"Back to School" Treble Clef Matching Game

Another great way to review musical concepts (or assess what your students know if you've moved to a new school) is to pair students up for a matching game.

I use matching games ALL the time with grades K-5.  Although I've used cute bunnies and even flowers in matching games before, my older students love them.

I've come up with many different ways to use the same set of materials (other than just matching) so that the students are truly getting enough practice on the concept.

Here's my latest creation.  It has a "back to school" theme.  Here's some ideas on how to use it:

1. Basic Matching Game: Students (in pairs) match the word spelled musically on the chalkboard to the word on the teacher.
Note: When playing this way, the students are seated in a large circle next to their partner.  I "challenge" them to complete the activity three times before they call me over to check their work.  This eliminates mistakes and gives my struggling students adequate time to at least complete the activity once.  It also allows me time to walk around and observe how the students are doing and how they are working together - and to help out when I need to.

2. Memory matching game: Students (in pairs) turn the cards over.  One partner turns one teacher and one chalkboard over.  If it is a match, the student keeps the pair and continues.  If not, the other student takes a turn.  The student with the most pairs at the end (when all cards are gone) wins.

3. Whole-class matching game: I distribute the materials to pairs of students (or individually if I've made enough).  Using my projector and document camera, I show the students a chalkboard and ask them to find the corresponding teacher.  This can get competitive if you break the students into little teams and award points for teams that get the answer correct.  If you're not sure that your students will be successful playing ways 1 or 2, try this first so they see what you're asking them to do. 

Download this game here: Back to School Treble Clef Matching Game

Shoo-Fly Treble Clef Set

Whew, I finally got all of this together!  Looks like more cutting and laminating ahead for me, haha.

My older students have enjoyed our music spelling activities, including Music Spelling - Sports Edition, Music Spelling - St. Patrick's Day Edition, and Music Spelling - Bunny Edition.  We've been working on many other staff-naming activities.  I'm lucky enough to have a large staff wipe/magnetic board, a floor staff (made from a white shower curtain), four cookie pans with staves, large staff wipeboards (four), and of course I have staff pages laminated (for use with bingo chips, or tasty snacks such as candy hearts) and in plastic page protectors to be drawn on with dry-erase markers (I highly recommend this - it saves trees and is easy to clean up, plus, kids love working with the markers).  They've also used other activities, such as lines and spaces matching and various treble clef worksheets.

Here are two more activities they will use:

I blogged about this activity earlier this week: Shoo-Fly Treble Clef PowerPoints  Sometimes it is nice to do a quick activity with PowerPoint (especially with my 5th graders - we are really focused on their upcoming 80's-themed program) instead of lugging out all the materials.

My 4th graders aren't working on anything performances at the moment, so they've busy with lots of different things.  I created this next set of PowerPoints for them.  There are three levels (level one has 2-3 letter words, level two has 4-5 letter words, and level three has 6-7 letter words).
First, the students see a slide like this:

Then, they can dictate it one of two ways (I'm going to use the worksheets so I have some assessments to grade):
Dictation 1: Either use in a plastic bag with dry-erase marker or print out and use bingo-chips so students can create the word on the staff (with younger students I've doing activities like this with paint-swatch solfa-houses on larger, poster-sized staves I created from butcher paper and laminated - my older ones have also used my dry-erase staff boards on a similar activity):

Dictation 2: Students receive a worksheet for each level (so three worksheets total) and must draw the word on the staff themselves (I also have them draw a treble clef):

There are follow-up slides to each word, so students can check their work (and you can discuss what other ways it could have been dictated):

I also created this activity where students match a fly:

To a corresponding trash-can:

The kids love matching games like these, especially when they've finished, I've checked their work, and they can then turn over all their cards and play it like a memory matching game.

My 3rd graders are still working on learning the treble clef, and they've been busy with many B-A-G recorder activities, such as:
Easter Themed Recorder Activity

B-A-G Tent Game

B-A-G Folder Games

B-A-G Dice Game

So I created a Treble Clef Review PowerPoint (see previous post below for more info):

And also this B-A-G matching game (relates to all the fly stuff previously):

The students match a fly:

To the corresponding trash-can:

Then, the students can play each pattern on their recorder.  You can also play a pattern and have them identify it (once the whole class is finished) and then everyone can play together.  Students can take turns playing patterns for the class to copy.  They can also place patterns in specific orders to create small compositions to play.

The bundled download, Shoo-Fly Bundled Set, is a great value.  You can also download the activities separately:
1.Shoo-Fly Mini Lesson Set
2. Shoo-Fly Treble Clef Matching PowerPoints
3. Treble Clef and Recorder Matching Game - Fly and Trashcan
4. Shoo-Fly Treble Clef Dictation PowerPoints

Shoo-Fly Treble Clef PowerPoints

I'm hoping that later today I'll be able to post a Shoo-Fly teaching PowerPoint I've been working on for 2nd/3rd grade (freebie alert!).

While scrolling through the mounds of cute clip art at My Cute Graphics, I found some more fly-related stuff and now I'm all sorts of carried away.  Pretty much everyone on TPT and Pinterest uses her stuff and I LOVE IT.

My 3rd graders are still working on the treble clef pitches.  (4th and 5th still get reviewed, drilled, and play staff-related games, however).  I'm creating this activity for them.

I'm working on a treble clef tic-tac-toe activity, another matching activity, a whole-class game (fly swatters anyone?), and maybe a worksheet or two.  I'll be posting and bundling these as I make them.

Here's the first bundle: Shoo-Fly Treble Clef Practice PowerPoints

Since my 3rd graders are relatively new to learning absolute pitches, I created this review PowerPoint:

My students have had a lot of practice on the music staff from solfa work, but just to review.

Since my 3rd graders are beginners, I don't have actual notes (quarter notes, etc) on the staff in this activity.  They already know about notes and stem directions from our solfa-work, so I'm keeping this activity "cute" and using the flies.  When we do the whole-class activity I'm working on for this set, they'll have practice looking at and drawing real notes on the staff.

I have this poem posted on a sign in my room (I can't seem to find a picture of it and I'm not at school at the moment, ugh) underneath a picture of the music staff with the lines and spaces numbered.  Students refer to it all the time.

I've defined "treble clef" before and it is on our word wall.  "G clef" will be new.

Then we go up the staff (remind the students that the furthest letter in the alphabet is "G" - I relate this to the xylophones and other orff instruments they've already played)

And then down the staff.

Every good boy does fine is on a nice poster (Music Basics) in my room, so I tend to use it exclusively.  I know there are many others, including one a 5th grader shared with me, "Every good boy doesn't fart".  Lovely.

There is also one for the spaces.  Then, students have to practice identifying the note (the answer flies in when the PowerPoint is clicked).

Uh-oh, this requires thinking.  My 4th and 5th graders work on the treble clef from the A below middle C to the A above the staff and are doing quite well.  Even though we usually only use low A on some low la songs and we hardly ever go above the staff on anything, these extended pitches are essential for middle school band (sooo many go into flute, violin, or clarinet) and chorus.  My 3rd graders won't really work with these pitches yet, but it doesn't hurt to use some critical thinking skills.  Plus, I've posted Treble Clef signs around the school (in well-visited places, near doors and restrooms) that the students can refer to when waiting to line up, etc (extra practice - it helps).  You can download the sign here: http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/music/trebleandbassclef.htm

Here's the real fun though.  In subsequent lessons, students will practice "reading" words on the music staff.  Click on the correct apple (on the stem) and the flies fly off the screen - they've been shoo-ed.  If your student(s) chooses an incorrect apple, click on the stem of that apple and nothing will happen - they know they'll have to try again.

There are three levels: Level 1 - 2 to 3 letters, Level 2 - 4 to 5 letters, and Level 3 - 6 to 7 letters

Music Spelling Bundle - Easter Theme

Ugh!  The more of these spelling activities I created, the more I thought, "Make one for each grade!"  I'm always laminating and cutting, haha.

Each level has a PowerPoint where the students practice reading (and singing or playing, if appropriate) on the music staff and get prepared for the matching activity.  When matching, students match the basket (spelled on the staff with Easter eggs) to the bunny (has the letters or solfa spelled out).  Two levels also included a composition activity.

I'm finding that these are really handy practice for the students and a great assessment tool for me.  Win-win!

This bundle, Easter Music Spelling Bundle, includes an activity for each grade level.  Here are the specifics:

The students will match patterns on the music staff (on the basket) to the corresponding spelling or solfa pattern (on the bunny). Corresponding PowerPoint games (instructions included) and composition activities I(instructions included) are included.

Included in the download are:
1. So and Mi Activities (appropriate for Kinder of First): three matching activities (C, F, G Major) and three PowerPoint games (C, F, G Major)
2. Mi-So-La Activities (appropriate for First and Second): two matching activities (F and G Major) and two PowerPoint games (F and G Major)
3. Do-Mi-So-La Activities (appropriate for Second and Third): two matching activities (F and G Major), two PowerPoint games (F and G Major), and two composition activities (F and G Major)
4. B-A-G Recorder Activities (appropriate for 3rd-5th): one matching activity and one PowerPoint game
5. Music Spelling (on the treble clef - appropriate for 3rd-5th): one matching activity, one PowerPoint game, and one composition activity

Music Spelling - Bunny Edition

My 4th graders really enjoyed using the St. Patrick's Day Music Spelling game.  It was a nice opportunity for me to assess their progress as well.  I decided to create a second, similar activity, this one with an Easter-theme.  Here's, Music Spelling - Bunny Edition.

There are twelve bunnies.  I've made them tall enough that the students can place the corresponding basket on top, without covering the letters.  That way, when I'm checking, I can see both the word and the basket and assess their work quickly.  I have the students lay out the bunnies in two rows of six (nice and neat) and match the baskets one by one on top.

Before they complete this activity, we go through a PowerPoint game together, where the students must read six patterns on the eggs (like the one below) in order to help the Easter Bunny collect them back in his basket.

I also created a composition follow-up activity.  The students cut out the four eggs and use them to spell a word on the staff.

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".