Some Uses for Animal Flash Cards ~~~

Don't have Flash? Click here for text links

Gifts from CafePress help
support this site.

"Rhythm Isn't Everything" shirt (picture of banjo)

My Dad Rocks shirt
Suzuki Info
Kids' Activities
Music Games
Ecards
Crafts
Math&Reading
• • • •Activities
Grandma's Ringtones
Events
• • • •
Grandma's FavoriteLinks
•
The Back Room
•
Illustrations
by Karen Zethmayr

Reading Readiness: "Who Ran Away?"
Expression: Animal Personalities

Who Ran Away?

This reading readiness game emphasizes both looking ahead and remembering.

Big cards with animal shapes.

• In the first version, start by holding up the deck with one card showing. As you hide that card in back of the stack, you say "who ran away?" As soon as the group answers, "bear ran away," hide the next card. and ask "who ran away?" They are saying the name of the animal that is gone and looking at the animal they will name when it disappears. At first the raising of the bar happens just by accelerating the tempo. Gauge the tempo by the level of engagement you see on little faces.

• When the children feel ready to take it to the next level, you can slow the tempo down again, but omit the question, and the children know that as soon as they finish saying the name of the animal that has already disappeared, the currently visible one will also disappear.

• Variation: with the same cards, use the song Old MacDonald, but leave out the cumulative "with a moo moo" etc. at the end. Sing the words "Old MacDonald had a farm," with the first card showing. When that card disappears continue with "and on this farm he had a ____;" You can raise the bar either by increasing the tempo, or by leaving out "e i e i o."

As in Rhythm Flash, this game foreshadows the link between reading and memorizing: look ahead, play what your eyes just left behind.

For a reading teacher's take on note reading, see Parent Letter, February.

Back to top

Animal Personalities

'Cello teacher Liz Weamer brought a fun activity to the recent Suzuki Association of Wisconsin workshop in February: She presented a set of cards with animal names, and the students discussed traits of those animals and ways of playing that might bring those traits to mind. After this discussion she passed out the cards and gave the kids a moment to think of a Book One piece to play and a way to play it that would make the others in the class think of the animal in question. In this setting, each student had a chance to:

• Perform from their "working repertory." (Teachers lie awake at night inventing new excuses to do those things called practice, repetition, and keeping a full body of repertory in shape.)

• Play old stuff in a new way.

• Find things in other students' performance to comment on in a way that is both supportive and constructive.

In such a setting, where students from different cities have only recently met, Liz demonstrated the wisdom of focusing on how different each rendition sounded, rather than questioning whether or not it was the perfect representation of the animal. The first goal was to "add one more notch" in performing the piece yet another time ("I already did that, didn't I?"), and the second goal was to experience the power of giving the piece a different character. The genius of the exercise was in making it seem so simple that kids had the courage to perform in the presence of peers who were not long time buddies.

Back to top

 

---

If you would like to receive notification as new Suzuki resources are added to this site, you can send an email to grandma@grandmaskite.com. Your email will not be sold, shared, traded, or used for any other purpose than that which you requested. As it turns out, I have been adding a topic in a parent letter about once a month for my own Suzuki families.

Other Suzuki resources on Grandma's Kite:

Pencil exercises, set one for bow hold
Pencil exercises, set two for bow hold
Changing strings
One Little Elephant (left finger strength and flexibility)
Four Little Elephants Jumping on a Web (left finger naming, strength and flexibility)
Left hand number card "pick up" game
"Home built" violins and ways to use them in group sessions
Reading readiness game "Who Ran Away?"
Reading readiness game "Rhythm Flash "
"Reading Readiness in Music"

Supplementary Music and Midis

Twinkle Rag – a twinkle variation with a new twist on half of the rhythm in Variations A and D. Same four sixteenth notes in a ragtime setting

Daisy Daisy uses a three four twist on "Mississippi without the hot dog." The whole accompaniment is open D and G. The song and bass line can be played as a violin / 'cello duet or on the piano.

 

Back to top

 

Suzuki is
Hands On
Education

•Parent Letter Topics
Bow hold:
•Pencil exercises I
•Pencil exercises II
Left hand strength and flexibility:
•1 Little Elephant
•4 Little Elephants Jumping on a Web
• Smallmotor "pick up" game
Position in Motion:
•"Home built" violins with activities
Reading readiness:
"Who Ran Away?"
"Twinkle Rhythm Flash Cards"
Supplementary Music and Midis
Twinkle Rag
Daisy Daisy
Daisy sheet music

 

• • • • • • •• • • • • • • • •• • • • • • •

This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit Here.

Email Karen Zethmayr grandma@grandmaskite.com • Teaching Resume • Design Resume