I've actually been really enjoying these rhythm sticks because they are lightweight, the paint doesn't seem to chip like the previous wooden ones I've had, and they come in the 6 colors I use for everything else in my classroom (read about my color teams here). They also have a surprisingly nice sound! So for me these are my current favorites for standard, everyday use, but that's not to say I think they are the only best choice for every situation.

2. Playing Technique

The biggest thing I have to worry about when teaching rhythm sticks is getting students to understand that they are NOT drum sticks, and should not be used that way- they are meant to be tapped together in an x, not tapped on the floor, on their lap, or on their chairs. I actually got a class set of inexpensive drum sticks so that, with my older students, I could change things up and have them use those for their intended purpose on occasion to help drive home that point. 

3. Lesson Ideas

Preschool/ Kindergarten: My favorite thing to do with rhythm sticks in early childhood is a song called "Music, Music, Music". I got this CD from my cooperating teacher decades ago and still use this one track every year! I love using this at the beginning of the school year to reinforce proper playing technique while exploring different ways to use them, practice steady beat, get students singing, and reinforce directional vocabulary. Plus it's a lot of fun!

1st grade: In first grade I mostly use rhythm sticks to practice reading music notation. They're great to use for play-along videos as well because they are loud enough to hear over the music without drowning it out and easy to play accurately.

2nd grade: In second grade students learn about Maori music and they learn tititorea. I always start with our standard rhythm sticks and then switch to thicker and heavier (but still long) lummi sticks once they get the hang of it (so there's less chance of them slamming their own or their partner's fingers). Here's a full explanation of my unit on Maori music if you want to learn more.

3rd grade: I don't do it often because they get frustrated by them pretty quickly, but I do use the ridged rhythm sticks to introduce and practice reading half and whole notes in 3rd grade. I show them how to tap for quarter and eighth notes, and scrape slooooooowly for half and whole notes (so the entire note is done in one scrape). Although it is hard to hear the long notes this way it is a good way for them to kinesthetically experience the long notes so if you have the ridged kind this is a good time to use them this way.

4th grade: I teach sixteenth notes in 4th grade so rhythm sticks become a go-to instrument for practicing reading notation at this age- the other small hand percussion instruments are much more difficult to play at that speed accurately. I show students how to hold one stick still and hold the other one with their thumb and pointer finger to create a fulcrum so they can get a faster stroke, which they love practicing.

5th-6th grade: With 5th and 6th grade I definitely still pull out the rhythm sticks for practicing reading rhythm notation if we are doing sixteenth notes, but I also use them for passing games. I usually practice first with beanbags since they are soft, and then use rhythm sticks to add a level of challenge (and also make it more similar to how passing games were usually originally played in cultures around the world with sticks and stones). Al Citron and Bombela are just a couple of the ones I do with this age. This is also actually when I pull out the short lummi sticks I have because for passing, the shorter ones work well.

I hope this gives you some fresh ideas for using rhythm sticks in your classroom! If you want to see how all of these strategies and lesson ideas are incorporated into a fully sequenced curriculum, with all the complete lesson plans and materials to teach them, you can find them in the Organized Chaos K-6 Curriculum. I'd love to hear your favorite ways to use rhythm sticks in the comments below as well! 

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Noise Canceling Headphones: Individual Behavior Supports for Music Class

I have a new addition to my classroom that has been a game-changer already: noise canceling headphones. If you are an elementary music teacher I highly recommend adding these to your classroom! Here are the specific headphones my school got, the storage method I found that I am in love with, and tips for implementing them effectively in your classroom so they provide support for students who need it without creating a major distraction for everyone else.

This post contains affiliate links.

What to Buy

The last few years I've had a few students who have noise-canceling headphones that they bring with them for when they need them at school, and it always seems like they leave them in their homeroom or forget them at home on the one day that they really could have used them. After experiencing this situation in my classroom with a new student at the beginning of the school year I went to my principal and asked if I could get a couple of headphones to keep in my classroom for when students forget to bring them with them, and she agreed! I talked to the special education teacher in my building and she recommended these headphones as a kind that seems to be comfortable and effective for most students. I was actually surprised at how cheap they are- I think I would have gotten them sooner if I had known! So far they seem to work well. I've had students of various ages and sizes use them and they all seem to find them pretty comfortable and effective.

Storage

Honestly though, the thing I've been most excited about is this hook for hanging headphones on the side of a desk/ table. I was looking around to figure out the best way to store the headphones in my classroom where they would be out of the way but also easily accessible, thinking I would get some kind of hook on the wall or something, and stumbled across these by accident. They are perfect (and, again, shockingly cheap)! The handle swivels so they can hang under the desk but students can spin it around to get them off the hook more easily. 

For my classroom this has been the perfect storage solution because I can keep 2 headphones on one hanger at the front of my classroom where I have a small table to put my laptop on when I'm teaching etc, and another one hanging from my teacher desk at the back of the classroom next to my calming corner area (the headphones come in a set of 3).

Appropriate Use

I think, as with anything like this, the key to making sure the headphones are used appropriately is in the presentation. At first I thought I would just keep the headphones tucked in the closet in case one of the students who normally brings them forgets their own, but I realized I probably have other students who get overstimulated in music and PE (which they always have back to back) and might need them during music class even though they don't need them the rest of the day, so I showed them to all of my students in every single class. 

I explained that the headphones were not for blocking out the lesson completely, but for lowering the volume for anyone who "the noise is hurting their brain". That explanation seemed to make sense for everyone 1st - 6th grade, I think in part because we have had a handful of students in self-contained classes who will start screaming and running away when an assembly gets too loud, for example, so they are familiar with what that looks like. 

In the 2 weeks or so since I introduced them to my students, there have definitely been classes where there are more students using them than maybe really and truly need them. That's fine. Any time there is something new, some students are going to want to test it out to see what it's like and discover for themselves whether it's something they want to use or not. Most of them have used them for a few minutes and then put them back, and seem satisfied. I've also found out that there are definitely students who, if they had had access to the headphones sooner, might have avoided some meltdowns the last few years. I can physically see their face and shoulders relax when they put them on. I can see how, long-term, this is going to be a game-changer for ability to be successful and feel comfortable in my classroom, and that has been huge.

But does it prevent students from hearing the things they do need to hear, like my instruction? So far, for the ones that are using them and really need them, no. And the students who put them on to try them out, realizing they can't hear everything else as well seems to be what prompts them to decide to take them off. After watching students use them the last few weeks I feel like I can tell which ones the headphones are really helping. They become so much more focused and attuned to my teaching and actually seem to hear me, without me speaking any louder, much better. It's truly very striking to see.

If you don't have any noise-cancelling headphones in your music classroom yet, I highly recommend asking your school about getting some! In my experience they are low-cost and easy to implement, don't seem to create the distraction that I feared they might, and have been very helpful for a lot more students than I initially anticipated. I think with more time with them my students and I will learn better when it's best to use them and when it isn't as well.

I am always looking for practical, manageable ways to provide individual supports for students in the elementary music classroom where we have to juggle hundreds of students and cycle through so many different classes back to back every day! Here are some of my other favorite individual support strategies for various needs and situations if you are looking for more ideas:

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What To Do With Those Egg Shakers

If you are starting a new job in a new classroom and suddenly find yourself with access to a bunch of egg shakers you don't know what to do with, or you have had them for a while and feel like you're not getting as much use out of them as you should, or just want some fun new ways to use them in your lessons, this post is for you! In this post you'll find tips for managing their use with students and teaching proper playing technique, plus tons of lesson ideas to use with every grade from Kindergarten up through 6th grade!

1. Management

I actually think egg shakers are one of the best instruments for practicing instrument procedures and expectations and use them for that purpose at the beginning of the year, because they will so easily make noise if they aren't kept very still. I reinforce the rule that "if you play before I say you'll make the instrument go away" and remind students that it's not my place to judge if it was intentional or accidental, so they have to be that careful not to let the egg shaker move when they are waiting to play! I like showing off my stealthy skills by showing them how I can take an egg shaker and put it in my lap without it making any sound and then tell students to do the same. They take it as a challenge and will move so slowly and carefully trying to keep it from making any sound!

2. Playing Technique

One of the reasons I think egg shakers are actually a pretty popular instrument for all of my students is because I tell them from the very first time they use them in Kindergarten that these are not the same as the "baby toys" they may have seen. Every year when I bring out the egg shakers for the first time I remind students not to "be babies" and demonstrate the difference between wrapping your hand around the whole shaker and shaking it in any direction vs holding it on your palm with your fingers and moving intentionally back and forth, like this:

I find it's really helpful not only to get students of all ages to treat the instrument as a legitimate instrument but also to help them be able to play bigger shakers with proper technique that produces a crisp sound when they get older by making them aware that the back AND the forth both make sounds and should be treated as separate notes.

3. Lesson Ideas

Kindergarten: I don't use egg shakers for things like playing rhythms or steady beat in Kindergarten very often because it is so difficult for them to play accurately, but I do introduce proper playing technique (as described above) by having them try to play along with the steady beat of a track with a moderate tempo. My favorite way to use them with this age group (as well as younger self-contained classes), though, is "I Know A Chicken" by Laurie Berkner. I have them echo the A section with the egg shakers on the floor and then pick it up and play it as described in the B section, as a great way to practice echo songs and also introduce the idea of same and different sections.

1st grade: This is when I do start having students play rhythms and steady beat with egg shakers to really work on getting the proper technique and as a way to increase the level of difficulty while we're reviewing rhythms from Kindergarten. I like using egg shakers to play rhythms along with a track or a play-along video because it's quiet enough that I don't have to turn the track way up for them to hear it while the whole class is playing along.

2nd-4th grade: I introduce half notes in 2nd grade, whole notes in 3rd, and dotted half notes in 4th grade, and egg shakers are one of a few small percussion instruments that they can use to play longer duration notes, which is also really fun because it's actually so much easier than trying to get the crisp, shorter notes on the egg shakers! So egg shakers are a frequent feature for rhythm notation practice in 2nd-4th grade.

5th-6th grade: I don't have many lessons in my oldest grades where the entire class is playing egg shakers (although I do still use them at the beginning of the year to review instrument procedures even with my oldest students!), but they are a common choice for composition projects where I am asking students to evoke a specific image or feeling with their music, or for adding foley/ sound effects to a movie, so they get used a lot in the 5th grade videogame composition project and 6th grade movie music unit.

Self-contained: Every self-contained class is vastly different because every student is different! But I do find egg shakers are a great instrument for self-contained classes of all types because they are universally appealing, easy for students with varying levels of motor skill to play, easy to clean if put in someone's mouth, difficult to damage (and not to expensive to replace if they are), and quiet enough not to bother most students with noise sensitivity. I've also found, because I can get them in so many different colors, that they are a great tool to give students choice and also get students to verbalize by telling me what color they want. I've had multiple experiences with students who are nonverbal and use communication (AAC) devices say their first word in my class when they form the sound to say "pink" or "blue" to request their favorite egg shaker.

I hope this gives you some fresh ideas for using egg shakers in your lessons with all grade levels! If you want to see how all of these strategies and lesson ideas are incorporated into a fully sequenced curriculum, with all the complete lesson plans and materials to teach them, you can find them in the Organized Chaos K-6 Curriculum. I am always surprised at how much my students of all ages love playing the egg shaker, and they are such a versatile and accessible teaching tool! 

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Baseball Themed Elementary Music Lesson Activities

Baseball season is still in full swing (see what I did there?!?) so this is a great time to throw some baseball references into your lesson plans! And bringing sports references into music class is always a great way to engage students who may otherwise not get excited about the material. Here are a few simple ways to keep teaching the important concepts and skills we never have enough time to teach while incorporating a baseball theme into the activities!

To be honest I'm a little embarrassed I haven't written this post before now, considering what a central part of my upbringing baseball was- I am by no means a sports fan or a sporty person but my father played baseball in college and it is the one sport I have watched enough to feel like I know what I'm talking about most of the time. In fact baseball is probably the only sport I have consistently been incorporating into my lessons in some fashion since my first year of teaching. And it is always so fun to see the students' faces light up as they talk about their love of baseball!

1. Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Baseball or not, this is in fact my favorite song for introducing dotted half notes. It has a waltz feel without being waltz-y at all and has tons of dotted half notes students can identify as they are first introduced to the new note. I have them sway with the downbeat as they sing, then do a basic 3-beat clapping pattern with a partner, to get them feeling the triple meter, and then have them discover the 3-beat durations to introduce dotted half notes. You can find all the details about the lessons I do with this song in this post- if you pick one baseball activity to do, this is my top pick!

2. Play-Alongs

These days it feels like there's a play-along for everything! I honestly try to limit how often I use them but for sub plans, game days, or just to break up a difficult lesson they are great to have on hand. This video is a boomwhacker play-along for "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" (good to note it requires an F#) that would be great for older students, this video is a rhythm play along with just quarter notes and paired eighth notes that's slow enough for beginning readers, and this one is a steady beat body percussion play along that would be great for preschool or self-contained classes.

3. Baseball Review Game

Any time I'm reviewing something with students that can be a little mundane, whether it's note names or music vocabulary, instrument families, or any other information I want students to memorize, I try to turn it into a different kind of "game" to keep it interesting. One of my favorite formats for this is a baseball game: split the class into 2 teams, and each team takes turns "going up to bat" to answer a question/ name a note/ etc. A correct answer gets them 1 base, and the next person on the same team answers another question to try to get another base. If they get a question wrong the other team goes up to bat, and if they get 4 questions in a row correct they get a homeroom before the other team gets their turn at bat. It makes it feel more like baseball, especially with older students, if you have a student from the opposite team be the "pitcher" and read the question from a card (I often use the truth cards from my truth or dare deck for this). Put a picture of a baseball field on the board and use something to track each team's progress around the bases!

4. Baseball Organ Playing

For older students (5th grade and up), introducing students to baseball stadium organ players is a great jumping off point for a lot of topics and topics. I've used it as an example when we're talking about keyboard instruments, a surprising example of a music-related career, and as inspiration for composition projects to get students to think about how to use music to evoke different feelings. This video is a great example of how music can "move a crowd" that you can use to have students create a song that will get a crowd excited, but you can do similar projects to have students compose a "walk up song" for a player, a happy song for when your team gets a homerun, a sad song for when the opposite team scores, etc: 

I hope this gives you some ideas for incorporating baseball into your lessons! If you're looking for more ways to include sports references, here is my post on football themed lesson activities. I think the more we can find ways not just to reference student interests but also help connect things that people often treat as separate, or even opposing, worlds from music, the more we can help all students see themselves as musicians and feel connected to what they're learning in music class. 

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What To Do With Those Djembes

If you are starting a new job in a new classroom and suddenly find yourself with access to a set of djembes you don't know what to do with, or you have had the instruments for a while and feel like you're not getting as much use out of them as you should, this post is for you! In this post you'll find tips for storage, procedures for managing their use with students, and tons of lesson ideas to use with every grade from Kindergarten up through 6th grade!

First a quick note: in this post I'm going to be talking about these Toca Freestyle Colorsound Djembes, which I have in my classroom and have seen many other elementary music teachers using. Some tips and ideas are specific to those instruments but for the most part, apply to any similar djembes you may have in your classroom.

1. Storage

My general rule of thumb with instruments is to store them where students can easily get them and put them back themselves, and for djembes like this, some type of open shelving I think works best. Unlike some other types of drums, they don't stack on top of each other very well (believe me, I've tried), so they can end up taking up a lot of real estate! One small thing I discovered last year that allowed me to fit a lot more drums on the same shelf was to alternate between right side up and upside down so they don't take up as much room- this was a game changer for me!

2. Management

The main problem you're likely to encounter from a management perspective with djembes is students wanting to drum on them when they aren't supposed to. Obviously I have the same rule for the djembes as I do for every other instrument in my classroom: If you play before I say, you'll make the instrument go away. But beyond that I find with drums, students don't realize that touching the drumhead at all can cause the instrument to sound. I always remind students not to touch the white part when they are carrying them or waiting for their turn. Pointing out the color is much more concrete and specific and helps avoid a lot of problems!

One of the reasons I love these Toca Freestyle Colorsound Djembes specifically is because they come in sets of 7 colors, and 6 of those colors are the exact colors I use to break each class into rows/ teams (read about my color teams here- I use them for everything). I love being able to tell students to use the drum that matches their color team, but even if you don't use color "teams" in your classroom, I highly recommend assigning students to a color with some type of system to avoid arguments over which color they get. 

3. Lesson Ideas

This is definitely not an exhaustive list of lessons I love to teach using djembes, but here are some of my favorite ways to use them in each grade:

Kindergarten: It wasn't until recently that I started using the djembes with Kindergarten because they usually sit in the floor and I found it was difficult for them to play while sitting on the floor without knocking the drum over. But a few years ago I figured out that if they sit "criss-cross" with the drum sitting on the floor between their legs, it works really well and of course the students think they are super cool to play! I mostly use them for playing steady beat with a track since they can be quite loud (even when they are resting on the floor)!

1st grade: Even though my 1st graders sit in chairs most of the time, I find most of them are too small to hold the djembe properly between their knees with their feet on the floor. I usually have 1st graders use the djembes to work on rhythm compositions in small groups. I give them a small dry erase board and a marker or use these DIY rhythm cards to write a 4-beat rhythm, then they practice playing it on the djembe and eventually perform for the group. The djembes are easy to manage while sitting in a circle on the floor so they work well for this activity.

2nd grade: I usually teach students how to properly hold djembes in 2nd grade but sitting up in their chairs, putting their feet on the floor, and holding the drum between their knees with the top of the drumhead level with the top of their legs. I use them most often for rhythm play-along videos because they are loud enough to hear over the track.

3rd grade: I like to show my 3rd graders how to "roll" on the djembes to play long notes, especially the whole notes they learn for the first time in 3rd grade. 

4th-6th grade: The smaller djembes I have start to get a little small for some students' hands in the upper elementary grades so I will often use tubanos instead of djembes with this age group, but for a quick rhythm reading or composition activity the djembes are much easier to pull out and put away quickly. I also used the djembes to supplement instruments for drum circle activities when I didn't have very many larger tubanos to use, and then I would just have students put down their instruments in front of their chairs and rotate every few minutes so they could take turns playing the different types of drums. You can read about my favorite drum circle activities in this post.

I hope this gives you some ideas to start using your djembes more in your lessons! If you want the fully detailed lesson plans and materials for everything I do with djembes and more, you can find them in my curriculum. They are such a great instrument to have for rhythm, composition, steady beat, and more and my students always think they are way cooler than hand drums!

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