PREFACE. Karla Hastings

Transcription

1 PREFACE We have all heard that learning to play the piano enhances brain development. For 3 decades Anybody Can Play has sought to make effective, easy to use, pleasant piano lessons available and affordable for all children (and adults) who desire to learn to play the piano. These daily worksheet lessons are the result of years of working with tens of thousands of young children. The lessons are daily because young children need to completely remember or internalize - each step. Trying to do several lesson sheets in one sitting makes it impossible for the children to master and retain these all important steps. The adult parent or teacher helps the children follow through each step in the lessons. Each lesson is designed to seem easy to the children. If the lesson is cinchy the children will remember the skill. Comments about how easy the lesson is and how well they are learning are encouraging and important to the children. Full sized Answer Sheets and Instructions and Suggestions are included for each lesson. Pre-school and early elementary students require the most highly skilled teachers teachers who are able to communicate to children who have little background in learning. The instructions may seem overly detailed and repetitious at times, but remember these are also for parents and teachers who are not so experienced with teaching little children. Parents and teachers who have had piano lessons themselves will note that these lessons are quite different from the manner in which they were taught. These lessons are patterned on language development, so do not change the order of the lessons or add to (or delete) any exercise. The benefit of some lessons may not be obvious to you! And no, I haven t forgotten anything Trust me. It isn t the time for it. Set the ground rules for piano time from day one. Learning to play the piano is exciting, but the children also need to learn how to act both during the group table-time and the independent time in the music center. Pianos and keyboards are not toys. Disruptive or careless behavior must have consequences. Discuss listening position (hands folded on the table), practice following directions (listen to the teacher s words first, then do what the words said).. As a teacher or teacher parent always be sure to give the children clear directions (Put your lesson sheet on the table. Put your colors on top of the lesson sheet. Put your hands in listening position.) Remember to compliment the children when they follow your instructions well. In addition to learning to play the piano (with all the enhanced spatial reasoning and retention skills that go with it) these children are being methodically taught how to learn in small steps a very difficult skill which even these young children soon realize most adults cannot do. This realization is very motivating for the children. The ability to play the piano can forever change their lives. I always tell my students that to get from here to there all you have to do is keep putting one step in front of the other. You don t have to get from here to there in one giant leap just step by easy step. Karla Hastings

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14 Anybody Can Play Pre-K Sample Lesson Sheet #1 Instructions & Suggestions for Teachers & Parents LESSON OBJECTIVE: Introduce terminology: white keys and black keys To distinguish black keys from white keys To follow directions MATERIALS NEEDED: Pre-K Sample Lesson Sheet #1 for each child Black color or marker for each child PRESENTATION: Keys make things work...keys start cars, keys open doors When we push down a key on the piano it makes a sound. The piano has white keys and black keys (point out black and white keys on sheet). The top two sets of keys look right, but the bottom two sets of keys are missing something. What is wrong with them? (The black keys are not colored in.) ACTIVITY: Have the children point to black keys. Have the children point to white keys. Then have the children point to the keys that are supposed to be black. Using their black color, have them color the keys that are supposed to be black. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES: (The children are always very anxious to play the piano. This activity lets them play the piano, but also sets the pattern for following instructions and playing the piano carefully.) If a piano or keyboard is nearby, line up the children in front of the keyboard. Ask each child to do a specific task(s) such as: Play a black key one time with your pointer finger. Play a white key one time with your pinkie finger. Etc. etc. Copyright: Karla Hastings Austin, TX , 8/2003 Permission is granted to copy for parents and teachers interested in the Anybody Can Play curriculum. Copies may not be

15 Anybody Can Play Pre-K Sample Lesson Sheet #2 Instructions & Suggestions for Teachers & Parents LESSON OBJECTIVE: To recognize the patterns of keys: the one with 2 black keys and the one with 3 black keys MATERIALS NEEDED: Pre-K Sample Lesson Sheet #2 for each child Red and purple color or marker for each child PRESENTATION: The piano has a pattern of black keys and white keys. A pattern is something that is the same lots of times. There are 2 patterns on the piano. One has 2 black keys and the other has 3 black keys. ( Model as you speak by pointing to the patterns as you are talking about them.) ACTIVITY: Point to the 4 sets of keys on your sheet. They look like 4 little boxes. Point to one set that has only 2 black keys. Find the other set with only 2 black keys and point to that one. Point to the arrows that are pointing to those 2 black keys. Color those arrows red. Now find a set of keys with 3 black keys. Point to the arrows above that set. Color those arrows purple. Find the other set of keys with 3 black keys. Point to the arrows above that set. Color those arrows purple. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES: Line the children up in front of the piano (or keyboard). Let each child point out sets of keys first with only 2 black keys, then with 3 black keys. Have them play the 2-black-key-set with their pointer and middle fingers. Have them play the 3-black-key-set with their 3 middle fingers. If the children have access to the piano (or keyboard) in a music center, let them practice finding sets of 2-black-keys and 3-black-keys independently. RULE: Two children at a time in the music center! One is the teacher ; the other is the student. Then they trade places. Copyright: Karla Hastings Austin, TX , 8/2003 Permission is granted to copy for parents and teachers interested in the Anybody Can Play curriculum. Copies may not be

16 Anybody Can Play Pre-K Sample Lesson Sheet #3 Instructions & Suggestions for Teachers & Parents LESSON OBJECTIVE: To further reinforce the pattern on the piano keyboard with a manipulative. This lesson may be omitted but the children love it! MATERIALS NEEDED: Pre-K Sample Lesson Sheet #3 for each child Scissors for each child PRESENTATION: This sheet has two sets of keys. How are they different? (one with 2 black keys and one with 3 black keys) Have you noticed that on the piano there is a set of keys with 2 black keys, then a set with 3 black keys, then a set with 2 black keys, then a set with 3 black keys.? ACTIVITY: Cut out the two sets of keys. Stack everyone s cut out keys in one pile. Let each child line up all the keys so they look like a piano. (2-black-key-set, 3-black-key-set, 2-black-key-set, etc. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES: If the children cannot cut well, either cut out the key groups ahead of time, or cut most of the way around so the children only have a snip or two to do. Better yet, cut out the keys ahead of time and laminate them to make key cards. Clear Contac shelving paper works well and is inexpensive. Stick on both sides, trim to within 1/4 inch all around. These key cards can stay in the music center so the children can continue to play with them. Copyright: Karla Hastings Austin, TX , 8/2003 Permission is granted to copy for parents and teachers interested in the Anybody Can Play curriculum. Copies may not be

17 Anybody Can Play Pre-K Sample Lesson Sheet #4 Instructions & Suggestions for Teachers & Parents LESSON OBJECTIVE: To learn or reinforce which is the right hand and which is the left hand. MATERIALS NEEDED: Pre-K Sample Lesson Sheet #4 for each child Purple color or marker for each child PRESENTATION: We have two hands. One is called our right hand (our How do you do hand and the other is called our left hand. (Model) This is my right hand. This is my left hand. ACTIVITY: Fit your two hands over the hands on your lesson sheet. Peek under your hands. On the drawing one of those hands has a circle drawn on it. That one is the right hand. Take your purple color and turn that circle into a smiley face. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES: Leave the completed sheets on the table in front of the children. Have them put their hands in their laps. This activity is a game. The teacher gives instructions that the children follow. Raise your smiley right hand * Put your smiley right hand in your lap * Put your left hand on top of your head * Touch your nose with your smiley right hand. * Touch your ear with your left hand..etc. etc. As you continue with this game, drop the smiley before saying right hand and go faster and faster. As the children get better at this, turn over the papers too. Copyright: Karla Hastings Austin, TX , 8/2003 Permission is granted to copy for parents and teachers interested in the Anybody Can Play curriculum. Copies may not be

18 Anybody Can Play Pre-K Sample Lesson Sheet #5 Instructions & Suggestions for Teachers & Parents LESSON OBJECTIVE: To reinforce 2-black-key sets and 3-black-key sets MATERIALS NEEDED: Pre-K Sample Lesson Sheet #5 for each child Red and green colors or markers for each child PRESENTATION: We have been learning about the pattern of black keys on the piano. How many black keys does one of the patterns have? How many black keys does the other pattern have? On the piano there is a 2-black-key set of keys, then a 3-black-key set of keys, then a - black key set of keys (keep going, letting the children fill in the blank for the number of black keys in the set. ACTIVITY: There are sets of keys all over this sheet. Point to the sets with 2 black keys. Circle those sets with red. Point to the sets with 3 black keys. Circle those sets with green. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES: Right hand, left hand game. Line up key cards. Take turns playing two black keys (with pointer and middle finger) and playing three black keys (with 3 middle fingers) on the piano or keyboard Copyright: Karla Hastings Austin, TX , 8/2003 Permission is granted to copy for parents and teachers interested in the Anybody Can Play curriculum. Copies may not be

19 Anybody Can Play Pre-K Sample Lesson Sheet #6 Instructions & Suggestions for Teachers & Parents LESSON OBJECTIVE: Start learning the piano finger numbers and the color-coding used for them MATERIALS NEEDED: Pre-K Sample Lesson Sheet #6 for each child Red color or marker for each child PRESENTATION: When we play the piano we not only have to learn to play in the correct place, we also have to play with the correct finger. Our sheet has a drawing of a right hand. What else is there on that sheet. (a number 2) That finger is right hand finger number 2. That is easy now, isn t it! ACTIVITY: Color the 2 red. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES: Put your left hand in your lap. Shake your right hand finger 2 in the air and say these words This is right hand fin- ger 2 and fin- ger 2 is red!. Repeat this game many times, shaking finger 2 steadily with the words. Whatever speed you choose to go, make sure each syllable (circle) is the same length. Copyright: Karla Hastings Austin, TX , 8/2003 Permission is granted to copy for parents and teachers interested in the Anybody Can Play curriculum. Copies may not be