Excerpted from Chapter 5: Live from Television City in Hollywood: Your Music Class!
in Ben Stiefel's Winning Over Your TOUGHEST Music Class.

How many different television game shows have you and your music students watched and enjoyed over the years?

Hollywood Squares?
(A variation on the game Tic-Tac-Toe)

Wheel Of Fortune?
(A variation on the game Hangman)

Family Feud?
(A quiz show)

Concentration?
(A puzzle and memory game)

You can probably think of a dozen game shows. The majority of these shows require the contestants to answer questions. Similarly, you require your students to answer questions in your music class. Now here's the jackpot question: Why not combine a television game show with your music curriculum?

Playing a television style game show with your music students helps you win over your toughest music class in many ways. First, playing a game with your class allows you to Divide and Conquer, with all the benefits outlined in Chapter One of this book. In addition, the familiarity children have with television game shows lends itself to instant motivation for your students. Finally, these games are so much fun to play, your students may not even realize that along with all the fun, they're learning!

TELEVISION GAME SHOW ACTIVITIES
Musical Concept:
Tempo

Procedure:
In preparation for each of the TV Music Game Shows below, begin by preparing questions and answers. For example, to teach the concept of tempo, compile a series of questions.

Sample questions relating to tempo:

What does the word tempo mean? (speed of the beat)
Words that tell us the tempo of a piece are usually in what language? (Italian)
Presto, vivace, and allegro indicate which tempo? (fast)
Adagio, lento, and largo indicate which tempo? (slow)
What happens to the tempo when marked accelerando? (tempo speeds up)
What happens to the tempo when marked ritardando? (tempo slows down)

Next, divide your class into two teams. As we’ve seen in Chapter One, when using the Divide and Conquer method, it is advantageous to be mindful of allotting extra points to a team that is behaving properly.

Now, from Television City,
let the games begin...

TIC-TAC-TONES (A variation of Tic-Tac-Toe)
For this game, name your two teams 'The Treble Clef Team' and 'The Bass Clef Team'. Next, draw the following on the chalkboard , and make it large:

Begin by calling on three students from one team to come to the chalkboard and choose one square from the grid. Since the questions for this game are to be answered by stating true or false, adapt your questions accordingly. For example: 'True or false: The word tempo tells us the speed of the beat.' The three participants must answer the question. If they can't agree on an answer, poll them separately and let the majority vote rule. If they answer correctly, the participants draw their team mark (a treble clef or bass clef) in the square they’d previously chosen.

Next, three students from the opposing team come to the chalkboard and choose a square. Of course, the game ends when one team has drawn their mark in three squares going across, down, or diagonally.
ex.

More 'television' games are included in this chapter.

See more of our Music Appreciation and Classroom Management Song Lyrics

Many thanks to Ben Stiefel for permission to display these lyrics.
© Ben Stiefel. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Music Appreciation
Song Lyrics

Classroom Management
Song Lyrics

Music Theory
Music Products