Less than $5 3rd Grade Music Lesson (by date, oldest first)

In "Hi-Fi", introduce your kids to some great music from indigenous instruments from Africa! Using your classroom Djembe or Tubanos, learn the music by rote by taking it one rehearsal section at a time (with rehearsal markings [A], [B], [C], and so forth). This is terrific practice with your older students who want to work on alternating hands, especially in the selected meter of 3/4

The notation on the first space F is a bass (middle of the drum) and the notation on the third space C is a tone (four fingers near the rim of the drum, pitched a bit higher)

At the end, wrap it up and put on a show! Want to layer it?

• Have shakers play 16th notes all the way throughout or in specific sections
• Have half the class play 1st and 3rd measures, the other half play 2nd and 4th measures
• Do it in a round! :)

Use this in class, a concert, a parent showcase, admin, faculty and staff, whatever you wish!

Have a terrific time with this one :)

If you've ever played Poison Pattern/Poison Rhythm or similar, you already know how it goes. Give the students a set of rhythms to play but one of them is the poison rhythm, which the students should NOT play. If they are, they're either out, lose points, or the teacher gains points (if you're playing against the class)

In this new twist, it's the same premise as students will play back each set of rhythms one-by-one as given by the teacher. However, there will be one rhythm that has a rest on a specific beat (beat 1, 3, 5, whichever the slide specifies)

AVOID THAT RHYTHM AT ALL COSTS!

So for instance, the students may play any rhythm, but avoid the rhythm that has a rest on Beat Number 2

Advance the slide and your students will see various rhythms composed of quarter notes and eighth notes _with the quarter rest landing on different beats.

_...just avoid playing the rhythm on BEAT NUMBER 2!

There are five different levels of rhythms all composed of the quarters and paired eighth sets with the rests switching back and forth between beats. All you need to do is give the students a four beat prep, then they'll read it back (either vocally, with rhythm sticks, classroom instruments, etc)

Wanna make it harder?

• Up the tempo and transition time in between slides
• Choose a pop or instrumental song at a higher BPM to distract them
• Alternate teams or have 1v1 and award points to the winners!

Have a great time with the new version of a classic game!

Level 2, sixteenth note patterns and eighth note rests coming soon!

RHYTHM BASKETBALL is in with a tune that's sure to get your kids singing and bouncing right along -- from the smash hit "Coco", ready for Dia de los Muerte... here's "Remember Me, Ernesto de la Cruz"!

There are four 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 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 ball for the students to hold the ball.

  • Any smaller balls (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 basketball icon itself, so you will have the student hold the basketball in one hand and pat the ball on the beat

The track can be found here to play right along:

https://youtu.be/y4hnrrlokwk

Have fun with this and let us know how it goes!

The NFL season is BACK! Your older grade level kids will love RED ZONE

RHYTHMS!

Students will see an NFL team and their corresponding mascot and the students will have to spell out the team and mascot combo with that's right... RHYTHM!

The students will have to decipher the rhythmic syllables using triplets, eighth note pairs, and quarter notes. The rhythm will be shown on the animation on the next slide.

• You can either have the students notate it out on whiteboards...
• make rhythm cards or tiles
• have them write it on the board
• make it a race between A team vs B team to spell it out
• or however you can imagine!

There are 14 teams with 14 unique rhythms that the students will have to decipher. Here comes the kickoff!

Need to connect with your kids with their video game music through general music? Involve them in bucket drumming with the Theme from Angry Birds

There is one color coded slide 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 4). Then, apply it to drums!

All regular notation is to be played on the buckets (or drums, or ground, however you wish), and 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)

This is a great resource for your beginning bucket drummers as it's only one page long with a lot of repeated passages and rudimentary rhythms!

Here's the track so you can play along...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DehK\_Y0TUbE

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.

__________________________________

*** Looking for more BUCKET DRUMMING resources? *** Find them here!

The follow-up to "Rhythm Wind Up and PITCH! and MELODY Wind Up and PITCH!"
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This one will get the kids on their edge of their seats!

You will need 1 thing for this particular game:

• A sticky suction cup ball (or maybe a soft squishy ball)

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

1. The amount of suction cup balls tossed at the screen would be insane

2. 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!

In "DYNAMITE!", introduce your kids to some great music from indigenous instruments from Africa using an array of dynamics that will give your kids a challenge!

Using your classroom Djembe, Tubanos, and Tambourines, learn the music by rote by taking it one rehearsal section at a time (with rehearsal markings [A], [B], [C], and so forth). This is terrific practice with your older students who want to work on alternating hands, especially in the selected meter of 6/8

The notation on the first space F is a bass (middle of the drum) and the notation on the third space C is a tone (four fingers near the rim of the drum, pitched a bit higher)

MM suggested at 140-150, but you can take it as fast or as slow as you wish

At the end, wrap it up and put on a show! Want to layer it?

• Have shakers play on specified beats (try 1 and 2)
• Have shakers play 16th notes all the way throughout or in specific sections

Use this in class, a concert, a parent showcase, admin, faculty and staff, whatever you wish!

Have a terrific time with this one :)

In "The Early Bird", introduce your kids to some great music from indigenous instruments from Africa! Using your classroom Djembe or Tubanos, learn the music by rote by taking it one rehearsal section at a time (with rehearsal markings [A], [B], [C], and so forth). This is terrific practice with your older students who want to work on alternating hands, especially with trickier syncopations!

The notation on the first space F is a bass (middle of the drum) and the notation on the third space C is a tone (four fingers near the rim of the drum, pitched a bit higher)

At the end, wrap it up and put on a show! Want to layer it?

• Have tambourines or shakers play on specified beats (try 2 and 4)
• Have shakers play 16th notes all the way throughout or in specific sections
• Have half the class play 1st and 3rd measures, the other half play 2nd and 4th measures
• Do it in a round! :)

Use this in class, a concert, a parent showcase, admin, faculty and staff, whatever you wish!

Have a terrific time with this one :)

RHYTHM BASKETBALL is in with a classical throwback made popular by the YouTube influencer VADrum -- here's his cover of the "Radetzky March" by Johann Strauss!

There are five 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 3 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 ball for the students to hold the ball.

• There's also a "pat" icon with a hand below the basketball icon itself, so you will have the student hold the basketball in one hand and pat the ball on the beat

The orchestral mp3 track with background drums can be found here:

https://youtu.be/OedHrRV7pkQ

Have fun with this and let us know how it goes!

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Looking for even MORE Rhythm Basketball pieces? Find 'em here!

In this new game where your students will have the fastest eye, Rhythm Waldo teachers your kids their aural theory in this fast paced activity!

Directions
Print out the included powerpoint on 8.5"x11" cardstock, as many copies as you'd like, and assign to a group of students, individual students, or however you'd like to play. Each cardstock pair have 12 different rhythms on them and they'll lay all the rhythms out on the floor in front of them. The rhythms will be simple, all comprised of quarter notes, eighth note pairs, and quarter rests _(would be ideal for 2nd-5th graders)
_

You will then play an audio example of a rhythm and the students will have to find which rhythm you played (by of course, searching through all 12 of their rhythms, while maintaining the rhythm in their head). The first one to hold it up is deemed the winner!

You can play this individually, team vs team, boys vs girls, however you wish!

There are 12 examples (and some of them may end up repeating!)

Have a great time with this!

Need to connect with your kids with their 2023 pop music through general music? Involve them in bucket drumming with the #1 smash movie of the summer and current chart topper by Dua Lipa in "Dance the Night"!

There are four 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 4 times). Then, apply it to drums!

All regular notation is to be played on the buckets (or drums, or ground, however you wish), and the X notation (with a down stem) are played as stick clicks above their head (or you could apply it to a tambourine or ther auxiliary instrument)

Here's the track so you can play along...

https://youtu.be/lUNmhLb2KEo

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.

__________________________________

*** Looking for more BUCKET DRUMMING resources? *** Find them here!

RHYTHM BASKETBALL is in with a tune that's sure to get your bouncing right along -- a trap remix of the theme from MINECRAFT!

There are two 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

• 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 ball for the students to hold the ball.

• There's also a "pat" icon with a hand below the basketball icon itself, so you will have the student hold the basketball in one hand and pat the ball on the beat

Here's the track so you can play along...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL4i9FKuiEA

Have fun with this and let us know how it goes!

RHYTHM BASKETBALL is in with a tune that's sure to get your kids singing and bouncing right along dwith the smash hit "The Wellerman - TRAP Remix"

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 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 ball for the students to hold the ball.

• There's also a "pat" icon with a hand below the basketball icon itself, so you will have the student hold the basketball in one hand and pat the ball on the beat

Here's the track so you can play along...

https://youtu.be/9A6XcFE4CL8

Looking for a great beginning of the year activity that'll get some of your older kids involved?

In "Rhythm Star", students will see eight boxes stacked vertically. The box on the left is for their left hand, the box on the right is for their right hand. In each box will be a series of dots, either filled in, or blank.

A dot that is filled in will be one sound to the beat, a dot that is left blank will be no sound (read as a rest).

Students will read the rhythm from the top to bottom (vertically) with assigned instruments on their left hand and right hand. For this activity, Artie's stickstations come in handy, so have the students use a pad as their left implement and a tambourine as their right.

Read down the rhythms from top to bottom, and advance the slides once the class masters the rhythms with their left and right hand simultaneously! As the students progress through the game, there are 5 levels of difficulty

1. Quarter notes

2. Eighth notes

3. Quarter rests

4. Poly-rhythms (this one is FUN!)

5. Triplets

Play this with some music in the background, either an instrumental track 100-120bpm or some of their favorite pop music as they play along and master the rhythms only to continue to advance in the level.

The class is awarded 50 points each time an example is playing correctly in unison. A fun and competitive way for your younger kids to practice sight reading rhythms!

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:

• Print the "Write the Room" Minecraft master file to 5 sheets and cut along the dotted lines. Place these anywhere you wish around the room (and of course, the level of difficulty of where to place it is COMPLETELY up to you!)
• Print a class set of the "Write the Room" Minecraft Student Answer sheets (it's okay if it's not in color, it can be in black and white or grayscale, the students will know the characters by heart!)
• Make sure everyone has something to write with it and... GO!

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!

RHYTHM BASKETBALL is in with the popular theme from the "Keepy Uppy" episode of Bluey, a fan favorite amongst elementary schoolers from K-5!

There are four 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 ball for the students to hold the ball.

Here's the track so you can play along...

https://youtu.be/b6eTYdSB1LE

Looking for a great anytime of the year activity to get your upper grade level kids engaged? In Rhythm Star, students will see eight boxes stacked vertically. The box on the left is for their left hand, the box on the right is for their right hand. In each box will be a series of dots, either filled in, or blank (counted as a rest).

Each box represents one beat and each dot represents one sound.

Students will read the rhythm from the top to bottom (vertically) with both hands simultaneously performing the rhythms.

For this activity, Artie's stickstations come in handy, so have the students use a pad as their left hand percussion instrument and a tambourine as their right hand percussion instrument. You can situate these on the floor, table, or desk (completely adaptable!)

Read down the rhythms from top to bottom, and advance the slides once the class masters the rhythms with their left and right hand simultaneously! As the students progress through the game, there are 5 levels of difficulty:

Level 1: Quarter Notes

Level 2: Eighth Notes
Level 3: Quarter rests
Level 4: Poly-rhythms (this one is FUN!)
Level 5: Triplets

Play this with some music in the background, either an instrumental track 100-120bpm or some of their favorite pop music as they play along and master the rhythms only to continue to advance in the level.

The class is awarded 50 points each time an example is played correctly in unison. A fun and competitive way for younger kids to practice sight reading rhythms and gain independence in both hands!

In Rhythm Color Lineup, students all receive a baggie of six cards (you can just cut out Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple cards from construction paper) to use to decipher the rhythm being played.

They will then listen to a musical example of a rhythm with notes shown on their colored cards (although their cards will be blank, but be representative of the rhythm)...but they’re not in the right order!

The students will then line up your colors from left to right as you hear the rhythm being played, and check your answer afterward by advancing the slide!

All slides include the embedded sound file in it (with 8 beats of prep before the rhythm example) and you get 10 examples to illustrate for your kids

Have a colorful time with this one!

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:

• Print the "Write the Room" NFL master file to 5 sheets and cut along the dotted lines. Place these anywhere you wish around the room (and of course, the level of difficulty of where to place it is COMPLETELY up to you!)
• Print a class set of the "Write the Room" NFL Student Answer sheets (it's okay if it's not in color, it can be in black and white or grayscale, the students will know the teams by heart!)
• Make sure everyone has something to write with it and... GO!

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!

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!