This was the second year that I used "the belt" method and the kids were even more motivated than last year! Whole Brain Teaching says competition can promote better focus and achievement. I avoided competition in all my previous years. Why? Because I wanted kids to succeed at their own pace and not become intimidated by the goals of others. Not a bad way to think but I never saw the kind of excitement that my students have now playing for those little pieces of yarn.
I use the "Rainbow Belts" and you can read about it in my blog post, Beginning Recorders on E. This year I posted everyone's progress by class. This allowed me to include students who had lost or did not own a recorder to participate. I was surprised that kids actually began buying/replacing lost recorders, just to get that sweet little piece of yarn on the instrument.
Using this tracking strategy also helped ME remember who had accomplished which level, who I could choose to coach another student and where each class needed to focus their attention.
I added another PDF to my growing bundle of songs for these Rainbow Belts. I use them on my Smartboard so everyone can see them. Go ahead and snatch them up for ...FREE!
Do you use recorder belts? Some of my students have run out of space for more belts on their recorder. Have you experienced this? What did YOU do?
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