Chomp! Shark-Themed Music Lesson Plan (Time Signature) - MakingMusicFun.net

Big Idea

Watch out for the sharks! This free, no-prep music lesson plan transforms rhythm and time signature review into frantic, chomping fun with a printable board game your students will beg to play again.

Grade Level: 2-4
Activity: Board Game & Rhythm Review
Skill: Time Signatures (2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8)

Students will demonstrate an understanding of time signatures and rhythmic symbols by playing a game.

This lesson is designed to fulfill the 2014 National Standard for Music:
Identify and describe ways in which contexts and performance mediums inform student interpretations of musical works. (Responding - MU:Re7.2)

Chomp! Music Theory Board Game (Premium)
One Die per Game Board
One Pencil per Student Group

Music Lesson Plan

Step 1
Tell students, "Today we're going to play a game in teams, but first we need to review a few things about rhythm and time signatures."

Step 2
Ask students, "Who knows what a time signature is?" Explain that it tells us how many beats are in each measure and what kind of note gets the beat. You'll find it right at the start of the music.

Step 3
Ask students, "Which number tells you how many beats are in a measure?" Follow with, "If the time signature is 4/4, how many beats are in this measure? What about 3/4 or 6/8?"

Step 4
Explain the bottom number. Tell students that the most common time signatures have four as the bottom number. That means the quarter note gets the beat. In 6/8, the eight means the eighth note gets the beat.

Step 5
Show the game cards. Explain that some cards ask about time signatures, while others ask about rhythmic values. They'll need both to know how many notes a measure needs.

Step 6
Review note values on the whiteboard. Ask, "How many beats does a quarter note get?" Repeat this for whole notes, dotted half notes, and eighth notes.

Step 7
Draw a few incomplete measures on the board. Ask volunteers to complete the measure based on the time signature. Start with a 4/4 example to show them how it's done. Next, try 2/4, 3/4, and 6/8.

Step 8
"Let's play the game!" Ask students to get in groups of four. Give them to the count of 10 to find their team and a place to sit.

Step 9
Hand out the game boards and pieces, and explain the rules. Students play in teams of two, helping their partner answer questions correctly as they move through the board.

Step 10
Circulate to help students understand the rules and check their answers.

Step 11
Stop the game five minutes before class ends. If a group hasn't finished, the team closest to the finish line is the winner.

Step 12
Collect the materials. While you clean up, do a quick review of the four time signatures used in the game: 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, and 6/8.

Variation

To make the game faster or simpler for younger students, limit the deck to only a few specific cards. This will give them the best chance to master a few things during the class period.