One thing that I have noticed about Orff is that it really likes to pair language with rhythm. It is a great way to link what they know (speech) with what they are learning (rhythms). I like to do this word rhythm activity with my younger grades – the ones that are not yet learning written notation. This is a way for them to access rhythms without actually seeing them in notation.
First, I teach my students the song Get On Board (Get on board, little children 3x – there’s room food many a more). It is a common ABA form song that you should easily be able to find in most music textbooks or online.
Once the kids know the song, we try echoing some different patterns on the board using the words “choo choo” and “train.” I use these visuals:
After trying out different configurations, I have the kids pair up and create their own word rhythm. They get a packet with 6 cards – 3 choo choos and 3 trains. They get to choose 4 for their pattern. Here is one of my first graders sharing their rhythm.
We all practice saying our patterns all at the same time and making sure they start and stop together. The final step is that I sing the A section of Get On Board and in between the song, each group shares their rhythm by reading it to the class. So it make a song/word rhythm rondo. This was a nice easy activity to put together. You could take it one step further by maybe having them cut out “choo choo” and “train” cards and paste them on to their own rhythm composition. That way they could take in home to show their parents. It just depends how far you want to go with the activity.
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