approach

In my back to back third grade classes this morning I had an epiphany. It came from the students movement in the second class and I was so very pleased. The students were doing experimental movement to Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King”. In the process, one student was clearly shuffling to the exact rhythm (bom bom, bom bom, bombombom, bombombom, bombombom….yes, highly effective rhythmic language) while most others were matching the steady beat (bom…bom…bom…) This led to a wonderful teachable moment of beat vs. rhythm. The children took turns being the beat or the rhythm. This allowed for independent practice and individualized help for kids who still struggle with the concept.

This will allow us to beautifully move from the steady bordun for section A to the tremolo in section B when we add OI next week!

Thanks to Grade 3B, I now have a new lesson for October!