2nd+Grade+General+Music+Lesson+-+Half+Rest

This lesson was a follow up lesson for the half rest. In the previous lesson, we spent time learning the rhythmic chant “Jelly in a Bowl” as well as an ostinato to accompany the chant. The half rest was also introduced in the previous lesson by associating it with two quarter note rests which the students had already learned about. The way the students had been taught to show a quarter rest is by turning their hands over (palms up) during the rest, so for the half rest, they did this twice to show the two beats. In thinking about this particular way of showing the half rest, I realized that the students could show the half rest a number of different ways as long as the move was two beats long and didn’t make any sound. To introduce them to this idea, I thought it was important that I showed them a number of different ways to show the half rest before having the students come up with moves. This gave the students an idea of what I was looking for and it gave me a chance to explain how each move was “two beats long and didn’t make any sound.” I found that the students really enjoyed coming up with ways to show the half rest and was amazed at how creative some of the moves were. I also found that this activity was a great way to reinforce the idea that the half rest is two beats long and that no sound is made when performing the half rest. When I had each student say and clap a four beat rhythm containing a half rest at the end of the class, each student was able to say and show the rhythm with ease.

I thought the rap activity was a great way to assess whether individual students were grasping the idea that the half rest was two beats long and that no sound is made when performing the half rest. I also felt that the students enjoyed having their name said in the rap. This activity seemed to work best when we were able to move from student to student with minimal talking. That is why I came up with a rhythmic chant to quickly say as we moved from one student to the next. This seemed to keep the students engaged.

This lesson was taught within the context of a 30 minute music class. A daily routine of dancing to music, vocal warm-ups, and keeping the beat to various pop songs took up about the first 5 to 10 minutes of the class in which this lesson was taught. So the lesson shown below was about a 20 minute lesson.


 * ** Teacher Name: ** || Mr. Huntley || ** Date: ** || 1/28/2013 ||


 * ** Subject/Grade: ** || 2nd Grade General Music ||


 * ** Concepts/Skills/Values: ** || Half Rest/Read and perform ||


 * National Standards (check all that apply): **
 * **x** || ** 1. Sing ** ||  || ** 2. Play ** ||   || ** 3. Improvise ** ||   || ** 4. Compose/Arr. ** || **x** || ** 5. Read/Notate ** ||
 * || ** 6. Listen ** ||  || ** 7. Evaluate ** ||   || ** 8. Related Arts ** ||   || ** 9. History/Culture ** || **x** || ** 10. Movement ** ||
 * || ** 6. Listen ** ||  || ** 7. Evaluate ** ||   || ** 8. Related Arts ** ||   || ** 9. History/Culture ** || **x** || ** 10. Movement ** ||


 * ** Behavioral **
 * Learning **
 * Objectives: ** || -Provided with a chance to review the half rest and opportunities to practice showing it multiple ways, students will pick movements to show the half rest that are two beats long and don’t make any sound ||

-"Jelly in a Bowl" from "Game Plan: Grade 2" ||
 * ** Materials: ** || -White board with “Yum, Yum” ostinato

-Students will say and show “Jelly in a Bowl” twice without the assistance of the teacher -Actions: Clap for eighth notes and show the half note on the arm -Students will say and clap ostinato on the white board four times -Ostinato: A half rest followed by two quarter notes -**Feedback:** Good, you remembered to rest for two beats when you saw the half rest -Students will say and show ostinato four more times substituting “yum, yum” for “ta, ta” and rubbing stomach for clapping -Demonstrate ostinato for them -**Feedback:** Good, everyone is still resting for two beats when they see the half rest -Students will say and show the ostinato a number of times showing the half rest the way the teacher shows it -Moves for the half rest: push forward twice with arms; push up twice with arms; kick legs twice; nod head twice; etc.  -**Feedback:** Notice that every move we just did for the half rest was two beats long and didn’t make any sound -Students will raise their hands and share different moves to show the half rest that are two beats long, don’t make any sound -After student shares a different move to show the half rest, have the rest of the class try the suggested move w/ ostinato -Students will say and show ostinato while teacher says “Jelly in a Bowl”
 * ** Sequence of **
 * Activities and Assessment: ** || -Students will review the rhythmic chant “Jelly in a Bowl” with teacher’s assistance

-Half the students will say the ostinato showing the half rest any way they want to while the other half says “Jelly in a Bowl” twice -Students will switch parts -**Feedback:** Pretty much every move I saw for the half rest was two beats long, didn’t make any sound -Students will learn rap -“His name is John, he likes half rests. He even likes to show the half rest like this.” -Students will say rap, substituting in new name, from the class, for John -Students will say ostinato four times, showing the half rest the way the chosen student wants to show it -**Feedback:** This time, let’s say __ name in the rap and right after we finish the rap, he/she is going to show us one way to show the half rest and the rest of us will come in with the “yum, yum” part showing the half rest his/her way -Rhythmic chant to say in between students: **Let’s say the rap with his/her name: 1, 2, ready, go.** -Keep repeating this process with different student each time
 * Assessment **

-Each student will say and clap a four beat rhythm with a half rest in it in order to leave class ||
 * Closer/Assessment **

-Be short and concise with feedback and explanations -Less is more ||
 * ** Teacher **
 * Effectiveness **
 * Reminders: ** || -Wait until it is completely quite before moving on

EDIT: I think this is a GREAT lesson! I absolutely love "Jelly in the Bowl". It's so fun to teach! You're lesson is laid out really nicely with clear times to give instructions, give feedback, and assess understanding. I like that you incorporated students improvising their own actions to show a half rest. Even though it might not seem like a lot of improvising is going on, I definitely think you could check that off on the National Standards. It's good that you are demonstrating a lot before they actually try the concept on their own. I would be careful to not demonstrate too much, otherwise kids will just copy what you do. This is probably a good amount for this lesson, but in later lessons they might not need as much guidance. Incorporating rapping into the lesson is such a good idea! It really helps them with word rhythms and makes them realize that all music, even music they listen to on the radio, is made up of things they're learning in music class. I really like the closing activity/hidden assessment. It's fun making kids do stuff as they leave because they don't realize that they're being assessed. They just think they're having fun! Overall, really great lesson. The only thing I would say is to make sure there's a lot variety in the lesson to hold their attention. I don't know how long your music classes are, but just be aware of how long the students are sitting, standing, moving, singing, concentrating, etc. Kids get bored easily, so adding variety will help keep them focused!

Elizabeth Fritton