Mathematical

Musical Chairs

Objective:
Students will continue to develop addition and subtraction skills in an interactive and
engaging way that involves music. Students will also work on rhythm and movement in
music.
Curriculum Outcomes:
Grade 3 Music Outcomes:
3.2.3: Students will interpret songs and instrumental pieces combining music and
movement
Students will also review rhythm from previous grades such as quarter notes and half
notes. Students will be using dotted half notes in this activity, which is another outcome
in the Grade 3 Curriculum.
Grade 3 Math Outcomes:
SCO N9: Students will demonstrate an understanding of adding and subtracting
numbers with answers to 1000 (limited to 1, 2, and 3 digit numerals)
- Using personal strategies for adding and subtracting with and without the support of
manipulatives
- Creating and solving problems in contexts that involve addition and subtraction of
numbers concretely, pictorially, and symbolically
SCO N10: Apply mental mathematics strategies and number properties, such as:
- Using double; making 10
- Using the commutative property
- Using property of zero
Grade Level:
Grade 3
Materials:
- 6 chairs
- 10 pieces of paper using the numbers 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500
- Paper bag to put numbers in (the numbers for each participant)
- 1 label for each chair (total of six labels) with numbers ranging from 0-10
- Whiteboard
- Whiteboard markers
- 2 songs:
- (4/4) Colonel Bogey March (start at 0:05) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=xvWLMkxSwIo
- (3/4) Rainbow Connection (start at 0:20) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSFLZ-MzIhM

Time Duration:
9 minutes
Agenda Timetable:
Brief introduction 2 minutes
1st round 30 seconds for song, 30 seconds to add or subtract (1 minute total)
2nd round 30 seconds for song, 30 seconds to add or subtract (1 minute total)
3rd round 30 seconds for song, 30 seconds to add or subtract (1 minute total)
4th round 30 seconds for song, 30 seconds to add or subtract (1 minute total)
5th round Repeat round 1 with different question (1 minute total)
Discussion Question 2 minutes
Instructions:
1.) Put 2 groups of 3 chairs together.
2.) Label each chair with a number ranging from 0-10.
3.) As the class enters, give each student a number from the paper bag.
4.) Briefly explain game and how music is integrated (walking and clapping to the beat).
5.) After each student has a number, the class will walk around the 2 groups of chairs to
the music that is playing. Have the students clap or walk to the particular beat provided:
- The 1st round will be 4/4 time using quarter notes. Students will clap to the beat.
- The 2nd round will be 4/4 time using half notes. Students will clap and walk to the beat.
- The 3rd round will be 3/4 time using dotted half notes. Students will walk to the beat.
- The 4th round will be 3/4 time using dotted half notes. Students will clap and walk to
the beat.
6.) Once the music has stopped, each student will sit on the chair closest to them.
7.) A variation of adding and subtracting questions can be asked:
- Ask student to add or subtract their number and their chair
- Ask for the sum of the students numbers in their group
- Ask for the sum of their numbers with their chairs
8.) Discussion question: Would you use this in your classroom? How does this
atmosphere support and engage students in learning mathematics?
*** - This game can work well with a number of outcomes. For example, a teacher could
fulfill an additional outcome for Grade 3 by using multiplication:
SCO N11: Demonstrate an understanding of multiplication to 5X5 by:
- Creating and solving problems in context that involve multiplication
- Modeling multiplication using concrete and visual representations
- Relating multiplication to repeated addition
A teacher could also use this game for a variety of grade levelsjust change the
numbers used in the game!
Reference:
This lesson was adapted from a Place Value game found on Pinterest.
Bittman, E. (2012, June 12). Place value musical chairs [Web log post]. Retrieved from
http://eisforexplore.blogspot.ca/2012/06/place-value-musical-chairs.html