If you teach general music to students who refuse to 'settle down', are too distracted to listen, and misbehave at every turn, here is an exciting tip to help you "win over your TOUGHEST music class."

Live From Television City In Hollywood... Your Music Class!

What's the most popular television game today?  Wheel Of Fortune®?  Jeopardy®?  Who Wants To Be A Millionaire®? 

Whatever show is popular, why not make a general music version tailored to your curriculum and students? 
Take Wheel Of Fortune®, for example.  You could adapt the game to your classroom, call it "Wheel Of Forte", and explore the concept of dynamics. 

You could give your students the following clue for this puzzle:

_   _   _   _   _   _   _

Clue: Moderate (walking) pace.

While solving the puzzle, your students will learn the definition of the word 'andante'.

Rules for playing this game can be very, very simple.  Students are chosen to supply letters of the alphabet.  As the word "andante" gets filled in, students can guess the correct answer.  The first team to solve the puzzle wins.

How does playing "Wheel Of Forte" help with a poorly behaved class?  First, before you play any game, divide the class into teams, and award points to a team for good behavior.  For example, you might say, "everyone on team one is facing front with eyes on me - they get two points for good behavior."  This will foster peer pressure on all members of each team to behave in order to win points.  Second, over time, even the worst offenders will realize that poor behavior hurts their team's chances of winning, and consequently, proper behavior can ensure victory.

I hope the television game show idea I've outlined here is helpful to you.  If you'd like to explore more ideas for  discipline in the general music class, you'll find them in my book, Winning Over Your TOUGHEST Music Class.

          
Music Appreciation                                                    Classroom Management