CENTERS in the MUSIC CLASSROOM

By Mrs. Ruden
This list is a compilation of my own ideas as well as other music professionals. Credit has been given when the source is known. The activities are organized by concept or skill practiced. An appropriate grade level may be recommended. Organization Ideas
Color coded popsicle sticks to show which center students should be in (could attach magnets to sticks to use on a magnetic white board) VIP Backstage Passes that are used to group students. Passes are color coded, and hang on lanyards. The lanyards can be kept for easy student access on 3M sticky removable hooks. Students take a Pass with their group color and wear it during class as they go to each center with their group. This way, the teacher can easily observe who is in each group and which centers a group goes to in the rotation.

Rhythm
Mallet Madness station (Mallet Madness created by Artie Almeida) Students can work on previously learned material or skill-building exercercises. Dice and Rhythm Sticks: The dice are blank and you put the rhythms on that you are working on. The kids get four dice, and a pair of rhythm sticks. They roll the dice and play the rhythm Plastic jellybeans, eggs, etc. and boomwackers in the sleeves (you can use mallet instruments as well-I use the boomwackers for less sound). While we are

studying rhythms we are also working on Mi Re Do patterns, so I put out three pitches and then in each plastic container there is a rhythm they can open the plastic look at the rhythm and create their own short piece Beach balls. Rhythms are written on the beach balls, they can work individually or in groups. Tracing Paper - Students trace a short simple song that we have worked on with the rhythms we have learned Songbooks Bookmark a few songs that use the rhythms students previously have learned and they can go through and read the rhythms using syllables. Fishing-I have taken index cards and cut them into 4 pieces, put rhythms on and attached a magnet (can get strips at Walmart or order from supply). Purchased cat tithers and took the end off and replaced with magnet. Kids "fish" for rhythm of rhyme or song that you have been working on. Food Rhythms Write rhythms on paper plates. Purchase plastic food from Walmart or check with early childhood and have kids figure out syllables of food and if they match the rhythms. Body Percussion Rhythms - I have cards with the rhythms that we have been working on and I have written different body percussion parts on some of them and have left some of them blank for the kids to create. Popsicle stick flash cards- I made flash card style cards with the words "titi titi ta ta" on one side and the notation on the other. I put about 15 different cards on a ring to keep them together. The students read the

words, make the pattern and turn the card over to self check.

Steady beat
Tennis balls with string attached (Kdg-2nd grade) Kids say the rhymes that we have been working on and kick the tennis ball to the beat. Could also use the large party balloons that you punch to make sound.

Symbols
Crayola Window crayons or markers (Kdg.-5 th grade) are needed for this center. Students can practice writing symbols like the treble clef, repeat sign, dynamics, using the crayons with a partner. One person tells the other what to draw from a flashcard. The other partner draws the symbol on the window. When finished, the card must match the drawing.

Computers-General
Posting a computer schedule with times for each student helps keep the "Is it my turn yet?" questions at bay
Agree on a signal that students can use if they need help while working on a task. My favorite is to place a brightly colored plastic cup next to each computer. When students need help, they place their cup on top of their computer as a signal for assistance. Once they've gotten help, the cup is placed beside their computer again.

Composers

So that you dont have to reinvent the wheel each year and so that students can use the computer center independently, write directions for computer activities on index cards or poster board and laminate them.

 Old Maid Composer card game (2nd-5th grade) from Layton Music Games. Students match the picture of the composer with the correct fact. The picture of the granny playing the guitar is the Old Maid. Students take turns offering their hand of cards to the person next to them. The loser is the person who is stuck with the Old Maid.

High and Low

Lomax the Hound games (Kdg.-1st grade) on the Promethean Board from www.pbskids.com

Pitch Notation
Freddie the Frog games (Kdg.-3rd grade) on the Promethean Board from www.freddiethefrog.com With my 2nd graders, we play a game where I show the flashcard to the class and I choose one person to come down, say the name of the note to me, then they must take the mallet and hit the correct note on the xylophone. Since most classroom xylophones are labeled with note names already it is fairly easy for them to identify the correct bar to strike. With 3rd grade and up, we use the piano. I first label the piano keys and then after they are used to it I remove the labels. They love it and ask me to play the game constantly!---Jana Prawl, Houston, TX Fly Swatter game (3rd-5th) from Susan Paradis. Students use fly swatters to be the first in their pair or small group to swat the correct note. Good game to use in upper grades after been through all the Freddie the Frog books as Kdg.-2nd graders. Modified DIY Candyland game (1st-5th grade) from Layton Music Games Staff Game: Throw a bean bag onto a floor staff. Each note name has point values. We play this as a class often. At stations the teams of 2 or 3 keep track of their point total, and the top scorers school-wide received a piece of candy.

Reading Melodies

S. copy familiar melodies onto staff paper to practice writing. A bulletin board with color coded songs previously learned posted for a group to decipher with Boomwhackers. This will also work on teamwork as it will take the whole group to play a song, especially in the upper grades. If you use a pocket chart, it will be very easy to hang and change songs - rather than having to tape or sticky-tack each part up. Students play a Mystery Song from notation on pitched percussion instruments (Orff works well) and have to figure out the song title.

Reading & Writing

Library- Students at the Reading Center can choose a book to read by themselves or with a partner. Celebrity Letter-Students can look up the mailing address of a favorite music celebrity on a teacherapproved site (or teacher can pre-survey students and generate list) and write a letter.

Composition
Orff composition station. Set up the instruments with the pitch set you are at with the group and allow them to compose on a xylophone or whatever you have. Give them staff paper to notate their composition, then have a composers' workshop where each group can perform their composition. Then later it can be transferred to Finale or Sibelius, compile the whole class' compositions, and "publish" their works.

Listening Skills
Sneaky Snake game (Kdg.-5th grade) Students sit in a circle around a chair. A blindfolded student seated in the chair in the middle, with a maraca under it. A student in the circle steals the maraca from under the chair and tries to make it back to his seat without the student in the middle guessing who stole it.

 Play Musical Math! You and your partner decide if you will add, subtract, divide or multiply. One person beats out two numbers on a rhythm instrument, the other person beats out the answer. For example, the first person will beat 2 times on a drum, pause and beat 2 more times. If you have decided to add, then the second person will respond by shaking the maracas 4 times.

Improvisation
World Drumming (2nd-5th grade) Small circle of chairs, with a drum on the floor in front of each chair. Students improvise together as a group-they decide if they want to exchange instruments or not. Very interesting things happen when given so much freedom!

Note Values
Musical Yahtzee (3rd-5th grade) from Layton Music Games. Need printable score cards and 5 homemade wooden dice with a different rhythm note value symbol on each side of the dice. Rhythm Fish matching card game(1st-3rd grade) from Susan Paradis. Can play like Memory or Go Fish. Hi Ho Cherry-O (1st-3rd grade) from Layton Music Games. Older students might think theyre too cool to play it. Twister (1st-5th grade) Teacher modifies the spinner so that each color is a different note value symbol. This game could also be modified to use other music notation symbols (treble and bass clef, repeat sign, dynamics).

Movement
Jump Rope Rhymes (Kdg.-5th grade) If we have worked on a jump rope rhyme, I will have jump ropes on the floor that they can jump back and forth over as they say the rhymes.

 Tempo Speedometer (Kdg.-2nd grade) from Layton Music Games. Student spins for a tempo, and has to move to show the tempo. Stretchy bands (Kdg.-3rd grade) This goes along with steady beat. You can make your own band, by sewing a long tube and running elastic through, or you can purchase one from a music store. Students can sit or stand in a circle, sway while holding the band, bounce the band in the lap, or on the floor, or floor to lap, to keep the beat. Beanbags (Kdg.-2nd grade) from Singing for Autism to help with body awareness. Each student gets a bean bag. Teacher does a lot of modeling during activity. Start with beanbag on your head, singing a song and keeping the beanbag there without touching it. After the resting tone, the beanbag drops to the floor. Repeat using other body parts. Older students can move around the room, trying not to drop the beanbag on their body while singing and walking. Creation Station - I will usually have a station where they take frogs (or whatever I have the note values on) and have them take X amount with a written sheet in available for them to create their own songs. They can manipulate the cards with rhythms and then notate on the paper.

SOURCES
Susan Paradis www.susanparadis.com Layton Music Games www.laytonmusic.wordpress.com Singing for Autism https://singingforautism.com

MENC General Music Forums www.menc.org Sharon Burch, author of Freddie the Frog www.freddieandfriendz.com Promethean Planet www.prometheanplanet.com Music Ed Resources Idea Library www.freshpond.net/uploads/users/5/User_5961/ MyFiles/index.html#MUSIC Managing Your Classroom Computer Center www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp? id=6752