space.template.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.