Looking for some Scott Joplin elementary music activities? In this blog post, I will share three favorites I’ve done in my room.
Why Teach About Scott Joplin?
As music teachers it is so important that we expose our students to a wide variety of music and composers. Often teachers can get focused on classic and pop and very little of what lies in between. Teaching about genres like ragtime helps fill in some of the gaps to help students understand where the music they listen to today came from and what styles influenced it. And of course, teaching about diverse composers is critical as well.
Ragtime Music History
I usually take a short moment to teach my students a little about ragtime and its history (and influence on genres to come). Ragtime eventually led to early forms of jazz and was an early influence for jazz composers such as Duke Ellington.
Sometimes I even do a jazz unit, going through different decades of jazz styles, starting with ragtime music history and going forward. Want to grab a free jazz resource to teach after ragtime? Click here to read about my mini-lesson on Duke Ellington’s It Don’t Mean a Thing and download it for free!
Who Is Scott Joplin?
Scott Joplin was one of the most prolific composers of ragtime music of all time. He produced over 40 rags, with some of the most famous ones including The Entertainer and The Maple Leaf Rag. He even wrote a ragtime opera!
Scott Joplin was born to humble beginnings. His father was a former enslaved person who worked on the railroad and his mother was a cleaner. However, they were a musical family. His father played the violin and his mother played the banjo and sang. When Joplin began taking piano lessons from a local music professor, his world was opened to a wide variety of music, and his musical journey had begun. He became known as the “King of Ragtime,” and wrote some of the most iconic rags that are still known to this day.
Want a great way to teach about Joplin without your students getting bored? Try this Scott Joplin Composer Biography Set. It teaches all about Joplin through interactive activities that your students will love. You can even leave the activities with your sub plans. They are easy to do and there are enough activities to keep your students busy all class period. Pick a few to do each year or do them all at once!
Scott Joplin Maple Leaf Rag
Ready to play a rag? The Maple Leaf Rag is a great example with clearly defined sections students can follow along with.
Scott Joplin YouTube Video: Maple Leaf Rag Body Percussion
If you want to give your students a little challenge. Try doing this fun body percussion YouTube video of the Maple Leaf Rag. It can be a little challenging to do at full speed on the first try. Here are some suggestions to make it a little more accessible:
- Click the gear icon and change the speed to a slower speed to start.
- Sit and read rhythms first, then add body percussion.
- Have teams for each section (A, B, C and D).
But eventually, you can give them the ultimate challenge of doing the whole thing up to speed. Many will try. Few will succeed. But you can laugh along with them as you all try to keep up. It’s lots of fun!
Maple Leaf Rag Bean Bag Passing Game
Another fun challenge you can try is this bean bag passing game. Each section gets progressively harder.
A: grab and pass on the half note beat
B: grab and pass on the half note beat plus a clap
C: grab toss, catch pass
D: grab toss, catch pass, clap, clap
Like I said, this one gets progressively more challenging so if you want something a little bit easier here is another version you could try.
A: grab and pass on the half note beat
B: grab and pass on the half note beat plus a clap
C: reverse direction. Grab and pass on the half an upbeat.
D: grab and pass on the half note beat plus a clap
Beanbag passing games are great for reinforcing steady beat, especially in your older grades, where some of your other beat reinforcement activities might seem a little babyish to them.
Scott Joplin The Entertainer
Scott Joplin YouTube Video: Entertainer Rhythm Play Along
Ready for another YouTube video play along? I love this rhythm play along because it clearly shows the form of the song along the top so students can better understand where they are in the song.
This would be a great one to review rhythms you have learned or the add drumsticks and drum along.
More Blog Posts Related to Ragtime
It Don’t Mean a Thing – Rhythm Play Along
3 Activities for a String of Pearls By Glenn Miller for Elementary Music
Do you have other favorite activities you do with the music of Scott Joplin? Comment below and share! I would love to hear your fun ideas.
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