Review Rhythms with a Ball Bouncing Activity

Point to the square and bounce the ball to the square's note value.

Teach “Friends Forever”

Sing the song "Friends Forever"
This could be a song for a Valentine's Day assembly or a program about friends.

Learn the choreography for “Friends Forever”

Watch the John Jacobson video to learn the choreography for the song "Friends Forever"

Do the full choreography for “Friends Forever”

Try singing the song "Friends Forever" with the full choreography

Teach “Make New Friends”

This is an old round with words that talk about friendship. Friendship is a theme in many other art forms like movies, plays, photographs, poetry, drawings, and paintings. Think of at least one example of an art form that uses friendship as its theme (movies, plays, books, etc.).

Teach the round "Make New Friends” by rote. Listen to the singer and sing the first four measures. Teach the round in unison, by rote. In the next lesson of the week, try the round in two parts, bringing the second group in after two measures. This round is recorded in two parts, but can be sung in four parts.

Create a word composition for “Make New Friends”

Word Rhythm Composition
- Create a word rhythm or an eight-beat rhythm composition from the Beat/Rhythm Activities.
- Decide how to play the compositions. Students could use body percussion, found sounds, or instruments.
- Decide on the form. (A section - 52. "Make New Friends", B section - new rhythm, or use the new rhythm as an
introduction/ending)
- This is a two-chord song using F and C7 chords. Students could accompany the song (in unison) on ukulele.

Optional: Write a FRIEND poem

FRIEND Poem
Create a B section for the song by having students create an acrostic poem using the letters of the word “FRIEND” as the starting letter of each line of the poem.
F is for ...
R is for ...
I is for ...
E is for ...
N is for ...
D is for ...
Decide as a class how the final performance should be organized. Decide on the form. (Include the song as the theme and poem as a B section.)

Optional: Play “Make New Friends” on ukuleles or guitars

Listen to “Gigue from Partia I, Harmonica Artificiosa Ariosa”

1. Introduce this piece as a STILL piece.
2. Listen to the piece and try to identify the instruments that are playing (two violins and cello).
3. Ask the students to say the word “skip-ping” with the first violin using this rhythm: quarter-eighth quarter-eighth skip-ping skip-ping skip-ping skip-ping. This is the rhythm (two uneven sounds on a beat) throughout most of the theme.
4. Have students play rhythm sticks to this rhythm.

Listen to “Gigue: Variation I from Partia I, Harmonica Artificiosa Ariosa”

1. Have the students listen to this variation and say the quarter-eighth quarter-eighth pattern. Ask if this pattern fits with the melody throughout most of this variation. (There are places where this still fits the melody, but there are places where there are many more notes in the melody. Try saying “Mississippi River” or tika-tika-tika tika-tika-tika or drumming with the sticks where there are more notes. sixteenth notes) It’s very fast, so is very difficult to say or play!
2. Ask how the composer has varied the theme in this variation (he’s added more notes).

Teach “Love Somebody”

"Love Somebody” is a rhythm-reading song. Read the sixteenth notes in the song. Invite your students to create a B section by writing a “Roses are Red” poem. Sing the song as the A section, read a poem, and then sing the A section again. If you are using this in performance, vote on which poem is the funniest. Use the funniest poem as the B section for your performance.

Play the singing game “Love Somebody”

One student holds a valentine and walks around the outside of the circle. At the end of the song, the student holding the valentine puts the valentine behind another student. This student picks the valentine up, leaves the circle, and tries to tag the student who placed the valentine behind them before that student gets to the hole in the circle.

Denise Tip: I often use an imaginary valentine instead of a real one, because picking up the valentine slows down the chaser and gives the runner too much of a head start. Alternatively, you can use a large basket with a valentine already in it so it's easier to pick up.

Do a body percussion activity with “Love Somebody”

We're going to do a body percussion activity with the song "Love Somebody"

Start by reading the words of the song.

Next read the rhythms of the song.