Today on Pinterest, I ran across this board game for practicing sixteenth notes. She explains clearly how she plays the game with the whole class. I love this! I'm thinking this would be a good review for fourth grade at the beginning of the year, then I can make a smaller version of the game for center games later on. Thanks Beth!
Beth's Music Notes: Sixteenth Note Game
Showing posts with label games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label games. Show all posts
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
FREE online music activites!
This week at our district music meeting, we shared ideas for using technology in the music classroom. It was so much fun! I love finding new ways to present materials to my students, and they get excited about technology. I am blessed to have a projector, document camera, and ActivSlate in my room, and I try to use them whenever I can. I would LOVE to have an interactive white board. I'm even thinking about applying for a grant to get one. That's new territory for me, so we'll see....
With those resources in mind, here are some of my current favorite websites to use in my class:
The Blob Chorus - awesome ear training practice. Each blob sings a pitch, then King Blob sings. You click on the blob that sang the same note as King Blob. If you're wrong, the blob you chose explodes! You can choose from 3 to 8 pitches in the set, so the challenge increases with your skills. My kids LOVE this game!
The Music Interactive - these games are designed for interactive white boards, but you can use them with a mouse, too. You have to download the games to your computer to play. There are many free downloads to choose from. My faves are Rhythm Blocks, Staff Wars, Speed Note, Rhythm Adding and Rhythm Dictation.
I use these games with the whole class, using the projector. There are lots of ways for the students to participate:
1. Show of hands: everyone holds up fingers to show their answer choice; majority chooses answer. Works well with Blob Chorus.
2. Give students answer cards to hold up. Could be laminated/dry erase writing, numbered, or color coded.
3. Divide the class into teams and let them take turns answering. Award points for correct answers.
4. In speed based games, teams could have an individual answer until they miss one, then the next team member steps in or play goes to the other team. (Staff Wars)
This is a great way to inject some new energy into your class this time of year. I hope you have fun with these ideas! And when you're just playing around, check out Quaver's Marvelous World of Music. I haven't figured out how to make this work for a group setting yet, but it is on my list of links for kids to try!
With those resources in mind, here are some of my current favorite websites to use in my class:
The Music Interactive - these games are designed for interactive white boards, but you can use them with a mouse, too. You have to download the games to your computer to play. There are many free downloads to choose from. My faves are Rhythm Blocks, Staff Wars, Speed Note, Rhythm Adding and Rhythm Dictation.
I use these games with the whole class, using the projector. There are lots of ways for the students to participate:
1. Show of hands: everyone holds up fingers to show their answer choice; majority chooses answer. Works well with Blob Chorus.
2. Give students answer cards to hold up. Could be laminated/dry erase writing, numbered, or color coded.
3. Divide the class into teams and let them take turns answering. Award points for correct answers.
4. In speed based games, teams could have an individual answer until they miss one, then the next team member steps in or play goes to the other team. (Staff Wars)
This is a great way to inject some new energy into your class this time of year. I hope you have fun with these ideas! And when you're just playing around, check out Quaver's Marvelous World of Music. I haven't figured out how to make this work for a group setting yet, but it is on my list of links for kids to try!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Let's Talk...SUB PLANS
I know, school hasn't even started yet, so why am I talking about sub plans?? Hey, you never know who's gonna end up sick the first day of school...and yes, it's happened to me before! SO, here we go...
Sometimes it's just easier to go to school than write out sub plans, right? That is especially hard in the music room. First, it's hard to find a sub who will take a music job sometimes--they think if they are not musicians, they can't do it, or they are not comfortable singing, etc. When you do find a sub, you never know what their musical skills will be. After many years of teaching, I came up with a Sub Notebook that actually works great for me.
First, there are the usual schedules, who to ask for help, copy codes, etc. Then comes the special section. I have a master list called an "Emergency Sub Plan". For this page, I list games/activities that each grade level already knows how to play. They are favorites that the kids ask for again and again, so positive participation is almost a guarantee! I try to update the list at least once every six weeks, to keep current faves on the lists.
The next section contains detailed instructions for each game and activity. I use a lot of the same favorites every year, so once I write out the directions once, it is done forever! The songs/games are filed in alphabetical order for easy reference. It's like an encyclopedia of music favorites, all there for the sub to find and read before class starts.
Sometimes it's just easier to go to school than write out sub plans, right? That is especially hard in the music room. First, it's hard to find a sub who will take a music job sometimes--they think if they are not musicians, they can't do it, or they are not comfortable singing, etc. When you do find a sub, you never know what their musical skills will be. After many years of teaching, I came up with a Sub Notebook that actually works great for me.
First, there are the usual schedules, who to ask for help, copy codes, etc. Then comes the special section. I have a master list called an "Emergency Sub Plan". For this page, I list games/activities that each grade level already knows how to play. They are favorites that the kids ask for again and again, so positive participation is almost a guarantee! I try to update the list at least once every six weeks, to keep current faves on the lists.
The next section contains detailed instructions for each game and activity. I use a lot of the same favorites every year, so once I write out the directions once, it is done forever! The songs/games are filed in alphabetical order for easy reference. It's like an encyclopedia of music favorites, all there for the sub to find and read before class starts.
I have gotten lots of positive feedback from subs about this plan. It works great for me, and if I'm too sick to think about a sub plan, it's all good! I hope this helps you prepare for those unexpected absences during the year, too. If you would like a copy of my template, check out my TpT store.
What's your favorite sub plan?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)