Drumming Fun

I dropped by Boulton Elementary recently, and I wanted to be a student in Jeanette's class! My wish was granted without me even asking, and Jeanette welcomed my in with my own chair and bucket drum set-up.

The students learned a Rondo using a Halloween poem. Jeanette first taught them a rhythm that would be their A section. This was their first time drumming with drumsticks! They are doing so great!

After the students learned the A section, they learned the rhythms for each of the lines of the poem.

In the end, they put it all together to make a Rondo. Fabulous!

Jeanette did some fabulous things that helped her students to be successful:

• She gave clear directions and modeled how to hold the drumsticks before putting them in the children's hands. She used fun, easy to understand analogies, like hold your hands like a turtle shell, and make sure there is a tail coming out from behind the drumstick.
• She had a stop signal. She practiced the stop signal with the students, so they would be ready to stop as soon as they hear it. ("Ready and a stop.")
• The setup was great. The students had enough room to play their instruments. They could all clearly see Jeanette, and she could clearly see them. They could all see the music notation. They were given enough time to practice so they could be successful, but not so much time that they would get bored.