1. Draw a large clock face on the board
using short lines for the minutes and a longer line for the hours.
{show no numbers} Ask the students,
"What does
this look like to you?" Keep
asking and wait for the right answer!
"What does
a clock measure?" {wait,
Time}
"How does the
clock measure time?" {wait,
Seconds, Minutes, Hours}
"How does it
group these?" {wait,
Ones, Fives}
2. Draw a time-line using short lines
for four (4) counts and a longer line for every fifth count, for
a total of 60 counts. It should look like number one (1) above
but laid out straight, or a clock face made straight.
"What does
this look like?" {wait, "a
clock on it's side," or something close. You may need
to write the numbers of the hours above the longer lines as a hint.} Explain
that,
"This is what
it looks like when we measure time in music."
"We measure
music in all numbers of groups."
"This example
would be grouped in four with the long lines showing us how the
time is being grouped." Show the number of smaller lines = 4.
"We call each
of these smaller lines beats." While drawing an 'X' under each small line, encourage
the student's to say the word 'beat' with each 'X.'
"Let's count
these beats."
3. With the class counting along, put
the number of each beat under each short line. When passing
the fifth long line say "bar." At the end draw another
bar and say,
"Raise you're
hand if you know what that might mean." {STOP.}
"What do the
two bars mean?" {Stop}
Draw a stop sign.
4. Erase the numbers and do it again
with the students counting along.
5. Get a yardstick, and while showing the yardstick ask,
"What is the
barline doing?" {may
need to hold up yardstick, Measuring}
"So, the barline
is..." {show the yardstick,
measuring}
"What is the
barline measuring?" {point
to beats, beats}.
"In this example
how are the beats being measured?" {fours}
"In music we
can measure beats in any number. The most common groups are
in 2 {show example with short
and long lines}, or 3 {show example}, or
4 like we did first." {point
to first example}
"At the beginning
of every song there are two numbers, one on top, and, one on the
bottom." {draw a number
4 sitting on top of an 'X'}
"This top number
tells us how the barlines are measuring the beats."
6. Using the examples on the board,
"What would
the top number be in this example?" "This one"" "This
one?"
"We also have
a name for the space between each barline. What did we say
the barlines are doing?" {Measuring
beats}
"We call the
space between each barline, a measure. Each measure groups
time in so many beats."
"How many measures
are in this example on the board?" "This one?" "This
one?"
7. Get songbook or sheets of music.
"When I call
a page number, you find the song. When I say Show me, you hold up fingers to show
how the beats have been measured in the song."
8. Assessments:
Where did you find
the answer?
Which number was
it?
Where does the measuring
end?
How many measures
are in this song?
How have the beats
been measured in most of the songs? {"That's why we will sometimes see the letter "C" where
the numbers are. It is telling us the beats have been measured
in 4's which is most "COMMON."}
