In our last blog post, five of our bloggers collaborated with some engaging ideas for teaching notes on the treble clef staff. In this blog post, we have more ideas from more of our bloggers!
From Melody: I love using chants to help my students learn the treble notes. As they’re learning and memorizing the chant, they’re learning and memorizing the lines and spaces, without even realizing it! Being able to name the lines and spaces quickly and easily is the goal, and once students are able to do this, their confidence rises and they are more excited than ever to sight-read new songs and piano pieces!
First, I teach each part of the chant by rote (first the lines, then the spaces), and as I say the letters of the lines and spaces, I play them on the piano to create an aural connection with the letters they are chanting. After working on the line notes, we follow up with a fun note-naming race worksheet, and then we do the same after learning the space notes. The students also love playing the line and space notes on the piano.
The first image shows the chant with the appropriate rhythms (for teacher use), and the second image shows the handout with visual elements that I give to the students. I try to incorporate as many different senses as possible to give students the best chance of remembering the the treble clef notes.
After students have memorized the chant and completed the note naming pages, we continue solidifying the line and space notes in subsequent lessons with a variety of fun (and sometimes silly!) activities incorporating their senses in multiple ways.
Click here to download the visuals above.
From Elaine: I am a huge fan of manipulatives. Every once in awhile I come across a unique or useful tool, and this one may just be my favorite! The Music Teaching Board from Music is Elementary is genius! This 9x12 magnetic staff board comes with a set of note and rest magnets, little round magnets, is dry erase, has a board to use for piano classes, and comes with a thick ziplock bag to keep it all together. Did I mention that I LOVE this teaching tool!?
This awesome little board works for a variety of musical activities but here are just a few ideas on how to get started:
Teach a Friend: When you’re done explaining a new idea-- perhaps you’ve just gone over a trick for remembering the lines-- have your students take turns reviewing the content with each other. Each member of the group gets a chance to play the teacher. My students love this simple activity because of the fun teaching tool. We often have competitions to see who can come up with the most creative “trick” for remembering the lines and spaces.
Easy Composition: Working on composing in your treble clef unit? Have your students use the magnets to come up with a simple melody. If you’d like, students can write the note names underneath for a quick assessment. Be sure to use a dry erase marker and it’ll wipe right off when you’re done! When you’re finished assessing note knowledge, have your students perform the melodies on an Orff instrument or a recorder. Instant fun!
The last thing that is so amazing about these little boards is the reasonable price. At about $11.00 each, you’ll want several of these bad boys in your teaching arsenal.
From Linda: I love teaching the treble clef note names and know from experience that some students understand the concept easily and others need it broken down into smaller steps!
I spend a couple of lessons working on the concept “line” or “space”. Let’s face it, the note head when in a space actually looks like it is sitting on the line and invariably when I explain about the difference there are students that need a little more practice for one reason or another!
I usually divide the class into groups of three so more students have the opportunity to practice reading lines and spaces instead of waiting for a turn. Each group will have a set of cards to place on the floor. One student in each group will record the score, the second student will check the answer(s) and the third student will be looking for the answer in the set of cards. I have the students rotate positions/jobs after each question so everyone has multiple turns at each job! If you want to add a little movement/brain break to the activity have the answer student run to his/her set of cards to look for the answer after you ask the question.
Below are a few of the questions might I ask the groups:
· For 1 point find a card with a note on a space
· For 1 point find a card with a note on a line
· For 2 points find two cards with a note on a space
· For 3 points find three cards with a note on a line
· For 4 points find four cards with a note on a space
· For 5 points find one space note and one line note
· For 5 points find two space notes and three line notes
If I really want to add an additional challenge I have 3 cards with two notes on each card that I add to the mix with all my other questions.
· For 1 point find the card with 2 notes on a space
· For 1 point find the card with 2 notes on a line
· For 2 points find the card with 1 note in a space and 1 note on a line
Typically, the groups end up with the same scores which is a win since I’m not concerned with who has the highest score!
It is easy to repeat the game using note names once the students have had the opportunity to actually read the notes on the staff.
· For 1 point find a card with the note A
· For 1 point find a card with the note D
· For 2 points find the card with the note B and the card with the note E
· For 4 points find the four space notes and spell the word FACE
I love using games and manipulatives to reinforce a concept! The students are having fun and don’t even realize they are learning.
If you would like a copy of the cards click here to download a set: cut along dotted line, laminate if needed and you are ready to go! http://bit.ly/McPhersonSpaceLineNoteCards
From David: I like sneaking in content whenever possible and doing it in silly and memorable ways. This ideas isn’t so much a way to teach the content, but a way to reinforce the knowledge that they’re learning in other lessons.
I have a betta fish in my classroom and he’s sort of our class pet and unofficial mascot. Sidenote: I have gone through about 4 or 5 bettas over the years and when they inevitably die I just replace them with another one of the same color. That’s why I try to buy bettas that are only one color and not multiple colors. The kids really don’t notice…
My betta is named “Eegee B. DeEff” which if you say it slowly comes out to “E, G, B, D, F.” The younger kids just take this as face value that he has a weird name. The older kids get suspicious and I say something like “Oh yes, his name is Eegee B. DeEff, but you can call him E.G. for short. You know, he keeps telling me that he has a very handsome “F. A. C. E.”” Most kids figure it out by this point and call me out on his name being the same as the treble clef line notes. It makes them smile but more than that, it helps them remember.
Yes, it's a weird name for a fish. Of course I could just call him Beethoven or something, but the kids remember Eegee. They know it's a weird name but they also know that it's a very unique name. Kids remember Eegee and after saying it a couple of times they don't question that it's weird, they actually like it. It's a fun little trick and what a great way to reinforce content!
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What are your favorite ways to practice identifying notes on the treble clef staff? Feel free to comment below. Enjoy singing and teaching!
this is good for u mind
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