Home Based Learning
How to continue your child's music education during this time away from school.
All of these activities are accessible at varying levels for students from Primary to Grade Six. Take a look through and choose a different one each week.
Every week, new activities will be posted. Scroll down to the bottom to check out the newest activity suggestions.
Play Along: Turn on some of yours and your families' favorite tunes. Grab some spoons and become the drummer for the music. Try to keep a steady beat. Listen to the rhythms and try to make up your own instrumental part for the song out of your created instrument. How many things around the house can you find to turn into a musical instrument? What kinds of sound(s) does it make?
Flat Beethoven: You may have heard of The Adventures of Flat Stanley before. Well, have you ever met Flat Beethoven? Cut out Flat Beethoven along the dotted lines and start taking pictures of him in a new environment. Email your photos to Mrs. Hart (kelly.hart@hrce.ca) and please share any anecdotes or stories about Flat Beethoven’s adventures!
https://d15gc4eof6ew0j.cloudfront.net/pdf/FlatBeethoven.pdf
Instrument invention: Have students invent a new instrument. They could draw a picture of it and describe how it is played, how it’s constructed, and what it sounds like, or they could make one out of recycled materials.
Hand-washing dance choreography: Have students choreograph a short dance routine incorporating the different ways we’re recommended to wash our hands (scrubbing nails, between fingers, etc). Check out the link out below for inspiration.
Interviews: Have students interview family members about their musical backgrounds and interests. What is their favorite song right now and why? What instruments do they play? What does music mean to them? Who are their favorite artists? Students can record the responses they get and also answer the questions themselves.
Listening log: Have students write down music that they hear each day. Depending on the age, they can also record information about the songs, like the title/artist, genre, mood, tempo, instrumentation, etc., or they could draw a picture in response to the music.
Singing log: Have students write down songs that they sing each day. They can sing along with a recording, sing by themselves, or sing with their family.
Soundtrack of my life: Have students create an imaginary album that shows who they are. They can make a list of song titles, and for each song describe the music—this could be done either by asking students to come up with their own imaginary songs or by having students find existing songs that would describe aspects of their personality/life. Students could also design an album cover to go with it, write liner notes, etc.
Instrumental / choral practice: Of course, if students have sheet music for songs, instrumental books, ukulele music, etc., then they can practice their music!
Music Sites & Games: There are all kinds of online learning music sites available with learning games.
Create your own composition with the SFS Kids composerizer
http://www.sfskids.org/classic/templates/home.asp?pageid=1
Pick a new instrument to learn about from the New York Philharmonic Kidzone Instrument Storage Room
Incredibox is a music app that lets you create your own music with the help of a merry crew of beatboxers. Choose your musical style among 7 impressive atmospheres and start to lay down, record and share your mix
Go on a listening adventure with Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra from Carnegie Hall
https://listeningadventures.carnegiehall.org/
Chrome Music Lab has a wide variety of experiments covering composing, rhythm, sound waves and more!
https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Experiments
Musicplay is a wonderful Canadian music resource for students and teachers. During this time, the team at Musicplay has made their online resources free for students and teachers. On the website, students will be able to discover all kinds of songs, activities and games. Students should login with the following information:
Username: snow
Password 2020
This Username and Password are valid for all students until August 1st, 2020. Students should not sign up for their own Musicplay Online accounts. If they sign up for their own free account, they will lose access to their account after 30 days.
Earth Day is coming up on April 22nd.
Earth Day celebrations started 50 years ago in 1970!
Here are some links, by grade level, to songs that are perfect to celebrate Earth Day.
GRADES PRIMARY, ONE AND TWO
Listen to the two songs below. Try to sing along with the chorus once you hear it a few times.
We’ve Got The Whole World In Our Hands
https://musicplayonline.com/?s=earthday10&meter_stat=
Let’s Save Water
https://musicplayonline.com/?s=earthday9&meter_stat=
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
Here are a few different ways to move to the music:
Beat/Rhythm - Pat the beat on your knees. March around the house or the yard to the speed of the beat.
High/Low - When the music sounds high, stretch up high while you walk on your tiptoes. When the music sounds low, crouch down low to the ground as you move.
Loud/Soft - When the music gets louder, march with heavy, loud feet. When the music gets quieter, creep very quietly like a mouse
MUSIC GAMES
Here are some fun music games that will help you remember the difference between the beat and the rhythm, high sounds and low sounds and loud sounds and quiet sounds.
GRADES THREE AND FOUR
Listen to the two songs below. Try to sing along once you hear it a few times.
Recycle
https://musicplayonline.com/?s=earthday5&meter_stat=
Walk, Run, Ride A Bike
https://musicplayonline.com/?s=earthday6&meter_stat=
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
Create an accompanying rhythm on a musical or created instrument that sounds like it matches with the song. Use any combination of Ta, Titi, TikaTika and Rests. Play your new rhythm pattern along with the song of your choice.
MUSIC GAMES
Here are some fun music games that will help you remember the different rhythms. Try the Rhythm Race game!
GRADES FIVE AND SIX
Listen to the two songs below. Try to sing along once you hear it a few times.
One Planet
https://musicplayonline.com/?s=earthdayfix&meter_stat=
Show You Care
https://musicplayonline.com/?s=earthday7&meter_stat=
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
Read the following Plastic improvisation activity. Fill in the “I could…” sentences with what you can do to help recycle and end pollution. Figure out the rhythms that match with your new lyrics.
Grades Primary to 2
Simple Songs Memory Card Game
Instructions: Print and cut out the Simple Songs Memory Game. There will be 36 cards. If you have the ability to print on heavier paper, it will make it a little easier. If not, regular paper works perfectly fine as well. Shuffle the 36 cards and lay them face down in 4 rows of 9 cards each. Playing with a partner, turn over 2 cards. If they are a match, identify and sing the song that the picture shows on the card. Keep the correctly matched cards separate. Continue the game until all cards have been correctly matched, identified and sung.
Grades Three & Four
SOUND WAVES
Want to know how sound works? Check out these activities to find out!
Find a ruler. Place it on the edge of a table with about half of it hanging off the end. Place your palm over the half of the ruler on the table to hold it in place. Now pull down on the end that’s off the table, let go, and listen to it vibrate. What happens? Make it shorter and longer. What happens now?
Let’s take it outside! Sound waves can bounce, it’s true! Can you make a sound wave bounce off a brick wall like a basketball? Walk around outside and find a large wall and stand away from it. Now yell a short word or sound. Can you hear it bounce off? What is that called?
TUNED WATER GLASSES
Materials Required:
8 glasses or jars, all the same or close to the same size Water Measuring Spoons/Cups Food Coloring (optional)
Arrange the water glasses in a line and fill them up with varying amounts of water. Start with 1/8 cup (2 Tablespoons) of water in the first one, then fill each succeeding glass so that it has 1/8 cup (2 Tablespoons) of water more than the previous glass in line. If you have food coloring, add a drop to each glass to turn them different colors. Tap each glass with a spoon and enjoy the sounds they make! Experiment by changing the amount of water in each glass and hearing how the sounds change.
Glass One: ⅛ cup = 2 Tablespoons
Glass Two: ¼ cup
Glass Three: ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons
Glass Four: ½ cup
Glass Five: ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons
Glass Six: ¾ cup
Glass Seven: ¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons
Glass Eight: 1 cup
Grades Five & Six
Tuned Water Glasses
Materials Required:
7 glasses or jars, all the same or close to the same size Water Tape Measuring Spoons/Cups Food Coloring (optional)
Arrange the water glasses in a line and fill them up with varying amounts of water, filling each glass with a little more water than the one before. Listen to the pitch. Experiment with how much water you need in each glass to match the 7 pitches of the music alphabet. The links below will help you tune the glass to each note.
C https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPIpu2ovVUs
D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYg0pp3Tw0c
E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dIRvL2xgmU
F https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN_eL1ab5bM
G https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojVDHGw_ol0
A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX3lemg1aWA
B https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmbEBSWSSbI
Once you have matched a glass with a note, label the glass with the matching note. If you have food coloring, add a drop to each glass to turn them different colors. Tap each glass with a spoon and enjoy the sounds they make! When all 7 of your glasses have been tuned to the 7 notes (C D E F G A B), line them up and try to play these songs. Listen to each song to identify the melody
Song #1
C C G G A A G
F F E E D D C
G G F F E E D
G G F F E E D
C C G G A A G
F F E E D D C
Song #2
C C C D E E E D C D E C
E E F G G F E F G E
C C D E E D C D E C G G
C C C D E E E D C D E C
Song #3
E D C D E E E
D D D E G G
E D C D E E E
E D D E D C
Music Notation Game
Staff Relay
Here’s a fun game to practice your note reading skills. Ask a sibling or a parent to play against you.
Tape out a 5 line musical staff on the floor somewhere in your house with lots of open space. *** Ask permission of your family before you put tape on the floor***
On small paper plates write a letter name of a note – A B C D E F G. Each person is given a pile of notes. Teams race to place their notes on the correct line or space of the floor staff. The first person who finishes with ALL their notes correctly placed wins!
Grades Primary - 2
Are you ready to hunt for musical sounds? There are lots of musical sounds around the house! Explore and find the musical sounds in and around your house. What did you hear? Can you complete a whole row or even the entire page?
Grades 3 & 4
Bim Bum Body Percussion Challenge
It’s time to practice your coordination skills! Here is a fun nonsense song. It’s an easy song to sing but a tricky one to master.
Here are the lyrics:
Bim bum bim bum, biddy biddy bum, biddy bum, biddy biddy bum, bim bum
Bim bum bim bum, biddy biddy bum, biddy bum, biddy biddy bum, bim bum
Bim bum, biddy biddy bum, biddy bum, biddy biddy bum, bim bum
Bim bum, biddy biddy bum, biddy bum, biddy biddy bum, bim bum
Step 1
Using the first video link below, learn the song without the actions until you feel comfortable with the pattern of the lyrics
Step 2
Once you have the pattern of the lyrics, s---l---o---w---l---y try to start adding the body percussion. Start adding one element at a time. Sing it through again adding a hand clap every time you sing “BIM”
Step 3
Keep the hand clap on “BIM” and now add in snapping your fingers every time you sing the word “BUM”
Step 4
Keep the hand clap on “BIM” and the finger snaps every time you sing the word “BUM” . Now add in a pat on your legs when you sing the word “BIDDY”.
Step 5
Now you should have body percussion throughout the song. As you get more comfortable with it, s---l---o---w---l---y start speeding up the tempo
Step 6
After you have sung the song a few times and practiced with the 1st video, challenge yourself to keep up with the 2nd video. Have fun!
Grades 5 & 6
Create Your Own Music Board Game
Are you getting tired of playing the same card games and board games at home? I know we could certainly use some new games at my house! Use your imagination and come up with a new music board game. You could use a large treble clef, bass clef, rhythm or any other musical instrument or symbol, divided up into sections, as your game board.
Step 1
Decide what kind of game you want to create
Is it a race to the end game? Is it a trivia game? Are there different tasks players need to complete along the way?
Step 2
Decide how the players are going to progress through the game
Will there be dice? What will be on the dice...dots, numbers, rhythms?
Step 3
Decide on the recommended age range of the players
The age level of the players who you are creating your game for will have an impact on the game and the rules. If you’re designing the game for children, it’s better to keep the game easy to understand and simple. If you're designing the game for older kids or adults, you could create something more competitive and complex.
Step 4
Decide how many players can play at once
Can it be played with only 2 players? Will it be fun with 2 or would more be better? Take into account the number of game pieces, the size of your planned game board and how long the game will take with more players
Step 5
Decide how players will win
RACE GAMES have players hurry to the end of the board. In these games, the first player to reach the final square wins.
POINTS BASED GAMES require players to accumulate awards as they go such as points or special cards. At the end of the game, the player with the most awards wins.
CARDS BASED GAMES rely on cards to move the gameplay along. Players could possibly either a) earn or trade cards to strengthen their hand OR b) be the first to get rid of all their cards to accomplish the game’s goals.
Step 6
Write out the basic game rules and decide what your game is going to be called
The rules (and even the name) will likely change as you continue to develop your game, but a basic set of rules will allow you to begin testing out the game to see what you like and what you may want to change. When writing your rules, keep the following in mind:
WHO GOES FIRST? Many games choose the first player by having players roll dice or draw cards from a deck. The highest or lowest card or roll goes first
PLAYER TURNS What do players do during their turn? Roll the dice? Pull a card from a deck? Discard into a pile?
PLAYER INTERACTION How will one player’s turn affect another’s? For example, what happens if two players land on the same square?
SPECIAL EVENTS Are there certain cards or roll of the dice that result in a specific action? For example, if someone rolls doubles, what happens? If someone pulls a specific card from the deck, what does that mean?
Step 7
Sketch out a rough idea of your board design
This will give you an idea of how large or small your final board will need to be. Decide on the path, does it follow along in rows or does it twist and turn? Are there places to jump to a new place on the board or places where a player may have to go back a number of places? Are there certain squares where the player has to complete a certain task?
Step 8
Assemble your game pieces
Create any game pieces, cards or dice players will need to be able to play your game
Step 9
Test out the game by yourself
Before trying the game out with others or in a group, try playing a few rounds of the game by yourself, being both players in the game. Keep track of what works and what you may want to change. Make any necessary changes to the rules if you found something that you didn’t like about the game.
Step 10
Create your final game board
Add color and illustration to your game board to make it fun and exciting to play. Teach your new game to your family and friends and HAVE FUN!
HOW TO PLAY SEVENS
Sevens is a fun game to practice keeping a steady beat. There are 4 parts and each part you play two times in a row.
Part One: Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap
Part Two: Tap Clap Tap Clap Tap Clap Tap
Part Three: Tap Clap Snap Tap Clap Snap Tap
Part Four: Tap Cross Tap Clap Snap Clap Tap
Practice playing each part using body percussion slowly until you can do all 4 parts in a row.
Once you can play all 4 parts in a row, try speeding up the beat a little bit at a time. How fast can you keep the beat without making mistakes?
WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE PLAY ALONG
You will need:
A playback device with speakers
A pair of rhythm sticks, spoons, twigs...anything you can tap together!
I would recommend slowing the playback speed to .75 until you are confident in moving to all the different sections
WELLERMAN SEA SHANTY RHYTHMS
You will need:
A playback device with speakers
A pair of rhythm sticks, spoons, twigs...anything you can tap together!
Once you're confident with the Ta and TiTi rhythms, try turning some of the TiTi's into TikaTika's!
SPRING HAS SPRUNG PLAY ALONG
You will need:
A playback device with speakers
A pair of rhythm sticks, spoons, twigs...anything you can tap together!
I would recommend slowing the playback speed to .75 until you are confident in moving to all the different sections
Follow the patterns of the flowers to play Ta and TiTi rhythms along with the music. Once you start to become confident, try speeding up the tempo bit by bit.
MEXICAN HAT DANCE PLAY ALONG
You will need:
A playback device with speakers
A plastic, paper or metal cup on a hard surface
I would recommend slowing the playback speed to .75 until you are confident in moving to all the different sections
UNDER THE SEA BODY PERCUSSION
Practice each section on its own then have fun putting them all together in this pattern!
A B A B C D DANCE BREAK! B D
CAN'T STOP THE FEELING BUCKET DRUMMING
You will need:
A playback device with speakers
A bucket or empty garbage can or upside down plastic bowl or cardboard box...anything you can use as a drum
A pair of rhythm sticks, spoons, twigs...anything you can tap together!
I would recommend slowing the playback speed to .90 until you are confident in moving to all the different sections
CAN CAN BODY PERCUSSION
You will need:
A playback device with speakers
I would recommend slowing the playback speed to .90 until you are confident in moving to all the different sections
HIGH HOPES BUCKET DRUMMING
You will need:
A playback device with speakers
A bucket or empty garbage can or upside down plastic bowl or cardboard box...anything you can use as a drum
A pair of rhythm sticks, spoons, twigs...anything you can tap together!
I would recommend slowing the playback speed to .90 until you are confident in moving to all the different sections
GHOSTBUSTERS BUCKET DRUMMING
You will need:
A playback device with speakers
A bucket or empty garbage can or upside down plastic bowl or cardboard box...anything you can use as a drum
A pair of rhythm sticks, spoons, twigs...anything you can tap together!
I would recommend slowing the playback speed to .90 until you are confident in moving to all the different sections
