Manipulatives (A few of my favorites)
Rhythm Hearts/Dots
Many teachers use some form of rhythm manipulatives for deriving rhythm, rhythmic dictation, improvisation, and composing.
I have used small foam hearts, (about the size of a nickel,) for younger grades for years. This year I finally went BIG. Several craft stores sell pre-made foam shapes and around Valentine's Day foam hearts are available.
After I bought out the foam hearts from the craft store, I used large round foam circles to complete my class set. (A class set= 4 hearts/beats per student.)
One side has two beamed eighth, the other one quarter. (And yes, of course you should add quarter rest and any other rhythm you're working on!)
Using the big hearts has been so much easier for students to work with and easier for me to see from across the room whether or not they are "getting it."
Many teachers use some form of rhythm manipulatives for deriving rhythm, rhythmic dictation, improvisation, and composing.
I have used small foam hearts, (about the size of a nickel,) for younger grades for years. This year I finally went BIG. Several craft stores sell pre-made foam shapes and around Valentine's Day foam hearts are available.
After I bought out the foam hearts from the craft store, I used large round foam circles to complete my class set. (A class set= 4 hearts/beats per student.)
One side has two beamed eighth, the other one quarter. (And yes, of course you should add quarter rest and any other rhythm you're working on!)
Using the big hearts has been so much easier for students to work with and easier for me to see from across the room whether or not they are "getting it."
Songs and Chants to practice with these beats (a short list)
- Engine Engine
- Queen Caroline
- Bee Bee Bumblebee
- Rain Rain
- Apple Tree
- See Saw
- Teddy Bear
- Bluebells Cockleshells
- Cobbler Cobbler
- We Are Dancing in the Forest
- Lucy Locket
- Bounce High Bounce Low
|
|
Sol-fa mittens
I use these sol-fa mittens to practice melodic decoding. I sing a 4 beat melody and students echo while showing the melody by tapping the sol-fa mittens. Students then flip the mitten of the last pitch sung, so that the thumb is facing the other way. (The sol-fa is written on both sides of each mitten.) The mittens are foam and they were cut with a die cut press. While students are working with their own tone ladder I have another set displayed on the SMART Board. Individuals can flip a mitten on the board by tapping it.
I use these sol-fa mittens to practice melodic decoding. I sing a 4 beat melody and students echo while showing the melody by tapping the sol-fa mittens. Students then flip the mitten of the last pitch sung, so that the thumb is facing the other way. (The sol-fa is written on both sides of each mitten.) The mittens are foam and they were cut with a die cut press. While students are working with their own tone ladder I have another set displayed on the SMART Board. Individuals can flip a mitten on the board by tapping it.
To download the SMART Notebook file "Sol-fa pentatonic mittens" click here. |
12 Bar Blues Cards and absolute pitch/letter name cards
I use absolute pitch and Roman numeral cards for students to practice finding chord roots and the form of 12 Bar Blues. After they have listened to a couple of blues recordings while following their blues cards, students compose lyrics and play their blues on barred instruments.