Teacher Tuesday: lesson ideas for teaching rhythm

Welcome back to Teacher Tuesday! Today I'm sharing my favorite ways to teach rhythm in a full-class lesson setting. Obviously rhythm is something that comes up in almost every song that we learn in class, but these are my favorite activities to use when we are really focusing on a particular rhythm.

1. Ostinato Composition

I think of composition just like writing in any other language: it is the highest level of skill development (just like we speak, then read, then write in our native tongue). So the best way to practice a musical element (and assess student understanding) is to use it in composition! One easy way to do this is to have students add an ostinato to a familiar song. I usually pick a song we have recently learned that they know well and love, and tell them to create a 1-measure pattern to add to the song, using the rhythm we are learning somewhere in their pattern. I usually have them create the rhythm in small groups by clapping, or individually by writing it down, then have them choose a percussion instrument to use with the class. Sometimes we perform the song in a "theme and variations" format, where we sing the song over and over while one group or student at a time performs their ostinato as an accompaniment, or we will put all or several of the ostinati together to create a more complex, layered accompaniment. With older students I throw in some higher-order thinking by asking students to choose an instrument that fits with the overall message of the song, and after the performance, I have the class discuss which ones best fit with the piece. Another extension is to transfer the rhythm to xylophones or other pitched percussion!

2. Rhythm Chairs

Split the class into two groups, with each group in a line leading to the front of the room, where you will be displaying a 1-measure rhythm (on a projector screen, whiteboard, or even flashcards in your hand). At the front of each line, put 4 chairs going across, facing the front of the room. Tell the students that a person is a note, and a chair is a beat. They need to show you whatever rhythm they see. On your signal, show the first rhythm. The first team to get the correct number of people in the correct chairs wins that round- if there are two eighth notes on a beat, two people share one chair, a quarter rest would be indicated by an empty chair, and they would show a whole note with one person laying across four chairs etc. The best part of the game is making them figure that all out on their own without any additional instructions! This game has been a real aha moment for many of my students, and boy is it fun! I've been doing this game with just 1-measure rhythms projected on the screen, but Jennifer at The Yellow Brick Road has an awesome file, including game instructions and rhythms to use in the game, in her store here:

3. Rhythm Battle

I use this as a special activity during Music In Our Schools Month (read more about the things I do for MIOSM here), but you could definitely pull this out any time of year!I choose a song with a clear, stead beat- usually the instrumental version of an upbeat pop song to rev them up :) After the music starts, I put up a slide on my projector that says "Rhythm Battle!". When the intro is ending, I count off 4 beats and click to the next slide on "four". There is a 4 beat rhythm on that slide. If the class claps it correctly, I click to the next 4-beat rhythm slide on the 4th beat, and they have to continue clapping with no pause. They keep going until they make a mistake. When they mess up, they go back to the first slide and start over. Whatever their longest run is before the song ends, that is their class score for the day.  For MIOSM I keep a running tally throughout the month and the winning class from each grade level gets a prize. The competitive aspect definitely makes it more exciting, so I recommend running it as a competition between classes, but you could also set a goal for a certain score and work towards the goal. This is by far the best activity I have found for improving sight reading, and the kids beg for it every year! Here are the slides I use if you're interested- you can also easily make your own slides to fit the level of your students or even use flashcards if you have those.

I also do a lot of focused practice on rhythm concepts in small groups/centers. If you missed my post last week on center ideas for teaching rhythm, go check it out here:

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Mommy Monday: what to get a single mom for her birthday

So today is my birthday! Happy Birthday to me!! :D

I am off spending the day with my family so I'm sticking around for long, but I did want to share something that my parents have started doing for me for my birthday that I LOVE and I think almost all single mothers of young children would appreciate:

take their kids shopping. Go to the dollar store and let them each pick something out to give to their mom. Help them wrap it and hide it somewhere to give to them later. In most two-parent homes, the other parent will make sure the kids get the other parent a small gift or make a card. Parents love getting those little things from their kids on their birthdays, and we also want to encourage our children to learn about the joy of giving. But when you are the only parent, it can be awkward to encourage your children to get something for your own birthday.

It's a simple thing but I really love getting something that I know my girls picked out for me!

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

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Teacher Tuesday: center ideas for teaching rhythm

In the next few weeks I want to share some of my favorite ways to teach rhythm. Today, I'll be focusing on ideas that I use in small groups or centers. I have had a few times this year when a class, after going through the usual lessons to learn a new rhythm, just isn't getting it. I have spent an entire class period working in centers to reinforce that rhythm with the whole class. Centers are great for this kind of situation because students get to practice the skill over and over again without getting bored, and they are able to work on it in a variety of learning modalities to fit their learning styles.

1. Rhythm Cat app

My students love this because it works like a video game where players can "unlock" levels by getting a high enough score. Basically students tap the green button with the rhythm on the screen to "play along" with the music (so they have to stay on the beat). Word of caution: the notes turn green if you play it correctly, which looks initially like it is telling you to follow along and play that note. Make sure to explain to students that the green notes are the ones they already played so that they don't get lost! There is a free and paid version. I've been using the free one and it is completely adequate. Click on the picture to check it out!

2. Kaboom sticks

This is another very popular activity. Basically the sticks with rhythms on them are in a container, writing side down. Players pull out a stick and clap the rhythm. If they are correct, they keep it. If not, they put it back in. Some sticks say "kaboom"- if they get that one, all the sticks go back in the container (except the kaboom stick). The player with the most sticks at the end of the game wins. This is great because you can really focus on a specific rhythm. I have several sets of popsicle sticks each with a different rhythm focus (held together with rubber bands) in the container so I can quickly pull out the ones I want. I also use this for teaching note letter names- you can find that post, which also has a link to my original source for this idea, here.

3. Cups

This is an activity that you can quickly pull out with minimal setup- all you need is a set of sturdy cups. Give each student a cup and ask them to come up with a pattern, similar to the "cup song", incorporating one rhythm element that you want to practice. You may want to give a few examples, either through live demonstration, or by showing some examples on YouTube, to get them started, but my students have been pretty good at coming up with their own ideas without a lot of prompting.

4. Paint chips

I adapted this idea from this post from Teach Piano Today. Grab some paint chips from your local hardware store and laminate them.  Give students a dry erase marker and have them notate the names of the paint colors in a 2-beat rhythm. So, for example, "Pineapple Soda" becomes 1-&-a-2-& (or ti-tika ti-ti). Take a quick look at each of the paint colors before you use them in class though- you don't want anything provocative, too difficult to pronounce, or the wrong length. This is fun because the color names are usually pretty funny and the students have saying them over and over again while figuring out the rhythm.

What are some of your favorite small group activities to teach rhythm? I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments! 

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Mommy Monday: interactive meals for family fun

Today I want to share with you a mealtime favorite in my house: what I call "interactive meals". Basically I'm talking about a meal that requires participants to make choices and customize their dish at the table. I have found these meals to be perfect for toddlers, because it gives them control over what they eat without becoming a short-order cook, and a great way to make meal time more fun by giving everyone more involvement beyond just consuming the items that appear on their plate. These meals are perfect for the weekend when you have a little more time to relax at the table and enjoy each other's company, but they're not so involved that you couldn't whip it up on a weeknight if you wanted!

The basic idea is to have lots of options for what people can add to their plate, and put them all on the table. Sort of like a buffet but everything is right there in front of you. The sky is the limit on what kinds of meals you could put together along these lines, but here are our top 3 favorites at the moment:

Salad Bar

This is a great way to eat lots of veggies. So colorful and perfect for warmer weather! 

Ingredients: at least 1 leafy green

                    several chopped vegetables

                    other toppings: fruit, cheese, nuts, hard boiled egg, bacon bits, beans...

                    salad dressing

I usually pick either the savory or sweet side and stick with those to avoid getting too weird. For sweet salads, berries, feta cheese, nuts or seeds, and vinaigrette make a great combination. For savory, hard boiled eggs, shredded cheddar cheese, black beans, and bacon bits work well together. Our favorite veggies at the moment include bell pepper, cucumber, carrot, corn, avocado, and spinach.

Taco Night

So much fun. Use scrambled eggs instead of meat to make it for breakfast!

Ingredients: tortillas (we use the flour fajita ones)

                    meat (chicken, ground meat, shrimp, steak, fish, or even scrambled eggs)

                    salsa

                    shredded cheese

                    vegetables (avocado, canned corn, black beans, spinach, bell peppers...)

I love this meal because I can keep most of the ingredients on hand. One thing I have learned is to let my toddlers eat it however they want and not try to show them how to roll up their tortilla (unless they ask). One of my girls puts everything on a tortilla, then eats it all with a fork and eats the tortilla by itself at the end. Whatever floats your boat, I guess!

Pancake Breakfast

We do this most often with french toast, actually, or you could do the same with waffles. 

Ingredients: pancakes/waffles/french toast

                    fruit (berries, mango, banana, kiwi...)

                    syrup/honey

                    spreads (peanut butter, jellies/jams, butter, cream cheese)

                    other toppings: whipped cream, cinnamon sugar, bacon bits, chocolate chips, nuts

This is something that probably almost every family in North America has from time to time, but the fun is in coming up with new toppings to try (and combinations of toppings!). One of my toddlers pulled cream cheese out of the fridge one time- you guys, cream cheese is amazing on french toast! I don't know why it isn't a staple pancake topping already but it is great with fruit and nuts. 

What meals have you tried to make meal time more interactive for the whole family?

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