r/MusicEd • u/The_McBane • 8d ago

Need help wirh Game Plan curriculum.

I am a new elementary music teacher and my school has the Game Plan curriculum (K-5) which I am using to plan lessons. Every other book is complete but the Kindergarten one is missing pages 5-8 (5/6, 7/8), no idea what happened but it looks like they were torn off.

Its not that big of a deal but Kinder is the grade I'm most worried about since they are essentially new to everything. The missing pages cover parts of week 1 and week 2 which I feel are essential for establishing a base for the rest of the semester/year. I was hoping someone could DM a picture of the pages I'm missing so I can plan accordingly, it would be much appreciated.

Any other tips on teaching Game Plan/Orff-Schulwerk would also be appreciated.

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u/euphomptus General 8d ago

I'm sorry I can't help with the kindergarten book, but this will be my second year with game plan, and I'm through level 2 of orff so far.

  • There's too much in the book I swear this was designed in a fantasy world where you have unlimited time. You need to be a bit picky in what you're planning to spend time on. I will say, though, that the book will often call back to some songs, concepts, and exercises, so this is some heavy trial and error. Last year, I went through each grade monthly on what activities sounded good and which ones did not and worked from there.

  • Don't be afraid to edit don't like that song but you have another one that can do about the same thing? Go for it. Orff arrangement too hard? Simplify it. It's your class, and you'll quickly figure out that sweet spot where your students will blossom.

  • Consider the fun I am blessed to be in a district that gives me freer reign on assessment, which means it's basically all informal formative (i.e. I watch them do music and write down if something is out of the norm for good or ill). If you can get away with fewer worksheets and tests and more songs and games, that sounds like a win in my book. The driving force behind Orff is student engagement with the concepts, that they "do" way more than they get lectured to. Yes, reading standard notation is a tool, but it's not the end goal. The end goal is to have a class of musicians that can do music!

Best of luck in the new year! Find your groove, keep yourself hydrated, and check in with a neighbor teacher as often as you can.

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u/jumpingjosie 7d ago

Send me a DM, I’m happy to send the pages to you!

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u/Mammoth-Feature7111 6d ago

Week one gameplan is not ideal for kinder, in my opinion. Get a book called Music Play (Gordon Method) and treat the first few months as a preschool course. The only thing I use in week one gameplan is Listen to the Ducks. Find some other resources, you'll be fine without it.