Guaranteed to Fall In Love With These Music Centers!

Welcome Back Teachers,

When music centers began to be more popular, I wanted to give them a try in my music room. As I began to use music centers, I noticed that my students loved working in smaller groups and participating in a variety of musical games and activities. Needless to say, I am now hooked on using music centers because they brought excitement to my classroom and gave my class a fresh way to practice their music skills.

1st Graders Playing Music Games.

I noticed that my classes really loved two types of music activities. One of the activities was playing music smartboard games. My first graders are playing an instrument matching game. If you would like this game you can find it here.



 Practicing Note Writing in Music Centers.



My kindergarten through third graders really enjoy coloring. I use music coloring sheets for one of my centers since they love to color and I like to use them for individual assessment grades. If you would like this coloring worksheet, you can find it here.
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Want more fun activities and ideas for your class? Be sure to Sign-up by email on my side bar to claim a monthly freebie, teacher tips & tricks. I would love to hear what tricks you use or other thoughts you might have in the comments below. Enjoy!  sure to 

Sign-up by email on my side bar to claim a monthly freebie, teacher tips & tricks. I would love to hear thoughts you might have in the comments below.

Check out some of my favorite games and activities!

Contact me via email:  sherrystucki@aim.com

          

Seriously Fun Music Activity to Try Right Now

Hello Teachers,

 

Now that the weather is warming up, I like to take my class outside for music time. Try this seriously fun music activity that gets your students working on their music rhythms. This music activity is always a big hit with my students and it's one of their favorite rhythm composing lessons. Take students outside and let them select colored chalk to write 16th notes on the sidewalk.

Outside Learning

Have each child compose one measure of rhythms. They must use  16th notes in their Rhythm Composition and end with a quarter note. Have them write their name next to the music they composed.
Students are allowed to move around the playground and practice clapping each others Rhythm Compositions. The teacher can easily keep track of grades by using a  class list.  Have students make corrections if needed and document which students required extra help. Your class will love getting a music recess time without realizing they are really working on rhythm reading. Give it a try..........your class will think you are the best teacher ever! Leave a comment below to share what cool things you do at the end of the school year. Enjoy!
Want more fun activities and ideas for your class? Be sure to 

Sign-up by email on my side bar to claim a monthly freebie, teacher tips & tricks. I would love to hear what tricks you use or other thoughts you might have in the comments below. Enjoy!

  Check out some of my favorite games and activities!

You Can Contact me via email:  sherrystucki@aim.com

     

    

How to Create Smoother Transitions in Your Music Class

 Hello Teachers,

Smooth transitions can be tricky for many teachers, so I'm sharing some of the tricks that I've used to create smoother transitions with my music classes.

Establish Classroom Routines: I’ve noticed that students respond to consistent routines to help them move from one activity to another.  For example, you can establish a musical game time as soon as your class is done with their board work or singing time. Your class will look forward to game time as a reward for doing well during their singing time or board work.  If they don’t listen during board work they lose a game you have planned for them. They will quickly learn they need to get their work done before they are allowed to play the game. You just need to remind them that there is a game coming next and they will usually want to finish their music work in order to play the game. (k-6th grades)



Using Games For Transitions

Use Transition Songs: I have my class move to a circle or spread out around the room to play different music games. I will tell my class to sing a simple song that they all know while they are transitioning into their new places. Singing a song will help them stay focused on singing instead of talking to everyone around them as they move about the room to a new place. I change the transition song frequently so I can use the songs as board work for rhythm or note practice. (k-6th grades)



Using Drums For Transitions

 Use Instruments: I try to use Orff instruments or other percussion instruments for every class as a way to help students transition smoothly to the next activity. We use drums to work on our rhythms. Playing drums is one of their favorite things to do and most of the time they will do anything to get to play the drums.  So I use them as a reward for students that are working hard on their board work and songs. (k-6th)

Get a Line-Up Makeover: I always end my class with a circle game. My class will stay in the circle after the game is done. Then I have them sing a short song as they move around the circle. I pick one child, who leads the rest of the class in follow-the-leader-style to the door to form a straight line. I have the line leaders go to the front of the line. We had a fire drill and the other teachers couldn’t believe how fast I could get kindergarteners to line up and move out the door. This works like a charm. If you email me, I will send you the easy line-up song that I use with my K-2^nd graders.
You can contact me at sherrystucki@aim.com 
 

Want more fun activities and ideas for your class? Be sure to 
Sign-up by email on my side bar to claim a monthly freebie, teacher tips & tricks. I would love to hear what tricks you use or other thoughts you might have in the comments below. Enjoy!

Check out some of my favorite games and activities!

Contact me via email:  sherrystucki@aim.com

          

8 Exciting Scarf Ideas to Do With Your Music Class!

Welcome to Mrs. Stucki’s Music Room!

Children love scarf play and enjoy them using them in the music room.  Here are some exciting scarf ideas you can use with your music class.

1. Play classical music and call out different animal names. Let the class act out being a certain animal as they move to the music.  You can also use music from Carnival of the Animals for this activity.

2. Play High and Low games by having the class demonstrate high and low notes as they listen to the Chinese Dance, from the Nutcracker or any other classical music that has high and low notes.

3. Play the game Simon Says with scarfs as you sing different ways for the class to move their scarves. I use this game at the beginning of the year with kindergarten and first graders to help them learn how to follow directions.

4. You can play the song, Shake My Sillies Out from Share the Music using scarfs with the different movements throughout the song.

Fun Scarf Routine by 2nd Graders

5. You can also play folk music and teach a dance routine with scarfs.

6. Have the class play freeze dance to any music.

7. Practice Rhythms with 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th graders by calling out a rhythm like whole notes. The class demonstrates whole notes by letting their scarf float in the air for 4 beats before they touch the scarf again. They continue the whole note pattern until you call out another rhythm like half notes.

8. Use scarfs as props to Classical music. Have the class place a scarf in their back pocket.  They can pretend to have a horse tail and gallop like a horse to music like the William Tell Overture or The Wild Horseman. Have the class pretend to float like a butterfly as you play the music by Chopin.  Pretend the scarf is a cape and tell them to be a super hero as you play Prelude to Act 1, from Carmen (Theme 1). You can have the class pretend to fly like a bee as you play Flight of the Bumblebee.

Want more fun activities and ideas for your class? Be sure to 

Sign-up by email on my side bar to claim a monthly freebie, teacher tips & tricks. I would love to hear what tricks you use or other thoughts you might have in the comments below. Enjoy!

Check out some of my favorite games and activities!
Contact me via email:  sherrystucki@aim.com