Holiday Music Centers

As we get closer and closer to the holiday season, my classroom gets more and more crazy. Even though I am busy prepping for our holiday concerts my students still need lessons. One of my go-to lesson plans during this crazy season is centers. 

Disclaimer- I would not try to do centers for the first time during this time of year. But, I do these centers mainly with grades 3 and up who have all had previous music center experience so they know how the rotation works and the expectation.

If you haven’t done centers, fear not! These games and activities would work for the whole group too. 

Write the Room: Write the Room is 1 big scavenger hunt for students. Depending on the skill we are working on I hide solfege or rhythm cards around the room. Students look for the cards and record the rhythm pattern on their record sheets. 

While you can use regular flashcards, I like to make it more festive with these ready-to-go write-the-rooms that you’ll find in my TPT shop. Plus if you purchase any of my rhythms write the rooms you get rhythm pattern cards and cards with pictures that the students have to use the syllable of the word to determine what rhythm to record. These are SUPER easy to differentiate and all my students, Grade 1- Grade 6 love them! 
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Purchase Christmas Write the Room Here

Music Light Composition I this music composition specifically because it get students composing and writing rhythms! 

• To prep print out lights of various color of paper and print out light strands on white paper
• Cut the lights into strips of 8
• Students choose 2 colors of lights and write rhythms that they know in the lights 
• Students then cut out the lights and arrange & glue  them on the paper with the light strands 
• You can then give students instruments to play their compositions and other group members' compositions. 

Tips for using instruments in centers: Use the indestructible instruments in music centers, especially if you won’t be supervising. Think egg shakers, rhythm sticks, and triangles!

Need something print and go? Check out this Christmas Light Composition here!

Mystery Rhythms: Mystery rhythms are a new activity in my music classroom this year, but so far they are a hit with students.  

• For mystery rhythms, students get cards that have 4 Christmas pictures 
  
• It is the student's job to figure out the rhythm of each of those pictures
  
• If the card had Elf, Santa, Bell, Cookie the rhythm would be Ta TITi TA TITI
  
• Students then record their solved mystery rhythm on a recording sheet, if I want to take it in for assessment, or on whiteboards. 
  

I find this very helpful as a way for students to review and find rhythms in words and practice writing rhythm notation! This is definitely an activity that you can make for your students that will last multiple years, but if you want a resource that you just need to print and go, check out these in the TPT shop

Gingerbread Task Cards: This center is a good option as it is a quieter center and allows students to work independently, which some students appreciate. At the centers I use my Gingerbread Solfege Task Cards and students put gingerbread men on the cookie sheet task card to make solfege patterns. This center is also great because once you prep it once it is ready to go every year.  

​Steal the Present: 

• Steal the present is a swat game 
• Cut, laminate and print pictures of presents that have a music concept that you want students to review. You can do solfege, rhythms, treble clef notes, instruments of the orchestra the list could go on
• Lay out all the presents on the floor or whiteboard edge 
• One student is Santa (or Mrs. Clause) they choose a present, without indicating which present they’ve chosen
•  Then they read the pattern that on the present
• The other students, the elves, have to figure out what present was called and “steal it” 
• To steal you can have students take the present off the floor. But, I like to use fly swatters and have the students swat the correct present.
• If there is a tie, Santa has the final say on who gets the present. 
• The student with the most presents at the end of the game wins. ​

Christmas Coloring By Note A finally, the easiest and often most loved center of all. Coloring pages. Even though students are colouring there is still so much value from color by note. Depending on which you choose you can have students practice reading solfege patterns, notation, or music symbols. It’s a great way to review and have students work together.
​Shop colouring pages here!   

Do you need ready to go lessons to use in your classroom today? Make sure to check out the FREE Resource Library!