Music Lesson Plans

Elementary Lesson Plans

previous lesson

next lesson

#741. Music Relay Races

Divide the class into two teams. Students race to the board drawing the music symbol, tagging the next person while SAYING THE NAME OF THE SYMBOL THEY DREW. (Everyone draws the same symbol.)

Great as a lesson, end of lesson activity, or beginning the day's lesson for Kg-5th. It is also a great activity for a substitute teacher.

Use relay races to INTRODUCE ALL symbols, K-5th. After seeing the symbol drawn, hearing the name, drawing it themselves, saying the name themselves, seeing and hearing it drawn and said by every member of the class, in a very exciting activity, well, they always seem to work!

TEACHING THE GAME

Count out the number of your turn, 1,2,3,4, etc. (FOR EACH SIDE)
"Tag yourself and say ..(staff)........"
"Tag your partner and say ...(staff)......"
"When I say GO, tag the board and then tag the next person and say GO." (Repeat until game is learned.)

*Points are given to the winning team AND to the team with the best looking symbols!

One can be a structured as needed. Team ONE can lose a point by being too loud, jumping out of chairs, mocking the
losing team, etc. (we don't just teach music ya know.) Never stop the game for errors! At the end of the game
check for the team with the best looking examples, they get another point. If there were too many problems, do it
again, immediately!

Suggested order of symbol introductions.
staff
beat
rest
quarter note/rest
half note/rest
whole note/rest
double bar (stop)
bar (go)
measure
scale (do<->do)
fermatta
repeat
clefs
d.c. al fine

Upper grades can progress to notes on staves, little ones draw notes "around lines" or "in spaces", or, notes going up
and down the scale, or, letter names of lines and spaces (not limited to just symbols.)

Pretty soon you are ready for TIC-TAC-TOE or the card games!

Submit Lesson   Search   Browse   Request Lesson