I have just completed two weeks back in-person with my students and let me just say planning is a little more tricky these days! Lots of re-inventing the wheel and modifying! I wanted to share a few lesson ideas with you that have worked well with my 1st Graders!
Content
Rhythm vs. Beat
This is always a tricky one to grasp. I am not kidding you guys I started talking about this 6 weeks ago and I feel like FINALLY they are starting to get it!
Here is a video find that has been gold this week!
We are working on right now being able to say the steady beat poem and march in place at the same time.
Next, we will learn how to say the rhythm poem and clap it.
Games
I Climbed up the Apple Tree
After taping the steady beat and clapping the rhythm of this rhyme, we added the game.
Explain to the students that at the end of the poem you are going to tell them something, and it may be the truth or it may be a lie. They must decide which one it is.
I say things like…
- I have a cat.
- My favorite food is pizza.
- I play soccer.
I say my statement and then the students raise their hands to vote on if they think it is true or not.
Once they get the idea of how you have to make a statement, then I pick other students to give it a try.
SUPER SIMPLE but they love it!
Cinderella Dressed in Yella
Teach the students the cute poem, they get a kick out of the snake part!
Then tell the students that you are going to play how many doctors needed to help poor cinderella on your dum (or you could just clap it). Tell the students they must count in their head as to not spoil the secret because you are going to call on one of them to guess after. I usually play between 1-15 doctors. Then, once a student has guessed correctly they get to go next!
Depending on your situation you could use an instrument or just have students clap.
Movement
Stand Up, Sit Down Song
I got to give credit to David Row for this one! He shared it over on his instagram and I was hooked!
The song tells you exactly what to do and the students love it!
Body Percussion
Harry Potter
There are so many awesome body percussion videos out there on youtube! This Harry Potter one is at the perfect level for 1st graders. They are practcing quarter note and quarter rest without even knowing it and its a great slower tempo for reaction time!
Book
Drum Dream Girl
This book is a true story about Millo Castro Zaldarriag, who paved the way for women drummers in Cuba!
The words and illustrations of this book are beautiful! My students were mesmerized by it and couldn’t take their eyes off the pictures!
All of these were great hits with kids! I hope this post gave you some great ideas!
