Birthday Cake Rhythms

Everyone loves birthday cake - especially 1st graders! A few years ago, I was using a visual included in our textbooks to introduce quarter and eighth notes. It included pictures of 1 or 2 pies per beat to demonstrate a rhythm. We began to come up with types of pie or cake to represent the two-sound beats, i.e. "ap-ple" or "lem-on." The most popular choice for the two-sound beats was "birth-day," because it paired perfectly with "cake" on the 1-sound beat. 

This year, I decided to kick it up a notch and create a set of bright, engaging, PowerPoint slides for the intro to quarter and eighth notes. The slides introduce students to the concept of 1 or 2 sounds per beat and also lead them into reading and playing rhythms with quarter and eighth notes. The slides logically progress in the following sequential manner:

Step 1:

The introductory slides include pictures of cakes with text below to lead students to read the rhythms using "cake" and "birthday."At this point, I used students to physically display these rhythms by having 1 or 2 students stand in an area designated for each of the 4 beats. My tile floor has a checkerboard pattern with 3 foot squares of white and tan, so we use each 3 foot box to represent a beat. I've also seen this done by having students share a chair or a polyspot on the floor (each person puts a foot on it when sharing). The bottom line is that you either have one student or two on each beat, and then the class reads the rhythm using whatever words or syllables you prefer. We begin by saying "cake" and "birthday." Students absolutely LOVE being part of a rhythm!

Step 2:

After we physically demonstrate and read the introductory slides, we move to the next ones that do not include text. As I work my way around the circle, I point to the beat the student is about to represent and ask, "Do you need a partner for your beat, or should you be alone?" The child figures it out and either comes alone, or brings the next person in the circle. After the rhythm is complete, we all read and pat it.

Step 3:

Once the students have all had a turn to be a part of a rhythm, and they also demonstrate the ability to read and pat the rhythms, we move to instruments to read and play them. You can use whatever you want. Pitched percussion can be set up in a pentaton to allow them to explore the bars and play whatever pitches they choose. We like to rotate after each turn.
For each turn, we follow this procedure:
1. Say It: Just say it, do not play it.
2. Say & Play It (twice): Say it while you play it. Students often forget to speak the rhythm while they are playing, and they do not play accurately. I tell them that their mouths "boss" their hands, which helps them play accurately. I also demonstrate what happens when they don't speak, and I start out playing correctly and then fall into playing a random pattern. We play it twice to give them extra practice, the opportunity to correct themselves, and a little more time with each instrument before they rotate to the next one.

Step 4:

The slides begin to include notes below the cakes. First, they are introduced with the text included, but that quickly disappears. I simply tell the students to start paying attention to the notes, because the cakes will be going away soon.

Step 5:

Finally, the cakes disappear, and students are reading actual notation. It happened so gradually that they didn't even realize how much they were learning while they were so busy playing instruments and having fun!

At this point, students are still saying "cake" and "birthday" for the quarter and eighth notes, but we will switch over to ta and ti-ti shortly.

If you are interested, my "Birthday Cake Rhythms" file is available at my TpT store. It includes a digital file with both PowerPoint and PDF versions.

Birthday Cake Rhythms

Happy Birthday to All!

Monster Rhythms

My students LOVE to play instruments! (Duh!) It's easy to get them to practice reading and playing rhythms - especially with fun and festive slides like these monster rhythms. I projected this brand new set in my second grade class and, and students ate them up.

My instruments are set up in three rows, and students zig, zag, zig through the rows. In other words, they move to the right on row 1, left on row 2, and right on row 3, followed by one quick zoom from the last instrument back to the beginning of row 1. Rows can include barred instruments in a pentaton, unhitched percussion, or a combination of both.

Since it is fairly early in the year and I only see them once a week, we used my introductory method of playing the slides.

1. Say It: I count down: "8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, play it now." Students say it without playing
2. Say and Play It: Students speak and play the rhythm (Play should continue without missing a beat. I sometimes speak in rhythm and give directions while they are playing to keep them on track.
3. Just Play It: Students should think the rhythmic syllables while they play.
4. Rotate: Students move to the next instrument while I click to the next slide and begin the countdown again. They know they only have 8 beats to get ready, so they move quickly and with purpose.

When students are proficient, they say and play each slide twice without stopping before rotating to the next instrument. When this works well, they are ready for their favorite rhythmic game: Poisoned Rhythms. I created this Monster version to go along with our new practice slides.

Students will strive to outwit the monsters by avoiding playing the poisoned rhythm. The "punishment" isn't too bad: they simply move to the next level of instruments. Complete instructions for the game are included in the product file.

The practice slides and the poisoned rhythm game are available at my TpT store. The bundle includes everything you need for a monstrous good time, plus it includes a discount:

Monster Rhythms - Level 1

Monster Rhythms - Poisoned Rhythm Game

Monster Rhythms Practice & Game Bundle

I hope these ideas inspire you to make your music class rock!

Monster Recorder B-A-G Rhythms

My fourth graders began learning music notation last year. They are doing a great job at identifying notes. We have been playing Around the World - Treble Staff, so I know they can name the pitches. I wish they were doing as well at producing a pleasing tone on the recorder. I know they will get there. We just haven't had a lot of time in class to work, yet.

I wanted a quick way for them practice and for me to assess and assist, as needed. I created a quick monster-themed PowerPoint filled with 4-beat rhythmic slides. I assigned letter names to the notes, so I students could practice fingering and playing B, A, and G. I'm usually a stickler for reading the music and don't allow them to write letter names in their books. I usually want them reading the notes, instead of letters; but this time I was more concerned with helping them improve their tone and articulation.

I created three different levels of Monster Recorder B-A-G and began using it this week. We began with Level 1, which keeps each 4-beat rhythm on one pitch. It was easy to spot students who were playing the wrong pitch, either due to fingering the wrong pitch or not completely covering holes.

Here is the procedure we followed this week: (I'm sure I'll tweak this as we go.)

• Students read and fingered the rhythm silently
• All students played the example once
• We identified issues with rhythm or pitch and then played it twice in a row.
• Groups played examples, so I could more easily identify specific students needing help. (I have divided my class into 3 groups. They numbered off in their order, so no one sits by a neighbor in the same number group. I use this system often, because they can hear themselves better and I can focus on fewer players at once.)

Level 2 increases the difficulty by having examples that include more than one pitch, but all movement is stepwise.

As my students improve, I plan to use Monster Recorder to play a game. I'll divide the class into two teams and have individuals from teams play. They can earn points. I'm thinking of this point system:

• 1 point for correct rhythm (but not all pitches or pleasing tone)
• 2 points for correct rhythm & pitch OR rhythm & tone (problem with pitch or tone)
• 3 points for proper rhythm, pitch, and tone 

Level 3 steps it up another notch and adds leaps between B and G. All levels use pretty basic rhythms, which include quarter notes and rests, half notes, and eighth notes.


Each level is available in my TpT store, as well as a bundled set available at a discount. You can find them here:

Monster Recorder B-A-G Level 1

Monster Recorder B-A-G Level 2

Monster Recorder B-A-G Level 3

Monster Recorder B-A-G Bundle

Happy Playing!

Poisoned Rhythm Fun

Last month, I posted a few of my favorite finds through Pinterest. You can read about them here. I also mentioned an activity I planned to try that was shared by Amy Abbott, who has an amazing music education blog that you must check out! (Music a la Abbott) A few weeks ago, I introduced her  St. Patty's Day Poisoned Pattern Game in my 2nd and 3rd grade classes. The basic premise is that the students read and perform rhythmic phrases, but they have to watch out for the "poisoned" rhythm. If they play that one (which is introduced prior to playing the game), then they are "out."

I'm sure there are a million different ways to play the game. As we played the game in class, it evolved into the following:

• Students began the game by playing barred instruments in a pentaton.
• After the poison rhythm appeared, I announced "Fruit Basket Turnover."
• All students who accidentally played the poisoned rhythm moved to the next level of instruments. Level 2 was large drums and temple blocks. For level 3, I used several bins of unpitched percussion instruments such as triangles, wood blocks, guiros, etc. Level 4 was a bin of rhythm sticks.
• Students who did not play the poisoned rhythm were allowed to switch instruments within their level.
• I began the game by counting before each rhythm. Students spoke and played each rhythm two times in a row.
• I was able to increase the speed of the game in some classes by changing the slide on beat 3 during the repeat of the rhythm. I didn't need to count each time, they simply continued playing. They enjoyed the faster pace of the game.

Poisoned Rhythm has become a favorite activity among my students. They ask to play it constantly. Although I can't let them play it ALL the time, it is a great activity for the end of class when there are a few extra minutes. The benefit of the game is that it can be tailored to include any rhythm you are teaching. If you want a quick and easy way to vary the game, you can purchase Amy's rhythm bundle that includes many different versions of the game.

I also used the PowerPoint presentation of rhythmic slides with my first graders after they learned ta and ti-ti. Students sat in a circle, read the rhythm once, then spoke the rhythm and played auxiliary instruments twice. Between each slide, they passed their instruments to the next person. 

Have fun, but watch out for that poisoned rhythm!

Pinterest Picks

I love using Pinterest as a resource for finding new lesson ideas. So many music teachers have blogs and share their plans and materials, and Pinterest is a place to find many of these ideas in one centralized location. Click on a pin that interests you, and poof! You are taken right to a web page to explore further.

I have about 300 pins on my "Making Music" board on Pinterest. I only pin links after I click on them and make sure it is something that I would really want to refer to again and possibly use in my classroom. This past week, I utilized two lesson ideas that I found through pins on Pinterest. They were both a hit with my students, so I thought they were worth mentioning.

Fruit Loop Rhythms

Mrs. King's Music Room blog is a wonderful resource for engaging music lesson plans. I am a follower, but noticed her latest post through a pin on Pinterest before I had even seen her blog post on Fruit Loop Notation. I recently started teaching rhythmic notation to my first graders, and I immediately knew they would love this method of differentiating between one or two sounds per beat.

I enjoyed finding a cute font to create a Fruit Loop worksheet. You can download a copy below.

Fruit Loop Notation Worksheet

I used coffee filters to hold the cereal for the students. They are cheap and work perfectly! I measured out 1/4 cup for each student, which was usually just the right amount. 

As you can see, the students were engaged and enjoyed working on their rhythmic notation:

When I introduced ta's and ti's, I used 4 stools to represent 4 beats. As we spoke a phrase from a poem, the students determined if there is one or two sounds on each beat. If there was one sound, one student would sit on the stool. If there were two sounds, two students shared the stool. When two students shared, they put their arms around their partner's shoulders to visually represent the beam over eighth notes.

After we worked from text, I called students up to the stools to create different rhythmic patterns. We used words first, like "birthday" and "cake" for one or two sounds. Ex.: "Birthday, birthday, cake, cake." Then we moved to reading the pattern as "ti-ti, ti-ti, ta, ta."

I put a Fruit Loop Rhythm worksheet under the document camera, and demonstrated how to complete an example. If I didn't have the document camera, I would have put a worksheet on the floor and let everyone watch as I completed one pattern.

Since this was my students' first attempt at rhythmic dictation, I used the percussion setting on my keyboard and played two different sounds for the quarter notes and eighth notes. I typically used a higher pitched percussion sound for the eighth notes and a bass drum for the quarter notes. If students struggled, I added the words we had used (birthday & cake) or spoke the ti's and ta's. Most of the students were able to successfully notate the rhythms without the words or syllables.

The nice thing about this activity, is that I could sit at the keyboard and see how students were doing from a distance. I played the example several times. When most students appeared to be finished, I had them tap their boxes as I played it again to check their work.

We played a little game to check the students' work. Since I had numbered the beat boxes, I had used letters for each example. So I taught the students sign language for letters A-D. Then I played an example and they found it on their worksheet. They held up the letter for the pattern I played. I could assess how well they had done as they identified the examples. Of course, I had to try to trick them and repeat one before playing the last one. I got a few on that one when they immediately guessed the example I had not played yet. We had a good giggle over that. :)

The following lesson, we used bottle caps and mini craft sticks to represent notes. Although it wasn't as tasty as the Fruit Loops, the students still had fun as they practiced rhythmic dictation.

Next week, students will begin reading flashcards and playing rhythms. I will have them speak the rhythm prior to playing it. I use the phrase, "Say it, Say & Play, Play" They speak it first, then speak and play, then think the syllables while they play. We usually use the barred instruments set in pentaton for this activity, but any percussion instrument will do.

Thanks to Pinterest, I also found a game to use for reading and playing rhythms. I can't wait to try it with my students. It's a game from Amy Abbott, who has a fantastic music blog named Music a la Abbott. The game is called St. Patty's Day Poisoned Rhythm Game. Check it out!

Step/Skip Game

Last summer, I scoured Pinterest looking for ideas for music centers. I was reviewing some of my older pins and noticed one that would be perfect for my 3rd graders, since they are working on melodic notation. We have been using individual music staff white boards to notate line/space notes, scales, and solfege patterns. Some students were struggling with line and space notes, so I wanted a fun way to reinforce this concept.

When I am introducing line and space notes, I use my head and arms to demonstrate the difference. I put my hands on both sides of my head like an arrow going through my head for the line note. Then I put one arm over my head and one arm below my chin for a space note. I go back and forth and let the students call out which kind of note I am representing. I also tell the students that although we say a note is "on" the line, think of it as being stamped on, rather than sitting on the line. Some students may imagine that if a note were sitting on the line, it would actually be a space note. I find that stamping it on the line helps.

Okay, back to the game that I found! It came from Jennifer Fink at Pianimation. The games and resources that she shares are amazing. The game I used last week was Floor Staff Races. Follow the link to read about the game and scroll down the post for the link to the game cards.

Before playing the game, we practiced identifying space/line notes, steps/skips, and up/down. 

For the game, students drew skip/step cards and up/down cards and raced their toy from the ledger line to the top of the staff. I definitely recommend using more "up" cards than "down" in order to finish a game. I made two game boards and divided the classes in half to play and thought that would work well. However, that ended up being too many students per game, in my opinion. So the next time we played, I divided the class into 4 groups. Two groups played one game, while two groups played this one. We rotated halfway through class, so everyone got to play both games.

I even used this game with one of my 4th grade classes while I listened to individual students play for recorder karate belts. We took the game one more step by having the students identify the pitch name after they moved the animal. If they could not name it, they had to return to the previous position (unless they had moved downward, in which case they had to remain there).

What are you waiting for? Run over to Pinterest and plan your next lessons. If you need a starting point, you can check out my music board by clicking here.

See you on Pinterest!