Center: Instrument Sort

I always do centers during the last rotation of the school year.  With everything that is going on with end of the year celebrations, performances, etc., it's an easy way to keep the kids focused.  One of my new centers this year was Instrument Sort.  I only did this center with Kindergarten because it is pretty basic.

What you need:
Assorted basket of small percussion instruments
3 circles for sorting

How to Play:
Sort the instruments by the way they are played.
One at a time pick an instrument, demonstrate and tell your group how it is played (shake, scrape, strike) and place it into a circle.
Repeat with a new person picking an instrument.

This seems to take them about 7 minutes, as long as they follow the directions, which is about the amount of time my students get at each center.  If they finish early, they could sort the instruments again but by what they are made out of (metal, wood, skin).  You want to make sure to give students a mixture of instruments (known and unknown) so that they can discuss why it is being sorted into a particular circle.

Although I did this at the end of the year, this would be a great activity on a day when you have no voice!