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How to make a Rattle with your Students:
This is a Bull Horn Rattle. It is used in the social songs and dances of the Haudenosaunee People. Below are the steps to making a rattle that you can use in your class.
The materials you will need are a plastic bathroom cup, an 8" section of dowel rod, poster board, popcorn kernels and hot glue.
First you poke a hole in the center of the bottom of the cup that is just large enough for the wooden dowel to fit in.
Next, on the poster board you trace the opening of the cup and cut it out slightly larger. You then poke a hole in the centre of the cut out circle just large enough for the dowel rod to fit through.
You then put the dowel through the circle cap and the cup. Next you place 5 - 10 corn kernels in the cup and glue the circle cap onto the cup.
To glue the cap run a line of hot glue along the edge of the cup and gently place cap centred on cup. Next glue the top and bottom holes where the dowel comes through to ensure they don't tear open.
If you wish to decorate the rattle you need to cut one of the unused cups straight down the side and cut off the top and bottom rims. You now have a perfect template to cut out on paper that can be coloured or painted. This can then be glued onto the cup.
The completed rattle makes a very nice rhythmic sound that closely resembles that of the original Horn Rattle.
