Shaker Instrument Activity for Small or Large Group Time
Developed by M’Lou Speranza
Remember HighScope’s 5 ingredients of active learning!
Materials (shaker instruments), Manipulation (shake instruments and move bodies), Choice (children choose instrument, how to shake it and how to move their bodies), Child language and thought (children describe movements and body parts), and Adult scaffolding (adults recognize how children are moving their bodies and shakers) Note: Materials could mean child’s voice or body! They don’t always have to be using instruments or other props.
As children gather for Large Group Time, adults have instrumental music playing (i.e. HighScope First 30 Days CD, Track #8 “Bele Kawe”) and have a bin in center containing enough shaker instruments for each child to have one (egg shakers, fruit shakers, jingle bells, maracas, etc.) As children come over, ask them to take one instrument and move any way they like to the music. Draw attention to the way they are moving and/or shaking their instrument, i.e. “I see Michael is shaking his egg from side to side,” and ask children to follow what that child does, and/or ask children to describe how they are using their shakers. After children have had a turn, ask them to copy you. Shake your shaker high in front of you for several beats, then low for several beats.
When recording is finished, ask the children to sit down with their shakers because you have a new song to do using the shakers. Simply say, “Copy me” and shake your shaker on a steady beat in front of your body for several beats, then shake it high, then low, then put it some place on your body, i.e. your elbow. Do each of these steps slowly until most children are following you. Separating the auditory directions of a song from the visual modeling helps some children process more successfully. Do this “copying” at least twice, then stop to ask questions such as, “What do you think might be inside the shakers?” (scientific thinking), “Why do you think I am keeping my shaker in in my own space?” (social skills and safety when playing instruments in a small space) and “Did you notice I shook it up high and then down low?” (use term “opposites”). If using different shaker instruments, ask “How are the sounds different?” Tell the children they can choose where on their body to “stick” the shaker at the end of the song. Now ask children to join you in a steady beat with their shakers. Say “beat, beat, beat, beat” or “shake, shake, shake, shake” as the “anchor word.” When most children are with you, say in rhythm, “Listen to the words” and sing the “Shaker Instrument Song” as you do the movements. Pause when you shake high and low, as it still may take children a few seconds to process this even though they copied you earlier.
Shaker Instrument Song (see www.rcsdk12.org/prek/blocks - click on “Classroom Instruments and Song Cards”)
Lyrics, sung to the tune “Yankee Doodle”:
Shake, shake, shake your instrument,
Keep it in your space.
Shake it high and shake it low,
And put it any place.
Acknowledge where some of the children chose to put their instruments at the end of the song. Repeat this process again (where they are just listening to you sing) and then ask them to join you in the words. Depending on the age and ability of the children, you might do this line by line. To transition to next activity, you might put the original instrumental music back on and have children put their shaker back in the bin and dance to where they are going!
NYS Pre-K Foundation for Common Core: Domain 2 Physical Development and Health- 2 c, 5 c; Domain 4 Comm., Language & Literacy-1 a, 6; Domain 5 Cognition & Knowledge of the World-Science – 1 a, 3 a; The Arts-Music- 3 a, c, d, e, 4 b