More B-A-G Recorder Activities

During the recorder unit, I give students a lot of time for individual practice (well, when I say "a lot" I mean 20 minutes max).  However, I also like to interject some fun activities to give the students more practice with playing and music reading.  Below are some of my favorite activities:

You know me, I love Folder Games.  This game is called "BAG-IT".  In pairs, the students match the pitch letter names to the correct melodic pattern.  Then, they play the pattern (they can use the pitch letter names to help).  As they play each pattern, they put the pitch letter names back in the bag.  When all are put away, the students play each pattern.  (Note: For the first time, we complete this activity together in a circle.  When students work in pairs, it does get a bit nosy, but I think the extra practice is worth it).   

Update - I used these folder games with my 3rd graders and we did a rotation like this that worked really well:
1. Lay out the cards (folder is closed) face up
2. Teacher plays one of the cards on the recorder and the students must find it (great ear training opportunity)
3. After a majority of the cards have been played, we matched half of the bags together and then the students matched the other half independently.
4. When all cards are matched, we sing and then play each one before putting it away (back into bag).
5. When all cards are gone, students volunteer to play a specific example while the other students attempt to figure out which one they are playing.

You can download this activity (along with CAGE-IT, which uses pitches C, A, G, and E and Earn Your BADGE, which uses pitches B, A, G, E, and D) here: Recorder Folder Games

Another activity I use comes from Music K-8 (at my old school, I was lucky enough to have a subscription).  The game is called "BAG-OH" and it is a recorder-based bingo game.   There are several ways to play it (again, my students are usually in pairs).
1. Teacher plays a pattern and students cover it with a spacer
2. Teacher plays a pattern, students play it back, then cover it with a spacer
3. Teacher sings a pattern, students cover it with a spacer (You can sing on B-A-G or Do-Re-Mi).
4.  Teacher sings a pattern, students play it back, then cover it with a spacer.
You can get the game here: Bag-Oh

I haven't tried this idea yet, but I think it would work (I've done this with rhythm and solfege patterns).  Using the B-A-G Recorder Patterns , print out the slides (2 of each pattern) and glue them onto construction paper (fold it in half "hamburger" style so that it will make an upright tent on the floor).  You'll need to glue the same pattern on each half of the construction paper.  Then, give each student a pattern and have them sit in a circle.  They need to set up the pattern so that one side faces the inside of the circle and one side faces them.  I have a couple ideas for gameplay:
`1. The teacher plays a pattern and the students must identify who has that pattern.  Then, everyone plays the pattern.
2. The teacher plays a pattern and the student who has that pattern plays it back.  Then, that student plays another student's pattern.  The game continues.  After a few times of playing, you could make it a bit more competitive: if a student doesn't recognize their pattern being played, or doesn't play their pattern correctly, they are "out".