KIZZ DANIEL

I decided to use the 16 block grid as a means for students to create and organize rhythm patterns based on the erasers.  I talk a little bit more about the grid and the lap packs they are used with in THIS blog post.

At this workstation, students choose an erase and put it in a square.  Then, students decide what to call the eraser.  They can be creative with this part (and often are!).  When they decide what to call the eraser they write the name under it.  In this picture they actually put it in the second row, but usually we put it in the same box as the eraser.

If you have been reading my blog for long, you know that I a big fan of workstations  and I love new goodies for my music room!  I've posted a few times about Music Go Round from Music in Motion.  They are so fun to touch and lend themselves to a variety of activities.  You can read about using them for singing practice HERE and reading about using them with rhythm work HERE.

Today I'm going to explain how I've used them to build a creative movement workstation.  In preparation, I created a 16 block grid on my dry erase board with colored masking tape.  I tried drawing it on the board with the first class and it was a much bigger hassle.  I had to re-draw the grid after each group.  The masking tape worked really well and lasted all week.

I laid the Music Go Rounds that I needed on a stand near the board.  For this workstation I used Music Go Rounds: Hands and Feet and the quarter notes and barred eighth notes from THIS set.  

Students were instructed to choose a hand or foot piece and a rhythm piece.  Within their group they decided what each hand or foot piece represented.  Some groups used clapping or snapping for hands and stomping, sliding or hopping for the feet.  They composed and performed their piece together.

After performing their piece, some groups made some edits to make it easier or more interesting and then performed it again.  I loved watching their creative process and hearing their conversations about what would improve their pieces.

This was a great activity to add to our center rotations.  Student got practice with rhythm, but also engaged in composing and creating choreography too.  Having a workstation that let students be physically active wasn't too noisy or crazy (much to my great delight!) and I can definitely recommend it for inclusion in your classroom.

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Note Knacks are wooden blocks that are strategically cut so that note value is represented by block length.  So a half note is half the size of a whole note and a quarter note is half the size of a half note and so on.  The set comes with 3 different frames to hold the Note Knacks.  They measure 4 beats, 3 beats and 2 beats.  One side of the block has a note and the back side has the corresponding rest.  

I am lucky enough to have a magnetic set of Note Knacks and I keep them on my dry erase board.  They are much larger so that they can be seen by an entire classroom.  I've used them to decipher rhythms in familiar songs and to create ostinatos for various activities.  I've also used them in workstations.

I've also had students trace the outline of the blocks on long strips of bulletin board paper.  I only have one set of the blocks, so I could only do this activity with small groups as they rotated through workstations.  I hope to get a few more sets because I have SO many ideas I want to try out!

I bet I know what you are thinking.  Couldn't you just make something similar?  Well, sure.  I've made Noodle Notes which are similar.  The tactile experience of Note Knacks is what I like.  I mean, who doesn't like playing with blocks?

You can get Note Knacks from Rhythm Band Instruments.  If you liked these ideas PIN this post for later!

There seems to be a great debate among parents and educators about the value of fidget spinners in the classroom.  This blog post is NOT about that.  Instead, I'd like to share with you a few ways that you can use the spinners for practice and assessment in music class.

I've created a set of activities that use the fidget spinner as a timer and as...well...just as a spinner!  The best way to show you how to use them is in this video below.

I am a big fan of thinking outside  of the box.  I am also a big fan of helping my students do exactly the same thing.  This year I considered ways that I could help meet their individual needs more completely during music class.  Although I plan lessons and workstations that are differentiated, I was interested in using flexible seating that would also meet their needs.  In most of my previous classrooms I have had a large rug or a carpeted room.  This automatically meant that I had two good seating choices:  chairs or the carpet.

In my current classroom my floor is completely tiled.  I teach only grades 3-5 so I'm not sure that I want to put out several hundreds of dollars for a large rug.  In my K-6 classroom, I used it most often with K-2.  I think eventually I may get one, but it is not at the top of the wish list.

At the beginning of the school year I read a brilliant blog post from Aileen Miracle about flexible seating in the music room.  You'll definitely want to check it out.   This was just the motivation that I needed to start implementing my own plan for flexible seating in my classroom.  For me, the most obvious way to get started was to add multiple seating options to my workstations rotations.  I plan workstations about every 4th or 5th class period so this would give me time to add new seats or remove ones that didn't work between workstation days.

On a typical day, my classroom looks like this.  I have three rows of chairs that have a wide aisle down the middle.  This allows me to be in close proximity to any student within just a few steps.  When I have students in centers I focus on putting them around the edges of the room and possibly one in the middle if I need the space.  

The first new seating option I added were these awesome stools from Five Below.

In this station above, students are working with a magnetic set of Note Knacks on a dry erase board.  Not pictured is a student at a table with the original Note Knacks which are wooden blocks.  They are creating a secret rhythm and the rest of the group is recreating that with the Note Knacks on the dry erase board.  Rhythm Band Instruments carries Note Knacks.  You can get them HERE.

These lap trays were my next addition.  I actually have 5 of them, but this class only needed 3 for each rotation.  The lap trays are from Hobby Lobby and were $6 each.  I think they would be great for leaving supplies for a center too.  You could put worksheets in the middle, clipboards in the large hole and pencils, rhythm sticks or whatever in the smaller compartments.  I bought all the same color for the same reason my stools are the same color.

I think that I will pick up a few smaller rag rugs from a dollar store to use for individual seating options.  They are inexpensive and clean well if needed.

I also love the way these foam mats very clearly define the space for workstations.  

Why not?  The PE teacher does it every day!  Sometimes there just isn't a good way to put down a rug, stool or mat and that's okay.  This station is my Xylophone Composing Station.  We used the piano as a long music stand to hold the cards and students sat on the floor with their instruments.

Oddly enough, this was the toughest flexible seating option to find for my classroom.  I wanted something that an adult sized booty could sit on, but also had to be able to be wiped down or laundered with ease.  So many of the pillows I found would not be easy to clean and to get them large enough were too expensive.  Once again Five Below to the rescue!  These cushions are large and thick and only $5!  They are also covered in polyester which is easy to wipe down and dry quickly. 

Not every option for flexible seating needs to be actual seating.  I found that students really enjoy standing workstations and the more I researched flexible seating the more options I saw for creating them.  I have a rolling cart in my classroom that is perfect for a standing workstation.  I just wheel it to the area I want the station to be and put the supplies on it.  Easy!

So, I tried a few things that did not work well for me.  I may try them again some day, but right now they are back in storage.

1.  Yoga Mats - These adorable mats were comfy and inexpensive.  They were also much more than my students could handle.  They picked at them and left piles of little mat pieces every where.

2.  Lawn Chairs - I had several collapsible, camping chairs that I tried.  These are the kind made with a thick polyester material over a metal frame and can be stored in a bag with a shoulder strap.  The students liked these, but I didn't have a neat and tidy way to store them.  I also had a few students fall over in them.  I know.  I don't exactly know how that happened either but since I wasn't sure I liked them anyway, I took them home.

There are several seating options that are on my wish list.

1. Yoga Balls - My PE teacher has these and puts them in regular milk crates for Drums Alive.  So much fun!  I would love to have these in my classroom, but just don't have a place to store them.

2. Crate Seats - I think this may be a summer or weekend project.  I love the idea of creating a neat set of crate seats that can be used for seating and storage.  They stack easily so they should be easy to store.

3.  Wobble Chairs - I would love to have 4 or 5 of these for my classroom!  Right now it is really just their expense.  Each of these awesome seats can be $60-70.

4.  Bean Bags - I think these would be a great addition because they would be easy to clean and add a punch of color.  For me, figuring out a way to store them would prove problematic.

5.  Carpet Squares - I've used carpet squares before and really enjoyed them.  It might be possible to get these donated from a local carpet dealer.

I hope that you find these ideas helpful as you consider how to implement flexible seating in your classroom.  If you are already using flexible seating, I'd love to hear about the ideas that have worked in your classroom.

"You want me to teach music QUIETLY?" I said in disbelief.  "Is that even possible?"

One of my favorite quiet activities for teaching pitch is to use my bottle cap staff sheets.  I have them laminated and use them for a variety of lesson.  For this lesson I pass out the sheets and a hand full of bottle caps.  I will say a word that can be spelled on the staff and students "write" it by putting their bottle caps in order.  In the picture, we just spelled "cafe".

 There are many ways to work on rhythm quietly.  Consider using chopsticks instead of rhythm sticks to play on the back of chairs or even on the floor.  The sound is light and intriguing for even 6th graders.

Another great quiet drumming activity (I know...quiet drumming?) is to use drum sticks on  foam garden kneeling pads.  I found purple and blue ones at Dollar Tree and LOVE that kids can really beat on them, but they sound delightfully muted.  :-)

Rhythmic dictation is a pretty quiet activity too.  I use dry erase boards or lap packs (staff paper or blank paper stuffed into a page protector) and dry erase markers.  You might consider using craft sticks, rhythm cards, mini erasers (matching the syllables in the name of the eraser to the number of sounds in the rhythm) and more.  Clap or tap the rhythms on an instrument, students echo and then write it down.  It is a great assessment and requires great listening skills.

Instead of writing the rhythms down, you might consider having students listen to the rhythm that you play and then circling the correct notation from a few examples.  I have an entire set of "What Do You Hear" worksheets that ask students to do just that.  They vary in complexity so you can use the set with multiple grade levels.  Click HERE to learn more.

If you are able to show videos, I highly recommend the Composer Series of movies about the lives of famous composers.  (not an affiliate link)  You probably already have these in your classroom.  

In addition to showing composer videos, you might consider planning time for your students to just listen to, read about and color pictures of popular composers.  I've talked about this kind of thing in a previous blog post: Coloring Composers.  You can get the set that I use HERE.

I also LOVE Jena Hudson's composer flip books.  You can find them in her store, Sew Much Music on TpT, or follow this link to try the American Composers Set for free!  

Another quiet, creative activity is listening and responding.  Choose a piece of music that inspires a story or vivid mental images.  Have students listen the first time.  For wiggly classes you may want to have them lightly tap the beat or follow you as you tap the beat in various ways.  

Next, have students lie down (if possible), close their eyes and imagine what kind of story the composer wanted them to "see" in the music.

Pass out blank pieces of paper and have them illustrate what they have heard.  For K-2, I often use THIS set of writing prompts that already have a few words written and blank writing lines.

"Stars and Stripes Forever" by Sousa (Shh! You might want to turn this one down a little!)

"Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks" by Mussorgsky

"Funeral March of a Marionette" by Gounod

"Minute Waltz" by Chopin

"Hungarian Dance No. 5" by Brahms

If you are able to show videos, I highly recommend the Instrumental Classmates set of videos to introduce the instrument families.  I found my set on Amazon.  Quaver also has a great series of videos about instruments that your students will enjoy.  

If you are unable to show a video, your students might enjoy putting together a book of instruments.  Students can color the instruments, copy their name or add information about the instrument (with the add-on sheets included).  Click the picture above to get the full set of instrument families or click HERE to get the sampler for free.  Although this takes some time to make all of the copies you'll need, it is a great activity for a quiet day in music.

Another great quiet day activity is to read the book "The Remarkable Farkle McBride".  My 5th graders enjoy this story, so I can use this lesson with all of my classes.  At the end of the story, we will review instrument families and I'll pass out these simple coloring sheets.  While students are coloring we will listen to my classical music playlist for some quiet background music.

Quiet games are not usually favorites in my classroom, but over the years I've come up with a few that students will give a reluctant thumbs up.  They would much rather be drumming and dancing and singing, but quiet days don't always allow for that.

Telephone - This traditional game is played by having students sit in a circle and whispering a message to each other until it makes it all the way around the circle.  Hilarity ensues when the message at the end sounds nothing like the message that started.  The same idea can work with rhythms.  Have students tap a 4 beat measure on the back of the person next to them and then pass that around the group.  Students can usually master this in a couple of tries so then we make it a bit more difficult.  Instead of sending one rhythm around in one direction, start two rhythms.  One goes to the left and the other to the right and they all end up back at the same person.  Tricky!

I hope that you are never asked to teach music quietly, but if you are I hope that some of these ideas will prove helpful.  Like these ideas?  PIN THEM for later.