Rhythm Ball Roll

I like to do a fun activity to first introduce the rhythm of a song before having them dive in and try to play the song. Too often, students just focus on the "playing the right keys" and forget about playing the correct rhythm. For "Katie Scores" (Lesson Book p. 27) try this:

• FORTE (loud) VERSION: 2 people sit facing each other with their feet touching and legs spread out to form "the soccer field. "While listening to "Katie Scores"say "Tap, Tap, Tap, Roll------" and tap a small soft ball 3 times and then roll it to your partner. Repeat until the end of the song.
• piano (soft) version: Instead of tapping the ball with your whole hand, tap with the finger numbers in the song (2,2,2, together------). "Kick"the ball to your partner using fingers 2 and 3 together.

For more practice try repeating this activity with Kangaroo Show p. 26, and the beginning of Wendy the Whale p. 30 & Magic Tree House p.32.

Then follow the directions on each page for playing on the black keys on the piano.