New Fun Pointers!

I found these pointers at our school's book fair put on by Scholastic Books.     I got a great dog and bird pointer.  The bird is especially fun because when you squeeze the head, the eyes pop out.       I use pointers to point along in the music mostly, but you could use them in games, rhythm cards and even tapping the rhythm.  The kids love them!

Here are some links to some pencil toppers sold on Amazon
Pop Eye Pens
Other Pencil Toppers

Group Lesson St. Patrick's Day Theme

Last week I held my group lessons with a St. Patrick's Day Theme.  My students had a blast and learned a lot too!  We played several games and had a sharing time where students played their favorite pieces. Here are some pictures of our games:

Playing Tic Tac Toe with the gold coins from the Pot of gold!

And we have a winner!

Two winners!

The students loved playing Lucky Penny

I adapted the Pot of Gold Game to work with different levels with different colored rhythm cards

Students playing the Lucky Leprechaun Game

Money Concepts Songs and Activities

Tooth Fairy Poem 
Last night I lost a tooth

Just like cousin Jenny

The tooth fairy came

And she left me a penny

Last night I lost a tooth

When I ate a pickle

The tooth fairy came

And she left me a nickel

Last night I lost a tooth

When I ate a lime

The tooth fairy came

And she left me a dime

Last night I lost a tooth

It was a little shorter

The tooth fairy came

And she left me a quarter

Last night I lost a tooth

I gave a big holler (Ouch!)

The tooth fairy came

And she left me a dollar

Money Rap

A penny is one cent (stomp)

A nickel is five (pat knees)

A dime is ten cent (clap hands)

A quarter twenty five (snap fingers)

Teaching Idea: Use the body percussion for an addition problem.  Clap, Clap Snap would be 10 +10+ 25 = .45 cents.

Coin Order Tune: Ten Little Indians

Pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters

Pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters

Pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters

Put them in that order.

Teaching Idea:

1. Have the some coins either plastic or cut out and have the students put them in order.  

2. Talk about how much each coin is worth and how much these coins add up to.

The Money Song Tune: Itsy, Bitsy Spider

1 cent is a penny,

10 cents is a dime,

5 cents is a nickel,

Now you know that I'm...

learning about the money,

and which coin is which.

Don't forget the quarter-

It's worth 25 cents!

Dr. Jean's Money Song Tune: Shortnin' Bread

Chorus:

I like money to buy things at the store.

Money, money, money, I always want more!

A penny's worth one cent.

A nickel's worth five.

A dime's worth ten cents.

A quarter's twenty-five.

Chorus

Lincoln's on one cent.

Jefferson's on five.

Roosevelt's on ten cents.

Washington's on twenty-five.

Chorus 

A building's on one cent.

A building's on five.

A torch is on ten cents.

An eagle's on twenty-five.

Three Little Nickels A Fingerplay

Three little nickels in a pocketbook new,

(hold up three fingers)

One bought a peppermint, and then there were two,

(bend down one finger)

Two little nickels before the day was done,

One bought an ice cream cone, and then there was one

(bend down another finger)

One little nickel I heard it plainly say,

"I'm going into the piggy bank for a rainy day!"

Three Shiny Quarters 

Three shiny quarters in a pocketbook new (Hold up three fingers)

One bought a gumball, then there were two (Bend down one finger)

Two shiny quarters, before the day was done

One bought a sticker, then there was one. (Bend down another finger)

One little quarter, I heard it plainly say,

"I'm going in the piggy bank for a rainy day!"

Teaching Ideas

1. Brainstorm with the students about different things you can buy with the coin.

2. Change the coin to different amounts and add up how many three of them makes

Found a Penny Tune: Oh My Darlin'

Found a penny,

Found a penny,

Found a penny just now.

Just now I found a penny.

Found a penny just now.

It's worth 1 cent.

It's worth 1 cent.

It's worth 1 cent just now.

Just now, it's work 1 cent.

It's worth 1 cent just now.

Change the penny to different coins and different amounts.

Wonderful Websites:

1. Money Instructor: Printable worksheets, custom worksheets, printable play money, lesson plans

2. Four Fun Games for Money Recognition: Fun games like bingo and a printable die

Favorite Money Books

1. The Penny Pot by Stuart J. Murphy

2. Coin Counting Book by Rozanne Lanczak Williams

3. A Quarter From the Tooth Fairy by Caren Holtzman

Lucky Leprechaun Game: Key Signature

The Lucky Leprechaun Game is played like "Old Maid" except the goal is to be the last player holding the Lucky Leprechaun. 


Goggle Doc: Shamrock Key Signature Cards

Shamrock Key Signature  Cards

1. The dealer shuffles the cards and deals out all the cards to the players. It doesn’t matter if they don’t come out evenly.

2. Each player picks up his cards and holds them so that other players cannot see them. Players may want to organize their cards so that like notes are together.

3. Next, players take out of their hands any pairs they have. For example, if a player has two A's, the player takes that pair out. All the pairs from all the players’ hands go into a pile, face down, in the center of the table. However, if a player has, for example, three C's, he can only put down the pair.  Depending on the level, pairs do not have to be the exact same note.  For instance you can have a Middle C and a Bass C be a pair.

4. The player to the left of the dealer (Joel) spreads out his hand, face down, on the table. The player to his left (Amy) picks up one of those cards. If she can make a pair by using that card, she removes the pair and puts it in the pile at the center of the table. Otherwise, Amy just keeps that card.

5. Now, Amy spreads her cards on the table, face down, so that the player to her left can pick up one card out of her hand.

6.  Play continues in this way. Eventually, one player will be left with card "The Lucky Leprechaun" and that players wins.  You can also see who has the most pairs and they can be the winner as well.

Can also be played with Shamrock Keyboard Cards

Shamrock Key Staff Cards

Tic Tac Toe Levels 1-3

Tic Tac Toe is a classic game that can be played with just about anything. When playing at an individual lesson, I play one side of the board and the student plays the other.   I then pick an Alphabet card and mark the corresponding note on the Tic Tac Toe board.  You may only mark one note at a time.  The first player to get three in a row wins.  Another way to play with the boards is to make the player have to cover all notes on their board for a 'wipe out' of all notes.

Level One covers all the notes in Middle C Position.  Here are instructions for a group lesson
Also try Tic Tac Toe for the Keyboard

Google Docs: Tic Tac Toe Level One

Tic Tac Toe Level One: Middle C Position


Google Doc: Tic Tac Toe Level Two: C position

Tic Tac Toe Level Two


Google Docs: Tic Tac Toe Level 3: Add space notes in Treble Clef

Tic Tac Toe Level Three

Try your luck at some St. Patrick's Day Group Games

I am having group lessons this week and we are playing some of my St. Patrick's Day Games:
Pot of Gold Game
Lucky Leprechaun Game
Lucky Penny Game
Tic Tac Toe:

To make Tic Tac Toe in line with the St. Patrick's Day theme,  I have the students use the lucky coins to cover their boards.  You could also use some foam shamrocks :).

I love doing stations at my group lessons and it helps me get my different leveled students grouped together.  Most games lend themselves to having different levels.  I just have the students choose from a different stack of cards.  I separate them into color groups and then write the color on a post it note and attach it to the stack of cards I want them to choose from.  Sometimes I have an older student help a younger one as well.

The one game that has to be separated into levels is the Lucky Leprechaun Game.  I have some pre readers that couldn't play the staff game and you have to mix the cards all together.  So I separate the group by their level of notes they have learned on the staff.

Below are the directions for the games.  I leave the directions at each station and I monitor the groups by walking around and helping when needed.

Tic Tac Toe Instructions
Tic Tac Toe Instructions

Lucky Leprechaun Instructions
Lucky Leprechaun Instructions

Lucky Penny Game Instructions
Lucky Penny Game Instructions

Pot Gold Game
Pot of Gold Instructions

Lucky Leprechaun Game with Keyboard Cards

Here is the same Lucky Leprechaun Game with Keyboard Cards.  I am having a lot of fun playing this game.  The kids enjoy seeing who has the Leprechaun at the end.


Goggle Docs: Shamrock Keyboard Cards
Shamrock Keyboard Cards
Instructions:

1. The dealer shuffles the cards and deals out all the cards to the players. It doesn’t matter if they don’t come out evenly.

2. Each player picks up his cards and holds them so that other players cannot see them. Players may want to organize their cards so that like notes are together.

3. Next, players take out of their hands any pairs they have. For example, if a player has two A's, the player takes that pair out. All the pairs from all the players’ hands go into a pile, face down, in the center of the table. However, if a player has, for example, three C's, he can only put down the pair.  Depending on the level, pairs do not have to be the exact same note.  For instance you can have a Middle C and a Bass C be a pair.

4. The player to the left of the dealer (Joel) spreads out his hand, face down, on the table. The player to his left (Amy) picks up one of those cards. If she can make a pair by using that card, she removes the pair and puts it in the pile at the center of the table. Otherwise, Amy just keeps that card.

5. Now, Amy spreads her cards on the table, face down, so that the player to her left can pick up one card out of her hand.

6.  Play continues in this way. Eventually, one player will be left with card "The Lucky Leprechaun" and that players wins.  You can also see who has the most pairs and they can be the winner as well.


Can also be played with Shamrock Staff Cards
Shamrock Key Signature Cards