Tuesday Book Club- The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors

Today's Tuesday Book Club is The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt. What an adorable book! This hilarious book gives you background information on how the game Rock Paper Scissors came to be. It is fiction of course, and oh so fun to read. After reading the story, there are so many ways you can incorporate Rock-Paper-Scissors into your classroom! 

Sei-Sei-Sei, from Japan, is one of my favorite songs to play this game. All children start with a partner and are standing on a large piece of paper.  At the end of the song- on HOI!- students choose Rock, Paper, or Scissors.  Which ever child looses folds their paper in half. If there is a tie- BOTH students fold their paper.  All students then find a new partner.  Once a student has folded their paper 4x they are OUT.  Continue play until you have a winner for the class! 

Also- Have you seen this video?

  

In my class, winners keep hopping trying to get through the course, and those who loose Rock-Paper-Scissors have to read a rhythm or solfege card before they get back in line.  The game ends when either someone has gotten all the way through the course OR all students have attempted and read a rhythm at least 1x. 

Another fun idea is Rock-Paper-Scissors composing. 

Disclaimer: I saw this idea on Facebook and fleshed it out, and am sharing my version.  Thank you to Shauna Slemp in the Elementary Music Educators Group for originally posting this awesome idea! She did it to have students record BAG recorder.

I did BAG recorder with my 5th graders and my 2nd Graders are working on DO right now. After reading the book we composed some So-mi-do songs using rock paper scissors.

Students got into pairs and played the game.  If Scissors won (or both students chose scissors) a SO was added to their song.  Paper = Mi, and Rock = Do.   I had students play 8 times for an 8 beat song of all quarter notes.  Check out this awesome student work!

You could also choose to have students first write a rhythm using known concepts, and then use the R-P-S to add the solfege, or as Shauna did add the notes B-A-G.  Working on a new rhythm concept such as tika-tika (beamed 16th notes)? Have students write a rhythm pattern where Quarter Note= Rock, Beamed Eighth Notes= Paper, and Beamed 16th Notes= Scissors (a rest could be when there is a tie.)

I have included 3 simple worksheets below that you can either print OR project to play as a class. They are super basic but get the job done :) Click HERE to access the google doc. When you click the link ,you will be prompted with a screen that asks if you would like to make a copy of the doc.  Click yes and you will be good to go! You can edit your copy, or just print a page as is, but you won't have to worry about messing up the original!

In addition to the activities listed above, you can talk to students about how Rock, Paper, Scissors is a great strategy to solve a conflict.  Partners can't agree? Play RPS.  Unsure of who got to the line first? Play RPS to see who gets to be in front, etc. etc.

Go Forth and Play RPS!