As recital season barrels towards us, music teachers everywhere know it’s time for students to step up their practicing game. So why not turn it into an actual game? And not just any game, but a videogame-inspired practice game?
Prac-Tris will have your students stacking practice days as they work their way to the top… of the board and their musical mastery!
Prac-Tris is available as a free digital download in the Toucan Piano shop.
You can use Prac-Tris as an individual practice challenge with the Prac-Tris printables or as a studio-wide challenge with the Prac-Tris poster and Prac-Tris logs… OR combine them both, like we did, for a true challenge!
Prac-Tris: Individual Practice Challenge
This version of Prac-Tris has students working on completing their own Prac-Tris printable board. For students who enjoy the thrill of a competition, Prac-Tris can be turned into a race to see which student will complete their board first (up to the point where no additional blocks can be placed on the board).
I was surprised to see some students putting in extra practice minutes in order to earn a specific block they needed!
Each student receives a blank Prac-Tris printable board. Each day they practice, they should log the duration of their practice session. When they have finished practicing, they should draw in the block that corresponds to the number of minutes they practiced.
If a student practiced multiple times in a day, they should add up their total practice minutes for the day and draw the corresponding block on their board.
There are two versions of the Prac-Tris printable board in the digital download: the first one has suggested practice minutes and the second one is blank for the teacher to fill in (so the teacher can personalize practice expectations for students of different ages and skill levels).
Prac-Tris: Studio-Wide Challenge
This version of Prac-Tris has students working together to fill the Prac-Tris poster. Each block corresponds to the number of days practiced in a week. Students receive a Prac-Tris log to keep track of their practice days. When they come in for their lesson, they can place their block on the poster. My students were always so excited to see how much the block pile had grown from week to week!
As an extra incentive, you can reward the students who complete a line on the poster (with, for example, a piece of candy or a favorite activity). This will encourage them to work towards earning a better block or even being able to pick the block they place on the board (instead of leaving it to fate).
I gave any student who practiced 7 days a gold star sticker on their block. Students always wanted to know who had practiced 7 days (and who had practiced zero!).
If you have a smaller studio, you can block off part of the poster or divide it into milestones. This way students stay engaged for the long haul!
If you have a large studio or a multi-teacher studio, you can divide students into teams and each team can have their own poster. Which team will complete their poster first?!
The digital download includes a 24”x36” printable Prac-Tris poster (I had mine printed and laminated at my local office supply store), printable Prac-Tris logs, and printable blocks. I had my students use a small piece of tape to attach their blocks to the poster.
I had 25 of my students participate in Prac-Tris and it took us about 2 months to complete the poster. And looking back, it was one of my most successful practice challenges to date! My students still talk about it.
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