Today we’re talking all about how to teach rhythm!
…it’s not as difficult as it sounds.
Beat passing games:
This video is perfect to work on rhythm as syllables.
I like to use Engine Engine Number Nine to teach rhythm.
You can get the lesson pack here.
Here is a set of FREE rhythm cards that includes quarter notes, eighth notes, and some with quarter rests. Grab them free here.
Popsicle stick rhythms are the bomb. You can get them from Walmart or Amazon (click here for Amazon– affiliate link). You can read more about this lesson here.
You can do the other rhythms in any order you want, but here is my favorite order in which to teach them with the grades I prefer to teach them to:
- Quarter + barred eighth (1)
- Quarter rest (1)
- Half note/rest (2)
- Barred sixteenth notes (3)
- Dotted half note (3)
- Dotted quarter + single eighth (4)
- Whole note/rest (4)
- Triplet (5)
- Syncopa (eighth quarter eighth) (5)
These free Spanish fruit composition cards help older kids with composing or decoding rhythms. Grab them free here.
I use them with the song Al Citron, which is a really fun song to learn about dotted quarter notes. Click here to read the full lesson.
Here are a few more of my favorite rhythm lessons:
- Rhythm game for younger kids with freebie
- Ways to use flashcards
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom quarter and eighth notes lesson
- Half note lesson based on a book
- Asteroid! Rhythm game (with freebie)
See you tomorrow!
