Weevily Wheat for the Elementary Music Classroom

Weevily Wheat is a fun song to teach students in your upper elementary music classes to assess beat and their ability to perform syncopation. An added bonus is that it teaches some multiplication facts. Be sure to let your math teachers know if you plan to use it, and they can thank you later!

GAME WITH GROUPS OF FOUR

• The game for this song requires groups of four students.
• Students join hands and circle to the right in the first line.
• Students circle to the left in the second line.
• They stack their hands one at a time to the beat, alternating right and left, during the third line.
• They unstack their hands the same way on the last line.

Assessing Beat and Syncopa

This game is a great way to assess steady beat in your upper elementary grades. During the stacking of hands, students are forced to move to the beat accurately along with their group in order to stack their hands correctly.

As they’re playing the game, you can walk around to each group and assess students individually (using idoceo or your paper planner to track progress). Best of all, students won’t realize what you’re doing. So while you’re busy assessing them, they’re busy making music!

This song is also perfect for practicing syncopa. Once your students have sang the song and played the game, have them sit down to write out the rhythm using manipulatives, such as tiny erasers, popsicle sticks, or printable rhythm cards. Then, ask your students to create an eight-beat rhythm pattern with at least one example of syncopa. They can pair up with another student to share their eight-beat rhythms, and you’ll be able to walk around and assess their rhythm reading and writing skills.