With Easter around the corner, I thought that an assessment of rhythm skills and time signature with a fun Easter theme might be engaging. Purchase affordable Easter baskets, plastic or wooden carrots, and a wooded box at your local craft store. If you can't find wooden carrots, use empty seed packets after you have planted carrots in your garden. :) I found felt baskets at Michael's for $1 each in a variety of colors. You will also need sentence strip pieces (mine are 6") so that children can write the rhythm patterns they create to turn in at the end of the activity.
The wooden box will become your "garden" area. Paint the wooden carrots and write a different rhythmic pattern on each carrot -- each carrot should equal 1 beat. Example - 1 quarter note, 2 eighth notes. Place the carrots in the "garden" box. Affix time signatures on each basket. Have children place carrots in each basket. The rhythms of the carrots must add up to equal the number of beats indicated in the time signature. For example, the basket with a time signature of 3/4 would have 3 carrots with a quarter note on each or 2 carrots with quarter notes on each and one carrot with 2 eighth notes.
After carrots have been put into the baskets, have children write the rhythm patterns in each basket on an assessment "menu" for their carrot dinner special. This will have them writing rhythms and give you an opportunity to collect and assess their understanding of time signature.
Extension: Add more complex rhythms for upper grades. Change time signatures on baskets for more rhythm experiences.
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