Top 10 things to know
Book B Concepts
- Rhythm values:
- The CD and Online Audio with children’s voices help students LISTEN, SING, TAP, and MOVE
- Reading steps on the staff
- Grand Staff notes from Bass C to Treble G
- Time signatures: 4/4 and 3/4
- Students read the C 5-finger scale and scale patterns
- Dynamic marks:
- The tie, quarter rest, octave
- Technique Games:
– Making Glasses
– Silent Melody
– Patterns by Memory
– and Fingers
– 3-Speed Finger
– Knocking Game
– Silent L.H. Jump
– Thumb Whispers
– Star Crossing Over - Stickers that Teach® offer fun review and rewards. Flashcard Sheets offer games for class and private lessons.
and 
Fingers
Top 5 things to see
Book B Pedagogy Pointers
- The Grand Staff introduction in Unit 2 may be started at the same lesson as Unit 1. Create your own staff games using a large floor staff.
- Technique Games give colorful images to express hand movements.
- Students analyze a new note (line, space) and often imitate or create a rhythm with the teacher on that note.
- Students play simple passages hands-together starting at p. 68.
- A grand Theme and Variations at the end of the Lesson Book gives opportunity for dynamic, expressive playing.
Top 5 things to do
Book B Teaching Actions
- Help students pronounce the composer names with ease.
- Use the audio to: tap the beat, sing the words, point to the notes, and play with the orchestration.
- Circle things in the music: steps, rhythm patterns, dynamics, etc.
- Ask students to analyze the patterns in a song and play by memory often.
- Express to students how far they have come—remember when they didn’t know a quarter note!
The best advice
Put an additional sticker on a weekly review song. This salutes the value of repetition!