Developing Rhythm Sense: Metronome Rhythm sheets

Phew!  What a whirlwind this past week was with my son being home sick.  He is well on his way to recovering so life can go back to normal now.  I've written out over 30 metronome rhythm sheets at this point from very simple patterns of quarter, half, and whole notes to more complex dotted quarter, eighth note, eighth rest patterns, to each hand playing different rhythm patterns at the same time. 

This activity takes no more than 2 minutes of your students' instructional time and it is a great way to help your kiddos understand and develop rhythm sense.  You could have your students simply clap out the sheets while the metronome's clicking in the background but to make it even more fun you could hand them an instrument such as a tambourine, a pair of maracas, or a bongo drum to play while reading the rhythm sheets.  Have your students first read the sheet to a slow metronome beat then increase the speed and have them play the same pattern at a faster speed. 

At first you may notice a few of your students clapping or playing the notes with an instrument to their own speed and not necessarily listening to the metronome.  It may take a few lessons for your students to get the hang of this skill.  Over time and repetition they will be able to follow rhythm patterns with different metronome speeds. 

To help your more rhythmically challenged students you could play the rhythm with them, bring out a hand or sock puppet and have the puppet gently bounce down on their head according to the pattern on the sheet, or gently take their hand in yours and help them tap out the rhythm on the piano lid by guiding their hand.  All you need is card stock and magic markers.  Remember to laminate everything you create so that you can use them for years to come!