I am glad to say that I followed the process I outlined for day 1 in my previous blog post and it worked perfectly. I love when that happens!!!!

So… how do I extend this to meet my grade 1 outcomes? Currently, we are working on  and .  Here is my process:

Day 1 – Approx. 10-15 minutes

• Intro the song with movement. “Hop Old Squirrel” – Hop forward; “Eidle Dum Eidle Dum” – Wiggle your bum to the rhythm.( With my K’s today, I asked them to suggest movement. They naturally chose what I had predicted above)
• Divide the class. ½ are trees and ½ are squirrels. Add movement. Switch roles.
• Add a B section. Echo clap two 4 beat patterns using the words “Squirrel” for one sound and “Nutty” for two sounds. For me Squirrel is a one syllable word.

“Squirrel, Squirrel, Nutty, Squirrel”

“Nutty, Nutty, Squirrel, Squirrel”

Form

A Song

B Echo claps

A Song

• Introduce the chart and visuals.

• Model creating a 4 beat rhythm.

• Invite students to create a rhythm. ( We do not repeat the song at this time. We just have fun clapping the rhythms 2X)
• Discover Squirrel= and Nutty =

 

Day 2 Approx 10-12 minutes 

• Review the form. Use rhythm syllables in the B section.

 

• Set students up to play the glockenspiels as shown below. I have used F pentatonic. (Mallets are down until we are ready to play.)

 

• Review the following chart and intro the new visuals. 

 

• Model the following:

• Play the rhythms using tone clusters (2 notes at the same time) on the glockenspiels. (I am building on their experience. They have done this before so they will transfer the rhythm easily. You can tell them to play the rhythm on a specific 2 note cluster if that works for you.) Invite students to create new rhythms. 

Form

A Song with student choosing 4 cards and placing them on chart

B Play the new rhythmic pattern 2X

A Song with a new student choosing 4 cards

B Play the new rhythmic pattern 2X…

• Continue form until everyone has had a turn to play a pattern. They go to the end of the line as you sing the A section each time. (With 6 glocks, we do it 3 times)

 

Day 3 Approx. 15 minutes

• Divide the students into groups of 2 or 3. Provide them with a chart and visuals. Independently, they play the game – creating their own B sections. I do give their group instruments. Some might have pitched percussion and other might have non pitched percussion).
• Create a final rhythm and transcribe it to their worksheet. Perform.

Form A Song

B Each group plays their 4 beat pattern 1X I say 1,2 ready go in between each group. My classes can’t go one after the other without a little prep.

A Song

 

 

I assess as they play. They should be playing the rhythm accurately and through observation, I can do a quick assessment. The worksheet gives me their formal assessment.

I hope you give this a try. Let me know if it works for you. Next… grade 2.

Take care,

Syndi

Creating, improvising, composing. What do these look like at the K-3 level? Sometimes, our adult brains make the process bigger and more complicated than it needs to be. For me, creating, improvising, and composing in my classroom starts with the “B” section.

On Monday, I am going to start “Hop Old Squirrel” with my classes. I am going to spiral this process through my kindergarten to grade 3 students. I have been fascinated by spiral instruction lately because I would love to have a cross grade level informance. In short, same music – different achievement indicators. Let’s start with my K’s process: We are working on performing short rhythmic patterns using 1 and 2 sounds accurately. This will be across several days.

Day 1

• Intro the song with movement. “Hop Old Squirrel” – Hop forward; “Eidle Dum Eidle Dum” – Wiggle your bum to the rhythm.
• Divide the class. ½ are trees and ½ are squirrels. Add movement. Switch roles.
• Add a B section. Echo clap two 4 beat patterns using the words “Squirrel” for one sound and “Nutty” for two sounds. For me Squirrel is a one syllable word.

 

“Squirrel, Squirrel, Nutty, Squirrel”

“Nutty, Nutty, Squirrel, Squirrel”

 

Form

A Song

B Echo claps

Switch jobs

A Song

B echo claps…

Day 2

• Review the form. I give the squirrels rhythm sticks, so the echo claps are played using instruments.
• Intro the following chart and visuals.
  

• Model the following: As you sing the song, chose 4 cards to put on the chart to create a new 4 beat rhythmic pattern. Clap the new pattern 2X as the “B” section.

• Invite students to choose the cards during the A section.

Form

A Song with student choosing 4 cards and placing them on chart

B Clap the new rhythmic pattern 2X

A Song with a new student choosing 4 cards

B Clap the new rhythmic pattern 2X…

Day 3

• Divide the students into groups of 2 or 3. Provide them with a chart and visuals. Independently, they play the game – creating their own B sections.

I let them play, then I ask them to create one last favorite rhythm together. Then we perform a Rondo – each group plays their composed rhythm 2X for the contracting sections. They use their rhythm sticks when they perform.

 

Sooo….. Creating, Composing, and Sharing at the K level. – Using what they have learned to create something new. AND I CAN ASSESS IF THEY CAN PERFORM A SHORT RHYTHMIC PATTERN USING 1 AND 2 SOUNDS ACCURATELY. Assessment made easy.

Join me tomorrow and we will go through how to extend this in grade 1.

Take care,

Syndi