Rhythm vs. Beat
My first lesson with Mrs. Elliott's 4th graders was so much fun!
They started off in a circle chanting the words "whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot. We'll be together whenever the weather, whether we like it or not." Once they'd learned the words to the chant, I asked them to take a step with every syllable change. So it turned into "*whe- *ther *the *wea *ther *be *cold, *or *whe- *ther *the *wea- *ther *be *hot" ... etc. The students did this walking in a circle.
They started off in a circle chanting the words "whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot. We'll be together whenever the weather, whether we like it or not." Once they'd learned the words to the chant, I asked them to take a step with every syllable change. So it turned into "*whe- *ther *the *wea *ther *be *cold, *or *whe- *ther *the *wea- *ther *be *hot" ... etc. The students did this walking in a circle.
Next, I had them switch directions of the circle, but they started taking a step with every "beat" of the chant. "*Whether the *weather be *cold * or *whether the *weather be *hot *" etc. Once they had experienced both stepping to the syllables and stepping to the beat, I asked them to explain to me what the difference was in the two ways of walking.
After having them identify the "rhythm" vs. "beat" for themselves, we made a game of it! They started off walking clockwise to the rhythm, and every time I clapped my hands they had to switch directions and switch from rhythm to beat or vice-versa. The faster the changes came, the more difficult it was to keep up. They were champions!
After having them identify the "rhythm" vs. "beat" for themselves, we made a game of it! They started off walking clockwise to the rhythm, and every time I clapped my hands they had to switch directions and switch from rhythm to beat or vice-versa. The faster the changes came, the more difficult it was to keep up. They were champions!
The rest of the time together, I divided the room in half. Half the room was the "beat zone", and the other half was the "rhythm zone". I put on short clips of music from songs like "Let it Go" from Frozen, "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from Mulan, and "When Can I See You Again" from Wreck-It Ralph. The students danced to the music, but were required to dance to the beat when they were in the "beat zone" and the rhythm when they were in the "rhythm zone".
It was so fun watching them come up with moves they could incorporate into the zone they were in! They started coming up with moves that coincided with the song that was playing, like kung-fu fighting during "make a man out of you." It didn't take long for them to realize that dancing to the beat was much easier- and more fun- than dancing to the rhythm.
I loved working with these students! We had a blast, and I can't wait for the rest of my lessons with them!
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