Autumn Leaves

The 2nd graders have just learned about tied notes. We are practicing composing rhythms with tied notes using some leaves I cut out and laminated. A piece of string was used to tie two notes together. This activity is preparing us for half note later on, so we were able to tie together quarter notes and quarter rests.

Autumn Leaves

This year I purchased the book "Kids Can Compose" by Nicole LeGrand. There are a ton of great projects in there for all grade levels. To celebrate the first week of fall, I did the Autumn Leaves lesson with my 1st and 2nd graders. At the first grade level, we composed using quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter rests. At the 2nd grade level, we used the same notes, but we have been talking about tied notes in preparation for learning half note next week. To practice our tied notes, I gave everyone 2 pieces of string that they could use to tie their leaves together. I partnered the kids up and they created rhythms for each other and clapped them. They loved trying to trick each other by creating extra-hard rhythms! Great way to challenge their thinking!

1st Grader clapping her partners rhythm pattern

 Tied rhythms