Chasing the Turkey Board Game

Chasing the Turkey

After we finish taking the state theory test, I give my students a theory break. I don’t assign formal theory work to complete at home and bring back. This makes everyone happy, including me, because by now we’re all kind of “theory weary.” But there is the problem of forgetting everything we carefully learned. So I like to play theory games to keep everything fresh in my students’ minds. They don’t mind reviewing theory in a game. In fact, they like it!

If you’re looking for a Thanksgiving game, I hope your students love this one as much as my students did. I don’t know if it was the farmer with his ax, using dice, or if it was the fact that they all beat me. (I must be the most unlucky person in the world!)  This game meets my criteria for a music lesson game. It is fast and over quickly, so it doesn’t take much lesson time.

There are several levels of cards included in this printable. Look at all seven pages in this PDF, and only print what you need. If you don’t know how to do that, see my last post for instructions. The last page in this set is an optional back to the cards, but I didn’t use it!

The nice thing about this game board is that you don’t have to print out the cards I made. I also played this game using note flash cards to review note names, and for beginners, keyboard flash cards. If you want to review all the major and minor key signatures, check out my key signature flash cards on my website.

Objective

• To review previously learned musical symbols, intervals, key signatures, and vocabulary.
• To enjoy a seasonal game.

Ages

• Grades 1-5, using the appropriate cards for the concepts students have learned.

Materials

• Game board.
• Cards with musical symbols and terms, or use your own cards.
• One die.
• Tokens. (I used milk carton tops.)

Directions

• The game can be played with two or more players
• Print the game board and cut out the cards or use your own cards.
• Each player puts his token on the game board. The first player draws a card and answers the question.
• Then he rolls the die and moves the number of spaces on the die. If he lands on a circle with instructions, he follows the instructions, such as taking a short cut, or moving back to Start.
• The game continues in the same way with the other players.
• The first player to reach Safe is the winner.
• Optional: Write the instructions on the back of the game board for future use.

Why I like this game

• My students loved it and didn’t want to stop playing.
• It really helped them remember their theory vocabulary and terms.
• By using flash cards I already have, I can modify the game for all ages.

Thanksgiving Games and Worksheets

A few weeks ago I posted some Thanksgiving hymns and fun songs. I just realized I have never published a list of Thanksgiving material from my website.

I’ve only made one Thanksgiving Game, and I need to make some more for an upcoming group lesson. Below is a game my students loved last year. You can find the directions here. It’s very easy and fast, plus, it comes in 3 ability levels.

Save the Turkey Game, easiest version

For a slightly more difficult version of the same game, try  Save the Turkey Game, set two

There is a more advanced version of these cards, too. The only reason I call this intermediate level is because of the key signatures.  The more difficult key signatures can be removed to make this a much easier game.

Save the Turkey, early intermediate version

Next, here are some Thanksgiving worksheets from my website.

The next worksheet, Turkey Find the Notes, can be put in a sheet protector and used with a wet erase or a dry erase marker. That way you only have to print one copy and you can use it over and over. Also, this is big enough to use with your iPad or Kindle Fire.

Turkey Find the Notes (black and white)

Color the Feathers is a quick worksheet to review treble clef notes.

Color the Feathers

I also made a black and white version. This is good to use at a group lesson with the students who come early.

Color the Feathers (black and white)

I posted my revised version of Funny Thanksgiving Food a few weeks ago. Two versions are available, one in color like the example below, and one in black and white. I made the color version to be used with an iPad or Android tablet.

Funny Thanksgiving Food

I made the Turkey Egg Worksheet to help my beginners learn the alphabetical order of notes on the staff. Some of my younger students are amazed to learn that turkeys lay eggs!

Turkey Egg Worksheet

Thanksgiving Group Lessons

If you have ever wondered how to make sure everyone has the same amount of lessons the week of Thanksgiving without taking the entire week off, try having group lessons or a Christmas performance class on Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. It is too late to consider it this year, but you can put it on your calendar for next year.

Father We Thank Thee and Other Thanksgiving Hymns

Father We Thank Thee For the Night

Have you ever noticed the lack of Thanksgiving music for elementary piano students? Today I am posting an arrangement of one of my favorite hymns for children. I even wrote a teacher duet! I remember as a child singing this in elementary school and in Sunday school, where all the children would get together in a large group and sing before we gathered into our age groups. I think this hymn makes a wonderful Thanksgiving song for your students. Maybe they can sing along while they play! Let me know if you see any mistakes. I usually try to get another teacher to check out my duets for errors, but I was not able to do that for this one.

If you are looking for other Thanksgiving music for beginners, check out my website. All of these are Primer level and written on the staff, unless noted. Some of these use clip art rather than my own art.

All Things Bright and Beautiful

American the Beautiful

All Creatures of Our God and King

Bless Us O Lord, and These Thy Gifts That We Receive  Also, check out the easy duet part for this that can be played by a family member. Click here for a pre-reading version for beginners.

Hurray, Thanksgiving Day – Pre -Reading was written for a beginner who really wanted a Thanksgiving piece. I had many teachers ask me for the same 8 measure song but on-the-staff, so here is the staff version. Hurray, Thanksgiving Day – on the staff

There are also several Thanksgiving seasonal games posted on my website, so check them out if you’re interested.

Do you have a favorite public domain Thanksgiving him you want arranged for Primer level? List it in a comment here and depending on the hymn melody, I’ll work on it for next year.

 

Save the Turkey-intermediate set

Save the Turkey Intermediate Level

If you have been following my blog lately, you know that I’ve been playing this game with my students. If you missed it, here are the instructions, found in the post with the first set.  That post also includes how to add the back of the cards. Set two is found here.

When I make a game for beginners, my older students want to play, too. So this time I made some cards for them. Included in this set are a few ledger line notes and all the key signatures. If students don’t constantly review these concepts, they forget them. A game is a great way to review!

You can mix and match these cards to suit yourself. Remove the ones you don’t want to use and save them for another day. You can also add some of these cards to set one or two. You can even use cards from the Memory Game found on my website (there are 6 sets) because they are the same size.

One thing I have discovered as I play this game with students, is that the more skip a turn cards the better, so you might want to add some from the previous levels. They also love it when I make a “mistake” and lose a turn.

Be sure to email me if you can’t figure out how to play. I really have trouble following game instructions, so I don’t mind helping. But first, read through my instructions in Set 1 so you can ask me specific questions! This is a fast game and you can easily play it in less than 5 minutes.

Here is a little guy playing with the first set. I think he liked the turkey!

Save the Turkey Game – Set 2

Save the Turkey set 2

In my last post I mentioned that I would post more  cards for the Save the Turkey Game. This set has a few more notes to identify and some more terms. My students have been enjoying this game. It is so easy to set up and play and doesn’t take much lesson time.

For directions to play please see read my previous post. You can find it here. I did not include the back of the cards in this PDF. If you want to print backs to these cards, set your PDF printing setting to Page 2 when you print the back. If you don’t want to print backs, I suggest you use some cute stickers on the back of the cards.

Hint: I printed this set on a different color of card stock than the first set so I can keep the levels separate. Or, you could combine the two sets.

Does anyone want another level? I have one but I don’t know if it’s too late to post this year.

Enjoy!

Save the Turkey

Save the Turkey

Save the Turkey is a fast and easy turn-over-the-card game. It only takes a few minutes of lesson time. It is a great game for teacher and student, but it can also be modified for groups. We have a few more weeks before Thanksgiving and I hope someone can use it.

The purpose of this game is to review music symbols and guide notes, so it is perfect for beginning students. Later I will add cards for more advanced students.

How to play

I tell students that whoever draws the turkey will save it from being turned into Thanksgiving dinner!

Shuffle the cards and put them in a stack on the table. Be sure the Turkey card is not near the top. The Skip a Turn cards should be evenly distributed. Player one draws a card and identifies the symbol.  As long as they answer the card correctly, they continue to draw until they draw a Skip a Turn card. Then the teacher (player 2) does the same thing. Whoever draws the Turkey card has “saved the turkey” and is the winner. The game is short, so the cards can be shuffled and played again.

For a variation,  I tell the student that if I make a mistake or “forget” the correct answer and they correct me, they take my turn. That keeps the student on his toes and it helps to keep the teacher from answering all the questions. I love to hold up the bass clef card, pretend to think really hard, and call it a treble clef. They giggle and bounce up and down and generally have fun. Feel free to make up your own rules and post them in a comment here.

I like the fact that even a beginner can win. All they have to do is draw the turkey card! However, along the way, they will be learning or reviewing important musical concepts. Let your younger children win most of the time.  They love it and it really helps make lessons more fun.

How to print

Download the PDF. In the PDF printer setting, set Print Range to  page 1. You do not want to print 2 pages right away because page 2 is the back of the cards. Set Page Scaling to None.

Print the first page on sturdy card stock. I used yellow card stock and below you can see how it looks.  Re-insert the page back into the printer (so you can print the reverse side) and set Print Range to page 2. If the front and back do not line up correctly, you either do not have page scaling set to “none” or you are not using 8.5″ x 11″ paper.

Alternately, if you don’t want to print on the back, put some cute Thanksgiving stickers on the backs of the cards.

After printing, cut the cards out along the dotted lines.

Please make sure you have the latest version of Adobe Reader. If your printed copy has odd black lines or boxes, or if some parts are missing, it is probably because you are using an old version of Adobe Reader.

Hurray, Thanksgiving Day on-the-staff

Hurray, Thanksgiving Day

If you used the pre-reading version of this song last year, you might be interested in my new version. I updated the art, changed the words a little, and added a very easy teacher duet that a family member can play. I wanted a Thanksgiving song that was fun to play, yet was more about the meaning of Thanksgiving.

The following are some hints for new teachers or parents who may want to try it with a beginning student or a student with some reading problems.

Teach the song by singing it to the child while you and the child tap the beat on the piano cover. Use a key higher than F because this song is not written in a child’s vocal range. When the child can sing the song, he or she is ready to learn it on the piano.

Discuss the time signature and point out the upbeat (incomplete measure) before the first measure. Simply show that the last beat from the end of the song is added to the beginning. Students accept that, and usually think it’s rather clever. If they are curious, I *sadly* tell them it can only be done at the beginning. As the child learns the notes, you can work on playing the upbeat softer than the downbeat. This concept can be explained in more detail when the student reaches that part of their method book, so a simple explanation is fine.

Help the child discover that the right hand moves by steps. This is a good piece to get experience starting on a note other than middle C.  They can have some fun by wiggling the thumb and pretending they are dropping it into some mashed potatoes. Parents, resist the temptation to write in all the notes or finger numbers.

They might feel more comfortable with the left hand because the thumb is on middle C. The LH notes are a little more difficult because there are some skips and leaps, so let the child find those places and circle them.  Spot practice difficult spots with fingers in the air, and then on the piano cover. I wonder what food the LH thumb can drop into!

Some young beginners have trouble alternating from right to left hand. I’ve found that a different colored highlighter for each hand can make a big difference. Use a pointer to help students’ eyes track the notes.

While this might seem like a lot to do for a simple 8 measure piece, remember I’m giving instructions for a beginner or a student who has trouble reading new pieces, not for a more experienced student. Taking time in the beginning helps the student become a good reader later down the road.

Funny Thanksgiving Food

Funny Thanksgiving Food

If you have a few students who are still learning the names of the keys, this might be a good worksheet to either send home, do as a group, or while the student is waiting. I’ve made several attempts at this worksheet and I keep changing it as I have students try it.

I always get asked, so for those interested, I made this in Photoshop. I drew the pilgrim myself and he was lots of fun to draw. Some of the food was made using the shape tool that comes with the program and I added eyes.  My favorite is the eggplant. The little keyboards I drew years ago in Word. I keep using them over and over again!

Next I’m going to take the little keyboards and add them to some fish I’ve been drawing to play a game a fellow poster, Cecilly, has thought up.  She has so many helpful games that she calls “off the bench” activities and she is allowing me to start a special category just for her games. I hope to get started on that tomorrow.