Connect students directly to the concept in a personal way. Capture students' attention by initiating a group problem-solving activity before delivery of instruction. Begin with a situation that is familiar to students and builds on what they already know. Construct a learning experience that allows diverse and personal student responses. Facilitate the work of cooperative teams of students.

Rhythms

Objective: Students will be able to interpret rhythmic “language” in 4/4 meter.
Activity: Teacher writes eight measures in 4/4 time on the board using quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes. Ask the students to clap the rhythm. There is limited success. *Next, assign words to the note values stressing the relationship of syllables to the visual symbol (note). I used pie, apple, and watermelon for quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes respectively. *Now clap and speak the rhythms from the board using the words given. The students experience success. Time permitting, write more rhythmic measures on the board for further practice. Use this as an opportunity to be creative with combinations of eighth notes and sixteenth notes (eighth followed by two sixteenths becomes ap-melon, etc.) (Standard 5)
Assessment: Accuracy of student responses.