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.)
It’s almost time for standardized testing, which means we are entering into the season that music teachers hate the most: Quiet music lesson season. If you’re stuck and looking for easy and fun music lessons that are also quiet, then you’re in the right place.
By the end of this blog post, you’ll have 8 ideas of quiet elementary music lessons you can use with your classes this week.
Want some free music teacher resources? Join the FREE Resource Library! After joining, you’ll get access to a library with powerpoints, lyric sheets, quizzes, worksheets, and more! Plus, you’ll get elementary music lessons emailed straight to your inbox to keep the ideas flowing and make lesson planning EASY.
Love Somebody
Love Somebody is one of my favorite singing games for the older students. They love it– plus, it’s calm and easy to play in the classroom. Plus, it’s one of those games that keeps them entertained for a long time.
This isn’t the traditional game, but it’s how we play:
- One student goes to the front of the room and closes their eyes while we sing.
- Teacher gives a small object to someone in the room (mini erasers are great for this!)
- At the end of the song, everybody closes their eyes whether they have it or not.
- The student in the front gets three guesses to see if they can figure out who has it.
- If they guess correctly, they get to hand the object to a student. If not, the teacher does again.
- Whoever had it is the next person to guess.
You can learn more about how I teach and use this lesson in this blog post.
Also, I have a whole lesson pack that includes all of the visuals you’ll need to do this lessons. Get it here.
Bingo
Bingo is definitely underrated– it’s simple, it’s fun, and the kids love it. Plus, it’s a quiet music lesson.
I have a few sets from Cheryl Lavender on Amazon, but my favorites are the rhythm bingo and the instrument bingo.
Doggie Doggie
This is a quiet music lesson for the younger students (although I used it with K-6 at church and they love it too!).
Here’s how to play the game:
- The doggie is in the front of the room.
- Students sing the song.
- You pick one person to be the thief.
- They sing the last line solo.
- The doggie has to guess who the thief is by their voice.
It’s simple, but it’s fun. They can also use funny voices to make it harder.
Write the Room
Write the room is a fun way to turn any question and answer or rhythm writing activity into a fun, interactive scavenger hunt.
Here’s how it goes:
- Put the cards around the room with numbers on them.
- Students get recording sheets (and clipboards!).
- Students walk around the room answering the questions on the cards while matching the numbers on the cards to the numbers on the recording sheets.
You can make this yourself by printing out flashcards or questions and putting number on them, or you can purchase ready made ones in my TPT store here!
There are many different sets, but I’d suggest either the Spring or the Summer sets (depending on how ready you are for the summer!)
All versions come in rhythm and solfa, so no matter what you’re teaching, you’re covered.
Want more info? Click here to read or watch more.
Roll a Measure
Another rhythm or melody reading activity that is quiet (but fun!) is roll a measure.
Each rhythm is associated with a number 1-6. Students roll a die. Whichever number they land on is added to their paper (or whiteboard or whatever).
To make it more fun, make it a race! Students take turns rolling and must fill their measures WITHOUT going over. If they only have one more beat and they roll a half note, then they have to wait until the next round to try again.
You can grab Roll a Measure from my TPT shop here
And grab dice off of Amazon here.
Sailor, Sailor
Sailor, Sailor is a fun do re mi song that is perfect for quiet lessons.
Here’s how to do the singing game:
- One person is the sailor. They get 1-3 “jewels” in their hand (or in a cool treasure box like this one).
- The sailor walks around the room while you sing verse one.
- The sailor stops on verse 2 at the “farmer”
- The farmer guesses how many are in their hands
- If they get it right, you go to verse 3 and the farmer becomes the sailor.
- If they get it wrong, then you go to verse 4 and the sailor sails around the room again.
I like this one for second through fourth grade.
Listen and Draw
This one is simple: Play a song, have students draw what it makes them think of. Simple, quiet, and it gets them listening to songs that they may not have heard before.
Color by Note
The day I discovered color by note, my entire life changed.
That might be a bit dramatic, but I’m sticking with it.
….Especially when looking for quiet music lessons.
Color by note allows students to practice identifying or reading rhythms or melodies or notes… while coloring.
It’s fun.
It’s quiet.
It’s engaging.
And you can use it as an assessment.
Click here to shop color by note for rhythm or melody.
There’s a few things to get you started, s now it’s your turn– what’s your favorite of the quiet music lessons? Let me know by sending me a message @beccasmusicroom on Instagram!
I can’t wait to hear from you!
Happy teaching!
Becca
