Michael Finnegan

What?
Students learned the Irish folk song "Michael Finnegan." We started by keeping a beat on the half notes, and as students became more comfortable with the words, changed the tempos. As they became comfortable with adjustments in tempos, we sat in a circle and passed a ball on the beat. Students were encouraged to keep the beat on their knees even if they didn't have the basketball. When we were successful passing on the beat, we played a game for repetition- the student who ended up with the basketball was 'out' and had to scoot out of the circle. We continued this until we had one student left as the winner.

So What?
This was a great chance to reinforce a steady beat with a lot of repetition as well as expose students to folk music. Because it is March, it also related to St. Patrick's Day. The 3rd grade class that did this is motivated by competition and this definitely proved to be effective. Even after students were out, they were still engaged by watching to make sure the ball was still passed on the beat. They were singing loudly, to a point where I didn't need to sing anymore, and eventually didn't even need to get them started each round. Another teacher commented later that day that she stopped to watch how much fun we were having in music and that they were all engaged during the activity.

Now What?
I will continue to provide a variety of activities for students to practice the basic concept of keeping a steady beat. I am finding a gap in knowledge and skills with my students, and this is something that even my older students need a lot of practice with so I will continue to seek out creative activities to help them practice.

(Video is having trouble uploading).

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 19, 2019 at 11:36 AM

    You used an Irish folk song and a game incolving passing a ball to help your young students practice keeping a steady beat in a fun and timely way. Your students had fun, learned a skill and had fun doing the activity. It looks like you made a video but it didn't upload. What are some ways you could use the video to motivate other classes or get them to want to try an activity and video themselves?

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMarch 22, 2019 at 10:48 AM

    I do not know what happened to the comment I posted here, earlier this week. I will make it again.
    You were able to help your 3rd grade class practice keeping a beat by using a game associated with an Irish Folk song. This resulted in a lot of fun and engagement. How might you find some way to share what happened in your third grade class with other teachers besides the one who commented to you? Could you try something like this with another class?

    ReplyDelete

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