During my 1st year of teaching I complained to my mentor that I was having a hard time getting students to complete written work geared towards recorders. She shared some of her written assignments with me and suggested requiring students to complete the worksheet in addition to playing the belt song. I tried this out the following year and it became difficult for me to keep on top of all of this. Below is one of the ways I solved this dilemma. In order to earn their silver belt, students have to write and perform an original composition. In their recorder packets is a copy of this worksheet. Once they have completed their silver belt, I hang it on the "Featured Composers" wall outside my classroom. I have found that by completing this one assignment a lot of musical concepts click a bit more for my students. They seem to be more aware of meter, not value, etc. Something I found that I didn't like about this format was the worksheet itself. I think next year I will revamp it so that there is a brainstorming area where students can first create their rhythm before worrying about the melody.
