Identifying steps, skips and repeating notes is a skill that every primer-level piano student will learn in the early stages of “on the staff” reading. When paired with individual note recognition, an understanding of intervalic relationships between notes results in piano students who read fluently and with confidence.
Because this is an essential primer-level skill, it’s important to be sure it’s completely understood. And, whenever you encounter one of these “crucial early skills” it’s a great idea to get off the bench and engage your students in a kinaesthetic way.
Today we’re sharing an activity that is literally “print and play”. As long as you have some spare coins, you’re set! If you find that your piano students haven’t fully internalized the visual difference between a step and a skip… then this “searching for skips” activity will come in handy.
Search For The Skips With This Freebie Printable
Today’s activity (see download instructions below) is simple to set-up and even easier to play. Before you begin, review the difference between a skip, a step and a repeating note. Once your students know what they are “looking for” you can begin. The instructions are below:
- Players use pennies to cover all of the note images on the game board (one penny per note).
- Player 1 removes two pennies from the game board. If the revealed notes represent a skip, Player 1 keeps the pennies and plays again. If the revealed notes represent a step, a leap, or a repeat, the two pennies are returned to the game board and Player 1s turn is over.
- Player 2 performs Step 2. Players continue alternating turns until one player collects six coins and wins the game!
Where To Find Today’s “Searching For Skips” Printable
Love building an awesome collection of fun printables? To make our free printables easier to find, and to correlate them with our new WunderKeys Primer and Level 1 books that we’ll be releasing later this year, we are putting them up on WunderKeys.com.
Today’s resource has been added to the Primer Section of the WunderKeys Resource Page.
Clicking here or on the activity title page below to will take you to the WunderKeys Resource Page. Scroll down to the Primer Section to find today’s downloadable pdf. And, while you’re there, be sure to check out our completely revamped 2nd edition WunderKeys Piano for Preschoolers method books.
Elaine says
I love these! And I am already so looking forward to your new primer books coming out… you guys are amazing, thank you so much for everything you do and share.
Have a lovely weekend x
Andrea says
Hi Elaine – so glad you’re using them! We also can’t wait to “reveal” the primer books. They are just gorgeous and we know kids will really love the layout 🙂
Have a great weekend as well!
Estelle says
Many thanks, just like Elaine says. I look forward to opening every email you send and my pupils love your ideas.
Andrea says
Thrilled to hear it, Estelle! Happy teaching 🙂