Submitted by Bruce R. Schutrum, Canton, Ohio
Idea posted March 22, 2004
I give each class daily points based on their class' time on task and how quietly they worked. (We have no headphones.) The class points are posted on a white board for all to see. Those off task learn from a vocabulary list instead of the keyboard and lose points for the class. Peer pressure goes a long way in keeping the class on task.
We don't perform on the keyboards daily but from time to time play a tune in an ensemble: bass on Boomwhackers®, chords on autoharps and guitar, and melody (and bass if they wish) on keyboards. I arrange the class in the chorus format with different students playing the tune during different choruses. I include an introduction, interludes (bridges) between choruses, and a coda.
When we work on "Heart and Soul," I have various levels for "Harmony Meister" and "Melody Meister" with colored certificates and lists of those who have reached each level.