Note: While the Christmas Sight-Reading Expansion Pack at the bottom of today’s post is intended to be used as a warm-up exercise for the 7 piano pieces contained in our PianoBookClub book, Intervalactic, it works equally well for students of teachers who don’t have the book. Intervalactic is no longer available, but members of PianoBookClub.com will have the option of purchasing it as a re-release add-on!
We’ve been hitting the holiday printables pretty hard lately and we’re not about to stop yet! If anything, we might just decide to step on the gas!
Kids are motivated by the festivities and fun of the holiday season, and if we can provide you with educational activities to take advantage of this motivation… we will! 🙂
The sight-reading mini-booklet we’re sharing today is a holiday-themed version of the practice pages that precede the early elementary repertoire found in the book Intervalactic: a musical adventure in deep space. But, before we get to the sight-reading printable, here is a brief overview of Intervalactic… with a preview of the book at the end of this section.
Intervalactic: a musical adventure in deep space
Blast off into an Alien Empire where intervals meet video games. Can your piano students work to conquer each level? What strange and exciting new worlds are waiting with every turn of the page?
Each early elementary piece in Intervalactic isolates a specific melodic interval (3rd, 4th, or 5th) in both the treble and bass clefs and is preceded by a Video Game Practice Page. Challenge your students to sight read these “interval games” as a fun way to practice instantly recognizing these intervals. Can they make the intervallic leaps to avoid falling into deep space?
Fabulous graphics and futuristic-sounding music will keep your students motivated and amused while learning invaluable sight reading skills .
If you want in on this fun and you’re not already a subscriber, click here to sign up for a PianoBookClub membership today. *Intervalactic is no longer available, but a new and exciting book is waiting for you! Visit PianoBookClub.com for more info.
Holiday-Themed Sight Reading
Remember: The expansion pack practice pages, just like the practice pages in Intervalactic, are intended as a warm-up for the 7 piano pieces found in Intervalactic… but if you’re not a PianoBookClub’er and don’t have the 7 piano pieces, the warm-ups are wonderful holiday-themed sight-reading exercises too!
Are your students ready for a sight-reading adventure? Using the expansion pack printables found here, your students’ sight reading skills can help Santa fly from rooftop to rooftop, an elf hop from present to present, and a penguin jump from iceberg to iceberg.
Each page of the expansion pack gets progressively harder: each level of Page 1 reinforces just a single interval, on Page 2, students encounter two intervals at each level, and finally, on Page 3, each level reinforces a combination of the intervals of a 3rd, 4th, and 5th in the key of C Major. Have fun!
And remember, if you want in on this fun and you’re not already a subscriber, click here to sign up for a PianoBookClub membership today.
Kelly Koch says
Dang you guys are awesome. I’m a member of Piano Book Club and can’t wait to try Intervallic, especially with my BOYS. But wow, a Christmas-theme too? Thank you so much, again. And again. And again. You guys are my secret-sauce. Shhhh, don’t tell my competitors…
Andrea says
LOL Kelly – your secret is safe with us 😉
Lisa says
This is awesome! Thanks! I’m planning to do Intervalactic with several of my students starting in January so this activity will be a perfect intro for that.
Andrea says
Wonderful Lisa! Yes, a fabulous intro activity! I have mine laminated and printed in color and waiting on the piano when my kiddos come in the door – they’re all squealing with excited “What IS that!?” … yay for exciting sight reading! 🙂
Paula C says
Awesome! Thanks again for making my job downright exciting!!!
Andrea says
You’re so welcome Paula!
Barbara says
First, thank you:) As always, a wonderful activity for us to make lessons more fun!
Second…ummm, I’m way behind on video games so can you tell me what the symbols at the bottom of the pages are for? Are they just “controls” for the game or are they suppose to be used for marking something off? Sorry if I’m the only one who doesn’t “get it”:(
Andrea says
Hi Barbara – you bet! It’s designed to be a “throw back” to how gameboys looked (small hand-held video game device). Guaranteed your piano kids will know exactly what it is 😉
Anna says
I’m not a Piano Book Club subscriber, but I decided to print these out and use them this evening with one of my students. He thought it was a fun challenge (almost like a game!) and he even took the sheets home to challenge a few family members. 🙂 Thank you for making fun freebies!
Valerie says
I’m loving all these great resources! One small request- I teach in an area that is fairly secular, with a diverse population, so many of my students either don’t celebrate Christmas at all, or only celebrate in a very small way. Would you consider making a few of your holiday resources more winter-themed, rather than explicitly Christmas-y? I want to be sensitive to students from all different traditions and make sure they don’t feel left out or “different” on the basis of their family background.
Andrea says
Hi Valerie – thanks for the comment! Yes, we do our best to make everyone happy – both those who are eager for Christmas-themed activities and those who prefer winter-themed. You may be interested in these freebies we’ve posted before that are “less Christmas more winter”. https://www.teachpianotoday.com/2013/11/06/have-fun-with-wintervals-a-free-piano-teaching-game/ and https://www.teachpianotoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Chilly-Chords.pdf
Valerie says
Thank you! I especially love the “wintervals” game- definitely printing that one out 🙂
Susan says
I know my students are going to love the new music and this activity! They have loved everything that I’ve shared with them from PianoBookClub and the Piano Games from you. Thank you for transforming my teaching! It’s brought what I teach at school in my elementary music classes to life in my piano teaching. Until I found what you had to offer I was slowly drowning in trying keep things fresh during piano lessons after being “on” all day at school.
Thank you so much for sharing your awesome resources!
Krista says
Intervalactic is one of my students’ favorites. When I first introduced it, they couldn’t wait to tell their parents about learning “video game” music and my students’ parents were pleased to see their kids so excited.