Build a Burger Composition Set

I've often seen cute burger templates for teachers to help students learn to organize their writing.  I always thought it was such a great idea.  Then it hit me, this could help students learn basic form for composition as well.

After the light bulb went off, I found some great clip art from Teaching in the Tongas, and got to work.  This set includes step by step guidance to help students compose using the following forms: ABA, ABACA, ABCBA in 3/4 meter or 4/4 meter. Choose the form and meter you want to focus on with your kids.  It provides flexibility and is also something that can be used across different grades with varying levels of difficulty. 

Though it is only a short composition, it helps students understand how form works.  It also will help students compose without taking an entire marking period to finish a project.

There are three levels of composition templates to choose from. Use as much or as little as will work for you.  I may do a simple ABA rhythm composition with my 2nd graders, without going to the melodic step.

1. Rhythm composition: Directions are given for writing a "hamburger" composition in the selected form, using only rhythm. You can specify the rhythms you allow your students to use. (3/4 meter and 4/4 meter templates are included for each form).

2. Melodic composition: Directions are given to transfer rhythms from the rhythm templates to melodies using the rhythms (in C pentatonic). (3/4 and 4/4 meter templates are included for each form.)

3. Final Melodic/Rhythmic Templates: After the first two steps are done, students can create a final, polished composition on the staff.

After completing their project, students can perform it on xylophones (if melody added) or on rhythm instruments (if rhythm is used in isolation).
Worksheets are provided in color as well as in black and white.

Hope this idea helps you to help your kids take baby steps in composition world!  Check it out at my TPT store!

Cooking Up Great Recorder Playing: BAG Activites

My third graders LOOOVE their recorders.  They are playing up a storm and are loving it.  I decided to create a new set of BAG stations for my beginning players, as I think we may need to live in BAG land one lesson longer than I did last year.

Included in the "Cooking Up Great Recorder Playing" Set are 4 Activities.  They can be used for centers and stations as I do (I laminate the cover page on the front of a file folder, laminate any other supports such as fingering charts on the inside of the folder, and then put any copies or manipulatives on the inside of the folder so it is ready upon rotation.)  These activities are strong as stand alone, whole class ideas as well.

Cooking Direction Mix Up:This is a game for beginning recorder players to practice reading and playing melodies using the notes B, A, and G. Students have 11 pre-written melody cards to choose from, to create four and eight bar phrases to play on their recorders. Two playing card options are given, cards with just the melody notation on the staff, and a second set with pitches written below the notes on the staff. This activity is great for meeting the national standards for composing and arranging, and also provides a different venue for practicing simple melodies. Teacher directions, student directions, playing cards, and a B A G recorder fingering chart are included.

Recipe for Friendship Note Identification: To complete the "recipe for friendship," students need to identify the missing letters by reading them written as staff notation. A 2nd worksheet is included for students who finish early. It requires students to draw notes from dessert names on the music staff. (This activity does use the notes on the staff beyond BA, and G).

BAG Composition-Stir it Up: Using text and rhythm I wrote, students will compose a one measure melody for the four measures missing melody. A repeated measure (already written) is played after each composed measure. They will write the music notation for their measure long patterns using the notes B, A, and G. After writing their melody, they will practice performing their composition.

Taste Testing Self-Reflection: Comparing self-reflection to the taste testing a baker or chef does, students will listen to their own playing and identify three areas of strength to maintain and three areas to adapt or improve upon.

I can't wait to add this into my next rotation of recorder conferencing and testing stations with my kids.  Hope you find some great uses for them in your classroom too!

3 Winter Sport Activities

With the big international event coming up, I thought I would pull together activities across grade levels for Winter Sports.  Three different sets are available in my TPT store for varying levels of learners.  Check them out.

Hot Off the Press: Winter Sports Ostinato Cards
Just finished these awesome ostinato cards.  I plan on having my second graders do an ensemble chant with the text and rhythms and then transfer the ensembles to unpitched percussion instruments.  Print and GO!  Lots of suggestions for use included.

Winter Sports BAGC' Recorder Centers/Stations Set
This fun set includes 4 fun activities for individual stations or centers in the music room for the notes BAG and C'.  These activities can also be done as 4 whole class lessons if you prefer.  Here's a sampling of a few.

Winter Sports Vocal Exploration Cards

 

This set includes drawn pathways and blank pathways.  I used it with my part time learning support classes as well as my 1st graders.  The first graders loved following and drawing the sounds and I definitely heard a few find their head voices during this activity, who normally struggle to do so.  I had my PTLS students make a book with the pathways they drew themselves on the blank sheets, and we shared and performed each other's pathways.  They then took their books home to share with their families. 

I'm headed to an Olympics party in two weeks.  I am assigned to represent Finland.  Creating a native costume from Finland to go along with my native dish I have to bring is posing to be more challenging than I thought!  Hope you are as excited as I am about the upcoming festivities! 

Five Favorite Pins of January Linky Party

I'm joining up with one of my favorite bloggers, Aileen Miracle (Mrs. Miracle's Music Room) to blog about my favorite pins of the month of January.  I have been on a pinning rampage as of late, so get excited!

1.  I loved this pin about using monster manipulatives to guide students into composing rhythmic patterns.  I have a monster recorder station already, and thought something like this could be added in nicely.  The die cuts used are great, but I'm sure computer graphics and notation could be done all on the computer.  In fact, maybe I'll make them today on my snow day!

2.  What Does the Fox Say for Orff Ensemble: My kids love, love, love "What does the fox say?"  There's an arrangement here that has some good application for the classroom.  I'm not sure which kids will be the lucky ones to get to perform this, but I know whoever is chosen will love it!

3.  I loved this PVC/Noodle four measure composition idea.  What a great way to compose and perform quickly as a beginning of class warm up, or for use in stations.  My dad has made me a ton of stuff out of PVC, so I'm sure he'll be thrilled when I show him this idea!

4.  Though I'm not a big boom whacker fan, I have found them to be a great tool for working with my part time learning support class.  Many of these students are not very verbal, and motor skills are difficult.  Boom whackers allow them to make music very simply.  I found this pin and have been doing this activity during our snowman music unit with the part time learning support kids.  They've loved it!

5.  Speaking of boom whackers, check out this great way to organize them.  I always have trouble keeping them organized and neatly stored!

Winter Olympics Recorder Stations

Thanks to a snow day today (my favorite!!) I was able to finish a BAGC' recorder station set.  I've had some requests for BAGC' sets and with the Olympics coming up, I thought my kids would love this!

This kit contains four different BAGC' recorder activities for your students. I use them as part of my Recorder Karate Stations, while I am testing other students. These activities could also be used for whole class learning instead of stations, if you prefer to set up the lessons that way.

Included in this super set is:
Winter Olympics Ski Jump: Students set up ski jumps in a pattern for their partner. After their partner plays and reads the note correctly, they may jump over the "ski jump" and play the next jump.

Winter Olympics Theme Song Compositions: Students are given the framework for a simple BAGC' melody. Their job is to use the rhythms of winter Olympics events to create simple melodies using BAGC'. They then play and share their compositions.

Olympics Self Reflection: Students fill in each circle of the Olympic rings with things they think are their strengths or weaknesses to reflect on improving their playing. Prompts for written response are provided in each circle.

Olympic Luge Pathway: In this station, students play through the notes on the "luge" pathway as a group. Then, they write in notes on their own luge pathway and perform or share it with others in their group.

These are ready to print, attach to file folders, copy papers for kids, and FLY!

I can't wait for the Winter Olympics!  Figure skating is my favorite! 

Christmas Ostinato Cards

I just finished a new set of Christmas Ostinato Cards for your Orff or Kodaly classroom this season.  These cards can be used for multiple activities: Performing rhythmic ostinati, performing speech ostinati, performing on instruments, matching speech and rhythm, composing and arranging and more.  Suggestions for use are included in the set.

This set includes 14 speech patterns with cute Christmas graphics and 14 corresponding rhythm cards.  Simply cut the print outs in half, and laminate separately, or glue back to back and laminate the sides together, with a rhythm on one side, and the corresponding speech on the other.

Half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter rests are used.  My second graders loved doing speech ostinati patterns at Thanksgiving, so I think they will enjoy performing and arranging rhythms in a new way this season.  I think we may turn these into drumming ensembles as well.  If you can't beat their holiday enthusiasm, why not join them?

Happy music making!

Recorder Madness Begins: Winter BA Recorder Stations

My students recorder orders arrived this week (ssshhh...I haven't told the kids they are here yet!!  They are bursting at the seams to get their hands on their recorders).

I was reflecting on how I introduce recorders and thought that I should create some more activities for just B and A, without adding the G, to build a better foundation, especially for those kids who struggle with the motor skill of changing fingers.  We use the Recorder Karate method, but they jump right into BAG right away, and I was thinking some kids would benefit from having just B and A to work with. 

So, coming to you tonight is a Winter Themed BA recorder set.  These are set up to be used in center rotations, allowing the teacher to work with a small group privately.  I also personally add in an iPad station to my cycles.

Included in the set are:

Color By Note: A winter worksheet, for your students to color. Each piece of the picture has a B or on it. Students are given directions to color each pitch a specific color. This activity focuses on the notes we are isolating in our recorder playing.

Winter Composition: Students write a very simple BA melody by choosing to write a B or an A on the staff provided on each snowflake.  They also write the fingering for each note on the recorder picture below the snowflake.   They then practice performing it.  A recorder fingering chart is also provided.

Partner Evaluation: Students have a checklist and provide each other 1 or 2 positive comments and 1 or 2 constructive comments on the notes that they are working on.

Rhythm Performance Practice: Students practice rhythm patterns on B, then A, then combinations of B and A.

I print these out and glue the station cover page on the front of file folders.  I then glue the worksheet (one copy) on the inside of the folder and laminate it.  Then, when I make copies for each station, I place them in each file folder and as students rotate stations, they know to look for the folder of their next activity.

You could also use these as individual whole class activities or at home extensions of the lessons you are teaching.

Hope this simplified set is helpful and your kids enjoy working in recorder centers as much as mine do.  I'm planned and ready.  Recorders here we come!

Cookies and Milk Quarter Note and Eighth Note Manipulatives

I just finished making this cute set of cookie and milk manipulatives.  I had seen a cute idea similar to this on pinterest, where a teacher used purchased cookie and milk graphics and hand wrote the rhythm of the words on them.  I updated the idea a little bit, included empty plates to signify rests, and added the word as well as the rhythm on the picture.  When we can help the language arts teachers out in any way, I think it's always an awesome thing.

I used these with my part time learning support classes today, and they loved them.  We created four beat patterns and clapped them out loud, sometimes using the "food name" and sometimes using the rhythm name.  In the future, we will use them for dictation of patterns I clap.  We will also use them to play unpitched percussion, with some instruments performing the milk part, and other instruments performing the cookie part. 

I've been working hard to help my part time learning support kids correlate and recognize syllables along side rhythm.  They've responded well to this, so I keep creating new ways to practice this.

I think I may use this set with my first graders later in the year too.  So many possibilities with such a simple idea.  To make your life more simple, download this inexpensive set for only $1.00 from my Teachers Pay Teachers Store today!  I cut out the manipulatives and then laminated them and re-cut.  You could just cut the papers in half and make them more like flash cards, if that is easier!

All this talk about cookies is making me want some cookies in bed before I settle in for the night!

Food Rhythm Activities

I've been working on this kit that is now available in my TPT store for use in the next few weeks with my part time learning support class.  These students come to music in a small group.  I've been attempting to introduce notation to these students as they are showing me they are ready for basic patterns.  Food is something many of the students in this room love and relate to.  Hopefully, the rhythm activities will hit home.  The activities in this kit would also be great for early rhythm readers in kindergarten or first grade. 

Included are 4 activities:
Food Rhythm Match Up (Students experience common "kid" foods with their corresponding rhythm.  Rhythm cards with pictures, spelling, and rhythm are included for chanting and practicing.  Cards could be kept in one piece or cut apart for a match up game.)
Food Rhythm Dictation (Students write the rhythms of favorite foods beneath their pictures.)
Food Rhythm Sort (Students find and sort which foods have the same rhythm. Differentiated levels of worksheets included with fewer rhythmic sorts and fewer words to sort).
Food Rhythm Word Chain (Students choose four foods to create a word chain. They then write the rhythm of their chain below. The chain can be chanted, played on unpitched percussion, or on xylophones in pentatonic).

Download it today!

Puppet Pals App 1 Minute Operas

As a culmination of our opera unit in 6th grade, my students worked in groups to create one minute operas using the app "Puppet Pals."  They had to select characters and scenes, and then had to write a script.  They knew they had to add some sort of love triangle, as is typical in normal operas.  They were also told everything had to be sung.  They drafted and practiced, then recorded. 

Here are some of the final products.  Since it was the first time out, I know next year that I will need to provide a bit more guidance on the scripts and have students perform once for me before recording.  I know with a bit more guidance, direction, and tweaking, these will come out well.

The only problem with puppet pals is that you have to record it in one shot.  You can pause your recording to change scenes and characters, but if you leave the app, you cannot come back to your project to finish.  So, students have to record in one sitting.

Enjoy some of our first efforts.  The template I gave students to draft is available for free in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

Mustache BAGF#ED Stations

This last set of recorder stations was a big hit with my kids.  I told them ahead of time the next round was mustache themed, and half of one homeroom showed up to class wearing fake mustaches.  Gotta love these funny kids!

Included is:
Masquerade Melodies: Mustaches that are to be cut out and attached to popsickle sticks. Students then hold up melodic patterns for their group members to play, taking turns being the mustache selector. A fingering chart is included to support students as they practice patterns.

Mustache Melodies: Using the name and picture of several famous mustache types, students compose a melody for each mustache rhythm, using BAGF#ED. They then practice performing and share their melodies.

I Mustache You:Students play their song for their partner, who gives them honest feedback (Praise and or constructive criticism).

 I would dare to say that this is my students' favorite set of recorder stations to date.  It is the end of the year when keeping attention gets more challenging.  This set did the trick!

Available today for download at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.