This week we are wrapping up our unit on reading rhythms. As an assessment we are composing three full measures of music using half-notes, quarter-notes, and eighth-notes. I borrowed some fraction manipulatives from our math interventionist for us to use as visual aids to help us with our compositions. I don't have enough manipulatives for everyone to have their own, so I placed the students into groups of three to share manipulatives. I instructed the students to make a complete row out of the fraction tiles and then convert the tiles into notes to copy down on their papers.
Originally I was using sixteenth-notes as well but the students were composing rhythms that were too difficult for them to perform so I decided to simplify the options. I also made a few manipulatives out of construction paper that only had notes on them, so that some of my slower learners wouldn't have to convert fractions into note values. I have one set of circular fraction manipulatives that doesn't have the fractions or the note values written on it, so I reserve this set for my advanced groups.
At the end of the class I am selecting a few students to perform their compositions for the class. After we finish our unit on reading pitches which we will be starting next week, they student will be putting pitches to their rhythmic compositions. I am selecting a few of the best compositions to be performed at our winter program.
We have really been enjoying this activity in our class this week. If you decide to try this in your own music class, let me know how it goes!
Chelsea Farr
