Most summer sight-reading activities will surely elicit a groan from your piano students.
Having to practice piano while other kids splash in pools is challenging enough. Having to practice sight reading while other kids splash in pools is unimaginable 🙂
Unless… you turn a sight-reading solo into a game.
With today’s Hands Together, Hang Ten Surfing Solo for primer and early level 1 students we have done just that.
To create this solo we started with our unique pick-a-path approach to sight reading, sprinkled in some hands-together skill development, and then added a dash of summer surfing fun!
Why Our Summer Sight Reading Solo Works
Children dislike uncertainty. They need routines and structure.
So, it is no surprise that sight reading has been the most despised of all piano lesson activities.
With sight reading activities, children are provided with no structure and no predictability.
That’s always been the point! And this “point” needs to change.
Traditionally, sight reading has been all about presenting piano students with never-before-seen music.
It never mattered if a student was 6 or 16… no peeking before you play!
And this approach doesn’t really work.
Like everything in life, sight reading should be introduced slowly. And, when it comes to kids, sight reading should be introduced in an enjoyable manner.
With our approach to sight reading, we substitute a single pick-a-path sight-reading line into an otherwise regular piano solo.
During the pick-a-path section, students have fun selecting a four-measure journey from six previously practiced measures of music.
This way, students have some prior knowledge, but also must employ beginning sight-reading tasks to be successful.
On top of this, the pick-a-path sight-reading line is incorporated into a regular piano piece that can be practiced as normal. This brings a sense of familiarity that adds comfort to the activity.
Where You Will Find Our Pick-A-Path Sight Reading In Action
This pedagogical approach is found in our summer sight-reading solo at the end of today’s post.
But this isn’t the first time we have used it… not even close!
We first developed this sight-reading approach when creating activities to include with WunderKeys Elementary Piano Level 1.
Since then, you can find it in many of our books including…
In Our Piano Student Workbooks
Our pick-a-path approach to sight reading appears in Andrea and Trevor Dow’s Technical Exercises For Note Reading Success. Click here or on the cover below to learn more.
In Our Method Books
Our pick-a-path approach to sight reading appears in most of our method books, including WunderKeys Pop Staff Piano Library For Older Beginners, Book One. Click here or on the cover below to learn more.
In The Very Useful Piano Library
Our pick-a-path approach to sight reading appears in the books in Andrea and Trevor Dow’s Very Useful Piano Library, including in Hildegard Needs A Happy Tune. Click here or on the cover below to learn more.
Download Today’s Summer Sight Reading Solo
Today’s summer sight reading solo will help your students become comfortable with sight reading while also reinforcing the ability to play hands together matching notes in C position.
This activity is composed for late primer and early level 1 piano students.
Click here or on the image below to download the music.
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