Three things {Arpie, Students vs. Zombies, and a book}

Today, I’m continuing my "Three Things" linky party, in which I blog about three things that worked for my and my students this week. Thanks to Whimsy Workshop Teaching, Kimberly Geswein fonts, and Jax and Jake for the cute clip art and fonts!

#1: Arpie

This week, some of my classes received their "reward day," in which for half of the music class, they get to vote on what they'd like to do. They received this reward for earning a certain number of points for behavior. Before they vote, though, I give them a separate reward: time on iPads! I put them into their groups, assigned their iPads, then let them experiment with the Arpie app! It's free, AND it's so much fun! It's like dropping tennis balls on piano keys, and kids get to experiment with the height of the tennis ball (longer duration the higher they go), layering sounds, pitches from left to right, and more! Here is a picture of some of my kids playing:

#2: Students vs. Zombies

I had my second graders play the "la" version of Amy Abbott's Students vs. Zombies game this week, and my 3rd and 4th graders play the "re" version. As soon as they saw the title on my agenda, they were intrigued, and then when we started playing they LOVED it...which is great, because it helps them with staff reading! Here is a picture of one of my students choosing a zombie to then read the pattern.

The patterns are 8 beats long, which is a nice challenge, and I love that Amy included some easier patterns and some harder patterns. Even when the kids sing incorrectly, they are learning, as then they can listen to me sing correctly and/or figure out why what they sang wasn't correct! I really felt like my students' understanding of the staff and of solfa improved with this game, so we'll definitely be playing again. (I also loved that one of my boys in 3rd grade who typically doesn't ever seem excited about music class yelled out, "This is a fun game!" Woo-hoo!)

#3: "I got two dogs" book

I learned about this book at a TRIKE workshop a few years ago and decided I HAD to buy it! Click the picture below to view the book on Amazon.

The song included with the book is sung by John Lithgow, and the kids just love it. He has so much expression when he sings and the song is so fun! I have the kids echo the part at the end of each chorus, which is a great way to review the term "echo." I also use it as a transition into the song "Doggie Doggie."

Which activities worked for you this week? Feel free to comment below, and happy teaching!