Keeping students motivated is one of the most important things I keep in mind while teaching. I have found that younger students are often motivated by having a goal and being rewarded when they reach that goal. My younger students respond best when the goals they are trying to accomplish are small, such as learning one scale a week, and receiving a sticker for each scale learned on a chart. Here are some materials which help me motivate younger students on a weekly basis:
1.Bastien Student Boosters, distributed by the Neil A. Kjos Music Co.
This packet contains 4 different items to help motivate students:
Reader of the Week Chart: Students can sign their names on the chart each week after sight reading well at their lesson.
One Minute Club cards: Students are asked to name all the notes on the staff (24 notes)on their flashcards, in less than one minute. When this goal is accomplished, students' pictures are placed on a bulletin board and are in the "One Minute Club!"
Scale chart, and Practice chart: these charts are great and motivate students to learn scales little by little, and to practice at home each week.
For more information on the Bastien Student Boosters packet, please go to www.kjos.com.
2. Music Flashcards:
Flashcards are a big help in teaching young students to read music. All of my beginning students use flashcards to help learn and review individual notes for the first few years of piano lessons.
3. Bastien Theory Boosters Series:
These small little theory books are great for teaching or reviewing individual concepts. There are 12 books in the series and students seem to like the fact that they can go through each one fairly quickly and the material in the books is well-presented, and easy to understand.
For more information on the Theory Boosters Series, please read my post about this series in the March, 2010 archives.