Submitted by Tina Morgan, Mississippi

Idea posted May 2, 2003

One of my grad class projects is to do a formative assessment, grade the papers, then divide the students into three groups according to how well they did, then have remediation/enrichment activities for them. Since I only see my students once a week, this is taking a few weeks - compounded by the usual assembly/standardized testing/spring holidays/etc. causing me to miss seeing some classes... (I should point out that my district does not require any type of formal assessment for special subjects.)

I decided to use 5th grade, giving them a rhythm quiz of 17 four-beat patterns consisting of quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter rests. Before doing this, we reviewed the patterns from flash cards and also "made" the patterns using popsicle sticks. After this came the quiz, where students had to write the pattern that I said and clapped.

Enrichment/remediation activities:
Group 1 (the group that missed 7 or more) - a Rainbow Rhythms worksheet.
Group 2 (missed 4-6 patterns) - rhythm PowerPoint presentation.
Group 3 (all correct or missed no more than 3) - enlarged copy of Laurie Zentz's percussion play-along to "Sugar Sugar." I figured that if they can play each pattern individually, the next step is to play them one after another. They were given rhythm sticks and told to learn to play the score.

More information on the other activities: Rainbow Rhythms worksheet - all patterns drawn on paper. I sat with them in a circle. Everyone has a crayon. Looking at each pattern, we'd say it, then trace it with the crayon. Pass the crayon to the person on your right and go to the next pattern. This seems really babyish for this age group, but I had lots of "a-ha" moments when the kids realized where they'd been confused in the beginning.

Now, about the PowerPoint - I am sooo proud of it. I kept thinking about WHAT I could do with three groups - I needed to not have to work so closely with two of them, and felt like the "middle" group just needed a bit more practice writing the patterns after hearing them, so here's what I did...

Using the sound recorder on my computer, I recorded myself saying and clapping each of the patterns. Then I created a PowerPoint presentation. Slide one reads: 1. Click on the speaker to hear a rhythm pattern. 2. Write the pattern. 3. Click on the drum to check your answer.

So on that slide, I inserted the sound file "beat beat beat beat," which creates the speaker icon. I then inserted a clip art picture of a drum. Clicking on the drum takes you to the next slide, where I inserted clip art music notes and made the pattern of four quarter notes. This slide reads "Click anywhere to go to the next slide."

The next slide has the same wording as the first, but with a different sound file pattern inserted - and of course, the next slide shows whatever pattern was heard.

This sounds so complicated, because I'm not explaining it very well, but it was fun to do, and the kids really like it. They're tickled to hear my voice coming from the computer.