This post may contain affiliate links. You pay the same and I get a small commission. Yay! (Please see my/our full disclosure for further information.)
Last week, we talked all about the ins and outs of centers in the elementary music room (Check it out here!) This week, I am sharing some fun (and easy!) centers activities that are all Fall music center activities– because themes make everything better, right?
These are just a couple of ideas, definitely not an extensive list, so leave any suggestions in the comments!
Feed the Monster
First and foremost, Feed the Monster. This is a super fun fall centers activity for primary students (think K-2). Basically, you make a “monster”. Students take turns reading rhythm or melody cards, and if they get them right, they get to feed them to the monster.
I like to use the Monster rhythm or Monster solfege cards (in my TPT shop!) because it adds an extra layer of fun.
You can check out the whole blog post (or video, if that’s more your style!) of Feed the Monster here. PS– it includes a FREE DOWNLOAD!
Mini Erasers
Who doesn’t love mini erasers? That is the question.
Get some Fall mini erasers, and have students practice putting them the treble clef or making rhythms with them (one sound v. two). If you are going the rhythm route, you can get FREE beat charts in my free resource library!
Not a part of the free resource library? Sign up here! You get access to free resources– more coming out monthly– as well as exclusive emails where I send you ideas for teaching your elementary music class straight to your inbox!
Fall Compositions
Talk about easy! For this activity, all you need it cut outs of fall things– pumpkins, ghosts, pie, bats, etc. This could be pictures from the internet, Ellison Press cut outs, Cricut cut outs, foam, whatever. Have students arrange them to make compositions and play them on small percussion instruments (if they can be trusted!). You could also do this with partner dictation or pretty much anything.
If students are reading, you can write the notation on the manipulative, or have students figure it out themselves!
Matching Games
If you have seen my TPT shop or my Instagram, you know I am ALL about the matching games!
I have matching games for recorder, piano, treble clef, treble clef sharps and flats, bass clef, rhythm, solfege, instruments of the orchestra, and more. Yup. That’s a lot. And I have them all in pumpkins and in candy corn! (Does anyone else like candy corn? Because I do….)
You can purchase one or all of those out in my TPT shop!
Listen and Draw or Write
Another go-to station is to have students listen to a piece of music and either write or draw something to go along with it. This can work for any time of the year, and any concept. Students could figure out the form, write words to talk about the timbre, draw the instruments they hear, draw what picture comes to their brain when they hear it, etc. Whatever you are talking about that week, you can have them do it in stations.
My top picks for Fall music centers activities would be:
- In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg
- Autumn by Vivaldi
- Im Herbst by Robert Franz (I have a TPT product that goes with this one and has writing and drawing components!)
Candy Rhythms
Have students sort candy names into rhythms! You can print out picture of candy bars and have them sort the candies into buckets with the correct rhythm (so Hershey’s would be two quarter notes or two eighth notes depending on how you do it), or you could have them write the rhythm down.
In the Hall on Rhythm Instruments or Boomwhackers
We are actually doing both of these activities.
On Youtube, there are rhythm play along videos and boomwhacker play along videos for In the Hall of the Mountain King. You can have students watch the videos and play along on the board, on iPads if you have them, or you could screenshot the videos and print them out!
Watch the boomwhacker one here.
So there are seven different Fall music center activities! They are all pretty easy, although a few do require a little bit of work to set up.
What are your favorite fall music centers activities? Let us know in the comments!
Happy teaching!
