Recorder Karate

My 3/4 grade students are EXTREMELY excited for recorders. Every day, I get at least 10 different students asking, "When do we get our recorders?" or "When do I get to play recorder?", and I get excited with them! We are beginning our Recorder unit after Spring Break (we are finishing up note reading through the Mr. Everybody's Musical Apartment books and intensive xylophone work), and to get the kids even more pumped, I created this display outside of my classroom.

Yes, I know the song is missing from the black belt - I had yet to pick it at this point. My students are obsessed with recorder karate due to their experience with it last year, so I had to come up with my very own version of Recorder Karate for this year's 3/4 grade students. I will post pictures as this display develops, but the students will be creating this own tiny name plates that they will move from belt to belt to show their own progress through the belts. I'm really excited for them to get to work and pumped for them to see just how well they can read music as they work on their belts!

Motivation!

All year, I've been trying to find some sort of musical tracking for behavior. I saw this is a fellow music teacher's classroom and decided to put my own spin on it. Here's how I am using it:

• Each day in music, my classes are able to earn 3 Stars for begin Respectful, Responsible, and Safe (PBIS). Please note that the Star System has been in place all year, and this is why I use it with this behavior incentive. We also have music twice per week for 30 minutes each.
  

• A "secret" 4th Star is available if students work above and beyond the expectations for the day's activity (This is difficult to achieve, but they do it often!!)
  

• Each class starts on D above middle C. Their goal is to get to high G by the end of the school year.

• How do they do this? 4 stars = automatic move up one note. 3 stars = I mark it down for the day. If the classes earn two 3-star days in a row, I will cancel them out and make it a 4-star day, automatically moving them up 1 note. 2 stars = move down one note (they lost a star by not following part of the Creed). 1 star = move down 2 notes. 0 stars = start over from the beginning (none of my classes have ever gotten this far...but one student asked all of the hypothetical "what if"s in regards to the incentive, and this is what I told her!)

• REWARD: The first class from each grade level to reach the high G first wins an "Ultra Super Duper Special Music Party Day"! They get to select from games like Rhythm Poison, Orchestra Bingo, Musical Instrument Heads-Up 7 Up, and many more for their party day!

I'll keep you updated on how it progresses, but on Week 3, I can honestly say I've noticed a significant improvement in behavior...and Spring Break is only 1 week away!