Home
Mission
Blog
Professional Development
Launchpad
Plans
Community
Help
By Jason Litt
The follow-up to "Rhythm Wind Up and PITCH! and MELODY Wind Up and PITCH!"
______________________________________
This one will get the kids on their edge of their seats!
You will need 1 thing for this particular game:
The students will see an instrument at the bottom of their screen and memorize the timbre of the instrument (should know beforehand what it is and how it sounds!) They will then hear a musical example of an endless loop of orchestral and band instruments playing in all different ranges from low to high (Teacher will click the speaker icon to play)
Take a listen...
....
....
One of the instruments will be the instrument that is on the screen. AS SOON AS THEY HEAR THAT INSTRUMENT, they throw their suction cup ball at the target. The first kid who gets it correct is the winner (and make sure you advance the slide to make the target turn green) :)
Obviously, we cannot play this as a class because of
The amount of suction cup balls tossed at the screen would be insane
Team A v Team B would be a bit more competitive and only two balls would be launched at once
If you don't have a whiteboard/projection screen, you can alternatively have the students raise their hand when they hear it and choose the kid who has their hand up the fastest.
Have a great time with this fast paced game!
Thanksgiving Rhythm Composition Printables!
By Jason Litt
Switching gears into November, we present to you "Thanksgiving Rhythm Compositions" for your students!
Included are two printable and reproducable 8.5x11" sheets with 9 thanksgiving themed rhythms on them. Print these out and use to have students, groups of students, or even teachers and interns compose their own rhythms!
Print, cut, and go! Included rhythms are quarter note, eighth note pairs, triplets, and four sixteenth note
WRITE THE ROOM - Minecraft Notation!
By Jason Litt
The newest sensation, "Write the Room" has an 8-bit twist as we present to you a MINECRAFT Notation version of the popular game!
In Write the Room, students will all receive a sheet of paper with 9 answer boxes with a Minecraft character representing each box. There will be 9 sheets (placed strategically around the room by you!) that students will have to find and write the rhythm down that accompanies that character. Once all 9 answers are completed, they will show to you to verify that all rhythms are correct!
To play:
Play some music in the background and have the kids roam around the room as fast as they can. Neatness counts! :D
How do you find a winner? Up to you! Top 3, Top 5, best handwriting, fastest pair, fastest group, up to you!
Have a great time with this!
WRITE THE ROOM - NFL Notation Edition!
By Jason Litt
The newest sensation, "Write the Room" has an athletic twist to surely get your 4th and 5th grade boys engaged too as we present to you an NFL Notation version of the popular game!
In Write the Room, students will all receive a sheet of paper with 9 answer boxes with an NFL logo representing each box. There will be 9 sheets (placed strategically around the room by you!) that students will have to find and write the rhythm down that accompanies that logo. Once all 9 answers are completed, they will show to you to verify that all rhythms are correct!
To play:
Play some music in the background and have the kids roam around the room as fast as they can. Neatness counts! :D
How do you find a winner? Up to you! Top 3, Top 5, best handwriting, fastest pair, fastest group, up to you!
Have a great time with this!
Drum Background Tracks - 24 loop tracks at various tempo!
By Jason Litt
Get your class on beat! Included are 24 background tracks with ethnic flair -- tablas, bongos, electric kits, and drum sets for your kids to jam with. The 24 tracks vary from 95 bpm all the way to 125 bpm (there are 6 different tracks with 4 different tempo)
Want a sneak peak? Give the preview a sample of some of the tracks!
I use these in my class for Orff, Boomwhacker, Rhythm Sticks, Dancing, Movement, or singing activities. The tracks go for about 1 minute each, but you can manipulate a longer track by having it stay on repeat for as long as you wish
Have fun!
Rhythm and Beat Printables (GREAT for composition, dictation, etc!)
By Jason Litt
Plugged in and ready-to-use and fully editable with and high quality notation is right at your fingertips with this reproducable resource of Rhythm and Beat Printables!
Print these out as a class set, individually, or however you deem appropriate to use in your music classroom. Whether students are composing their own rhythms to perform, using rhythms for a dictation assignment, or any other creative usage (such as flash cards or improvisation), this will have you set to go!
Included rhythms are in the preview (from quarter, halves, and wholes down to sixteenths and triplets) and contains 37 pages of rhythms you're free to print out!
Body Percussion Dynamic Challenge! (4 beat patterns)
By Jason Litt
No need to have drums, recorders, or even auxiliary instruments for this one! If you don't have access, are traveling to rooms, or want to give a change to your curriculum try "Body Percussion Dynamic Challenge"!
There are nearly 30 Dynamic rhythm in each level with CLAPS, PATS , STOMPS, and SNAPS, and CHEST PATS, all indicated on the powerpoint slide with icons. Count your kids off with a few prep beats and watch them go!
If the kids master the rhythm with the appropriate dynamics, advance the slide and see how far they can get! (scoreboard included!)
Also terrific for reading in some of the younger grades who are not familiar with standard notation and need a warmup to reading using these icons.
Use the included background tracks (90bpm to 110bpm) or put on your favorite music so the kids can jam along (or choose your own)!
Here are the 4 levels:
Maple Leaf Rag, Scott Joplin - Rhythm Stick Read-a-Long! (BHM ready!)
By Jason Litt
All you got are rhythm sticks for classroom equipment? Or do you need something else to do with them other than keep a steady beat?
Put some creativity in your lesson with a rhythm stick read-a-long featuring Scott Joplin's famous ragtime tune "Maple Leaf Rag" - perfect for Black History Month!
In this resource, you will see the entire arrangement structured across 5 slides in coded colors with the corresponding repeats. There will be eight boxes that hold each beat along with one of three action icons.
Teach the entire thing line by line through a rote method and play through at the end!
_Play-a-long with the piece here!
_
Holiday Rhythm Discovery (NAME THAT TUNE!)
By Jason Litt
In "Holiday Rhythm Discovery" students will see a rhythm appear on the screen and will be given the opportunity to clap back (or perform back, say back, sing back, however you wish!) the rhythm being displayed. Then, they will see a multiple choice listing of songs -- which song matches the rhythm?
Advance the slide and the correct answer will turn GREEN
9 examples in this, just a little starter kit :)
Hoedown! (from Rodeo), Aaron Copland - Rhythm Stick Read-a-long!
By Jason Litt
All you got are rhythm sticks for classroom equipment? Or do you need something else to do with them other than keep a steady beat?
Put some creativity in your lesson with a rhythm stick read-a-long featuring Aaron Copland's famous piece "Hoedown" from his ballet "Rodeo"!
In this resource, you will see the entire arrangement structured across 6 slides in coded colors with the corresponding repeats. There will be eight boxes that hold each beat along with one of three action icons.
Teach the entire thing line by line through a rote method and play through at the end!
Boom-ong Us! (Boomwhacker Imposter)
By Jason Litt
A twist on the "Poison Pattern" game we all know and love, Boom-ong us, will have students all have 1 (or 2 to make it a little more engaging!) boomwhackers.
They will be shown a pattern of 3 or 4 boomwhackers that will be known as the
imposter. The boomwhackers, from left to right, will be played as quarter notes one by one. Then, students will play an assortment of boomwhacker notes one by one on the following slides.
If the IMPOSTER Boomwhacker melody is shown, do not play it! If the students play it (either 1 note, or the entire melody), they will receive a strike. Play the game until all the students receive 3 strikes (or 5 strikes if you wish) as a class or until they get to the end.
There is a countdown meter on the bottom to show the class how many rounds they have to complete before the end. If they finish it without using all 3 of their strikes, they win!
Play by itself, with you accompanying, or with the background drum beats provided (tempos in the 80s to 110s)
Have a great time with this!
Grim Grinning Ghosts (Haunted Mansion) - RHYTHM BASKETBALL! (mp3 included)
By Jason Litt
RHYTHM BASKETBALL is in for Halloween with the smash hit "Grim Grinning Ghosts" in an Electro Swing Remix version from the Disney Theme Parks Haunted Mansion attraction!
There are three all-color coded slides along with the form identifiers listed next to each phrase. Discuss form with the students and teach them (by rote) the rhythms on the powerpoint with the corresponding repeats (most are repeated 2 or 4 times ).
For this, your students will each have a basketball (can be regulation size or smaller) and bounce their ball on the ground each time they see a basketball icon. Each basketball icon is denoted as a quarter note. The rests are in between each basketball for the students to hold the ball.
Two two smaller basketballs are treated as 2 eighth note pairs
This can be performed with lower intermediate grade levels (think 3rd and 2nd grade!) with easy because there's no standard notation to follow along
The mp3 is included so you can play right along with it!
Have fun with this and let us know how it goes!
Harry Potter Theme (Remix) - PUMPKIN BASKETBALL!
By Jason Litt
RHYTHM BASKETBALL has gotten a new twist right in time for Halloween as the basketballs are now *pumpkin* icons, inspired by John Williams' every so popular theme from "Harry Potter" ... played as PUMPKIN BASKETBALL!
There are three all-color coded slides along with the form identifiers listed next to each phrase. Discuss form with the students and teach them (by rote) the rhythms on the powerpoint with the corresponding repeats (most are repeated 2 times ).
For this, your students will each have a basketball (can be regulation size or smaller) and bounce their ball on the ground each time they see a basketball icon. Each pumpkin icon is denoted as a quarter note. The rests are in between each pumpkin for the students to hold the ball.
Two two smaller pumpkins are treated as 2 eighth note pairs
This can be performed with lower intermediate grade levels (think 3rd and 2nd grade!) with easy because there's no standard notation to follow along -- just pumpkins! ;)
The mp3 is included so you can play right along with it!
Have fun with this and let us know how it goes!
Terms of Use:
All images/photos/clip art in this resource were created by me.
RHYTHM FOUR CORNERS! (Class Rhythm Game)
By Jason Litt
RHYTHM FOUR CORNERS!
· To play Four Corners, ensure all students understand quarter notes, eighth note pairs, half notes, and quarter rests.
· Number each side of the room 1, 2, 3, and 4 (or alternatively, color code it green, blue, red, or purple with floor tape)
· They will hear a 9 second timer. Students will have a chance to walk to one of four corners and stay there for the duration of the round.
· On the next slide, the rhythms will appear in each corner and you will play back one of four the rhythms (provided on the Teacher Guide powerpoint). You can use that or you can play a rhythm of your choice (up to you!)
· The students will have to guess which rhythm the teacher played by showing it with their fingers (1, 2, 3, or 4)
· The teacher then reveals to the students which rhythm it was (#1, #2, #3 or #4) and the students who are in that corner are OUT!
· Keep repeating until no kids are left!
Included are 18 examples (you can switch it up each time and do different rhythms each time), the teacher guide, the 9 second timer embedded in the powerpoint file, and instructions
By Jason Litt
In this rhythm reading exercise for Boomwhackers, up to 5 boomwhacker colors will appear on the screen (an assortment of notes from the octave, red, orange, yellow, lime, green, purple, and pink)
Each color has a different rhythm and the color will be assigned to that rhythm and repeat as many times as necessary.
When you advance the slide, the rhythms and colors change around, giving everyone an opportunity to play a different rhythm and at a different time during the game.
You can play this a few ways
Included are instrumental accompaniment tracks but feel free to use your own! There are 16 different variations of rhythms and Boomwhackers colors in this resource
Have a great time with this!
Pizza Rhythms (Printable Worksheet)
By Jason Litt
Think your kids know rhythms? Challenge them with matching familiar italiano verbiage in the form of Pizza Rhythms, a printable worksheet for your students!
There are four rhythms that line the sheet (variations of quarter and eighth note pairs) along with terminology on the side. Which italian phrase (topping, style, etc) matches the rhythm? Simply identify and ask the students to write it down, easy as a pizza pie!
Leaf it to the Rhythm - Autumn-Themed Rhythmic Identification!
By Jason Litt
Getting ready for fall and working with your younger kids to identify rhythms can be easy with "Leaf it to the Rhythm"!
In this lesson with 12 rhythmic examples, students will see an item that you would typically see in the fall (i.e. - Migrating Birds, Columbus Day, Rake, Jack o Lantern, etc) along with 3 rhythms below.
Which rhythm best fits the item? Have the students choose the rhythm that best matches (you can either do this as teams, have the students select it at the whiteboard/projection screen, or even race to hit it first!), advanced the slide, and then find out the correct answered illuminated in green!
Examples have series of quarter rests, quarter notes, eighth note pairs, and triplets. Terrific for reinforcing rhythms in the younger grades but can definitely work to pass some time in the older grades as well!
Stop, Drop, and BOX! (Identifying Rhythms)
By Jason Litt
In this rhythmic identifying game (fastest one wins!), students will see a rhythm displayed on the board with a box (one beat or two beats) inside the rhythm. These boxes will be blank and can hold different types of beats to complete the rhythmic phrase
The students will then listen to an example of music and figure out which of the available boxes (with corresponding rhythms) would complete the rhythm shown on the screen! Simply click on the sound icon, have the students listen, and then advance the slide when they choose the correct answer.
There are 10 musical examples in this lesson and works great with some of the younger elementary students. They can either vocalize "1st" "2nd" or "3rd" box, come up to the screen and pick, or have a race to see who can select the correct box first.
Have a great time with this!
Fast Food Rhythms (Printable Worksheet)
By Jason Litt
Think your kids know rhythms? Challenge them with matching familiar their favorite drive thru verbiage in the form of Fast Food Rhythms, a printable worksheet for your students!
There are four rhythms that line the sheet (variations of quarter and eighth note pairs) along with terminology on the side. Which fast food phrase (restaurant, entree, side dish, etc) matches the rhythm? Simply identify and ask the students to write it down, easy as ordering a frosty!
Automotive Rhythms (Printable Worksheet)
By Jason Litt
Think your kids know rhythms? Challenge them with matching familiar car/truck and auto verbiage in the form of Automotive Rhythms, a printable worksheet for your students!
There are four rhythms that line the sheet (variations of quarter and eighth note pairs) along with terminology on the side. Which automotive phrase (part, brand, accessory, etc) matches the rhythm? Simply identify and ask the students to write it down, easy as ordering flooring it down the autobon!