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The "Big Kid" Rhythm Bundle (Grades 3-6) **30% OFF!**
By Jason Litt
Included in these rhythm bundle are 25 resources that you can utilize in grades 3-6. Games, dictation, worksheets, races, and more are in this bundle as the resources discuss longer rhythmic patterns, sixteenth notes, triplets, and long durations of rests.
Definitely a semester filler in here, terrific for reinforcing your 2nd half of the year with some of your upper grades, and with 30% off when bundled together, it's a sale you can't beat!
Presto Pitches (Space Version, F-A-C-E)
By Jason Litt
This is a competitive pitch matching name in powerpoint format. The learning goal is for 2nd grade students to name pitches as fast as they can (beginner level, just the spaces!) :) We usually play this game 'around the world' style. We start off on the left side or right side of the the room and the first two people stand up and you flash a note on the screen. The student who gets the note correct gets to move onto the next child in the class while the other student sits. That student has to make their way through the entire class before being deemed champion... but they could be beat at ANY TIME! You can mix it up, left side, right side, boys/girls, etc. Kids get ultra competitive!
Animated Vocal Exploration ("Pastoral" - L. van Beethoven)
By Jason Litt
In this charming resource for your little ones, your students will see a bumblebee navigate his way through the powerpoint presentation, up... and down... and UUUUUUUUUUP, and downnnnnnnn, and all around!
Have your students mimic the movement of the bee (autonomously animated) throughout 10 different slides and assess their vocal exploration!
For extensions and variations, have them try it with
By Jason Litt
Tracking your students, classes, and sections of your groups have never been easier with music tracking powerpoints! Included are 10 files, all different templates of tracking such as leaderboards for classes, boys vs girls charts, a thermometer powerpoint, and various high score templates All you need to do is plug and play -- put names, classes, however you wish and save it as a different file! If you need any creative ways to track student or class progress, feel free to email or leave a comment. I truly hope this visual aid brings some flare to your classrooms!
By Jason Litt
A fun activity to play with kids of all ages! Check out these Italian names and guess whether it’s a PASTA or a COMPOSER! See how many you get right! Some of these are quite tricky while others are pretty obvious :)
Out of the Box! (Playing accessory percussion)
By Jason Litt
Got a box full of percussion instruments? Work on rhythm reading together with the kids in creative fashions! In "Out of the Box!", 4 separate lines hold 4 different classroom instruments -- tambourines, rhythm sticks, hand drums, and maracas. These instruments are all assigned different 4 beat rhythms and focus on quarter notes, quarter rests, eighth notes, and more techniques throughout the presentation. To get everybody playing, shaking, and grooving, I place four stations throughout the room filled with the associated instrument. I then have a group of students rotate through the instruments throughout the activity so they can all get a feel of each instrument (no more "you get what you get, and you don't throw a fit...") Win-win! You can run in the way you wish! You can have the students perform an ostinato by repeating the 4 beat measure, or have them read it in a canon, or just do it all together as suggested! Or... you can have students write their own composition if you have an interactive whiteboard! How cool! Included are the powerpoint file (completely editable and expandable with images embedded in) and PDF file as a static presentation. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them. Have a great time!
By Jason Litt
A fun way to match up the solfege syllables with the hand signs! In Solfege Mix n Match, each contestant will be given the 7 plastic solfege syllables (included that you can print out and laminate), which are affixed to the board with magnetic tape. In this “boy vs. girl” competition (or team 1 vs team 2), the name of a solfege syllable will appear on the screen and contestants must drag the correct hand sign to their answer box… The first contestant to drag their answer to the answer box wins that round! Keep score, award points, or just play for fun! Included are 80+ slides for your enjoyment. Have fun!
Jump through Hoops! (Rhythm Dictation)
By Jason Litt
This will sure to get your class energized and all you need is about 8 hula hoops! We group all the boys on one side and all the girls on another side (or you can do team A + team B) In front of the teams will be 4 hula hoops (representative of 4 beats of music). Kids will be called up in groups of 2, 3, 4, or more and listen to the musical example. After they hear the example, they have to act as the quarter and eighth notes in the example and spell it out from left to right! It's a hot mess, but it sure gets the kids to work together! As soon as the first team gets the right rhythm, advance the slide and show the answer! Each slide will contain how many students will be in the group, the musical example, and the hoops shown. Up to 2 students (2 eighth notes) can be in a hoop, 1 student (will represent a quarter note) alone in a hoop, or a blank hoop (0 students) for a rest. Have a great time with this the KIDS LOVE THIS!!!!!!
By Jason Litt
In your primary grades, the voice can have many different timbres. It can be sung as an aria, yelled from the roofed top, whispered quietly, and spoken normally. In "The VoiceSSSS!", we concentrate on the four methods of using our voice, a key in identifying and practicing the methods: S - Spoken S - Sung S - Soft (Whisper) S - Shout Students see a display 1 through 8 to SPEAK on a steady beat (3 background tracks included, from 80 to 100+bpm). As they read these numbers on a steady beat, there will be numbers highlighted in yellow that will be a different characteristic. Some may be sung, whispered, or shouted (have fun with the shouts) :) Each slide is completely different and will challenge your kids as you count them off so they can experiment vocally For the sing, there is no definitive pitch, so I ask them to make up a middle or high pitch on the number given. You can take turns boys and girls, you can play it as a class, or however you wish Some are quite tricky -- kids may have to switch up to 4 different vocal styles by the end! If you have any questions, feel free to comment! Enjoy!
BoomBox (25 sight reading patterns for BEGINNING Boomwhackers!)
By Jason Litt
In BoomBox, students will see a series of 8 to 12 boxes with corresponding boomwhacker colors filled in each box. When played, the teacher will count off the students to read down the Boomwhacker boxes from left to right, line by line.
Teachers can use a laser pointer, point with a cursor, or even have kids read by themselves from the beginning to the end.
In this resource, there are 3 levels
There are twenty five (25) exercises meant to get your kids booming right along! Included in this resource are the powerpoint, PDF, and percussive background tracks from MM 90 - MM 120.
Enjoy!
Rhythmania! - Identifying modified notation (Primary Music)
By Jason Litt
This is a terrific lesson for your younger kids in Kindergarten and 1st grade who aren't familiar with standard notation just yet! In Rhythmania, students are given two separate rhythms on the powerpoint. The teacher will play the rhythm back (embedded mp3 files included) on the powerpoint and the students will have to identify which rhythm the teacher played.
I cut out "1" and "2" cards and have the kids hold it up, or you can have them answer as a class, write it on whiteboards, or even race to see who can get it first! After the answer is locked in, advance the slide to see the correct answer!
In this lesson, you will see 7 different examples all of different "Levels". They are named levels like "3rd grade level", "high school level", "pro level" and such to get the kids thinking as it's a huge challenge. And of course, if they get it correct, how smart do they feel? :)
Have fun with this and if you have any questions or comments, please leave 'em below!
By Jason Litt
Here's a great way to group together all of your Boomwhackers for a game all the kids will enjoy! In "BOOM! - it's a Mystery!" students will read standard elementary school literature while playing it with color coded notation on their boomwhacker (this can be teacher or student led). After the song is completed, students can guess what song it was -- on the following slide the answer is revealed. You can construct this in a game format, use collaborative grouping, or any other method for your class. This can be also used for performance as well (if you're well versed in accompanying the kids, feel free to tickle the ivories!) You receive 12 songs in this pack. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to leave a comment or email me at jasonlitt@gmail.com. Have a great time!
Hi-Low Rally Race (* Distance Learning Approved! *)
By Jason Litt
Working with your kinders and first graders on high and low pitches? Got a little bit of space in your classroom? WIth Hi-Low Rally Race, you can put two hula hoops (or taped off areas) in your classroom and designate one a "high" area and a "low" era.
You will play a short example of a melody (8 examples included) that's pitched high or low and students will walk "briskly" :) to the corresponding area which they think the pitch is -- high or low
You then advance the slide and show the correct answer!
Also works well for Distance Learning if your district has applied that. Just upload it to your Google Classroom and have the kids self pace it at home
Have fun with this!
By Jason Litt
A time tested rhythm builder in the elementary classroom are popsicle sticks, and this activity, "Stick it to Rhythm!" will reinforce quarter and eighth note rhythms. After a brief review on quarter and eighth note rhythms, students are allocated a set of popsicle sticks. After they make space for themselves on the floor, the teacher will play each example (8 in this pack!) and students have to dictate the rhythm using their popsicle sticks (don't worry, instructions on how to do eighth and quarter notes are embedded in the powerpoint) After letting the students decipher the rhythm, the teacher advances the slide to find out the correct rhythm played in the example. This works great for your youngest grades and all examples are MM 95bpm and under. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to leave it in the Q&A section or email me at jasonlitt@gmail.com!
SOL-FISH - FISHING FOR SOLFEGE!
By Jason Litt
We reinforce tons of Sol-Mi patterns in early elementary music. How about the kids dictate it through Sol-Fish? Each student receives a "Fishing for Solfege" printout which is a fish bowl with 2 spaces - the top space reserved for the SOL and the bottom space reserved for the MI Ten examples will be played and students will have to decipher where the sol's and mi's are after listening to them. They do this by putting bingo chips on the Sol or Mi spaces. After students lock in their guess, advance the slide to reveal the answer! You may do this through the printouts, or you can make it an interactive game with your whiteboard, the possibilities are endless! All sound files are embedded in, so you'll need to manually click each "speaker" icon to play each example. Have a great time with this, and let me know if you have any questions or concerns!
Pitch Perfect - Identifing Percussion Instruments
By Jason Litt
We know all percussion instruments aren't made the same. Some are struck, rung, hit, shook, or scraped. But do the students know the difference between a pitched and an unpitched instrument? After a brief video review on instruments, students will be given about 10 popsicle sticks (the ones you use for your build your quarter and eighth note patterns!) and asked to take a seat on the floor. You will play 8 examples of pitched and unpitched percussion and they will have to spell out the right answer on the floor by making a "P" for pitched or "U" for unpitched. After they lock in their answer, you may reveal it on the powerpoint (animations included) or PDF. Kids love it! Included are the following 8 mp3 examples of pitched and unpitched percussion instruments 1 percussion introduction video Fonts and installation instructions 1 Powerpoint File 1 PDF file Have fun with this! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me -- jasonlitt@gmail.com Get pitch perfect!
By Jason Litt
So you've taught your kids their three basic solfege syllables (Sol, La, and Mi) and looking for a way to identify the pitches in an interactive game... look no further!
In Solfege Drag 'n Drop, students are challenged to identify Sol, La, and Mi in a series of musical examples. A static example of quarter notes (in groups of 4, 5, or 6) are placed on the "Sol" line, and then the example is played. Students will have to take the pen from the IWB to drag the remaining notes to reflect what was heard in the musical example. It can be dragged above to the "La" line, remain on the "Sol" line, or dragged below to the "Mi" line. After locking in their answer, the teacher will advance to the next slide to reveal their answer.
Although designed for an IWB, students can play on personal dry erase boards, on staff paper, or however you wish. You can even split the class up boys vs girls, team 1 vs team 2, etc, and have a race to identify the correct answer first.
There are 15 examples in the powerpoint ranging from beginner (4 quarter notes) to advanced (6 quarter notes). All examples are MM=100 or below
If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below! Happy Solfeging!
Rhythm Espresso! (* Distance Learning Approved! *)
By Jason Litt
Something that'll satisfy your caffeine fix and your students understanding and mastery of rhythm!
In Rhythm Espresso, students will see an assortment of 10 famous beverages (by national coffee chains, of course) and accompanying coffee logos with rhythms in them. One of the rhythms match the rhythmic syllabes said in the beverage name.
Have your students select the rhythm they believe to be correct, advance the slide, and the correct rhythm will illuminate green!
Works well with boys vs girls, team vs team, individually, or even as a distance learning activity!
By Jason Litt
Shaun the Sheep hits theaters this summer, and there's no better way to work on Solfege than "Sol Mi Sheep - Level One!". In Sol Mi Sheep, Shaun the Sheep, the Lambs, and the Farmer, help the kids identify where the Sol, Mi, and La lines are on the staff in a game format. Characters are placed on different solfege levels and students will sing back the solfege syllables as they see them. If the class masters the solfege example, the slide will advance and the high score will continue to elevate. Each character has an independent rhythm -- Shaun is a quarter note, the lambs are a pair of eighth notes, and the farmer is a quarter rest. The way I construct the lesson is I have all classes participate and record the highest score at the end of the lesson. I run this exercise about 2 or 3 minutes (it helps if you have a percussive background track running around 90-110 bpm) and let the students keep adding to their score. You'll notice that the more the activity progresses, the solfege examples become more lengthy and difficult. I keep track of the scores on a different powerpoint so the kids can see how they're progressing AND how they match up against other classes in their grade. Trust me, it gets pretty competitive! :) Included are instructions and the game in PDF and powerpoint format. All steps are a 2nd, so no La to Mi skips... yet ;) If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment. Happy Sol Mi La-ing!
By Jason Litt
Learning the values of quarter and eighth notes are a good solid foundation to start off, but when it gets to rests, understanding a beat of silence is a little different! In "Give it a Rest!" students are introduced to the quarter rest, which is a note, but a note of silence. They watch "Give it a Rest!" from Music K-8 and then are given an activity -- try to decipher where the rest occurs in a musical example. The students will be told how many beats are in the example and then a four beat percussive introduction is played. Students will be asked to dictate the quarter notes AND quarter rests in the musical example. The teacher can play this again for reinforcement (but for kids in upper grades, playing it only ONCE can be a challenge!). There are 12 examples, each one getting a little more difficult than the last! You can run this activity in many ways: - Student can write on whiteboards with dry erase markers - Pairs of students can team up in a race to spell it out - Use as a whiteboard/smartboard/IWB activity - Print out cards of quarter notes and rests and have them line it up on the floor - Any other way you find creative! Enjoy this with your class and as always, if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!