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Making Music More Interactive

Happy Thursday!


Wow! I sure am tired today! I ended up taking a double class of first graders today since they were using the gym to get pictures taken. What a workout!

Today I am linking up with Erin from Lovin' Lit for Thursday Throwdown.


So here is my spin on making music more interactive.

1. Projectable beat charts:


Students get to take turn point to the bee beats on the board. You can get everyone involved by having the class pat their nose, shoulders, knees, ect. while a special helper taps the bees on the board. I love to use cute pointers for my kids. They are so excited to come up and point.

Students can also have a student copy so everyone can point:

2. Puppets - Puppets make everything more interactive! Students love to sing to the puppets and they really love when THEY get to be the puppets. I use puppets for vocal exploration, pitch matching, singing games and stories. 

This puppet can be purchased through Folkmanis. All of their puppets are top quality! Click on the bee to visit their website.

3. Foam manipulatives



Sometimes I like to mix it up with the technology and manipulatives that are a little more tactile. These are foam pieces shaped like crowns that I use for keeping the steady beat with the song "Queen Queen Caroline".  Students can tap the crowns using the queen's wand while the class chants. I found the foam piece at my local Dollar Tree - just add magnets!



When we are ready to being working on rhythm as "the way the words go" I replace the crowns with split crowns for two sounds on a beat. I used another color to really emphasize the difference and to help students recognize the form.

What do you do to make your classroom more interactive?






2 comments:

  1. I love how you cut the crowns in two for ti-ti! And how you have a different colour as well! I agree with mixing technology and manipulatives. Love it!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Steph! I'm hoping to get a lot more ideas for manipulatives this Monday with the linky party! Can't wait to see what everyone has up their sleeves!

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