Working on melodic direction in your unit? Reinforce it with "Connect the Dots!", a mix and match game that challenges your students to put the melodies in the correct order as you hear them. After starting off with a brief introduction to writing a melody from Quaver Music (video included), you begin the lesson and discuss melodic motion -- melodies can go up, down, or stay the same. For the activity, there will be 10 musical examples (provided and labeled) which you will play for your students. Each example has 3 or 4 melody tiles which are out of order. After listening to the example, your students have to put the tiles in order to reflect what they hear on the example. The first slide of the series will have blank grey boxes, and the following slide will have the answer for the students to check. For my 3rd graders, I usually play them a few times, but for my 5th graders they get it right on the spot! There a few ways to have the students answer -- they can come to the whiteboard and us a dry erase to indicate, they can put labeled cards on the floor, or they can use personal whiteboards to draw on. Or you can have it boys vs. girls, and make it a timed race! Included are a powerpoint file (with special fonts and instructions for installation) and a standalone PDF in case you prefer that way. Have a great time with this, and feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or concerns!
