Home
Mission
Blog
Professional Development
Launchpad
Plans
Community
Help
Eric Carle Activities: Lesson Extensions for Music Class
By Creating Musical Literature
Using these lesson extensions for the books "'Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,' said the Sloth", "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", and "Does the Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?" teach fast vs. slow, triplets, and rhythm vs. steady beat. Use the extension lesson for "Rooster's Off to See the World", "Dream Snow" and "The Very Lonely Firefly", to introduce and review the so-mi-la and mi-re-do solfege combination. Use lessons for "From Head to Toe" and "Little Cloud" to move and explore shapes in your classroom. Use "The Very Quiet Cricket" to teach steady beat and whisper voice. Finally, use the book "Pancakes, Pancakes" to teach sixteenth note rhythms. Have the children move and play along, and then reinforce their knowledge with additional worksheets. Adaptable for grades PreK-3rd grade. Worksheets can be printed or used digitally.
REMINDERS
1. If you have any questions about this product or any of my products, feel free to email me at creatingmusicalliterature@gmail.com
2. Your purchase of this product is for SINGLE USE ONLY. Please purchase additional licenses to share with other teachers. Copyright © 2023 Creating Musical Literature. All rights reserved.
3. Leave a comment down below in order to earn TeachShare credits! I would love to hear how you and your students have been enjoying my products!
_________________________________________________________
LET'S CONNECT ON SOCIALS!
INSTAGRAM: @creatingmusicalliterature
PINTEREST: @creatingmusicalliterature
FACEBOOK: @creatingmusicalliterature
By Creating Musical Literature
Use these books to help your students learn the triplet rhythm! The rhythm and beat charts help with decoding triplets and the worksheets provided help with the practice of writing a triplet rhythm. In addition, you can discuss and explore social emotional learning with "A Hug is for Holding Me." Some lessons are adaptable for grades PreK-3rd grade while the Tanabata Star Festival Lesson is for the upper grades.
REMINDERS
1. If you have any questions about this product or any of my products, feel free to email me at creatingmusicalliterature@gmail.com
2. Your purchase of this product is for SINGLE USE ONLY. Please purchase additional licenses to share with other teachers. Copyright © 2024 Creating Musical Literature. All rights reserved.
3. Leave a comment down below in order to earn TeachShare credits! I would love to hear how you and your students have been enjoying my products!
_________________________________________________________
LET'S CONNECT ON SOCIALS!
INSTAGRAM: @creatingmusicalliterature
PINTEREST: @creatingmusicalliterature
FACEBOOK: @creatingmusicalliterature
Triplets Rhythm Lesson Using Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?
By Creating Musical Literature
Use this lesson based off of Eric Carle's book to teach triplets to your students. Use the chant every time that the book asks the question of whether or not a certain animal has a mother. Students can keep a steady beat, play the rhythm or do both, depending on the grade level. Can also be used to reinforce rhythm vs. steady beat. Additional worksheet provides practice in writing triplets. Adaptable for grades PreK-3rd grade. Perfect for a Mother's Day themed lesson!
REMINDERS
1. If you have any questions about this product or any of my products, feel free to email me at creatingmusicalliterature@gmail.com
2. Your purchase of this product is for SINGLE USE ONLY. Please purchase additional licenses to share with other teachers. Copyright © 2022 Creating Musical Literature. All rights reserved.
3. Leave a comment down below in order to earn TeachShare credits! I would love to hear how you and your students have been enjoying my products!
_________________________________________________________
LET'S CONNECT ON SOCIALS!
INSTAGRAM: @creatingmusicalliterature
PINTEREST: @creatingmusicalliterature
FACEBOOK: @creatingmusicalliterature
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!
Imagine Dragons Percussion MEGABundle! (@ 15% OFF 17 RESOURCES!)
By Jason Litt
In this Imagine Dragons Percussion MEGABundle, you will get great resources, a mix of bucket drumming arrangements, rhythm basketball, rhythm stick read-alongs, and body percussion at a 15% discount off of each one!
WHY IMAGINE DRAGONS?
Arrangements are designed from 4th grade all the way up to middle school, so these are typically designed for some of the older kids.
For notation:
All regular notation is to be played on the buckets (or drums, or ground, however you wish),
The X notation that is stacked with quarter notes are played as shots (think like a marching band snare drum -- playing the drum and stick simultaneously as a rimshot or on top of each other -- whatever will you get you the best accent!)
The X notation (with a down stem) are played as stick clicks above their head (or you could apply it to a tambourine or other auxiliary instrument)
For the Rhythm Basketball:
Your students will each have a basketball (can be regulation size or smaller) and bounce their ball on the ground each time they see an ornament icon. Each ornament icon is denoted as a quarter note. The rests are in between each ball for the students to hold the ball. Any smaller ornaments (grouped in two) will be played as 2 eighth note pairs and students will have to lower themselves a foot or two to dribble eighth notes on the floor
There's also a "pat" icon with a hand below the ornament icon itself, so you will have the student hold the basketball in one hand and pat the ball on the beat
EOY SURVIVAL Kit! -- 10 resources @ 15% OFF!
By Jason Litt
It's the end of the year... and we're in survival mode. Need no prep solutions to make sure your 5th graders haven't checked themselves out and need engaging games and activities for some of your other students? Check out the EOY Survival Kit, 10 hand picked and proven resources to keep your kids busy during the last few weeks of the year... and when purchased in the bundle here, you get 15% off of each one! Feel free to peruse the resources and use them as you wish either for the end of the year or even anytime of the year. Have a great time, you'll get through this! :)
Back-2-School RHYTHM MegaBundle - 8 resources @ 15% off!
By Jason Litt
Gearing up for August and September and need to infuse something rhythm games, activities, assessments for your intermediate level kids? Look no further than the _Back-2-Schoo_l RHYTHM MegaBundle with 8 separate resources @ 15% off when purchased here together!
From body percussion and movement activities to center games and ensemble games played as a class, you'll never run out of things to do your first few months :)
Check out the products below to see if they fit into your curriculum and let me know if you have any questions!
Tubano MEGAPACK! - 20% off of 14 resources!
By Jason Litt
In the Tubano MEGAPACK! you get 14 great Tubano drumming arrangements all prices at 20% off when purchase here together!
These range from easy to difficult and are great for all ages, either taught by rote or taught by reading.
With 14 different arrangements from 3/4, 4/4, and 6/8 at various tempi you prescribe, the fun never ends! :)
SUPER Rhythm Basketball! - 40% OFF NEARLY 50 ARRANGEMENTS!
By Jason Litt
You're looking at it! An entire year (or MORE!) worth of Rhythm Basketball arrangements!
When bought all together here, you save over 40% of 48 arrangements of Rhythm Basketball from Movies to Holidays to TV shows to Pop Songs to Cartoons and MORE!
This is a #buyitforLIFE sale! One and done and they're all yours! :)
By Jason Litt
The objective of this fun 8-bit game styled in powerpoint format is to have students name notes on the treble clef staff. Students each take turns naming notes as fast as possible, all in the spirit of a collaborative effort for their class. The slide carries the note in question, with a block [?]. When the student states the correct answer, the answer appears on the next slide, and repeat from there on out through the rest of the class. The faster they do this, the more they see the gameplay progress and go through different levels. We start out on the line notes, EGBDF, get into the FACE notes in the second world, and then do a mix of them in the 3rd world until the class reaches the end at 100000 points! Don't worry, a follow up product is coming soon, this is just Part 1 :) There's a 3 minute 8-bit mashup background track included in this download to play for the students to make it feel like a real video game. When the 3 minute track is over, the game ends and you can tally up their score and continue the next time in music class. Concerning management, it'd be up to the teacher to allow students to pass the note in question, or have a neighbor help them out. If you'd like to see a sped-up version of this game (don't worry, this will go slowly unless your kids are blazing fast at naming notes!), please view the link below http://youtu.be/xMufSSTh6FQ This lesson can span weeks and months depending on how often you play it and the level of mastery of notation with your kids. If you have any questions, please let me know. Have fun with this!
By Jason Litt
11 great orchestral tracks to warmup your Chorus! These original choral warmups range from G below middle C to High Bb above the staff and reinforce vowel sounds, diction, and extension of range. Fun orchestral sounds add on to the piano and descriptions are given on all powerpoint slides. Included are 11 files in mp3 format to accompany your students.
By Jason Litt
This is a competitive notation naming game in powerpoint format. The learning goal is for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students to name pitches as fast as they can. 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 duration 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, especially in 5th grade. In this version, we discuss the following notes: Whole, Half, Quarter, Eighth, Sixteenth And the following rests: Whole, Half, Quarter, Eighth The beginning starts off with the 5 note durations, followed by the rest durations. After that, the notes and rests are randomized and have a blank box below them. The student who answers it first becomes the champion (and the answer is on the following slide)
By Jason Litt
Based on the new movie, Wreck it Ralph, a new Disney/Pixar Movie coming out in November about a video game character, Wreck-it Ralph, whohas been doing the same job for 30 years... Which is basically wrecking a building into pieces with his fists. Wreck-it Rhythm is a music game where you’re going to get to destroy a fictitious dilapidated 29th street beat building Ralph is fueled by Rhythm, and the class is the one to give it to him... Read a variety of rhythms on the screen below in a variety of different ways... Everyone will receive a pair of lummi sticks and when you see the rhythm, you will play that rhythm on the correct area (H, M, K) If the entire class plays the rhythm correctly, you will start destroying those bricks! (just advance the powerpoint) Gets the kids REALLY engaged! They try to get the highest score! Put some 8-bit music on with a MM = 120 or less Enjoy!
Articulation - Staccato and Legato
By Jason Litt
Teaching your kids about articulations and note lengths? This activity teaches them about the history of note lengths by using a parallel with morse code. I ask the students to draw 8 quarter notes on their whiteboards (or if you have clip boards or pieces of paper, that will suffice as well)! We then play 7 examples of notes with various articulations and the students have to write the staccatos and legatos below the notes as they hear them. The initial slide has plain quarter notes, but then after the example is played, you scroll through the animations and the articulations begin appearing as the students check their work. Kids love it! This can be used from K-5 and you may play each example as many times as you wish. For older kids, play the example on a few times for a harder challenge. Included in the .zip file are the powerpoint, the fonts for the powerpoint, and the mp3 files for the examples at the end
By Jason Litt
Getting ready to teach your kids about intervals? Try a fun new flash card game named Inspector Interval! In this powerpoint is a brief overview of intervals. Step by step instructions are given on how they are built, and more importantly, how they are identified. Throughout this powerpoint, there are over 100 random flash cards with intervals on a treble clef staff with an accompanying blank box. I usually have my students compete against each other (boys vs girls, top risers vs bottom risers, etc) to see who can name the interval the fastest. The winner stays up and competes against the next student in class and the one left standing at the end is deemed the winner! Included are two powerpoint files: Inspector Interval 2nd-7th: Only with 2nd thorugh 7th intervals Inspector Interval Unison-Octave: Full intervals (with descriptions for Unison and Octave intervals, and how to identify them) All the slides have animations attached them and should work on Microsoft Powerpoint 2007 and above. In addition, the "jazztext" font is included (with installation directions) as your system may not have the file already on it. Have a great time with this, kids get SUPER competitive! :)
By Jason Litt
A brand new follow up to the Rainbow Recorder series, the 2K15 series!
This version of Rainbow Recorder focuses on 9 original compositions that your new (and even advanced) recorder students will love. We bring it back to the beginning and learn how to connect the lines and spaces on the staff to note names and have students begin to memorize the notes, rather than the letters. We gradually scaffold into more difficult music by adding on new notes and rhythms.
Included, you will receive a 9 page PDF file (reproducable for your students or as a teacher guide) and 9 accompaniment tracks for each "belt". Your students are GUARANTEED to love these with lots of original hip hop background tracks (you would never know how cool playing a whole bunch of A's and B's are until you play along to this!) ;) Beginning at the Purple series, there is a beginning and advanced mp3 in case you have a superstar student who wants to tackle the advanced version (which is about 25 bpm faster than the regular version)
An alternate version with the note names are available, please contact me at jasonlitt@gmail.com if you'd like that as well.
As always, please feel free to let me know if you have any questions and enjoy!
By Jason Litt
Have a whole bunch of Orff instruments and want to get your kids working towards a goal to learn more music? Barz and Starz, at your service! Modeled after the "Rainbow Recorder" series, students learn 8 all-original Orff melodies set to colors -- White, Yellow, Orange, Green, Purple, Blue, Red, and Black. As the kids begin, simple rhythms and patterns are given but as they progress into the "Barz and Starz" system, melodic lines get harder with eighth notes, alternating hands, skips, and increased tempo. Student 'pass off' these compositions by playing them with the accompanied mp3s. The "starz" element is what you wish! I use this with my kids and keep a powerpoint chart and after the student plays their "star" with perfection, they earn that color star on their chart. It becomes quite competitive once the kids see their progress on the chart! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. Thank you and enjoy!
By Jason Litt
If you're working on meter in your classroom, here's an engaging lesson that'll test your students' math skills! In Sign of the Times, we do a brief introduction of meter (from there on called" Time Signature"). After the introduction, we talk about how measures (musical sentences) are formed and how composers have the freedom to write different beat patterns in music. The lesson in PDF format (also included is the video along with an editable powerpoint file) continues with illustrations of 4 types of time signatures, and gets into the game format -- a measure with combinations of quarter, eighths, whole, and half notes will appear in the staff and students will have to guess the time signature. On the next slide, the answer will appear. I like to do this boys vs. girls -- they have to use their quick thinking to add up the beats! Some are easy to moderate, but as we progress it gets a little harder! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment... that's the sign of the times!
By Jason Litt
Working on aural theory with your kids? With "Rhythm Mixup" students shuffle up notecards with quarter notes, 2-beamed eighth notes, half notes, and quarter rests to reflect the musical example being played! We start off the first lesson (level 1) with a brief overview of rhythm from Quaver's Marvelous World of Music, and then head right into rhythm mixup. Students will lay out their notation cards (you can either print these out or have the students draw them on a whiteboard, etc), and then a musical example will be played. Students will have to put the notes in the order that they hear the music example -- hence, the "mixup"! Level 2, goes into quarter rests and the students will have to place it appropriately (hint: it's never at the beginning or end of the phrase!) :) Students identify rhythms upon hearing them and use their aural skills to dictate where each rhythm is placed. Make sure to play these several times, especially for the younger ones so they can check their work! Designed in Powerpoint 2007, all animations and transitions should work on machines that support it. A file is included for instructions on how to install fonts. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me. Have fun!
Catch Wind of it! - Identifying Woodwind Instruments
By Jason Litt
Learning about Woodwinds but don't have a lot of music examples to test the kids? Here's your answer! After a short introduction video about woodwinds, students will learn about the 5 main woodwind instruments, flute, clarinet, oboe, saxophone, and the bassoon. After they hear the timbre of each instruments, they will have to identify each instrument after hearing it played. You can do this a few ways! You can print a blank template from the powerpoint, laminate it, distribute to students, and have them mark as they go along and erase after they answer is revealed Alternatively, you can run the entire powerpoint (or PDF) and have them guess after the example is played. When their answer is ready, you will advance in the slide and the answer will be revealed! Included in the ZIP folder: All 15 mp3 files with woodwind examples are included (with 4 introduction examples) Font and instructions (there are very important so you don't have crazy characters all over!) Woodwind introduction video If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me! jasonlitt@gmail.com