Blog Posts

Assessment Ideas

Denise Gagne

Assessment - Rhythm

In Musicplay K-6, many assessment ideas are included. In this newsletter, I’ll highlight some easy ideas for assessment of rhythm reading and writing. Students in elementary school are most often able to read language and literature at a greater difficulty level than they can write. The same is true of rhythm. In assessing students ability to read and write rhythms, include assesment of both the ability to read, and the ability to write or notate a rhythm that they have heard.

Read the rhythm - Pairs of Flashcards

“Rhythm Flashcards” published by Themes & Variations provides 100 different flashcards starting with simple ta, ti-ti rhythms. For this activity, use only those rhythms that your students have spent many weeks reading in flashcards and in songs that they sing. Put magnets on the back of your flashcards and hang them on a magnetic board, or place pairs of flashcards in a pocket chart. Have 6-8 different pairs of flashcards. The first student reads the first pair and you assess, the second student reads, and so on. After the last pair of flashcards has been read, have the next student start at the top of the list and use all the pairs again. If you do not have flashcards, write eight different two-measure rhythm patterns on the board.

Rubric:

Advanced: maintains steady beat while confidently and accurately saying the rhythm names
Proficient: rhythm names are correctly named, but not always performed perfectly with a steady beat
Developing: rhythm names are correctly named, but are only occasionally performed perfectly with a steady beat
Not Yet: rhythm names are not named correctly or performed with a steady beat

Which rhythm did I play?

If you have “Rhythm Flashcards” published by Themes & Variations , choose 6-8 pairs of rhythms to assess. These should be rhythms that your students have worked on for a month or more. Put magnets on the back of your flashcards and hang them on a magnetic board, or place pairs of flashcards in a pocket chart. If you do not have flashcards, write eight different twomeasure rhythm patterns on the board. The teacher asks the children to write the rhythm that she claps. Tell the children, “Pair #1: Which rhythm did I clap?” Be sure to clap the rhythm accurately and with a steady beat. Keep track of which rhythm you did clap, so you can mark the assignments.

Rubric: No rubric is required for this activity. Students will receive a mark based on how many questions you give them. You don’t need to do many questions to get an accurate assessment of how well your students are reading. 5-8 rhythms should be sufficient.

Games to Prepare for Rhythm Dictation:

Allegro vs Vivace
This game is preparation for rhythm dictation. Choose 8-10 flashcards with rhythms that your students have been working on. Divide your class into two groups. Call one group the Allegros, and the other group the Vivaces. Show one flashcard (4 beats) to the Allegros and have them clap the rhythm.

Either conduct them, or count 1-2 ready go so that they begin together. If the Allegros clap the card accurately they get a point. The Vivaces have to “say” the rhythm that their opponents clapped. If they “say” it correctly, they get a point. The team with the most points wins the game. It is really preferable if you can engineer a tie before the class goes out for recess.

Hula Hoop Game
For this game you’ll need 12 hula hoops. Divide your class into 3 teams with 8 students on each team. For each team, set out 4 hula hoops that will be their 4 “beats”. Clap a rhythm. Each team has to create the rhythm that was clapped in the hula hoops.

Notation Games
Relay race to the board Divide your class into four teams. Line them up as far away from whiteboard or blackboard as you can. Clap a rhythm. The first child in each team races to the board and writes the rhythm. The first child to correctly write the rhythm wins a point. Award points for ties. The team with the most points at the end of class wins.

The Gossip Game
Tap the shoulders Divide your class into 4-6 teams. Have the teams sit on the floor in a line, facing the whiteboard. Choose a rhythm that you will tap on the shoulders of the last child in the line. That child passes the rhythm to the next child in the line by tapping her shoulders. The rhythm is passed to the front of the line. The first person in the line writes the rhythm on the board. The team that correctly writes the rhythm wins the game.

Rhythm Dictation
Write the rhythm that you hear - Rhythm Dictation can be started as early as Kindergarten by using manipulatives instead of pecils and paper. You can make up ziplock bags with coffee stir sticks or craft sticks, and have the students create ta and ti-ti patterns uing sticks. Later in first grade and from second grade on, students can write rhythm dictations using pencil and paper. If you give the students the ziplock bag or the pencil/paper as they enter the music classroom, it will save the time it would take to hand these out to all your students. Base the dictation on rhythms or short song fragments that are familiar to your students. Some examples from Musicplay to use would include:

Musicplay1:
Choo choo train, choo-choo train titi ta titi ta
Lucy Locket lost her pocket titi tiiti titi titi
Bye low baby oh ta ta titi ta
Hey Betty Martin ta titi ta ta

Musicplay 2:
Engine engine number nine titi titi titi ta
Bluebells cockle shells ta ta titi ta
Old Mother Witch ta titi ta rest
Bell horses, bell horses ta titi ta titi

Musicplay 3:
Pass one window Tideo titi titi titi ta
Jingle at the window tideo tikatika titi titi ta
No robbers out today ta titi titi ta
Chicken on a fencepost can’t dance
Josie tikatika titi titi titi

Musicplay 4:
Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques, titi titi titi titi
Sonnez les matines Sonnez les matines tikatika titi tikatika titi
My paddles keen and bright ti ta ti titi ta
Dip dip and swing ti ta ti ta rest

Musicplay 5:
Pass the stick around the room titi titi titi ta L’il
Liza Jane ti ta ti too-oo
Funga alafia ashay ashay ti ta ti ta ta | ti ta ti too-oo
Haida haida hai-didi dai-da titi titi ti-tika titi

More Assessment Ideas will follow in the next newsletter!

Start a discussion about assessment in the Musicplay teachers group on Facebook - 750 members!