Ssshhh Kebabs, A Rhythmic Recipe by Meegan Hughes - Music ConstructED (2024)

• Meegan Hughes
• Posted 3/27/23
• 2 comments

Rhythm Literacy

Suggested Grades: K-2

National Core Arts Standards

#2 — Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
#3 — Refine and complete artistic work.
#4 — Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.
#7 — Perceive and analyze artistic work.
#8 — Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.

Objectives

• Identify, read, and decode four-beat rhythm patterns using quarter, eighth, half notes, and rest.

Materials

• Pool Noodle Rhythm Kebabs (directions included below)
• Rhythm Pattern Cards – optional

Overview

This lesson promotes an engaging and colorful approach to composition, audiation, and decoding. Students will strengthen their aural skills while creating and composing a tangible measure that is perfect for little fingers to hold and present. This activity satisfies multiple ways to process learning: kinesthetic, aural, linguistic, and visual. Using 4” and 8” soft manipulatives, students are given “ingredients” to a musical kebab, which they will form as measures on wooden dowels.

Suggested Teaching Process

Introduction

1. Introduce/ Review quarter notes, eighth notes, quarter rests, and half notes and their durations in 4/4 meter.
   • Teacher Tip: Use Kodály, Orff, or Gordon syllables to reinforce these rhythms

2. With a dramatic flair, announce to the class that they are now chefs, and we are making kebabs today! Teacher Tip: Use this simple definition:
   • Kebabs consist of cut-up or ground meat, sometimes with vegetables and various other ingredients.
   • Teacher Tip: I like to ask if anyone has ever eaten one, and students will always share that they’ve had meat and vegetable or fruit kebabs.

3. Describe how the ingredients of kebabs are layered on top of each other.
4. Describe how we will make musical kababs using noodle pieces as ingredients in their recipe.

Why Sssshhh-Kebabs? Because of the rests!

Process

1. Students sit in a circle around two tubs of noodle pieces.
2. Four “Chefs” students come to the middle of the circle.
3. These students make their kebabs using ta, ti-ti, rest, and toh-oh (or whichever syllables you choose).
4. Remind students that the half note is twice as long as the others because it is held for twice as long.
5. Give each of the four students dowels.
6. Two students sit by each tub.
7. From a stack of rhythm patterns, choose one.

8. Read the pattern aloud using the syllables of your choosing.
   • Teacher Tip: For older students, ask one of them to be the “sous chef”; this student will choose and read the card. Having students take ownership and lead the activity is an easy way to assess their understanding of the written music and helps build confidence.

9. Guide the students to assemble their kebabs.

Teacher Tip: You might notice that it looks backwards, but if they turn the kebab around to show understanding, it will be correct. Be prepared to field questions about why some notes are “upside down.” You can use that opportunity to discuss how some note stems face down because of where they are on the staff.

10. Repeat the activity until all students have had a chance to be a “chef.”

Extension

• Ask students to create their own measures to say aloud to the chefs.
• For older students, use the same pieces but ask them to decode the measure using counting numbers. Alternatively, you can include additional note combinations, e.g., sixteenth notes, triplets, dotted half, etc.

Creating Kebabs

Materials List

• Seven or more foam tubes (pool noodles) of various colors, measuring approximately 50” x 2.5” (or longer) with a 1” hole in the center.
• Packing tape (or another wide, clear tape).
• 3” paper squares, with either two rows of a quarter note, two eighths, a quarter rest (25 squares each), or a half note (12 squares each). NOTE TEMPLATES
• Between 8-10 wooden dowels, between 20” – 24” each.
• Non-serrated knife (for cutting the pool noodles).
• A stack of rhythmic patterns to be used as the “ingredients.”

Directions

1. With a non-serrated knife, carefully slice five pool noodles into 3” pieces and two noodles into 6” pieces on a safe cutting surface. Each 50” noodle will yield approximately sixteen 3” or eight 6” pieces.
   • HINT: Don’t rush the process; you could end up with noodle crumbles. You’ll notice the half notes are twice as long as the one-beat pieces to show the length of time.
2. Take one pre-cut paper note square and tape it around the entire noodle piece with the packing tape. One note or rest will look upside down, but the pieces are intended to move around the dowel to look correct to the student placing them.
3. Ensure the entire paper is under the tape, akin to laminating the piece. The process is time-consuming, but you want to ensure these taped pieces are sturdy enough to be handled by many young hands.
4. Save your materials in 2 large, clear stackable tubs with lids.