Printed from the MusicK8.com Idea Bank

Rhythm Lesson For Squirmy Students

Submitted by Kristin Gladish, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Idea posted 2002-11-01

I am a first year teacher at an inner-city school who was struggling with rhythm teaching... until I tried this one day! It started when my kids all of a sudden started this clapping, stomping pattern. They were rebelling against me and would not stop, but I decided to take the opportunity to write the rhythm notation on the board. Then they were curious... I then showed them the rhythm of what they were stomping and clapping! Since then, we do this every day and it is requested if I forget! A quarter note is a stomp, a half note is a slide, and eighth notes are claps. We duck for whole notes and do this twist-like move for dotted quarter notes. THEY LOVE IT! So now they can move, make noise, and read the rhythm at the same time!