When a new piano student walks through your studio doors you never know what you’re going to get. Even if you do entrance interviews, the surprises will still come fast and furious.
And if you’re like me, when it comes to teaching piano, you don’t like surprises! In fact… I hate surprises.
When it comes to my students, I want to understand their personalities as thoroughly and quickly as possible. Without an early and accurate understanding of my students, I am likely to find myself mistakenly choosing incorrect instructional actives, poorly matched repertoire, and mismatched teaching strategies months after lessons have begun.
In today’s post I am sharing an enjoyable “Get To Know Your Piano Students” Scavenger Hunt (with the printable included) that is one of many approaches I use to gain an understanding of my students’ personalities. If you want to achieve a stronger student-teacher working relationship in less time, give this activity a try!
The “Get To Know Your Piano Students” Scavenger Hunt
I love activities that require little prep and can be pulled out at a moment’s notice. This is one of those activities. You can be up and running in the time it takes you to print out the Scavenger Hunt cards and grab eight drinking glasses (I use red solo cups).
How it works:
- Print (and laminate) the Scavenger Hunt cards found here and then gather eight red solo cups and a marker.
- Label one cup, “True” and one cup “False” and then place the six remaining cards in each of the remaining six cups (one card per cup). Blank cards have been included if you wish to ask different questions.
- Hide the six cups containing the cards around your studio and then send your student on a scavenger hunt to find the cups.
- When a cup is found, instruct the student to remove the card. Next, read the card to your student and have her place it in either the “True” cup of the “False” cup, depending on her response to the question on the card.
- Repeat Step 4 until all six of the hidden cups are located.
- At the end of the lesson be sure to make note of your student’s answers in her file… and that’s it!… You now have a better understanding of what makes your student tick 🙂
If you’re a visual learner, then check out some images below of a “Get To Know You” Scavenger Hunt In action…
More Quick-Prep Piano Activities
If the idea of “quick-prep” piano activities makes you smile then you will definitely want to check out a few that we have shared in the past. All of these include a hand-dandy printable too!
Each Piano Piece Should Begin With This Printable
Fun with Practice Pegs… A “Too Cute” Piano Practice Motivator
Laura says
September 13, 2016 at 5:10 amYour site is so inspiring!
Thank you for sharing and creating this space.
It’s exactly what I need when I feel less than inspired and need to inject a bit of adrenalin into my kiddos’ lessons! so fun!
Azalea says
September 13, 2016 at 7:33 amLove this idea! I will definitely be using this with my two new students, and any new ones in the future!
Thank you so much for all the wonderful printables, they really make piano lessons so enjoyable for both me and the kids! 😉
Andrea says
September 13, 2016 at 9:34 amWhat a beautiful name you have! So glad you’ll have fun using this and yes, having lessons be an enjoyable experience for both your students AND you is so important 🙂
Maryann says
September 13, 2016 at 7:34 amDefinitely will try this one (especially for the “very active” kiddos! 🙂
Andrea says
September 13, 2016 at 9:34 amExactly… get them up and moving! 😉
Drema says
September 13, 2016 at 9:22 amWhat a neat little idea, Andrea!
There’s also that relationship-building aspect to your game — it makes a difference when we take the time to listen and understand our students, rather than making assumptions or not even care. It might even be great for students who are very quiet and can’t articulate what they like/don’t like. I think I’m gonna put more of these kinds of mini-activity into my group lessons so it sets a good, safe and encouraging tone to begin — as it may be more threatening for quiet students in a group setting. =)
Thanks!
Andrea says
September 13, 2016 at 9:43 amHi Drema – the importance of relationship-building is so true – and yes, stopping ourselves from making assumptions is also important! I’ll never forget the little girl I had who was “wild” for the lack of a better word. I therefore assumed she would prefer fast and loud music. It wasn’t for months until she finally said “I really want to play something soft and pretty”… it was a really good reminder to never assume and to always listen and ask 🙂