How much I assign often has a lot to do with the learning ability of the student.

For the "average" beginning/early elementary student, I usually assign about 2 pieces in the Lesson Book, 1 in the Performance Book, and 1-2 theory book pages. When I give supplemental music, I usually cut down in another area so as not to overload the student. Often times I will not assign a performance book page if the student has sheet music/supplemental book they are learning a piece from.

If a student is super fast and motivated at learning, I may assign more like 3 or 4 pages in the Lesson Book. I try to pace in such a way that the student can handle it, enjoy it, but also make some real progress.

It can be challenging, Kylie. You're not alone.

How many of you assign sightreading for home? I never have until I've started using the new Primer and Level 1 sighreading books. Do you think daily sightreading is making a big difference to your students' progress?

I tend to think about 4 pieces is a good number to practise for the level 2 - 3 crowd.
How many pieces to do your My First Piano Adventures students practise in a week? about two new ones per week?

I like the ebbing and flowing concept

I also think I tend to assign one new lesson books piece, and usually keep the one from the week before because it needs further practice. Plus a technique page. Plus a couple of other pieces from other books. I will definitely think about assigning more piano adventures pieces and less supplemental to try to get the right speed happening.

I often assign sight reading, but I try not to use a sight reading book that is associated with the course the students are using. The writing tends to be too much the same and I think they need a broader experience. However, the sight reading material should not contain things they have not yet learned. Choose carefully.

Well I like the piano adventures books for now because the kids like them. If they're motivated to sightread then that's enough for me to see if sightreading makes a difference. And the parents get on board with the piano adventures books. And its all layed out for me to correlate with their method.

Recently I've been using the PA sightreading books with all of my Primer and level 1 students. I've also just given it to one of my MFPA C students. Other students I lend books from my collection to sight read out of at home. These are not PA books, and I agree that it can be valuable to have different formats and styles to read.

As for the MFPA pacing, it can vary. I'd say the average is 2 new pieces per week, sometimes also a piece from the Writing book if there is one, or I'll assign a "CLAP" sightreading page to do at home. I have one very keen student who can handle about 4 new pieces a week. I have one other young student who gets 1 new piece a week, but sometimes we don't even make it to the next new piece in the book (she goes at about a 1-2 page per lesson rate, but I supplement with a ton of floor games, etc).

Oooh, I'll need to try this one; I tend to move them "slowly" - and I think 1-5 are going well for all my students.

What sight reading book do you use? I started using varied sightreading books because my kids were having trouble identifying notes on the staff. So what do you do when they come back the next week and play the sightreading wrong? They are about level 2A & 2B. They did use flash cards at primer level.
Help! I'm having a feeling I'm missing something along the way. Please give me all you have and anyone else too.
Thanks.

If they are not doing the sight-reading correctly, then they don't have the skills to proceed independently. You need to back up and assess what's missing. Can they find the starting notes correctly, consistently? Can they identify the intervals? Can they solve the rhythm away from the piano? Do they really know the keys and their relationships?

There are many things you could look for. It could also be that the sightreading material is above their level. Sightreading should always be below what they are currently practicing.

Thanks Arlene,
It sounds like I'm mixing up sight reading with learning to identify notes on the staff. My kids seem to do okay with steps & skips but when they see something in a pattern they aren't used to they can't identify the note, like treble d or treble b or treble C. That really concerns me. I'm looking for all kinds of ways to teach them their lines and spaces.

Christi,

The first thing I'd do is just make sure that they're absolutely solid on the key names of the piano. I've had transfer students with note recognition problems and it turned out that we needed to backtrack and solidify their knowledge of the keyboard before working on reading notes on the staff.

Besides that, one thing I've learned over the years is that I need to do a LOT more note name reinforcement for a lot longer than I first thought when I started teaching. It's not just my Primer or Level 1 students who work on retaining note names. I take several approaches. The most popular thing recently, for those students with an iPad or iPhone at home, is to have them play a note-naming game daily as part of their practicing assignment. I also use the "I Can Read Music" books at home and at the lesson. At lessons we play note-naming games, with more advanced students having to recognize more notes, accidentals, etc. I also sometimes have my students sing the note names of the melody while they play (I do this more with Primer/level 1 students, but sometimes I have level 2 student do this as well). Basically I just never let note-naming go. Even if a student seems solid with their note names I still check in weekly to see how well they're retaining, and I continue with activities, flashcards, whatever, to make sure the information stays fresh.

Besides that I also constantly reinforce interval-recognition with games and activities, having them identify intervals in their pieces or talk through the movement ("up a forth, down a second", etc).