Piano Practice Incentive
This year, I am trying out a practice incentive with my students called "Reach for the Stars". I wanted an incentive that wasn't going to cost me a lot, and an incentive that would keep students focused on being diligent.
I had also been trying to figure out a way to incorporate music apps into piano lessons. I didn't just want to use apps whenever, and have students constantly wanting to play music apps over any other activity in their lessons. I also didn't want to be constantly bringing out the iPad at every lesson, as I'm sure parents view piano as something that can give their child a break from "screen time". I wanted to make playing an app a privilege.
I came across a blog post by Darlene Irwin, and I really liked the way she set up this incentive. I got the genius idea to replace little toy prizes with "app credits".
Here are the rules and point system for this incentive (I tweaked them a little to fit my studio. If you want to see the original rules and point system, check out Darlene's blog post.)
At the end of each student's lesson, I stick their star onto their assignment sheet, and underneath the star, I write the reason that they received that specific color. That way when they are home all week, they can be reminded why they received the star they did, and it will help them know what they need to work for to reach a higher star.
I am running this incentive from August 1, 2017 - May 30, 2018 (10 months), and I am planning to post an update of how well this incentive worked (and if I would do it again) in June 2018.
If you would like to try this incentive program with your students, head over to my TPT store to download the free printable.
I had also been trying to figure out a way to incorporate music apps into piano lessons. I didn't just want to use apps whenever, and have students constantly wanting to play music apps over any other activity in their lessons. I also didn't want to be constantly bringing out the iPad at every lesson, as I'm sure parents view piano as something that can give their child a break from "screen time". I wanted to make playing an app a privilege.
I came across a blog post by Darlene Irwin, and I really liked the way she set up this incentive. I got the genius idea to replace little toy prizes with "app credits".
Here are the rules and point system for this incentive (I tweaked them a little to fit my studio. If you want to see the original rules and point system, check out Darlene's blog post.)
- Each student receives a rating for their lesson each week.
- The rating is based on how prepared the student was for their lesson, and is displayed by a colored star.
- Each color equals a set amount of points: Super Gold = 20, Gold = 15, Silver = 12, Blue = 10, Red = 7
- When a student earns three gold stars (this includes super gold stars), they will receive an "app credit". An app credit allows a student to play a music app of their choice (at the end of their lesson).
- At the end of May, all earned points will be totaled and Star Awards will be given to the students with the top five totals. The student with the highest amount of points will receive a small trophy; 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th place will receive a ribbon.
At the end of each student's lesson, I stick their star onto their assignment sheet, and underneath the star, I write the reason that they received that specific color. That way when they are home all week, they can be reminded why they received the star they did, and it will help them know what they need to work for to reach a higher star.
I am running this incentive from August 1, 2017 - May 30, 2018 (10 months), and I am planning to post an update of how well this incentive worked (and if I would do it again) in June 2018.
If you would like to try this incentive program with your students, head over to my TPT store to download the free printable.
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