![]() When I introduce my puppet characters, I give each of them their own voice and personality. So why not use puppets to teach these concepts? When I introduce voice choice lessons I use four different puppets. I know kids love puppets and will listen to them better than me. I find it’s helpful to teach TIMBRE at the beginning of the school year as it helps with classroom management and prepares students to learn more later about pitch and singing. ![]() You can read about steady beat lesson ideas here: Five Ways to Teach Steady BeatĪfter I introduce Steady Beat, I move quickly to TIMBRE and voice choice lessons. Some of the differentiation’s are Kindergarten and First Grade patting and Clapping to feel Strong and Weak Beats, and in upper grades making Popsicle stick 3 beat patterns in small groups and sharing with the class, or playing smartboard games to review rhythms. The students have had some fun “feeling” the beat with marching, patting, and connecting visual representations of the beat icons with body percussion activities. Right now I’m wrapping up Steady Beat in 4/4 and 3/4 Time Signatures. It doesn’t always work out perfectly, but usually I’ll have at least three of the grades working on the same concept. Each grade has their own “I CAN” statement that falls under the concept I am working on with each grade. Kindergarten will be introduced to the steady beat, whereas first grade will begin learning to differentiate between beat and rhythm. For example First quarter is about Beat and Rhythm skills. ![]() I try to keep the music concepts the same and differentiate by skills. I like to focus in on a specific set of music skills for each grade level over the period of a month. I’ve found great success with them in my classroom and continue to create new ways to use them all the time. Here’s some reasons why I use puppets in music class. They take students to an imaginary place where they can learn and grow safely. Puppets can share and do things that the teacher cannot do. They can share feelings of worry and fear, courage, kindness and bullying. Puppets can sing, talk, whisper, shout, dance, cry, laugh, talk like an animal or imaginary character. WHY I USE PUPPETS IN MUSIC CLASS #1 PUPPETS CAN SING-TALK-WHISPER-SHOUT And that’s why I use puppets in the music class. For me, puppets are an effective way to begin the process of learning and have fun at the same time. I’m ready to move on and get into the meat of preparing, presenting and helping students develop music skills. When I pull out a puppet, the puppet takes on a life of it’s own, talking and singing-even cracking jokes! The students love it! And, after finally making it through the first few weeks of procedures, hello songs, seat charts, names and games. Puppets are an especially effective tool to use with those students who might need help focusing. Why? I’ve found that children’s response grows exponentially when my puppets are teaching anything from music concepts to songs, and even for teaching the rules of the classroom. I love using puppets in music class. They make the perfect companion for a music lesson.
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