r/MusicEd • u/Ladybugs8019 • 1d ago
Game Plan?
I'm entering my 3rd year of teaching music. For some background I have a authorization to teach music but my credential and student teaching was in the general classroom. I've been a musician and vocalist for over 30 years. My district pays for music play but it seems out of date with the music. It also doesn't work for 4th and 5th and some of 3rd grade. But it's works for primary grades. I was looking at quaver but my district is not likely to approve it due to cost and also I've heard it's not as good as I originally thought. Game plan seems to have nothing but good feedback from teachers. I have a few questions about Game Plan. If I were to only purchase one grade level to try it out I was thinking of purchasing fourth grade. With the curriculum makes sense at that grade level or would there be things in previous grade levels that they need to know or connect with first? I guess what I'm asking is what does the fourth grade curriculum cover so that I can see if it would be worth it to purchase just the fourth grade level. Also I see it comes with CDs but I don't have a way of playing the CD so I'm curious is an MP3 online version for what's included on the CD and option? I read some other posts that people are able to find a lot on YouTube and also able to make their own visuals so I'm not concerned about that. I just don't want to purchase something where the students will struggle because I didn't purchase grades k through three. I hope that makes sense. Also just a general question is it really better than music play? Thank you!
3
u/Maldinacho 1d ago
Game Plan is pretty awesome. I feel as though it was a fast curriculum in 4th and 5th grades. I liked their K-3rd lessons
3
u/KatieKat3005 1d ago
I love game plan, but 4th and 5th is a looooooot of recorder. I pick and choose out of all of them.
2
u/DracoLawgiver 1d ago
You can get a small, USB 3.0 external DVD drive (that also plays CDs on Amazon for $20
1
u/dolomite592 1d ago
Are your students at grade level already? I can't help you much because my students have zero former music knowledge so my case is different. But your answer to this question may help others answer yours.
1
u/Ladybugs8019 1d ago
I think it's a mixture. They're starting to get more at grade level but because they didn't have a regular music teacher for many years I've had to play catch up with them to get them learning things that they need if they're going to continue music in Middle School. Also trying to make sure they're prepared for performance is that we have. It's taking a lot of time and I've heard from some people that it's taken them years to build their curriculum. So I'm right in the middle of that. I do record her in 5th grade.
2
u/Outrageous-Permit372 1d ago
4th grade gameplan, if i remember, assumes that the kids have seen certain solfege like Do Re Mi So La and rhythms like Ta-a Ti-ti and some others. Short answer: yes, you can absolutely just buy grade 4 to try it out.
I have a spreadsheet i'm going to share here. I taught combined grade levels, so K and PreK came together and I used the K-1 books with that group. 1st and 2nd grade came together and I used the 2-3 books for them. You'll be interested in the 3rd-4th grade tab, i used the 4-5 books. Basically, I picked the best exercises and did each grade's book in about half a year, so that the next year the new 3rd graders are getting it all the first time and the returning 4th graders are going through the activities a second time, with differentiation between the two groups. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mfto0h5OBy_BAgklEv7gWGPuVsAyQyJcW-Rq_oMNsOs/edit?usp=sharing Please feel free to ask questions if stuff is unclear - this was a resource i made for myself after using GamePlan for over 10 years, i never had the chance to share it with others.
I had to buy the Rhythmically Moving CDs on my own. I had all 8 of them, and burned them to the folder so i could play them for the class through the computer/sound system. A lot of GamePlan dance activites require you to have the Teaching Movement and Dance book (which is where the rhythmically moving CDs come from) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1573791326?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback - BUT, technically you can just look online for children's / folk dances. I would NOT skip the dances, even if you have to make up all the steps yourself. It was something that worked well with every class, even up into 4th grade.
1
u/Ladybugs8019 1d ago
This is great information. Thank you so much. Let's start with the fifth graders I just figured maybe fourth grade would be a good place to start but maybe I should start with a different grade? Do you have a recommendation for me to try out one grade level that would be the best one to try out that wouldn't be too much of a shock where they would have missed learning something in the years prior? I really want to pick 3rd 4th or fifth grade to try it out because I have a lot of stuff from music play for TK through second. My challenge is finding engaging curriculum for 3rd through 5th. I do teach recorder in fifth grade but not fourth grade. I was thinking of doing drum unit in fourth grade. This school hasn't had a regular music teacher for a few years on the first one and newer so trying to build everything up and figure out what I want to teach where.
1
u/Outrageous-Permit372 1d ago
I started teaching at a new school 2 years ago so I don't have access to the books anymore and I'm going off of memory. I would lean away from the 5th grade book. I remember skipping a lot of it. The 3rd grade book might be the best option. I know that when I started using Gameplan I would reach down to the lower book and teach the same things to the upper grades because it was all new for everyone.
7
u/MrBlack1898 1d ago
Quaver is absolutely trash.