Submitted by Karen Stafford
Idea posted February 10, 2005
"Creative Blasts" - I select an oldies song and have the kids listen carefully to all the layers. Using instruments from the room, they then have to figure out what sounds from the song can be imitated and play along.
We also have a lot of fun doing "Road Trip Rap," an idea I got from my daughter and her friend on the way home from the mall. They started chanting different objects they saw on the drive home while inserting really cute inflections. I took that idea and had my fifth and sixth graders brainstorm different things seen on a road trip. (I emphasized the use of synonyms for such words as "big" and "pretty.") We came up with eight ideas, so the class was divided into eight small groups. Each group worked on cool inflections, incorporating onomatopoeia, sound effects, and the like. Then the groups would chant their phrase, with each group layering over the previous one (starting with one and ending with eight). It was terrific! Have your kids notate the rhythms of their road trip objects to expand on this idea.