Staff Match

We may be entering the 3rd week of school, but this is still serious review time for students. Last year, I had this brilliant idea to teach my students something super important at the end of the year:

reading the staff.

I know, what was I thinking, right? Turns out once your students know how to read the staff and rhythms there are a bazillion more activities and songs/instruments you can do with them. No worries, ya'll, I am hoppin' on that train a lot earlier this year. In the meantime, my current 4th grade is in need of some review of how to read the staff, so behold, I give you this weeks game: Staff Match. Now, I've seen things similar to this around several other blogs, matching instruments to pictures, or parts of English, or numbers or whatnot. For 4th grade though, I've decided to spice it up a notch, incorporating an additional math component.

Step one: Create twelve Staff Match Discs (or six sets printed twice--click here)
(Also, our copier copied them funny so I have a funky line on all of them---oh well) I printed them each on card stock and then ran them through the laminator. I also wrote "Set 1, Set 2, etc" on the back so that the kids can switch for different rounds.

Step two: Label appropriate number of clothespins.

Step three: Set up the game in classroom. Have clothespins available for students to grab (for extra challenge, don't put them in alphabetical order). Set up a number key as well, as seen below. The students will have two dice. They must add the dice together to get a specific number before they can come up and grab the clothespin they need. For example, if the students need a "G" (G=4) they must roll a 3+1 or a 2+2.

Step four: Divide students into pairs, one being a roller, one being a runner.

Step five: Say "GO!" and let the chaos begin. The pair that rolls and matches all 8 on their disc first is the winner

Step six: Have students shuffle discs and get ready for round two (because they will want to play again and again)!

This game was immediately loved by my 4th graders as one of their new favorites. Working in partners also played in my favor because we obtained some new students in 4th grade who didn't know the staff. They were still able to participate in the game without being completely lost. Try it in your classroom and let me know how it goes :)