Submitted by Brenda Williams, Rockvale, Tennessee
Idea posted January 13, 2004
I used to start at one end of a row, alternating from front row to back row, etc. Then I thought of drawing names. In my class, each student has a seat number. I write the numbers on the end of popsicle sticks and place them "number side down" in a bowl. I simply draw numbers, and those students can get up and choose their instrument. I ask the students to choose an instrument that they haven't played before. If a student isn't paying attention and misses their number, oh, well. They'll just be the last to go to the instruments. This has been a wonderful "whine-saver" in my class because the students know that it's fair.