Cross Curricular Music Centers

This week in 2nd grade, we did centers! Students spent about 7-8 minutes are each of the four centers I had set up. I created these centers with the intention of incorporating other subjects.

Music and Math

This station combines rhythm, addition, and composition into one activity. Students started by practicing writing notes. I created a quick practice work sheet for quarter, half, and eighth notes.

Next students became rhythm composers! Students were instructed to write out a four beat rhythm pattern using quarter, eighth, and half notes. They labeled the number of beats each note received and then wrote an addition sentence to double check they had four beats. One student even commented to me, "Hey! This is kind of like what we do in math class."

Music and Art

I had two music and art stations in this batch of centers. One was color by note. These color by note worksheets are a musical spin on the popular color by number! I made this activity into a coloring contest for students. I plan to feature the best colored owls on my fall bulletin board. If you're interested in the fall color by note worksheets, you can find them here.

The other music and art center was the draw what you hear center. I played two short pieces of music for students over the stereo system. Students used their imagination to draw scenes to match the music. Playing music out loud also helps keep the noise level down at other centers.

Music and Technology

Students at this station used the iPads to create their own compositions by using the free app TuneTrain. Students guide a train through towns to pick up people at their houses. Each person has a specific pitch. The higher the house, the higher the note. The closer together the houses selected, the shorter the rhythm will be. Students can also choose the accompaniment style (examples include pop, classical, R&B, and more) and have the option of viewing their composition notated on staff. Its a great way to get students thinking about basic music theory concepts!