Quick and Easy Ideas for assessing Rhythm Reading and Notation
June 12, 2016
Many of our American teachers are already on summer break, but the Canadian teachers have 3 weeks of teaching. With your final report cards due soon, here are a few very easy assessment ideas for you to use this week.
- Flashcard Attendance ~ Rhythm Reading Assessment
In the Musicplay teacher’s guides I sometimes suggest starting your class with flashcard attendance. We don’t always have to take attendance, but in schools where you do, make taking the attendance into an opportunity for a quick evaluation.
In flashcard attendance, I would take the pile of cardstock flashcards that the students were working on. I’d call a child’s name, hold up the flashcard and the child would read it.
4 – student accurately and fluently claps and says the pattern
3 – student is mostly accurate and mostly fluent in clapping and saying the pattern
2 – student is somewhat accurate and somewhat fluent in clapping and saying the pattern
1 – student has many inaccuracies clapping and saying the pattern and is not able to keep a steady beat
Themes & Variations publishes a set of 100 rhythm flashcards that are printed on colored cardstock. The color coding indicates the patterns included in the set and helps you to quickly find the set that each class is working on.
Link to Flashcards – Canada http://shop.musicplaytext.ihoststores.com/category.aspx?categoryID=26
Link to Flashcards – USA http://shop.musicplaytext1.ihoststores.com/category.aspx?categoryID=62
In www.musicplayonline.com, we’ve taken the flashcards and made this into a very quick and easy to use movie – just press play. There are 25-35 patterns in each set. There are fewer patterns for very easy sets as younger classes are usually smaller (we hope!) and more patterns in the harder or longer sets for your older students. In the easier sets, we’ve given you both 4 beat assessments and 8 beat assessments. You can choose the set that you want to assess.
If you have already assessed rhythm reading, and want to take your students to higher level thinking skills, do a dictation assessment with them.
Reading the pattern is easy for most of your students.
Hearing a pattern and notating it, is more challenging.
Prepare the students by having them Listen, Clap and Say
With the cardstock flashcards, you clap a pattern and have the students clap it back and say the rhythm names while they clap. You can use whatever system of rhythm names you prefer – Ta, Ti-ti, Takadimi, or Edwin Gordon. I make this into a game by dividing the class into two groups: the Allegros and the Vivaces. I show the Allegros a flashcard and they clap it. If they clap it correctly, they get a point. The Vivaces have to correctly SAY the rhythm the other team clapped. If they say it correctly, they get a point. I can usually rig it so it’s a tie by the end of the class!
At www.musicplayonline.com this is given as a movie.
Students hear the rhythm played, then have to say what they heard. The answer follows. This is the preparation the students need to be successful at music dictation.
To do music Dictation using cardstock flashcards, I choose five cards at the level I want to assess. I give the students a piece of paper (I use paper from the recyling in the school) and a pencil (I keep a class set in a container by the door) and an old hard cover text to write on. They write their name at the top and number 1-5. I clap a pattern – they clap it back, then write it down. I’ll give it a second time if they need it. I write down my patterns as I go or keep my flashcards in order. Students exchange papers and correct them in class, so I don’t have to take home bags full of marking. Yay!
Music Dictation at www.musicplayonline.com is done the same way.
Five questions are given. Pause the movie between questions. Immediately following the five questions are the answers. Exchange papers and mark.
Similar assessments can be done for melody reading, and similar movies are found in the solfa practice section.
I hope this makes getting those marks onto your report cards a little easier!
Visit www.musicplayonline.com to use the assessment tools in this post.
Visit www.musicplay.ca to find workshop opportunities with Denise Gagne.