How would you know if the pupils can associate musical notes to a given song? There are many ways to do it but I found one amazing strategy and that is through using body movements.
You can simple assign an action to a particular note. You may use a very simple, repetitive song like We’re on the Upward Trail. You may get the copy of the piano sheet of the music from here but do not show the piano sheet beforehand. Introduce the actions first. This is what I gave to my pupils:
- Quarter note – walk
- Eighth note – jog
- Half note – slide
- Whole note – jump
I also instructed them that they can create their own hand movements.
After assigning the actions to the notes, they look at the piano music sheet and began to associate the action to the notes on the piano sheet. Give them time to practice.
After practicing, it was time for a performance task. This is the sample output of my pupils:
Happy teaching!
For more lesson ideas, click:
Lesson Idea in Teaching Tempo to Children
Following Directions Action Song
The Public School Teacher 