When Things Don't Go as Planned...

Today my recorder lessons did not go as planned. Sadly, I could not place the blame on anyone but myself. Last week I spent a few hours making up these really cute "I Have...Who Has..." cards to play with my class. I was so proud of them (and will be sharing them with you soon) and emailed them to myself to print off at school. Or so I thought when I went to print them this morning. Yup. It turns out that I did not actually attach the document or send it. Super. 

Luckily Emily at The Sweetest Melody Blog saved the day. I had been looking at her Recorder Mega-Set this morning before school and was thinking about purchasing it. So since I was stuck and really wanted to play a game with my class I downloaded it. 

Source: The Sweetest Melody Blog

I took her Recorder Dice Game and put it on my Smart Board. I found an interactive die tool and put it up beside the game. My students sit in three rows so I made each row into a team. I would have one student from each team come up and touch the die to roll it. Whatever number it showed was the pattern that the whole row of students would play. I counted them in and they played together. If it wasn't quite perfect I would shout out "Steal!" and any student (including anyone from the first team) who raised their hand the fastest would get a chance to steal it by playing the pattern solo. Then the next team would have their turn to roll. I kept track of points for fun but there was no prize except the classic prize of learning something. 

This was a great way for me to do a quick assessment to see who was really struggling. I made it easy and just showed the letter names. Next time we play I will move to the notes placed on the staff. Sometimes it all works out even when things don't go as planned!