4 New Activities
I’ve been a busy bee recently and wanted to share some new resources that are absolutely perfect for this meatier time of year: the time that follows the bustle of the winter holidays, but precedes the wind up to the insanity that the end-of-year, spring season brings.
Valentine’s Day Rhythms Level 2 (A Google Slides Matching Game)
Valentine’s Day is THIS WEEK! Just in time for the big day, this game is the perfect step up from Level 1, using slightly longer phrases and incorporating more rhythms. It’s no-prep and will have your students reading, matching, chanting, and playing rhythms (dotted half, half, eighth, quarter notes + quarter and half rests) while filling your classroom with warmth and kind sayings.
Personally, I find games on Valentine’s Day to be the way to go: the kids are usually a little over-excited and it allows you to lean into their enthusiasm, rather than trying to put a lid on it. This game will keep them learning and focused while still centering the holiday!
Okay, this one is just so stinking cute, I can’t stand it. BUT, it comes with a warning: You might have to have pizza for dinner!
My 2nd graders have been working on learning the note names in treble clef, so I made this activity as an additional centers rotation for them. Essentially, students match the toppings (letters A-G) to the notes on the staff written on each pizza. There are single notes and words spelled out. A great way to differentiate or level up!
I made this one because my students are obsessed with Quarter-Half-Eighth-Whole-Rest. These are both played the same way as Taco-Cat-Goat-Cheese-Pizza 🌮🐱🐐🧀🍕, but reinforce different elements of music theory. They already know how to play and it’s one of my most requested activities…of all time!
Last, but certainly not least, vocal pitch explorations are essential for healthy singing. Each slide features an iconic Toy Story character quote and inspires your young singers to make sliding sounds that explore the vocal muscles used to sing in their upper register. This resource is great for any grade level, but is something I plan to use with my youngest singers the most.
In my experience, using pitch exploration as a warm-up helps students develop familiarity with the feeling of transitioning between their registers, assists those that have a harder time finding their singing voice, strengthens their upper register, and improves their ability to match pitch consistently.
Have a great week and spread some love!
Joanna