MELODY - RECORDER RABBITS

 With Easter around the corner, and the children's recorder skills getting better each passing week, I wanted to create an activity that would encourage their improvisation skills while engaging their sense of play.  However, I find that in early improvisation activities, many of the children have trouble with abstract visualization.  Therefore, I wanted them to have an improvisation activity that they could "see" the creative pieces needed to improvise.  In this case, to be able to touch and move the notes that they know on the recorder to create a new melody line.  To do this, I'm connecting the activity to the family folk melody See the Rabbit Running -- but you can certainly use any folk melody pertaining to rabbits (i.e. John the Rabbit, Old Mr. Rabbit, 'Gwan 'Roun Rabbit, etc.).

For the activity, I used wooden rabbit shapes and put one of the following letters -- "B", "A", "G" and "E" -- on each rabbit.  On the reverse side of the rabbit cutout, I drew the staff and added the absolute notation of the same corresponding letter.  For example, if the rabbit had a "B" on one side, then the absolute note "B" was written on a non-metered staff on the other.  In short, I write the note-head on the staff but do not include any stems to indicate rhythm.  When played, they simply play them as whole notes.

When the folk song See the Rabbit Running is played in E minor, the folk melody is simply B-A-G-E.  To "play" the game, give 8 rabbits to one child.  Try to include at least 1 "E" since this is the new note that is being practiced and is the focus of the assessment.  As children play the folk melody, the child with the rabbit shapes must place them in an 8-shape line to create a B Section.  The child with the wooden rabbits must have their melody line completed with the absolute letters or notation by the time the A Section is completed.

Have children play the A Section twice to give the "it" child time to manipulate the rabbits to his/her liking.  After the children have played the melody of the folk song as an A Section, have them manipulate the wooden rabbit shapes to create an 8-measure melody that they can play as a B Section.  You can add specific criteria as the skills increase (i.e. end on "E", use at least 2 "E" rabbits, use only notated rabbits, etc).

EXTENSION:  Place rhythm carrots above each rabbit to indicate the rhythm pattern in which each rabbit "note" should be played.  For example, if the rabbit has a "B" on it -- and the carrot has 2 eighth-notes on it -- then the child should play B-B (ti-ti).   Since the rabbits and carrots are randomly placed, each melody is a new "improvisation."

Click on the link below to purchase unfinished wooden rabbit shapes from FACTORY DIRECT CRAFT.COM -- though you may find them at craft stores across the country.
UNFINISHED WOODEN RABBIT CUTOUTS