Recital week is here, and I'm in the midst of putting the finishing touches on what promises to be a very enjoyable evening. In order to build enthusiasm for the upcoming recital I've held group lessons for the past 2 evenings. This is the first time I've tried putting group lessons on the actual recital week, and while it's been a bit exhausting and meant a whole lot more preparation on my part, I think that on the whole it's been a positive experience.
Here are some of the activities we've been involved in for this week's group lessons:
1) My older group took a pop-quiz at the beginning of their group lesson to see how well they really knew their piece! I only had 1 student who scored a perfect 100%- it was amazing how many students didn't know the actual tempo marking or the starting dynamic! Whoops! Guess I need to be a bit more of a stickler on this one.
2) Our first group activity was a visit to the pumpkin patch :) I printed and laminated pumpkins, wrote letters of the musical alphabet on them, and hid them in the front yard. Teams competed against each other in a musical alphabet hunt to see who could gather (in the correct order) all the letters of the musical alphabet. The older groups did the same thing using skips.
3) Back inside, we stayed in teams and competed using D'Net Layton's Candy Corn Note Match to see which team could collect the most candy corn. The various pieces were scattered between 3 locations.
4) As a calmer activity after all the running around, we played rhythm BINGO using candy pumpkins as our tokens. The winner got to eat their completed row. :)
5) After student performances, a listening activity concluded each group lesson. I used Jennifer Fink's excellent Listening Challenge Worksheets.
Group lessons this time around were a real blast and served as an excellent enthusiasm booster for the upcoming recital. I can't wait for Friday!
Any other teachers out there prepping for a recital? Do you have any excellent fall-themed resources or activity ideas to share?
I remember doing group lessons one year on the recital week. It made sense but I also remember that I needed some private time with a few students who needed some extra motivation for the big day. Good luck on your recital. I am doing one this Saturday as well.
ReplyDeleteI have had to do some individual lessons this week too. Thanks for your comment- and good luck with your upcoming recital!
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