Scat Cards: Introducing Jazz to Elementary Students

I'll admit it.  I used to strongly dislike jazz.  I didn't understand it, and I thought it was boring.  However, as I learned more about it and listened to it in more educated ways, I learned to LOVE it. 

Part of my learning about jazz has come as a teacher, trying to share understanding and performance opportunities for my students in all types of genres.  5th grade has been the grade where I've shared jazz as part of teaching improvisation skills in our curriculum.

I just finished up an updated set for use with my kids next week, so I thought I'd share it with you.  The first item in the set is a powerpoint (coming to you via pdf upon download).   I created this to help my kids understand what scat is.  Scat is defined and explained first.  Then a kid friendly video example is given, via a youtube link.  Ella Fitzgerald and her contribution to the world of scat is introduced.  A link is included to her scatting.  Modern scat is referenced and a link to Bobby McFerrin is shared.  Picture book suggestions are also given for incorporated.

The second part of the set is my scat card set.  Cards are provided with common scat syllables on them for students to manipulate and arrange an order of a scat piece for group performance.  Once students have worked with the syllables and technique, they can then attempt to scat in pentatonic, solo. 

Hope this gets your kids excited about jazz.  It never fails, my kids always surprise me with how excited they are to scat, and how willing they are to try improvisation.