Centers are finally here! We've learned how to operate each center and have officially started. I've added a few new ones this year, so there are more to rotate through. Each student will get to all the centers and I keep track on my spreadsheets. We might have to take a break when we start working on Christmas music but will pick up where we left off after the concert.
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| Hi-Ho Cherry-O spinning on music notes and rests. Take cherries off for the value of the notes they land on, add cherries back on for the value of rests. |
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| SFSKIDS.ORG is one of my favorite kid-friendly music sites. They get to explore the instruments of the orchestra. |
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| Heart Beat Center. This is one of my new ones. Our year-long focus is going to be on rhythms in every grade level. Students put 4 heartbeats on the floor and then choose from a variety of manipulatives and add one per heart. Then they have to write out the rhythm based on how many syllables each heart has on it. |
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| Good old Music Twister. |
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| Puppet Center. Students get print outs of songs they know since the beginning of the year and then have to sing them in the voice of that puppet. I've been collecting puppets and have a very interesting assortment from cheerleaders to alligators to squirrels. |
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| Boomwhacker Center. Music is color-coded to match the color of the Boomwhackers. Students play the order of the colors and have to guess what song they are playing. If they finish all 5 songs and get them correct they choose one song and see if they can figure out how to play the rest of the song. |
Could you please share with me how you facilitate centers in your music class. I usually have 4 or 5 different groups depending on how big the class is and they have a certain amount of time at each center. When the time is up they go another center as a group. It works but it needs improvement. I would love to know how you do yours.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your question.
ReplyDeleteThis is my 3rd year of doing centers. It seems like I get a little smarter with it each year. For 3rd-5th grade I ran 14 centers this year. It is a lot to keep track of, but it keeps the numbers lower per center. I simply run a spreadsheet out of students per class then number each center. I just keep shifting the numbers around until they've been to all 14.
My class periods are 30 minutes in length. I have them do 2 15-minute centers per class. It ends up being about 12 minutes by the time they get in the room, to their center, trading time and put away time. Some centers, 15 minutes is not long enough, other centers, they are waiting to trade. 15 minutes on GarageBand on the iPad isn't close to touching the surface, but they get a taste of it. On the coloring center for 12 minutes for 5th grade boys can create chaos, so I give them other details to color.
It can be a logistic nightmare, but I keep tweaking it every year I do it. This year my main goal for the entire school is focusing on rhythms, so each center has that in mind.
I hope this helps. Ask more questions if you need. I'd be happy to share with you my centers and how they're numbered if you need.