Freebie! Rhythm Cards: One Beat at a Time

Hello!

This has been a very challenging weekend for me and other teachers in my district as we experience decisions made by newly appointed members of our school board. I won't get political here. What I can do every day is work hard to teach children in my school the value, power and language of music.
Like the song says, "I've got rhythm, I've music, I've got my man, who could ask for anything more?" (Well, I could. But never mind. Just throw in a cup of strong coffee and I'll be good to go...)

So, rhythm. Let's make sure we've got that! 

One of my first "a-ha!" moments that came when I started my Kodály training was the importance of teaching the difference and the relationship between beat and rhythm. (Yes, that was something that was never stressed in my music education!) 
In my classroom when each new specific rhythm is taught I show heartbeats along with the rhythm so students can visualize how many sounds in a rhythm and where it falls on the beat. Often I show the rhythm right on top of the heartbeat.

In older grades, I transition to showing the rhythms underneath the beats.

Years ago I made student packs of rhythms on large foam hearts (and large "beat dots")

I use these with 1st graders as soon as we have a firm grasp of quarter notes and paired eighth notes. (On every heart or dot I drew a ta on one side and ti ti on the other.)
We use these for decoding song and chant rhythms, rhythmic dictation, and composing.

Inspired by all the great heart clip art that Teachers Pay Teachers members have been offering, I recently created rhythm cards showing one beat at a time. (Or two. The half note and eighth-quarter-eighth cards are 2 beats and twice as big as the one beat rhythms.)
The hearts are colorful and glittery, courtesy of Glitter Meets Glue Designs. (Some things  bring out the girly girl in me; I can't help being a sucker for glitter!)
Each rhythm comes with and without note heads. Click on the picture below to download these rhythm cards.

                   

So, please, take my heart(s)! If you do download, I'd love your feedback. (I still consider myself a newbie in regards to making things for Teachers Pay Teachers and it's helpful to know what other music teachers find useful.)

Also, check out the Kodály Corner blog. I recently contributed my first post about opening songs. 

Have a great week and a sweet Valentine's Day!

Winter Rhythms- Half Note Practice

Hello!

Well, It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here! I have been enjoying the week off with my family, I hope you have had a great Thanksgiving holiday.

I have been teaching for many years and it's amazing to see what we can do with technology these days. Honestly, the first school I taught at had just a couple of computers in the library for student use, I would handwrite my lesson plans in a spiral notebook, (color coded by grade-level,) and I created rhythm, melody, and lyric reading pages on butcher paper. Now I have SMARTBoard files, PowerPoints, Sibelius notated songs, and iMovies I can use with my students. We've come a long way, baby!

I recently created a PDF slideshow for my second graders to practice reading half note rhythms. At my school, most students celebrate Christmas but some don't. I wanted to use some of the great winter clip art I've found to create a rhythm reading activity that is winter themed and not Christmas centric. I also like that I'll be able to continue to use it in the winter months following Christmas!

I have a small Teachers Pay Teachers store and my Rhythm Reading Half Note Winter Theme is featured there. (This is when I usually apologize/explain my small inventory of products on TpT, but I'm going to skip that today...) 

What I really like about these slides is that each half note rhythm is shown as 2 tied tas (quarter notes) and as a a half note. My 2nd graders are not at the present stage yet (where we show the rhythm and call it a half note,) so for now, they'll read the red slides, saying "long" for each 2 tied tas group.

They will read and vocalize this rhythm: "long ti ti ta"

Later, they will read the blue slides and vocalize this rhythm: "too ti ti ta" (I know other teachers use "taaaah" for half note which makes a lot of sense if you've prepped students with 2 tied tas. I have found great success in using "too". After presenting the half note, students can identify it as a different rhythm when you give it a unique name. Bonus: "Kids, how many beats is too worth?" "TWO!"

After I made the slides, I couldn't resist making it into a memory matching game. 

(I love memory matching games! They are great for centers.)

Students can match the 2 tied tas rhythms to the half note rhythms. 

("2 tied tas" is tedious to say. Say it 3 times in a row quickly right now, I dare ya. Maybe I should turn it into a choral warm-up. Hmmmm.)

That's my latest. Oh, and I am joining in the big TpT Cyper sale happening this coming Monday and Tuesday! (12/2/13 and 12/3/13) 

Everything in my TpT store will be discounted 10%!

Have a relaxing weekend!