Title Halloween Rhythm Canon

By Dawn Slupski
Primary Subject Music
Secondary Subjects
Grade Level 4
This is a fun activity to do with any holiday to help reinforce rhythm, note value and steady beat. Have
children brainstorm different things associated with Halloween or other holidays. Pick three words or
items that have different rhythm values. Have students help you to figure out what note value should be
placed on the words. Do the same thing with two more words or sentences. Divide the class into three
groups, and have each of them recite a different word or sentence placing emphasis on the rhythm. Once
they are confident in speaking add body percussion and then other percussion instruments. You have an
awesome composition that is performed in a canon. My students beg for this activity. Have Fun!
-Song:
Who Has the Penny?
Materials Needed:
poster
with rhythms, safety pin and penny
Musical Activities:
Listening,
singing, clapping
Musical Concepts:
Rhythmand dynamics
Grade Level:
2nd
grade
Goals:
1) To show children
that music is fun by playing a game.
To practice a steady beat and to add a rhythm
to the beat.
Objectives:
1) Students
will clap the rhythms that appear in the song.

Students will practice dynamics by humming softly

and singing loudly, or with full voices.
Students will keep a steady beat while learning
the rhythms.
Introduction:
Tell the students that they will be learning a new
rhythm called an eighth note. Ask them to pay close attention
and listen carefully for the difference between an eighth note
and a quarter note.
Procedures:
Begin clapping a steady moderate beat. Ask the
children to join in and to try to match your beat, reminding them
not to speed up or slow down.
Ask them to stop and listen. Have them direct
their attention to the board where a poster displays the following
rhythms in 2/4 time: quarter eighth-eighth quarter quarter and
quarter eighth-eighth quarter rest. Clap the rhythms and have
them echo you.
Now divide the group in half. Tell them that
they will each have a very important job to do. One group will
keep the steady beat while the other claps the rhythm on the board.
Repeat switching roles.
Next, introduce the song "Who Has the Penny?"
by singing it all the way through. Ask the students to clap the
beat while you sing. Then switch, you clap the beat while they
sing the song.
Ask the students to stand up and form a circle.
Show them the penny and the safety pin and tell them that you
are going to play a game using the song they just learned. Have
the students close their eyes and hold their hands out. Hum the
song softly while you give the penny to one student and the safety
pin to another. When the song ends, whoever has the penny and
the pin in their hands will sing the appropriate lines as you
sing the song loudly (with a full voice). After playing the first

time, let the children pass the penny and the pin on to other
students.
Closure:
Ask the children to identify which word of the song
occurs on the eighth-eighth pattern.
Evaluation:
Teacher watches and listens while the students are
clapping their rhythms. Also, make sure that they know the difference
between humming (softly) and singing (loudly).
-Music Lesson on Rhythm (Tempo)

Kyle Yamnitz

Song : Any quality song that contains a slow pace and any quality song that is fast-paced.
Possibilities include the slower parts of Beethovens Symphony Number 3 and the fast-tempo portions of
his Ninth Symphony .

Musical Element to Teach : Rhythm (Tempo)

Grade Level : Second to Fourth

Concept : The students will experience a fast and a slow tempo in music and create drawings the different
tempos cause them to think of.

Objectives : The students will:

Listen to the two musical pieces.

Draw pictures of what the music causes them to think about.

Materials Needed :

Recordings of fast and slow-tempo music, crayons, paper, drawing(s) the teacher has done while listening
to music to use as an example.

Preliminary Procedures :

The teacher will ask students if they think of anything when they hear the music that accompanies a
McDonalds commercial, or other commercials, television shows, etc. Note that many songs cause us to
think of different things or make us feel different ways.

Procedures :

1. First, present students with sample drawings that you as the teacher have done while listening to music.
This will give them an idea of what is expected of them.

2. Tell the students that you are going to play some music for them and that they need to listen carefully
and create drawings of anything that they think about when listening to the music. Ask students to not
start drawing until they have a good vision in their head of what they want to draw.

3. Play the first, slow-tempo music and tell the students to start drawing whenever the music causes them
to think of something.

4. After they have done the slow-tempo music, play the fast-tempo music and have students do similar
drawings.

5. When the second piece is finished, have students finish up their drawings, then ask what they noticed
about the differences between the two pieces of music.

6. Discuss these differences with the students and ask them if the two pieces made them think of different
things, and if so, how? Describe these differences to be different tempos and discuss how these different
tempos are used in commercials, movies, etc. to make us feel different ways.

Evaluation :

No evaluation is needed for this lesson since students will learn through the activity itself.

Follow-Up/Extension :

Present students with movie clips of chase scenes, scary scenes, relaxing scenes, and others in movies,
and ask how the music is different in each case. Does the different music make us feel different ways or
think differently? How?
-Title Rhythm Canon
By Carol Wilmar
Primary Subject Music
Secondary Subjects Language Arts
Grade Level K-5

This activity helps children learn to keep a 4/4 rhythm and is a good introduction to canon and partsinging.

The children and teacher sit in a circle. The teacher begins a 4/4 rhythm by gently slapping hands on
thighs. The teacher then says: I WENT to the JUNgle and I HEARD a funny NOISE. Going round the
circle, each child makes a jungle noise and keeps making it while subsequent children add their own
noises. After each new noise, the teacher says the phrase again. Younger or more self-conscious children
can work in pairs or groups. Older children can contribute their own ideas to the theme of the activity: I
Went to the Farm and I Heard a Funny Noise, or, for Halloween, I Went to the Haunted House and Heard
a Spooky Noise. Rhythm instruments can replace the thigh-slapping once the children master the concept.
The activity is more challenging than it may seem, because children can get confused or lose the tempo in
the cacophony! However, once they get the hang of it, the resulting songs can sound very good!

Title Music: How symbols can represent sounds

By Randy Rigby
Primary Subject Music
Grade Level 1-3
SESSION 1

Tell the class that they are going to learn how pictures can represent sounds telling us when to play and
when to stay silent.
Divide the children up into 3 groups
1)wood 2) metal 3) skins.
Each to have an instrument relating to that group.
Demonstrate how they will know when to play when they see a picture that represents their group of
instruments. Say when their picture is shown, they must play, if their picture is not shown, then they must
remain silent. The children are to play as long as the symbol is shown for. Get them to play quietly,
loudly, medium loud, getting louder and quieter gradually. (Can use another sign for this).
Choose who can now become the leader to hold up the picture.
Now stick the 3 pictures in a row. (You can add more than 1 of the same picture if you like to create a
picture score). The conductor this time will point to the sign representing the groups Again the group
will play for as long as the conductor points to the picture before moving along. (In future sessions speed
(duration) can be varied asking what effects it gives).
SESSION 2
In groups again as the first session (children can swap groups if they want) and point out again how the
pictures can represent sounds. Today, tell the class that they are going to see what happens when we
combine more than one sound, using the pictures from last time. (You may need to prepare more of the
picture cards for this activity.).
Let each group practice individually performing quietly, loudly, medium loud etc.get a child to hold
pictures like last time.
Remind the class how we arranged the picture cards in a long line last lesson and how we used a
conductor to take us through the whole piece? Get a child to arrange any 6 cards in any order and place
them on the wall. Play through using a conductor as a practice performing a longer piece.
Now choose 3 pictures only that are on the wall and add another of a different group on top. Ask the
children what they think will happen at these points of the picture score. (2 groups will play). Perform
through as before can swap combinations or extend line etc as desired.

FUTURE POSSIBILITIES
Add signs for loud and soft
Add signs for a melodic group
Group compositions based on the cards game
Have a quick practice.
-Title Boomwhackers If Youre Happy
By Rosemary Shaw
Primary Subject Music
Secondary Subjects
Grade Level 3-4
Seat children in a Boomwhacker Circle, and pass out boomwhackers in diatonic order. (If there are 24
students, for example, the first three get low c, the next three d, and so on around the circle.)
Begin If Youre Happy by just playing the melody on a keyboard and asking students to clap when they
think they should. Piece of cake, and they will all be so very pleased with themselves. Ask them next to
sing the traditional If youre happy and you know it, clap your hands words.
Then, referring to a chart, which is on the board, ask them to sing If youre happy and you know it, play
an A, and so on. If you use three keys, all students will get a chance to play.
Here is the chart:
1. A-B-G (key of G, modulate to C)

2. D-E-C (key of C, modulate to F)

3. G-A-F (key of F)

Once this is well learned, I teach chords, singing,

if youre happy and you know it play chord five, and then one, and one again.
Only two keys are need for this, and they are (on the board):
1. five: CEG

one: FAC (key of F, modulate to C)

2. five: GBDF

one: CEG

Students really love this and ask for it again and again!
--

Title Rhythm Pattern Game

By Caryn Jones
Primary Subject Music
Secondary Subjects
Grade Level 1-3
OBJECTIVES: The learner will:
* Be able to identify quarter, half, whole and eighth notes and rests

* Use the different colors of M&M;s to represent the different notes and rests
* Learn a new song and associate song with actual rhythmic patterns
MATERIALS:
* Index cards with different patterns of notes on each ex. quarter quarter eighth eighth quarter
* Bag of M&M;s
PROCEDURE:
* Students will have a brief lecture on quarter, half, whole and eighth notes. They will see what each note
looks like and know how many beats each one gets. *In the younger grades, it is wiser just to stick to ta,
ti and toh, unless the children are more advanced.
* After students are comfortable with notes and values, they will each be handed an index card with
rhythmic patterns on it.
* The instructor will sing and clap several patterns. The student with the correct pattern will raise his or
her card in the air. This will continue until every student has raised his or her card.
* After students finish identifying rhythm patterns, they will make up their own.
* The teacher will have a bag of M&M;s. Students will be instructed that each color of candy represents
a different note. Ex. brown represents a quarter note, green is a half note.
* Students will then make up their own patterns on their cards using the M&M;s.
* The instructor will go around the room checking the cards. Each student will have to sing their rhythm
they have constructed. If they sing the correct rhythm, they may eat their M&M;s.
ASSESSMENT:
The students understanding of rhythms will be evident as they raise their cards at the correct time and sing
the correct rhythm they have constructed.
E-Mail Caryn Jones !
--

Title Rhythm
By Nancy DeLaDesmo
Subject Music
Grade Level Kindergarten Third

OBJECTIVE: 1. Students will be able to clap and say simple rhythms. 2. Students will be able to read and
play a simple rhythm pattern.
Strategy: Whole group instruction.
ACTIVITY: 1. Students will be given a half sheet of paper and draw a quarter note on the paper. A circle
that is colored in with a stem. And write the word TA under it. The students will turn the paper over
and draw a picture of a quarter rest. It looks like a pointy number 3. And write the word rest under it.
Students will practice saying and clapping TA when they see the see the quarter note and putting their
hands on their lap while saying rest when they see the quarter rest. Then the teacher will select four
students to come up to the board to make a rhythm pattern with their papers in front of them. The class
will clap and say the pattern shown. The children each take a turn. 2. Pass out the childrens TA and Rest
papers. Bring the classroom percussion instruments. Instead of clapping the rhythms the students will
play the rhythms. They are really reading rhythms!!
Assessment: Visual Check of participation and listening for the wrong rhythm being said or played.
NOTE: Pass out another half sheet of paper and the students can write two eighth notes (two circles
colored in with a beam across the top) with the word TI TI under the note heads. On the other side draw
a half note (a circle not colored in with a stem) and write the word (TO OO) under the note. Then follow
the activities above with new notes!

Classical Instrument Families

by Celeste McKenzie
Grade 3
Materials: Illustrations of orchestral instruments Keyboard equipped with sound cards or other instrument
sound-producing technology
Objective: Students group orchestral instruments into the proper category, recognize by sight and sound.

Begin with a visual presentation of various instruments using pictures, illustrations, or if you have them
available, actual instruments. Show at least 4 from each category. For example:
String: violin, cello, harp, piano. I specifically use the piano to later demonstrate the fact that it is one
instrument that can be classed into 2 categories: string & percussion.
Brass: trumpet, french horn, tuba, trombone
Woodwind: clarinet, flute, oboe, piccolo
Percussion: snare drum, triangle, cymbal, xylophone.
As you are explaining the function of each instrument dont reveal its categoryalthough most third
graders can easily classify most by sight.
What makes this lesson especially fun and interesting is the use of my keyboard/synthesizer, with various
sound cards, etc. which duplicate, pretty accurately, the sound made by each instrument. Once you have
shown all of the instruments, PLAY the sounds for the class, randomly. Students guess what instrument
produces that sound, and once correctly identified, put it into the category they feel is correct.
Extension:
If you have a grand piano available use it to show students the lay of the strings. I like to demonstrate how
the small strings produce a high pitch, and the larger strings, a lower tone. Then we concentrate on the
hammers and look at how they strike the strings to produce the sound. This, I explain, is a percussion
action. I also like to point out that like the size of the string, the bigger the instrument, the bigger the
sound. Demonstrate the tonal differences, for example, of the trumpet and the tuba; the violin and the
bass, the piccolo and the bass clarinet, etc.
Follow up: As a test/quiz during another class period, have students label the 4 headings on paper, then
randomly read the names of various instruments that you used during the initial lesson. Have children
group them in the proper category. Do not use pictures this time, as many are so obvious, by sight.
Another way to test recall of knowledge is simply to PLAY the instrument sound, and see how many can
be recalled by the tonal qualities demonstrated.
--

Visualization of rhythms in 4/4

by Tracy
Grade 2-5
Materials:

4 chairs in a row and optional cards with quarter, whole, half, eighth notes and rests.
Begin by taping the chairs in a steady beat, say beat, beat, beat, beat . . .
*Have students sit in the chairs Count them as you would quarter notes.
*Remove a student or two. Ask how would it be counted? Point out that the chairs are still there even
though they are empty of people and that they take up space. Show that the empty chairs are called
quarter rests.
*Have 6 students try to figure out how to sit on the chairs. Soon they will double up and share seats. This
will give the class a visualization of eighth note pairs.
*You can continue in this manner with all the note values. ie a whole note one student would have to lay
across all four chairs.
--=-

Music Lesson on Melody and Rhythm

Kyle Yamnitz

Song

: Samples of music from several different nations

Musical Element to Teach

: Melody and Rhythm

Grade Level

: Fourth or Fifth

Concept

: The students will predict what music from different

cultures sounds like based on what they have heard through the
media, movies, etc. They will then listen to music from these
nations and compare how their predicted music differed. They
will also note any differences in melody and rhythm between the
various cultures and our own.

Objectives

: The students will:

Predict what music from different nations will sound like by
creating short musical pieces based on their assumptions.
Listen to music from different cultures and describe how their
musical creations
differed as well as how each piece of music differed from the
others and from our own.
Write a list of differences in melody and rhythm found between
the various nations and our own.

Materials Needed

Musical samples from at least three different nations, musical

instruments (as many different ones as possible).

Preliminary Procedures

:
Ask students what kind of music they think that they would hear
if they went to China, Russia, Zimbabwe, Chile, etc.

Procedures

:
1. Divide the students into groups and have each group create
a musical piece that represents what they think the music of a
certain nation will sound like. Provide few guidelines and allow
them to choose whatever instruments they think may be used in
making music in the country their group is doing.
2. Allow students to play their music for the group. After each
group plays, let them listen to authentic music from that nation
and invite the entire class to discuss differences in the group
and the nations music. Also, ask them what the differences between
this music and our own is. Before students listen to the music,
remind them that differences in music are welcomed and do not
mean that any form of music is better than another.
3. After each group performs and the national music is listened
to, ask students to write a list of differences in melody and
rhythm from our own. They should describe why they think each
aspect of melody and rhythm that they write about is different.
Also have them write about some of the similarities in the different
music.

Evaluation

:
The students descriptions of differences in melody and rhythm
between the different nations music and our own can be evaluated.
They should be evaluated based on the accuracy of their responses
when considering the brief musical pieces that they were allowed
to listen to.

Follow-Up

:
Ask students if they think that all of each nations music would
be similar in melody and form to the one short piece that they
heard. Note that there are numerous differences in melody and
rhythm within a cultures music. Also, ask students to describe
which music they liked the best and why.