Submitted by Pamela Rezach, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

Idea posted May 15, 2003

Here's a simple game that ended up being a WINNER with every one of my classes.

Place two sets of four marbles in rows on the floor. (I put each set on a piece of cloth so they wouldn't roll around.) Get two plastic Easter eggs and tape (or hot glue) one marble inside each of the eggs.

Divide the class into two teams. Each child gets to roll the Easter egg and try to hit his team's marbles. If he hits any of them, then I ring the bell, all the students stop, and I ask a question. His teammates can help him with the answer, but I only accept the answer that he decides upon. (5 points per answer.) Once he has answered the question, the teams begin rolling the eggs again. They continue taking turns rolling the eggs until they hear the bell - which means someone has hit the marbles.

The students loved this and it was so easy to do. Best of all, it was a great way to review basic fundamentals. I drew music pictures on the board, numbered them, and just kept asking the same questions over and over. Treble clef, bass clef, staff, whole note, quarter note, eighth notes, quarter rest, sharp, flat, sol-mi, sol-mi-la, do-re-mi, and mi-re-do notation patterns.