My first graders just started
their rhythm unit, and it really is one of my favorite times of the year. There
are just so many good ideas for teaching rhythm! Below are a few of my
favorites. If you wish, most of these would be easy to turn into stations.
Chair Rhythm
An oldie but a goodie. I got this
from Jim Solomon, but this is so common there must be more than one source. You
set up four chairs, and inform the kids that each person is a sound and each
chair is a beat. I have them count the number of heads; one head is a tah (its
real name is quarter note) and so on. This makes note heads easier to explain
later. We start with the representative notation, and I follow along with stick
figures on the smart board. Once it is time to introduce the musical notation,
I simple fill in a stick figure’s head and draw the note. The “aha” moment they
get is pretty fantastic to watch. My district teaches rhythm in a “# of sounds,
# of beats” format, so teaching them to count note heads to know the number of
sounds is very helpful. I use chair notation to introduce rhythm. I usually
bring it back for any new rhythm as well, or whenever students get stumped on a
rhythm.
Introducing musical notation
Mini-Notation Sort
When I moved into my current
classroom, I found stacks and stacks of empty CD cases. I was tempted to toss
them all, but decided to keep them just in case. Boy, am I glad I did! It turns
out that when you take a sharpie and add a line down the middle of the case,
you get a perfect four-section sorter. (You could do this with the typical square
cases as well, just pop out the black cd-holder.)
I printed off a quarter sheet with
each of the rhythms as well as their definitions, then printed off mini
notation cards. Kids take their cards and sort them into the correct term and
definition. This is a great check for understanding if your objective is
identification.
Pipe Cleaner Notation
When my art teacher graciously
donated a box of short pipe cleaners, I knew I had struck manipulative gold. These
things are useful in general, but perhaps my favorite use of them so far is as
a way for student to get to know the notation of rhythms. I have students first
use a set of mini-notation to set up a rhythm, so there is an exemplar close at
hand. Then students use the pipe cleaners to create each rhythm. Kids can get a
bit “creative” with them at first, but it’s fun and engaging.
Foam Heart Notation
My first year teaching, I went
through the trouble of laminating a ridiculous number of hearts for steady beat
and rhythm teaching. It was a pain, and my school is VERY protective of the
laminator and encourages us to use it as little as possible (preferably never.)
Oh, if only I knew then what I know now! Instead of feeling guilty for a large
laminating job and burning through your paper supply, pick up some foam from the
dollar store. It works with the die-cut machine, and lasts as long as laminated
paper. You can also easily find pre-cut shapes at hobby stores. These hearts
were free (yay!) so I use them constantly, but it could easily be a different
shape if you wish.
I use the big hearts to represent
the beat, and the little hearts to represent the number of sounds. Alternating
the colors of the big hearts makes it easy to add in the concept of strong and
weak beats later.
Chip and Stick Rhythm
This also uses representative
notation, but uses a square for each beat and a chip or stick for each sound.
You could use just the bingo chips, but I throw in popsicle sticks as well for
the longer rhythms like half and whole notes.
Rhythm Dice
I love these things! They have so many uses. Students could identify the sounds, beats, or sound of note they roll. These dice could also be used to create a rhythm, or inspire a game of notation-search using a piece of sheet music.
