An Inside Look at My Superhero-Themed Studio Incentive Program
An incentive program is a great way to re-engage your students, prepare for a recital, and build in an annual assessment period. Mostly, this is for your beginning and elementary students (K-5th grade), though middle schoolers (6th-8th grade) have been known to join in!
I’ve found that while it's a great way to mix up your weekly lesson routine and give your students something fun to look forward to each week, it’s also a helpful way to assess their musicianship skills, take time to recognize their musical growth, and tailor your instruction to each student.
As a teacher, this is so valuable.
There are a few things to do first, before choosing a theme and getting caught up in the week-to-week details.
First, look for a time during the year when you have 6-8 weeks that are mostly without interruption (school breaks, performances, solo festival, etc.). The time in between February Recess and Spring Recess seems to work well.
With those weeks marked in the calendar, create your overall framework for the incentive program. I recommend choosing a different theme each year, but there are two elements that are always included:
Opportunities for autonomy and choice: Let your students choose their own challenges within each category. Each item on the list is still a challenge for them, but letting them choose which ones they want to do gives them ownership in the process and helps create buy-in.
Musicianship skills: Sight-reading, memorization + performance, aural skills, creativity, and technique. Re-frame these categories based on the theme of the incentive program, but plan ways to assess each student in all five categories over the 6- to 8-week timeframe.
With that in mind, you can start planning challenges and rewards, writing story lines, pulling together resources, and looking for music. Want to peek behind the scenes? Today, I’m giving you an inside look at my planning process:
An Inside Look at My Superhero-Themed Studio Incentive Program
*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
Overview
Students will transform into musical superheroes in this action-packed 6-week program. They’ll work through a series of challenges to develop their skills and demonstrate their musical powers (outlined below).
Students will have the opportunity to earn up to five musical superpowers (one for each musicianship category) during the program. The skills needed to earn these superpowers are developed through mastering the challenges within the category, plus one bonus challenge, as indicated.
Superpowers are optional, but those with more musical superpowers at the end of the program will earn greater rewards, in the end.
Musical Powers (and Superpowers)
SIGHT-READING (choose 2 challenges)Superpower: earn this superpower by sight-playing one new exercise each day for 5 days in a row
sight-play two contrasting short pieces
sight-read two contrasting rhythm exercises, counting out loud
Bonus (studio class activity): Boom, Pow, Snap, Pop rhythm challenge: create a corresponding movement for each note value (e.g. quarter notes = tap, eighth notes = clap)
Reward:
Note-Reading Ruckus game (younger)
MEMORIZATION + PERFORMANCE (choose 2 challenges)Superpower: earn this superpower by practicing 5 days in a row
polish and memorize 1-2 pieces from earlier in the year (recital prep!)
perform one piece from memory for friends or family
learn a new piece (on your own, for older students)
Reward:
a new piece of music!
AURAL SKILLS (choose 2 challenges)Superpower: earn this superpower by completing a tonal or rhythm pattern dictation challenge with your teacher
Secret Passwords (clapbacks, playbacks)
Superhero Rhythms: match the superhero name to the correct rhythm pattern
Reward:
CREATIVITY (choose 2 challenges)Superpower: earn this superpower by turning one of your assigned pieces into a piece for your superhero. Experiment with keys and modes (major vs. minor), meter (duple or triple), articulation (legato, staccato, accented), tempo, register (high, middle, or low on the piano), title, and anything else you can think of to create the appropriate mood and sound.
create a theme song for your superhero identity
restore harmony to the music world by adding chords to a given melody
Reward:
TECHNIQUE (all challenges)Superpower: earn this superpower by creating your own superhero technique exercise and practicing it every day for 5 days
Superhero training (by rote): master the technique challenges for your level
Superhero-Themed Music
These collections and solo pieces are perfect for a superhero-themed incentive program! For my older elementary students (Level 3+), I plan to use some of these materials as sight-reading challenges and take-home, learn-on-your-own pieces.
Faber’s Just for Kids… The Superhero Piano Book by Sarah Walker (Prep A + B)
“I Am a Superhero” from Simply Silly Duets by Kevin Olson (Prep A + B)
My Sight-Reading Superpower by Andrea Dow (Level 1)
Agent Major and the Misadventures of Professor Pentascalius by Andrea Dow (Level 1 + 2)
Whirlwind by Jennifer Eklund (Level 2)
The Adventures of Fearless Fortissimo: The Carloforte Trilogy, Episode 1 by Andrea Dow (Level 2)
The Adventures of Fearless Fortissimo: The Carloforte Trilogy, Episode 2 by Andrea Dow (Level 2)
The Adventures of Fearless Fortissimo: The Carloforte Trilogy, Episode 3 by Andrea Dow (Level 2)
Epic by Chrissy Ricker (Level 2)
Above & Beyond by Jennifer Eklund (Level 2 + 3)
No Limits by Jennifer Eklund (Level 2 + 3)
Shadowfall by Jennifer Eklund (Level 2 + 3)
Alfred’s Performance Plus: Popular Music - Super Heroes (Book 3)
The Chase by Jennifer Eklund (Level 3)
Super Hero by Lisa Donovan Lukas (Level 3)
High-Speed Chase by Amanda W. Smith (Level 4 + 5)
Superhero Prizes & Decorations
What would an incentive program be without a few fun prizes along the way?! It’s all about celebrating progress and musical growth. Here are a few superhero supplies every piano teacher needs:
Superhero Action Stickers (100/roll) - great for marking progress on a piece or creating a more engaging weekly assignment sheet!
Superhero Incentive Chart (36 sheets) - a helpful way to track progress for each student!
Hero Action Sign Cut-Outs (6-12” each, set of 12) - for decorating your studio space!
Superhero Stampers (set of 24) - great for marking progress on a piece or embellishing assignment sheets and a great prize for earning superpowers.
Superhero Notecards with Envelopes (set of 12) - a good way for students to keep track of their musical superpowers. Simply cut off the front of the card and tape it inside one of their books.
Superhero Buttons (48 pieces) - an awesome prize for earning superpowers! My students love putting these on their backpacks.
Superhero Sayings Bracelets - a fun prize for conquering certain challenges or earning superpowers.
Create-Your-Own Comic Book Activity Pad (set of 12) - a fun take-home activity to do during the incentive program! Each book features 52 pre-printed pages (5x7”).
Super Resources
These are tried-and-true resources I turn to again and again:
RCM Piano Syllabus - a great resource for assessment planning, including specific technical exercises and leveled guidelines for rhythm and sight-reading material and aural skills training. This is what I use in my studio.
Sight-Reading and Rhythm Every Day series - I start all my students in Helen Marlais’ books when they finish their Level 3 method book. Each book is divided into units, and each unit is divided into 6 days, with two rhythm activities and two sight-reading exercises each day. An ensemble piece is included at the end of each unit to play together in the lesson. The materials are well-sequenced and have improved my students’ sight-reading skills and confidence. During the incentive program, I sometimes use the extra sight-reading exercises in the back as bonus take-home challenges.
Teach Piano Today - a rich blog and resource library, featuring a broad collection of clever ideas and creative teaching tools geared toward piano students of all ages. They have created tons of free superhero-themed resources (as you can see from this post) that correlate with their Level 2 supplemental series, The Adventures of Fearless Fortissimo, linked above.
Piano Pronto - offering method books and a variety of sheet music with compelling titles, syncopation and pop-style harmonies, digital and print versions, full-length recordings, and the ability to purchase a studio license and print as many copies as you need.
Pixabay - a free resource for images, graphics, and superhero-themed clipart.
I’d love to hear from you:
Have you ever planned an incentive program for your studio?
