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By Jason Litt
With “Rhythms Around the Horn”, students will see four rhythm squares on the powerpoint (or PDF), all of them containing different rhythms.
For starters, have the entire class perform rhythm 1 (with instruments, vocalizing, clapping, patting, etc), then rhythm 2, then 3, and then finally 4.
After students understand the rhythms, then you can have the rhythms all be performed several different ways...
There are 4 levels of rhythms all with increasing difficulty
Have a great time with this!
Bar Line Blitz! (Identifying measures in simple rhythm patterns)
By Jason Litt
Down, Set, HUT!
In Bar Line Blitz, student will see a meter with several beats of music – except the bar lines are missing to separate the measures from each other!
They will will see 2 or more line placeholders (small grey lines) in between notes. One of the placeholders is where the bar line should go… but which one is it?
Identify where the bar line should be placed and the correct area will illuminate
green if it is accurate!
Play team vs team, A vs B, or individually... and enhance it by playing some fun football music in the background (search NFL themes or college football fight songs on YouTube) ;)
There are 4 levels (4 quarters if you wish) of varying difficulties. The last quarter, they students will need to identify where it should be placed without any small grey lined hashmarks
Have a great time with this one!
Among Opposites - PERFECT for EOY Review!
By Jason Litt
In AMONG OPPOSITES, students will see a musical trait on the board represented by one crewmate. Students will then have to find the EXACT OPPOSITE trait by selecting one of the crewmates... who is actually the imposter!
Students will choose the exact opposite musical trait... advance the slide and see if they were right!
After the correct answer is shown, the following slide will give a brief description of the answer and why it was the opposite of the example shown
You can have students write it down, play it team A vs team B, boys vs girls, individually as an assessment, or even assign it as distance learning!
Included in this resource are
Have a great time with this!
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:
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!
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!
Rhythm Clockout! (Rhythm Dictation AGAINST THE CLOCK!)
By Jason Litt
Looking for something challenging for your 4th and 5th graders (or even early middle schoolers?) This game is fast paced and has these kids racing to dictate what they hear in a new game called "Rhythm Clockout!"
In this lesson, students will hear a 4 to 6 beat rhythm (with 8 preparatory beats) followed by a 3, 5, 7, or 9 second timer immediately following the rhythm. As soon as that timer begins (or even before for some of your advanced kids), have the students dictate what they heard before the timer runs out!
You can do this one of a few ways
In all of these examples are quarter rests, half notes, eighth notes, and quarter notes. You can use the printouts included to print your own and cut them up, or even use your class set
There are 22 examples in this one with the electric guitar leading the melodic figures for the kids to notate. Most are around 100-120bpm, but some advanced ones go a bit faster
Lesson pro tip:
Wanna challenge the kids? Have a team vs team, kid vs kid, A vs B, etc and see who can get the most right (percentage of right notes) or even the right answer before the timer ends
Have a great time with this one, my upper elementary kids get super psyched!
Boom and Response (Call and Response for Boomwhackers!)
By Jason Litt
Getting your students to improve on rhythm and melody can't be any easier with "Boom and Response"!
In this resource, there are 3 tracks totally 5 minutes that you can play for your students (and repeat if necessary). Each track is a specific amount of beats for the "Call" (4 beats, 6 beats, or 8 beats) with the same amount of empty beats that follow directly after -- and thats where you students submit their "Response"
You can utilize this in one of several ways:
Or any other crazy way you may think!
Have a great time with this!
Inspector Interval - Identifying Intervals (2nd-7ths)
By Jason Litt
End of the year review or just starting up with aural theory? Try on "Inspector Interval"!
In this fast paced game, students will do a brief review of how a musical interval is defined and jump right into the contest -- have an interval on the treble clef staff appear and TEAM A or TEAM B will have to name the interval as fast as they can!
There are no qualities of intervals (major 2nd, minor 6th, etc), just interval names by itself. There will always be a grounded "F", so the intervals will be built on top of that
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 an interval 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!
... or use it as an individual activity!
BOOMWHACKER Primary Pack - 3 elementary-aged resources @ 20% off
By Jason Litt
Ready to start your kids on boomwhackers (or would like an end of the year review?)
Here in this primary pack geared towards your younger students, you will get 3 great resources at 20% when purchased here all together!
Boom and Response (Call and Response for Boomwhackers!)
In this resource, there are 3 tracks totally 5 minutes that you can play for your students (and repeat if necessary). Each track is a specific amount of beats for the "Call" (4 beats, 6 beats, or 8 beats) with the same amount of empty beats that follow directly after -- and thats where you students submit their "Response"
BoomBox (25 sight reading patterns for BEGINNING Boomwhackers!)
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.
Boom in a FLASH! (Boomwhackers against the clock!)
Students will see one Boomwhacker color appear on the screen (PowerPoint presentation). The student who is holding that Boomwhacker must play the note (on the ground, hand, elbow, desk, whatever have you!), and then they automatically advance to the next slide... to another color!
Keep it going, keep reading because... they're being timed! They will have 30 seconds to amass as many notes as they can (timer included) before the time runs out and they look at their high score (which is kept below).
Enjoy these and let us know how it goes with your kids!
25% OFF MUSIC ESCAPE ROOM MEGAPack! (Instruments, Rhythm, Notes of Staff)
By Jason Litt
Looking for a fun, exciting, challenging, and engaging way to reach students in your upper elementary or lower middle school grades? Try this all-inclusive lesson that will get your kids racing against the clock and each other with **The Great Escape!
**This MEGAPack includes Escape Rooms from Instruments and Instrument Families, Rhythm, and Notes of the Treble Clef Staff
You can view each individual lesson here, but purchased all together as this resource, you save 25%!
MUSIC ESCAPE ROOM - Instruments and Instrument Families
MUSIC ESCAPE ROOM - Super Rhythm Rally!
**
MUSIC ESCAPE ROOM - Notes of the Treble Clef Staff!**
There are five rooms, and in each room are several "tasks" students will have to perform (either individually, as a class, A vs B, side by side, or however you wish). As soon as the task is completed, advance the slide for the correct answer (the teacher will control the game).
After a certain number of tasks, a key will be issued to exit the room and head into another room with a different set of tasks.
If students complete all tasks and open the door to all five rooms they win the game!
You can play this one of four ways
If you would like music to accompany this to make it a bit more engaging, try using this in the background:
Escape Room Background Music
MUSIC ESCAPE ROOM - Instruments and Instrument Families
By Jason Litt
Looking for a fun, exciting, challenging, and engaging way to reach students in your upper elementary or lower middle school grades? Try this all-inclusive lesson that will get your kids racing against the clock and each other with The Great Escape!
In “THE GREAT ESCAPE”, students will be given a specific amount of time to perform tasks successfully (as designed by the teacher). Each one of these tasks is a musical task and the theme for this escape room are the notes of the treble clef staff.
There are five rooms, and in each room are several "tasks" students will have to perform (either individually, as a class, A vs B, side by side, or however you wish). As soon as the task is completed, advance the slide for the correct answer (the teacher will control the game).
After a certain number of tasks, a key will be issued to exit the room and head into another room with a different set of tasks.
The five rooms and tasks are as follows:
If students complete all tasks and open the door to all five rooms they win the game!
You can play this one of four ways
If you would like music to accompany this to make it a bit more engaging, try using this in the background:
Escape Room Background Music
Have a terrific time with this and let us know how it goes!
All about INSTRUMENTS ValuPack - 20% off 6 instrument resources!
By Jason Litt
In this ValuPack, you will get the Top 6 Instrumental resources that tenders to your instrumental unit with engaging and relevant content on the four instrument families, Brass, Woodwinds, Strings, and Percussion!
20% off all of the resources when purchased here, you get the following:
Have a terrific time with this and let us know how it goes!
Poison Bucket Patterns! (Poison Patterns/Poison Rhythms)
By Jason Litt
One of the favorite end-of-the-year (or even beginning-of-the-year) activities for the kids to get them sight reading and of course, keeping their eyes and ears out for one of those DEADLY Poison Rhythms/Poison Patterns!
Poison Bucket Patterns! takes students through 78 slides and 5 levels of Bucket Drumming sight reading. Students will play a variety of rhythms as the teacher scrolls through the slides. Each slide contains one rhythm they will play and after advancing to the next slide, you can elect to give them a 4 beat or 2 beat prep to read the next rhythm, whichever works for you. The less prep they have, the better because...
There will be one rhythm (the poison rhythm, poison pattern, or OOPS! rhythm as we'll call it) that students DO NOT play! If they do, they're out of the game.
Students learn the rhythm before the round is played. Be careful or you will be ELIMINATED!
You can play this in teams, As vs Bs, however you wish! There are 5 background grooves that go from 80 bpm to 120 bpm to challenge your kids as they go through the levels. Levels begin with 4 beat rhythms and end with 6 beat rhythms with rests, quarter notes, and 2 eighth note patterns.
Have a great time with this!
MUSIC ESCAPE ROOM - Notes of the Treble Clef Staff!
By Jason Litt
Looking for a fun, exciting, challenging, and engaging way to reach students in your upper elementary or lower middle school grades? Try this all-inclusive lesson that will get your kids racing against the clock and each other with The Great Escape!
In “THE GREAT ESCAPE”, students will be given a specific amount of time to perform tasks successfully (as designed by the teacher). Each one of these tasks is a musical task and the theme for this escape room are the notes of the treble clef staff.
There are five rooms, and in each room are several "tasks" students will have to perform (either individually, as a class, A vs B, side by side, or however you wish). As soon as the task is completed, advance the slide for the correct answer (the teacher will control the game).
After a certain number of tasks, a key will be issued to exit the room and head into another room with a different set of tasks.
The five rooms and tasks are as follows:
If students complete all tasks and open the door to all five rooms they win the game!
You can play this one of four ways
If you would like music to accompany this to make it a bit more engaging, try using this in the background:
Escape Room Background Music
Have a terrific time with this and let us know how it goes!
TAKE NOTE, Lines of the Staff (Reproducible Worksheet)
By Jason Litt
Review your lines of the treble staff from EGBDF and FACE with "TAKE NOTE"
In this reproducible worksheet, there are 3 pages of exercises where students will identify the names of the treble clef letters from 1st line E to top line F.
TAKE NOTE 2.0 is a continuation of the first page
TAKE NOTE 3.0 is a treble clef note shown and the student will circle the answer they think is correct.
You may use this as an assignment, warmup, timed practice, or however way you see fit!
Body Percussion Warmups (40 exercises!)
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 Warmups"!
There are 10 warmups in each level with CLAPS, SNAPS, STOMPS, and SNAPS, all indicated on the powerpoint slide. Count your kids off with a few prep beats and watch them go!
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!
Here are the 4 levels:
Meter Imposter ("Among Us" theme Time Signature practice!)
By Jason Litt
A game that will keep your 4th and 5th graders entertained, engaged, and competitively charged, here's METER IMPOSTER inspired by "Among Us"!
_________________________
_IN METER IMPOSTER, YOU WILL SEE 2 OR EVEN 3 CREWMATES ASSIGNED INSTRUMENTS WITH DIFFERENT METERS.
EACH CREWMATE HAS THE CORRECT AMOUNT OF BEATS AND RHYTHMS THAT ADD UP TO THE DESIGNATED METER (4/4, 3/4, 2/4, ETC)_
_YOUR TASK IS TO DECIDE WHICH CREWMATE IS THE IMPOSTER BY SELECTING THE CREWMATE WHO IS SHOWING THE METER THAT HAS MORE THAN OR LESS THAN THE AMOUNT OF BEATS IN THEIR METER
THERE WILL BE ONLY ONE CREWMATE WHO IS THE IMPOSTER_
Included in this resource are
Notation covered:
Quarter notes/rests, Half notes/Rests, Whole Notes, Eighth Notes/Rests
Have a terrific time with this while your kids study time signatures!
By Jason Litt
The follow-up to "Rhythm 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 a melody at the bottom of their screen and memorize the melodic direction or say it back in their head (just make sure the melodic is not sung out loud). They will then hear a musical example of an endless loop of melodic figures separated by 4 beats each in between rhythms. (Teacher will click the speaker icon to play)
Take a listen...
....
....
One of the melodic figures will be the melody that is on the screen. AS SOON AS THEY HEAR THAT MELODY, 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!
Brass with Class! (Identifying order of Brass instruments)
By Jason Litt
Focusing on the timbres of the Trumpet, Trombone, Horn, and Tuba? Try "Brass with Class" on and let your kids zero in on differentiation between each... and more!
In "Brass with Class!" will hear the brass instruments in all sorts of orders (immediately following each other's segment) and their goal is to put them in order they hear them. Students will get a brief review in the beginning by playing the examples of a Trumpet, Trombone, Horn, or Tuba.
After reviewing the timbres, go onto the game where the options will be shown at the top and blank spots at the bottom for the instruments to go. Students can either have printed cards with the instruments, write it in on the whiteboard, call it out, or however you wish! I like to do the printed cards on the floor so the students can line them up and I can assess from the top.
Included are
Have some class -- Brass with Class!