This year my husband and I created interactive staff displays for both our band room and our choir room. Here’s our “how to” blog post for creating this great simple classroom tool.
Interactive Staff Display Step 1
Step One: Print out or make a staff and note heads.
You can buy my printable staff & notes HERE. This includes treble & bass clef and it comes with appropriately sized notes for fitting properly upon the staff. There are 4 different types of note heads included: Boomwhacker colors with letters, Boomwhacker colors without letters, B&W with letters, & B&W without letters.
Print out however pages of staff you want (I usually use three). Trim the edges of the page so the black lines will line up, then tape them together. Cut out the note heads. I would recommend laminating everything to make it all more durable.
OR you can absolutely make a staff and notes out of construction paper or whatever else!
Interactive Staff Display Step 2 – Make it interactive.
Idea One: Magnets
If your whiteboard or chalk board is magnetic – OR if you have a large cookie sheet or ANYTHING magnetic in your classroom! I purchase small round magnets from the local department/craft store or here’s an Amazon Affiliate Link to a small bunch.
I use hot glue to attach the magnets to the note heads (you HAVE to laminate them if your using this method!). Tape the staff up against the magnetic surface and you’ll be able to place the note heads anywhere on the staff. This will allow you and/or students to make brief melodies, do some note name quizzes, work on proper note placement – etc!
Idea Two: Hook & Loop
Apply hook & loop dots to the note heads & the position you want them placed on the staff. You can purchase these at almost any department store OR – I have had great luck with this budget off brand (Amazon Affiliate Link) – You get a TON of dots for SUPER cheap, and they work exactly like the brand name ones! I use the clear dots ON the staff itself so they are less visible when not labeled, and the white/softer dots on the back of the note heads (so you won’t see the white).
This method will give you less flexibility with the overall display as notes will only be able to be positioned in the places you put the hook & loop on the staff (not anywhere like with the magnets). Maybe that is your goal though, to help students understand where the notes are properly placed! If so – this method should work well for you!
How can I use this in my music classroom?
This can be used for SO MANY things in the music classroom. One of my favorite activities is to do a bell ringer as students are entering the room. I randomly pass out notes to students and before they sit down they have to place their notes in the correct position on the staff. Super simple! Brief composition activities – short note name quizzes – word of the day activities – really anything you can think of!
Hopefully you can find some uses for this in your classroom! Thanks for reading!