Minds On
Today’s vocabulary
Press the following tabs to access today’s vocabulary.
A steady and repeating pulse in music. Part of the element of duration.
A pattern of long and short sounds or silences. Rhythm is different from beat; for example, the rhythm at the beginning of a song might be “ta, ta, ti-ti, ta”. The beat is the steady pulse of “ta, ta, ta, ta”. Explore also beat.
A note that is held for one-half of a beat. Beams can connect eighth notes:
A note that is held for one beat.
A note that is held for two beats.
Let’s get started!
Explore the following poem.
How can someone keep the beat as they explore the poem?
What actions would go along with the poem?
Follow along with Teacher A and Teacher B as they explore the poem.
Two teachers having a conversation. The first teacher says: Let’s speak the poem and keep the beat. The second teacher responds: Great idea! The beat is a steady sound like the “tick-tock” of a clock.
Two teachers having a conversation. One teacher says: If possible, keep the beat with us. You can move any way you choose! I’m going to stomp the beat. The other teacher responds: I’m going to pat the beat.
Return to the poem.
Visual of the poem “Rain on the Green Grass.” The first line is ‘Rain on the green grass.’ The word rain has raindrops above it. The words green and grass have grass surrounding it. The second line is ‘Rain on the tree.’ The word rain has raindrops above it. The word tree is inside a visual of a tree. The third line is ‘Rain on the rooftop.’ The word rain has raindrops above it. The word housetop is inside a visual of a house. The fourth line is ‘But not on me.’ Around the word ‘me’ is beside a person’s head with sunglasses.
Rain on the Green Grass Poem
This time let’s add actions to show what is happening in the poem.
For example, for “green grass,” someone might sway their arms from side to side.
Can you come up with actions for the words, “tree,” “rooftop,” and “not on me”?
Safety reminder
Don’t forget to do your safety checks and check your surroundings.
Press the following tabs to access some hints of actions you could do.
Imagine you are holding a big ball over your head.
Put your hands together to create a triangle above your head.
Wave your pointer finger back and forth and then point at yourself as if to say “no” and “me.”
Action
Get ready, get set…
Task 1: The way the words go
In music, the beat is a steady sound that goes through the whole song or poem. It helps us stay together and keep time!
Music also has a rhythm.
Rhythm is made up of long (stretched) and short sounds and silences.
Let’s find the rhythm in the poem.
Explore lines 1 and 2 of the poem and keep the beat. You can say the poem out loud or move (tap, pat, or stomp) along as you read each word.
Press ‘Hint’ to access a hint about keeping the beat.
To keep the beat, follow the heartbeats. If there is more than one word over a heartbeat, the words go together as one beat. If one word is over more than one heartbeat, stretch it out.
A table with eight squares. The first line has four squares. The second line has four squares. The first square says Rain and there’s a heart underneath. The second square says on the and there’s a heart underneath. The third square says green and there’s a heart underneath. The fourth square says grass and there’s a heart underneath. The first square on the second line
Check out this audio clip/recording to explore the beats for “Rain on the Green Grass.”
Rain on the Green Grass
How many beats did we keep?
Press ‘Answer’ to find how many beats were kept.
8 beats
In Line 1, are there any heartbeats with one sound?
Press ‘Answer’ to learn if there are any heartbeats with one sound.
Yes, there were! They are rain, green, and grass.
In music, one sound on a beat is called ta.
In Line 2, are there any heartbeats with two sounds?
Press ‘Answer’ to learn if there were any heartbeats with two sounds.
Yes, there were! The words ‘on the’.
In music, two sounds on a beat is called ti-ti.
Are there any words that are stretched over more than one heartbeat?
Press ‘Answer’ to learn if there are any words stretched over more than one heartbeat.
Beats 7 and 8. The word “tree” is stretched over more than one beat.
Let’s practice Lines 1 and 2 again and keep the beat.
When you say, “tree,” remember to stretch out the word “tree” for beats 7 and 8.
This time say, “tree,” for beats 7 and 8.
Check out this audio clip/recording to explore the beats for “Rain on the Green Grass.”
Rain on the Green Grass
When one sound lasts for two beats, we can call it ta-ah. It is like we are stretching out the word ta.
We can use different symbols to represent ta-ah.
For example, we can use a half note.
A half note has a note head and a stem.
Image of a table. The first square says line 2. The second square says Rain and has a heart underneath. The third square says on the and has a heart underneath. The fourth square says tree and has a heart underneath. There is also a half note above the word tree and a line that extends to the last square which has a heart underneath the line
We can also use pictures like a rainbow.
Image of a table. The first square says line 2. The second square says Rain and has a heart underneath. The third square says on the and has a heart underneath. The fourth square says tree and has a heart underneath. There is also a rainbow above the word tree that extends to the last square. There is also a line that extends to the last square which has a heart underneath the line.
Task 2: Match the symbol to its name
We use big raindrops for one sound on a beat.
We use two little raindrops when there are two sounds on one beat.
We use a rainbow when a sound is stretched over more than one beat.
There are five squares in a row. The first square says Line 2. The second square says Rain. There is a big raindrop above the word and a heart underneath the word. The third square says on the and there are two small rain drops above the words and a heart underneath the words. The fourth square says the word tree with a line next to it that extends into the fifth square. There is a rainbow above it that stretches to the fifth square. There are two hearts, one underneath the word tree, the other underneath the end of the rainbow in the fifth square.
For each term, select the corresponding picture.
Go!
There are two teachers having a conversation. The first teacher says: Let’s add rainbows to show the words that take up two beats. The second teacher responds: The rainbow can connect the two beats. It will start at one beat and end at the other beat. These are long sounds.
There are sixteen squares in a 4 by 4 grid. Each square has a word and a heart underneath the word. The first square says "Rain," the second square says "on the," the third square says "green," the fourth square says "grass," the fifth square says "rain," the sixth square says "on the," the seventh square says "tree," and there’s a line extending from the word "tree" to the eighth square. The first square of the next row says "rain," the second square says "on the," the third square says "roof," the fourth square says "top but" the fifth square says "not," the sixth square says "on" and the seventh square says "me." There’s a line extending from the word "me" to the eighth square.
Complete Symbols and Sounds: Part 1 in your notebook or using the following fillable and printable document. If you would like, you can use speech-to-text or audio recording tools to record your thoughts.
Press the Activity button to access the Symbols and Sounds: Part 1.
Activity (Open PDF in a new tab)Press ‘Answer’ to access which words take up two beats.
This chart has a rainbow at the top in the centre. There are sixteen squares in a 4 by 4 grid. Each square has a word and a heart underneath the word. The first square says Rain, the second square says on the, the third square says green, the fourth square says grass, the fifth square says rain, the sixth square says on the, the seventh square says tree and there’s a line extending from the word tree to the eighth square. There is also a rainbow above the word tree that stretches to the eighth square. The first square of the next row says rain, the second square says on the, the third square says roof, the fourth square says top but the fifth square says not, the sixth square says on and the seventh square says me. There’s a line extending from the word me to the eighth square. There is also a rainbow above the word me that stretches to the eighth square.
Consolidation
Putting it all together
Find the rhythm in the rest of the poem.
Use 1 big raindrop for one sound on a beat = ta.
Use 2 small raindrops for two sounds on a beat = ti-ti.
Use 1 rainbow for 1 sound stretched over two beats = ta-ah.
Lines 1 and 2 have been done for you.
Complete Symbols and Sounds: Part 2 in your notebook or using the following fillable and printable document. If you would like, you can use speech-to-text or audio recording tools to record your thoughts.
Press the Activity button to access the Symbols and Sounds: Part 2.
Activity (Open PDF in a new tab)
Portfolio
Tell me about it
Respond to the following questions. Record your answers any way you choose.
- How many raindrops did you put on the word “roof”? Why?
- On which beats are there rainbows or stretched (long) sounds (ta-ahs)?
- How did the beat chart help you figure out the rhythm?
Share what you learned about today using the words beat, rhythm, ti-ti, ta, and ta-ah.
You can choose to:
- use pictures and label the important parts using the words beat, rhythm, ti-ti, ta, and ta-ah
- tell someone using the words beat, rhythm, ti-ti, ta, and ta-ah
- write about it using the words beat, rhythm, ti-ti, ta, and ta-ah
- make a recording using the words beat, rhythm, ti-ti, ta, and ta-ah
Reflection
How do you feel about what you have learned in this activity? Which of the next four sentences best matches how you are feeling about your learning? Press the button that is beside this sentence.
I feel…
Now, record your ideas about your feelings using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.