5th Grade Other (Music) Activities

Are you looking for something fun and different for your students? Maybe you need some extra activities for early finishers...well look no further!

Entertain your class while integrating music and language with Music Wordle! This resources includes 46 Music Wordles that you can assign to your students or play together as a class. You could even hold a competition to see who can solve each Worldle first! There is lots of flexibility on how you can use this resource. I created this in Google Sheets. Your Music Wordle Google Sheet will include links to each of the 46 Music Wordle Puzzles. I've included a solutions tab as well as a table that includes puzzle hints, if you choose to share with your students. Each hyperlink is set up for you to make a copy of the Music World Puzzle before you play.

Getting your students to improve on rhythm and melody can't be any easier with "Boom and Response"!

In this resource, there are 3 tracks totally 5 minutes that you can play for your students (and repeat if necessary). Each track is a specific amount of beats for the "Call" (4 beats, 6 beats, or 8 beats) with the same amount of empty beats that follow directly after -- and thats where you students submit their "Response"

You can utilize this in one of several ways:

1. Assign boomwhackers to your students and have them play the response (any mixture of rhythms and beats) back to you directly after they hear the call
2. Individually listen to each student as they compose their OWN response after they hear the call
3. Assign TWO boomwhackers per student and have them play a melodic response to the "Call" they heard
4. Separate kids into chordal groups for Boomwhackers (C Major, F Major, G Major, etc) and have each chord take turns during a response (C Major goes first... then F Major can go next, G Major next, and so forth)
5. Ask them to utilize dynamics (piano and forte, crescendo and diminuendo, throughout their response) on their Boomwhackers

Or any other crazy way you may think!

Have a great time with this!

Trying to wean the kids off of the letter names but want to do it easily? Start with a warmup! In "Super Simple Recorder Warmups", you'll receive 25 4-beat exercises designed to warmup your kids while working on quarter and half note patterns.

Use the background accompaniment tracks if you wish (ranging from 80bpm to 117bpm) and reinforce the notes of the staff and rhythms throughout before heading into your recorder activity!

Included in this version are the recorder notes, G, A, B, and C

Working on alternating hands and reading down true percussive stickings? Try on "Stick it to the Buckets" with 30 great exercises that will get your upper elementary and lower middle kids reading with ease!

All regular notation is to be played on the middle of the buckets (the head of the drum) and the X notation (with a down stem) are played as side clicks on the bucket (or on the rim, however you choose!)

In this resource, there are multiple levels of rhythms along with percussive background tracks to get your kids grooving (or you can select any song of your choice in common time!)

• Level 1: Quarters and Eighths in Four Beat Patterns
• Level 2: Adding in Quarter Rests in Four Beat Patterns
• Level 3: Adding in X Notation (side clicks) in Four Beat Patterns
• Level 4: Adding in X Notation Eighth Note Pairs in Four Beat Patterns
• Level 5: Eight Beat Patterns in Four Beat Patterns

A game that will keep your students entertained, engaged, and competitively charged with identifying chord quality, here's One "Minor" Imposter inspired by "Among Us"!

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IN ONE MINOR IMPOSTER, YOU WILL LISTEN TO 2, 3, 4 EVEN 5 CREWMATES PLAY MAJOR CHORDS ONE BY ONE. ONE OF THE MAJOR CHORDS IS ACTUALLY NOT THE MAJOR CHORD PERFORMED!

YOUR TASK IS TO DECIDE WHICH CREWMATE IS THE IMPOSTER BY SELECTING THE CREWMATE WHO PLAYED THE MINOR CHORD INSTEAD OF THE MAJOR CHORD

HERE WILL BE ONLY ONE CREWMATE WHO IS THE IMPOSTER

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In each example is a piano/guitar/harpsichord mix with different background percussion tempos to keep the kids engaged. Each crewmate, lined up on the powerpoint (1, 2, 3, etc) will be representative of the musical example played.

Included in this resource are

• Mp3 examples embedded in each question (15 questions)
• A printout where you can replicate and cut out cards (if you want the students to place on the floor or hold up to show which one was the imposter)
• 3 levels of rhythms with 3 crewmates (2 major crewmates, 1 minor imposter), 4 crewmates (3 major crewmates, 1 minor imposter), and 5 crewmates (4 major crewmates, 1 imposter)

Have a terrific time with this while your kids study chord quality!

The follow-up to "Rhythm Wind Up and PITCH!"
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This one will get the kids on their edge of their seats!

You will need 1 thing for this particular game:

• A sticky suction cup ball (or maybe a soft squishy ball)

The students will see a melody at the bottom of their screen and memorize the melodic direction or say it back in their head (just make sure the melodic is not sung out loud). They will then hear a musical example of an endless loop of melodic figures separated by 4 beats each in between rhythms. (Teacher will click the speaker icon to play)

Take a listen...

....

....

One of the melodic figures will be the melody that is on the screen. AS SOON AS THEY HEAR THAT MELODY, they throw their suction cup ball at the target. The first kid who gets it correct is the winner (and make sure you advance the slide to make the target turn green) :)

Obviously, we cannot play this as a class because of

1. The amount of suction cup balls tossed at the screen would be insane

2. Team A v Team B would be a bit more competitive and only two balls would be launched at once

If you don't have a whiteboard/projection screen, you can alternatively have the students raise their hand when they hear it and choose the kid who has their hand up the fastest.

Have a great time with this fast paced game!

Oh, the kids and this game. Well, might as well learn something? I cut out construction paper squares of the following colors: Purple, Blue, Yellow, Grey, Red, Orange, and Pink A FORTNITE character (or characters) are shown on the screen along with different rhythms in different colored boxes. Which colored box of rhythms goes with the character on the screen? Line up the syllables and find out! I mix it up by putting students into teams of 2 and letting them work through the activity or you can have them play individually by themselves. Or maybe even a race to the board to see which one is right (all you have to do is advance the slide and the answer will appear!) There are 9 different examples of rhythms. The kids will LOVE seeing Fortnite up in your room (and don't worry, this is ALL family friendly, no mentions of violence or weapons in here) :) HAVE FUN!

The ultimate Boys vs Girls competition! If you're working on notes of the treble clef staff, this is a fun way for kids to competitively spell them out. First, we made a boys side (on the left of the screen) and girls side on the (on the right). A word will appear and the students have 10 seconds to spell the word out (there is a timer attached to the powerpoint and it will count down as soon as the slide appears). This games works best on a whiteboard that has magnetic backing as I print out notes and have the kids race as fast as they can to put them on. After the kids lock in their answer, the next slide reveals the notes. For notes that have F's and E's, the answer key has both top line, top space notes -- those F's and E's both count! :) Some are easy (CAB, DAB, DAD), some get a little tricky (BECCA, CABBAGE, DECADE) and so on. Towards the end they repeat, and feel free to edit and make your own! Have fun with this and if you have any questions, let me know!

Based off the hit Windows 3.11 game we all knew and loved, Rhythm Sweeper is a progressive game where one slip can end you up on the dreaded mine! This will have your kids reading and mastering rhythms in NO TIME! Students will see a grid of 40 squares on the home page. Each square contains either a link to a rhythm.... or a mine :) I select one student at a time to pick a number. I'll then click on the number and it'll advance to the designated slide. If it's a rhythm, we add that rhythm to the Building Board on the home page. The teacher will click "Back to Game and Building Board" and put the rhythm they just received on the board. As for the rhythms they earned, you can cut out rhythms, write them in dry erase, or have a student keep tabs on the side. Students will now say, sing, or play the rhythm back. Then we repeat! See how it gets progressive? ;) ...until the mine! There are 5 mines in each game, and once the mine is hit, it's GAME OVER! At the end, you can tally up how many beats the class amassed (which is great if you can allow student to add it up as the game has half, quarter, and pairs of eighth notes). Compete against other classes, or themselves! There are 10 files in the pack and each one is completely different (all the rhythms are mixed up and of course, so are the mines) Have fun with this! I keep lively music in the background and have the kids on lummi sticks to play the rhythms back. Let me know if you have any questions by leaving a comment!

Based on the new movie, Wreck it Ralph, a new Disney/Pixar Movie coming out in November about a video game character, Wreck-it Ralph, who has been doing the same job for 30 years... Which is basically wrecking a building into pieces with his fists. Wreck-it Rhythm is a music game where you’re going to get to destroy a fictitious dilapidated 29th street beat building Ralph is fueled by Rhythm, and the class is the one to give it to him... Read a variety of rhythms on the screen below in a variety of different ways... Everyone will receive a pair of lummi sticks and when you see the rhythm, you will play that rhythm on the correct area (H, M, K) If the entire class plays the rhythm correctly, you will start destroying those bricks! (just advance the powerpoint) For quarter and eighths, have the students click together the rhythm sticks normally, but for wholes I have them hit it, swing it back, and swing it up (and count to 4 at the same time). For halves, I have them hit it normally but rebound from the sticks and say "SLO - MO" (half note duration). You can find neat ways for them to count these whole notes and half notes too! Gets the kids REALLY engaged! They try to get the highest score! Put some 8-bit music on with a MM = 120 or less Enjoy!

A brand new approach to the Recorder System! I use original and simple compositions for this one which I use this with my 3rd graders. We start off simple and get into more technical things along the way -- scaffolding made simple!. I find it's more beneficial than just teaching them 3 or 4 notes as I like to cultivate them a little more by discovering new notes, rhythms, and phrases. This includes 12 original songs for all of your students and have fingering charts and tips and hints included on every slide! After you download this Powerpoint, please email me at jasonlitt@gmail.com and I will send you mp3 accompaniment files for all of the pieces (so you don't have to play along on the piano, and you can concentrate on assessing) :)

The #1 selling "Identify Form in Pop Music!" has multiple follow versions! In addition to the Original Version, you can download Part TWO (2014), Part THREE (2015), Part FOUR (2017), Part FIVE (2018) Part SIX (2019) and Part SEVEN (2021) below:

Identify Form in Pop Music PART TWO

Identify Form in Pop Music PART THREE

Identify Form in Pop Music PART FOUR

Identify Form in Pop Music PART FIVE

Identify Form in Pop Music PART SIX

Identify Form in Pop Music PART SEVEN

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Kids love their pop music, right? Want to integrate it into your classroom? This is great lesson to do with 4th and 5th graders that lets them listen to their favorite pop music while learning about musical form!

The lesson begins with a video introduction to form and then talks about elements of pop music and how it ascribes to a specific form. We talk about the intro, verse, chorus, bridge, and outro in detail, and then go onto our activity.

I cut out cards -- 1 intro, 3 verses, 3 choruses, 1 bridge, and 1 outro (or you can do it with a whiteboard/marker, or even as a unison class response) and give them to each student, then have have the kids sit on the floor. I then play an mp3 of a song which has 10 second clips of each of the sections (there is about a 2 second gap in between each clip and all clips are safe for little ears -- no profanity!) and have the students identify them by spelling them out on the floor in front of them

A great compromise to having your kids listen to their music and still satisfy a 4th and 5th grade standard in identifying the structure of music!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at jasonlitt@gmail.com

Have fun, kids LOVE this!

This is a great resource to get your kids to work collaboratively as a team (or by themselves if you wish) to identify rhythms as they hear them!

In BlockChain Rhythm, students are given a set of 4 cubes with quarter notes, eighth note pairs, and quarter rests written on them (this is optional, but if you have these, it makes it a challenge for them if you have time to write them out!).

After hearing the rhythm example, they must "rubix cube style" arrange the rhythm that they heard in the right order that it is played. However, the first one to do it the fastest WINS!

Alternatively, you could play this by having the students write it down, have notation cards, or any other method you prescribe. Students can work together in teams of 1, 2, 4, or however may you wish.

To do it as a race: if you have a large and elongated classroom, try setting the blocks 10-15 feet away from the students. Students then have to run one by one and build each beat, go back and tag the next student, and build the second beat, and on and so forth until all four beats are completed.

There are 12 4-beat rhythm examples included in this. All you need to do is play the example and advance the powerpoint slide to show the correct answer!

Have a great time with this!

In "Zimbab all the Wae", introduce your kids to some great music from indigenous instruments from Africa! Using your classroom Djembe or Tubanos (along with tambourines), learn the music by rote by taking it one rehearsal section at a time (with rehearsal markings [A], [B], [C], and so forth). This is terrific practice with your older students who want to work on alternating hands and adding different timbres in with the tambourine

Included is the key for tubano and tambourine notation

At the end, wrap it up and put on a show! Want to layer it?

• Have shakers play 16th notes all the way throughout or in specific sections
• Have half the class play 1st and 3rd measures, the other half play 2nd and 4th measures
• Do it in a round! :)

Use this in class, a concert, a parent showcase, admin, faculty and staff, whatever you wish!

Have a terrific time with this one :)

Down, Set, HUT!

In Bar Line Blitz, student will see a meter with several beats of music – except the bar lines are missing to separate the measures from each other!

They will will see 2 or more line placeholders (small grey lines) in between notes. One of the placeholders is where the bar line should go… but which one is it?

Identify where the bar line should be placed and the correct area will illuminate
green if it is accurate!

Play team vs team, A vs B, or individually... and enhance it by playing some fun football music in the background (search NFL themes or college football fight songs on YouTube) ;)

There are 4 levels (4 quarters if you wish) of varying difficulties. The last quarter, they students will need to identify where it should be placed without any small grey lined hashmarks

Have a great time with this one!

Ready to talk about Forte and Piano in any of your grades? Drum it up, Dynamically II will get your kids reading dynamics like a pro!

First, we start off with an introduction to Forte and Piano with a clip from Music K8's animated series (included), and then get into the game:

Students are issued hand drums (or djembes, tubanos, orff instruments, rhythm sticks, whatever you wish!) and dynamics are shown on the screen. The teacher points to the dynamic (optional) as the kids play along on their instruments while the background music (included) helps them keep on beat! After the students master the dynamics, the teacher advances the slide and dynamic shifts get a little harder each time.

Have a ball with this and let me know if you have any questions!

Three tracks at various tempi are included (slow for the little kids, and medium and fast for the bigger kids)

Reviewing the families of instruments with your kids? In Instrument Pick-em, students will hear a musical example of a woodwind, brass, percussion, or string instrument. They will then see a multiple choice listing of an assortment of instruments. They will then have to decide which instrument on the screen best matches the example being played.

Great for class, boy vs girl, individually assigned, or even for Distance Learning!

Have a great time with this and let us know how it goes in the comments :)

A game that will keep your kids entertained, engaged, and competitively charged, here's SOLFEGE IMPOSTER inspired by "Among Us"**!

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_IN SOLFEGE IMPOSTER, YOU WILL SEE MULTIPLE CREWMATES ASSIGNED WITH DIFFERENT SOLFEGE HAND SIGNS.
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_YOUR TASK IS TO DECIDE WHICH CREWMATE IS THE IMPOSTER BY SELECTING THE CREWMATE WHO IS HOLDING UP THE WRONG HAND SIGN

THERE WILL BE ONLY ONE CREWMATE WHO IS THE IMPOSTER?

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Included in this resource are

• A printout where you can replicate and cut out cards (if you want the students to place on the floor or hold up to show which one was the imposter)
• Solfege Hand Signs
• 3 Levels of Solfege Identification (3 crewmates, 4 crewmates, multiple syllables)

Have a terrific time with this while your kids study and reinforce solfege!

Are you as hungry as I am? Let's eat! Identify rhythms in proper nouns with this fun activity. Students will see a food (or foods!) and their corresponding word (or words!) and given two plates on each slide. Have the students identify the syllables in the food and match it to either rhythm on plate number 1 or plate number 2. After kids lock in their answer, advance the slide and reveal the answer! Most are eighth and quarter note rhythms, but some have eighth note triplets and 4 sixteenths group in the examples You can also play it as an assessment and have kids work individual or in teams. There's a powerpoint and PDF included in this package and there are 13 sets of foods go through and can last up to 30-45 minutes depending on what pace you go in the activity. Have a great time and of course, BON APPETITE!

So you've taught your kids their three basic solfege syllables (Sol, La, and Mi) and looking for a way to identify the pitches in an interactive game... look no further!

In Solfege Drag 'n Drop, students are challenged to identify Sol, La, and Mi in a series of musical examples. A static example of quarter notes (in groups of 4, 5, or 6) are placed on the "Sol" line, and then the example is played. Students will have to take the pen from the IWB to drag the remaining notes to reflect what was heard in the musical example. It can be dragged above to the "La" line, remain on the "Sol" line, or dragged below to the "Mi" line. After locking in their answer, the teacher will advance to the next slide to reveal their answer.

Although designed for an IWB, students can play on personal dry erase boards, on staff paper, or however you wish. You can even split the class up boys vs girls, team 1 vs team 2, etc, and have a race to identify the correct answer first.

There are 15 examples in the powerpoint ranging from beginner (4 quarter notes) to advanced (6 quarter notes). All examples are MM=100 or below

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below! Happy Solfeging!