Submitted by Tracy, Farmington, Missouri
Idea posted October 26, 2004
I start kindergarten rhythm reading with pictures. I have cards with pictures of a frog, shoe, bus, cupcake, pencil, etc., and I line them up in groups of four. We practice "reading" them for a few classes (just a minute or two of class time), and then we add the claps while we say them. Then we stop saying them and just clap their "sounds." (I use the word "syllable," but they don't always get that.) Then I replace the one syllable words with a "ta," and later replace the two syllable words with a "titi." Eventually we stop using the pictures altogether.
I did this last year and was amazed at how confident my kindergartners were with reading and writing (rhythmic dictation) their tas and titis. I had never tried it, so I guess they were just living up to my expectations. I saw more from them and they did more. (Weird how that works.) I added the quarter rest at the end of the year without any problems.