A Strategy For Teaching Staff

Goals

The students will:

• Learn that music notes live on a staff.
• Learn that a staff has 5 lines and 4 spaces.
• Learn that musicians count the lines and spaces from the bottom.
• Learn how to recognise, read and write steps (neighbours) and skips (copycats) on the staff.
• Realise that notes that are written higher on the staff are higher in pitch and notes that are written lower on the staff are lower in pitch.
• Learn stem placement.
• Recognise, read and write known songs on the staff.
• Learn to write the solfa initials above notes on the staff.
• Learn absolute pitch names (ABCDEFG).
• Be able to transpose notes on the staff.

Prerequisite Skills/ Knowledge

• The students can sing in tune a range of limited pitch repertoire while keeping a steady beat.
• The students can sing in tune a range of limited pitch repertoire while keeping the rhythmic pattern.
• The students can sing in tune a range of limited pitch repertoire and accurately show the melodic contour.
• The students can show the contour of bi-tonal pieces using high/low body signs.
• The students can show the contour of bi-tonal pieces using high/low body signs in higher/lower positions on the body appropriately reflecting the vocal register being used.
• The students can show the contour of bi-tonal pieces using high/low hand signs. (This is the use of the so/mi hand signs without labelling them 'so' and 'mi'. This is subconscious practice for so/mi.)
• The students can read contour charts or move iconic magnets to visually reflect the high/low patterns of known repertoire.

References

Johnson, J. (2003) "Music in the Classroom" Lectures.

Repertoire

Bye-lo	; ;
Clap Your Hands	; ;
Copycats Looking For A Line To Recline	; ; ; ; ; ;
Copycats Looking For A Space Place	; ; ; ; ; ;
Cuckoo Where Are You	; ;
Five Fat Frogs	; ; ;
Good Night Sleep Tight	; ;
Hey Hey Look At Me	; ;
Jump High	; ;
Look At Me	; ;
One Two Tie My Shoe	; ;
See Saw	; ;
Starlight	; ;
Swinging High	; ;
Walking Low	; ;

Supporting Resources

Add Solfa To These Songs (Staff Reading - so-mi)	; ;
Arrows (Teaching Aid)	;
Bye-lo (Song Icons Colour)	; ;
Bye-lo (Song Icons)	; ;
Bye-lo (Staff Reading Lines and Spaces Colour)	; ;
Bye-lo (Staff Reading Lines and Spaces)	; ;
Clap Your Hands (Song Icons Colour)	; ;
Clap Your Hands (Song Icons)	; ;
Clap Your Hands (Staff Reading Lines and Spaces Colour)	; ;
Clap Your Hands (Staff Reading Lines and Spaces)	; ;
Copycats Collection (Resources for Teaching Skips on the Staff)	;
Copycats Look for a Line to Recline (Singing Story)	;
Copycats Look for a Sleeping Space (Singing Story)	;
Copycats Sleeping in the Spaces on the Staff	;
Copycats Sleeping on the Lines on the Staff	;
Cuckoo Where Are You (Song Icons Colour)	; ;
Cuckoo Where Are You (Song Icons)	; ;
Cuckoo Where Are You (Staff Reading Lines and Spaces Colour)	; ;
Cuckoo Where Are You (Staff Reading Lines and Spaces)	; ;
Goodnight (Song Icons Colour)	; ;
Goodnight (Song Icons)	; ;
Goodnight (Staff Reading Lines and Spaces Colour)	; ;
Goodnight (Staff Reading Lines and Spaces)	; ;
Hey Hey Look At Me (Song Icons Colour)	; ;
Hey Hey Look At Me (Staff Reading Lines and Spaces Colour)	; ;
Hey Hey Look At Me (Staff Reading Lines and Spaces)	; ;
Hey Hey Look At Me(Song Icons)	; ;
Jump High (Song Icons Colour)	; ;
Jump High (Song Icons)	; ;
Look At Me (Song Icons Colour)	; ;
Look At Me (Song Icons)	; ;
Look At Me (Staff Reading Lines and Spaces Colour)	; ;
Look At Me (Staff Reading Lines and Spaces)	; ;
Match the Notes to the Solfa dmsl (Staff Reading)	;
Match the Notes to the Solfa drmsl (Staff Reading)	;
Match the Notes to the Solfa sm (Staff Reading)	;
Match the Notes to the Solfa sml (Staff Reading)	;
Music Detective (Staff Reading Lines and Spaces)	;
Music Notes Live On A Staff (Staff Reading Lines and Spaces)	;
Music Notes Live On A Staff (Staff Writing Lines and Spaces)	;
Neighbours On The Staff (A4 Poster Black and White)	;
Neighbours On The Staff (A4 Poster Colour)	;
Notes Moving in Skips (Staff Reading and Writing)	;
Notes Moving in Steps (Staff Reading and Writing)	;
One Two Tie My Shoe (Song Icons Colour)	; ;
One Two Tie My Shoe (Song Icons)	; ;
See Saw (Song Icons Colour)	; ;
See Saw (Song Icons)	; ;
Starlight (Song Icons Colour)	; ;
Starlight (Song Icons)	; ;
Starlight (Staff Reading Lines and Spaces Colour)	; ;
Starlight (Staff Reading Lines and Spaces)	; ;
Swinging High (Song Icons Black and White)	; ;
Swinging High (Song Icons)	; ;
Swinging High (Staff Reading Lines)	; ;
Walking Low (Song Icons)	; ;

Prepare

Before teaching students the theory of musical elements or skills, as teachers we can prepare our students’ understanding. By providing carefully planned opportunities through songs and activities, we can begin to subconsciously build students’ understanding before we teach them the theoretical name of an element or skill.

Make Conscious

This is where, as teachers, we discover and name the musical element or skill we have previously prepared. It is important to choose carefully the song we use to discover the new skill. Ensure that there are not too many unknown elements in the song that might confuse students.

Practice

Once an element or skill is named, it is important to practise it in a variety of different songs and contexts to reinforce the new concept.