Shamrocks (Triple Rhythm Reading)

Post date: Mar 14, 2014 2:21:32 PM

Happy St. Patrick's Day weekend! These are the 3rd graders singing "Shamrocks" while moving to find a shamrock with a triple meter rhythm pattern written on it. We've spent the last few classes learning how to read triple meter rhythm patterns, which can be a little trickier than duple patterns for some students. My philosophy has always been "sound before sight", which means that students should be able to aurally understand and orally demonstrate elements of music before we look at any symbolic notation. Then, when we get to reading patterns, they are simply attaching what they already know to the symbols that they see. In this activity each shamrock has a different triple meter rhythm pattern written on it, so the students must be independent readers. It gets students to focus on their pattern while listening to other patterns around them, and gives me an opportunity to hear some students read their patterns by themselves.