End-of-the-Year Packets

The annual question: what to do in band class following the spring concert?

Each year I have experimented with different activities to do with the days (or weeks) that follow the band spring concert, from sight-reading music for the next year to making recordings of music for future students to composing music. The students and I enjoyed the set of activities that were completed last year, so I decided to improve upon it this year and create a packet.

Cover page to a packet

Each class received a slightly different packet, each including activities they were required to complete and additional optional activities.

OPINION SURVEY: Each student was required to complete an opinion survey. For 7th grade students it including questions regarding activities and music from this school year, as well as questions about next year. For 8th grade students, I did not include the questions about next year. I asked the students NOT to put their name on this survey; I hope to receive honest opinions through anonymity. This was the back page of the packet; once the survey was complete, the student pulled off the page and handed it to me. I marked on my grade-sheet that the student completed the task.

COMPOSE A MELODY: Each student was required to compose an 8-measure melody for their instrument. I gave them guidelines: it must be in a key (use a scale as a guide), it must use all 7 pitches of the key, the key must be accurately noted, and it can be composed using the rhythm given or with an original rhythm. Percussion students had the option of creating the entire 8-measures for bells, or splitting it 4 for bells (with all guidelines followed) and 4 for snare (rhythm entirely original). The student had the option of performing the composition for me as bonus. I graded based on adherence to the guidelines.

SELECT A PLAYING QUIZ: Each student was required to perform a final playing quiz. Each class was given a choice between 2 exercises at the current playing level, except for the advanced 8th grade class: these students could select any exercise (not including warm-ups or scale) to perform. Percussion were asked to complete half the quiz on bells and half on snare. This is standard in my classroom; this way I can check both skill sets (note-reading on bells and technique on snare) without asking them to perform more measures than the rest of the band. I included the grading rubric for the quiz on the back of the front page to the packet. When the student was ready to play, I used their rubric to grade and give feedback and wrote the grade on my grade sheet. The student kept the rubric and were able to practice and perform again if they wanted to improve.

PAY YOUR BAND DEBT: This only applied to students who owed fees for books or rentals, or needed to check-in a school-owned instrument.

WHAT DO YOU MEME?: This optional activity asked students to look at band-related photos (2 were of our actual students) and create memes that will be postures for our classroom next year.

Meme Bulletin Board

There are 3 complete meme examples at the top and then 9 photos to use for new memes. The two photos directly below the green sign are of band students. I have not read all of their ideas, however the ones shown to me are really funny!! I'm debating using my judgement to select the best/funniest, or allow them to vote in the fall and then have the posters created.

TOP 3 TIPS FOR BAND SUCCESS: Last year, an optional activity was for students to write a short letter to a future band student. This year I adjust the optional activity to have the students list their top 3 tips for being successful in class, which I will then use to create a Top Ten list to give to incoming band students. I encouraged them to phrase them using kid-friendly words, being funny or serious or whatever works for them. I have only glanced at a few, but there as some goodies: "Don't eat and then play; your instrument will smell gross."

MY LIFE IN SONG: This optional activity asked students to list songs and events that are forever tied in their memories. For example, whenever they hear a particular song, a specific event is brought to mind. The students found this one to be the most challenging; some could only think of one or two and others did not even bother with this activity since it was optional and they were stuck on ideas.

PERFORM SCALE FOR BAND REWARDS POINTS: The final optional activity was the opportunity to earn more points for the Band Rewards program. There were many students who were 1-2 activities away from earning the next level, so this option gave them class time to memorize and perform scales to earn points.

Overall, this packet was successful. The students could complete the activities in any order, and jump around to difference activities if they felt "stuck" on something. They were also able to work together and assist each other. The atmosphere in the room was "controlled chaos." I see my students for 80 minutes every other day, so most were completed the requirements and the optional activities of their choice within 3 classes (240 minutes). Of course I had a few stragglers that struggled with time-management, but perhaps that was a lesson they needed to learn :)

48 Festival Judges?!?

If the band director or music teacher world had political parties, I would probably be placed in the ultra-liberal, radical party. I have ideas, and views, and ways of doing things that are not always traditional. I do them in search of additional avenues of teaching my students and guiding them to be musicians, not to make waves in the music education community. But it seems as if the waves are a natural side-effect of my choices.

My latest wave-making idea is the "Comments-Only" festival attendance. For the first time, my band participated in our county festival for comments-only, no rating given by the panel of judges.

I believe my students do need the ears and eyes of other music professionals to help them progress and improve. I absolutely LOVE band clinics, where the "clinicians" listen to the band perform then work with them to make the performance even better. I am no so in love with the festival which keeps the "judges" and the band separate. I do not feel the comments have as great of an effect when they are written and recorded as when they are personally delivered and immediately performed.

I explained to the students about the "comments-only"status and we discussed as a group how that can be beneficial to us: instead of having just 3 judges, we will have 48 - each student in our band will be a judge, plus we will have the comments from the 3 official judges.

While performing at the festival, I made a "clean" recording of our performance using a digital recording device on the conductor's podium. Not the greatest placement for getting a good sound, but at least I had something to immediately share with the students. I then received the recorded comments on CD and written comment sheets from each judge following our performance.

The next class, the students received a "Compliments & Critiques" sheet to use while listening to the clean recording. As they heard great aspects of our playing, they would jot down these thoughts under Compliments. As they heard aspects of our playing that were not so great, they would write them under Critiques. I have worked with them all year learning how to write specific thoughts: "we played good" is not a compliment, instead we write "the trumpets entered at the right time with good volume."

After listening to the entire clean recording, the students turned to the back of the Compliments & Critiques page where they found a ratings chart. It is the same concept as what the judges complete, however simplified for a middle school student to complete. The students places a mark (check, star, shade-it-in) for the letter grade (A, B, C, F) they would give the band for each category (intonation, tone quality, etc.). Then they completed some quick math (add, multiply, & add some more) to find our overall rating.

It was amazing to find that 95% of the group had the same result, with 3% rating slightly higher and 2% rating slightly lower. The students believed this rating had more weight and meaning than when it comes from a judge they don't even know or have not met.

During the next class, we listened to parts of the judges recordings (not the entire performance from each judge due to time constraints) and I shared all of the comments from the recordings and comment sheets. The students placed a mark (star, check, underline) on their Compliment & Critique sheet if a judge mentioned the same thing they had written. Every students had multiple items with these additional marks. Definitely an eye-opening experience for many of them.

The students kept these sheets in their folders to refer to whenever we play these selections in preparation for our spring concert. Although my method breaks with tradition, it seems that my students gained musicianship skills from this experience: better listening skills, a more discerning ear, better use of performance-based vocabulary, and improved problem-solving skills (how to fix what they critiqued).

Music Class Reward Programs

Over this year in my classroom, I have organized two types of reward programs: one program to reward band students for "performing" above and beyond the class requirement and one program to encourage my general music students to make good behavior choices.


BAND: IT'S REWARDING!

As with many band directors, I have struggled with how to recognize students who are motivated to complete additional assignments beyond the class assignment such as scales, practicing, and attending performances outside of school. This year, I experimented with this program:

Activities, point values, and reward levels

Each additional assignment is assigned a point value; I also remain open to any suggestions from students for assignments I haven't considered. As the students accumulate points, they reach prize points. I printed class rosters, posted them on the wall, and keep track of the points in a prominent area of the classroom.

Class rosters and point tally

For my highly motivated students, this gives them the recognition they desire. For the slightly motivated students, this gives them the kick in the butt to work just a bit harder. For the rest, not much difference in their choices, however it is not viewed as a negative consequence.


STAR STUDENTS

Prior to winter break, my 6th grade general music students began making very poor behavior choices. So I spent a few days devising a rewards program to encourage them to make the good behavior choices.

Class Dojo, star-shaped hole punch, reward cards

Using ClassDojo (online and iPad app), I created class rosters for each class and set up the lists of desired behaviors (positive, green points) and undesired behaviors (negative, red points). During the class period, I keep track of each student's behavior choices. By the end of the period, they need to have earned more positives than negatives and be "in the green." This earns them a "star:" I hole punch a star onto the reward card. Stars can be redeemed for prizes such as candy, key-chains, or special privileges.

Within 4 days (I see my student every other day), the reward program was paying off. The students who consistently make good behavior choices are rewarded for these choices. The students who sometimes make poor behavior choices have a reason to choose positive behaviors. Of course, there are still a few (approximately 1 per class) that this program does not work for since they find more power and control in their current poor behavior. We can't win them all, but we can encourage those on the "fence" to make appropriate choices.