The holiday season is a busy time for music teachers, filled with performances, celebrations, and altered schedules. To help keep your students engaged and inspired before the holiday break, we’ve put together a collection of holiday activities. These fun and educational resources are perfect for filling those last few days before the break, whether after a concert or in a regular class, and are sure to keep musical learning at the forefront.
Click the buttons below to download a PDF version of each activity.
Holiday “What Song Is This?”
Grab this free worksheet download and encourage some sight reading and audiation as students can work individually, in groups, or as a class to identify mystery holiday songs. This resource includes songs in Treble, Bass, and Alto Clefs, so encourage students unfamiliar with clefs other than their own to try to figure the answer out with just the rhythm. The teacher answer key and blank student worksheet are included and reproducible!
Hint: If students get stuck and need extra clues, prompt them to match the melodies to titles found in Classic Holiday Solos or Easy Christmas Instrumental Solos in the MakeMusic Cloud library!
Be sure to follow us on social media and play along as we share some “mystery” holiday songs throughout the next few weeks.
Ensemble Sight Reading Challenge
It’s a great time to try out Sight Reading Studio with your ensemble—you might even come up with some great ideas to utilize in your regular rehearsal routine! Open up a sight reading template—try starting on a very achievable level that feels “easy” to build confidence—and then project it in your classroom in Ensemble Mode. Learn more about Ensemble Mode here.
Have fun reading short exercises, upping the challenge level as appropriate, or even creating an elimination game by having students stand up/sit down (on the honor system) when they mess up and “go out.” With like-instrument classes and just one instrument line, you can also have fun with the automated accompaniments in a variety of styles
How to access accompaniment styles in Sight Reading Studio
Festive Foundations
String and Band students (and their teachers) are LOVING The Foundations Series by Brian Balmages, and Festive Foundations is perfect for the holiday season! Try these exercises as a class (print for free with your MakeMusic Cloud subscription) and encourage students to try them on their own, too. The best part? Each exercise is fundamentally sound with festive movie soundtrack accompaniments, so students will feel part of the soundtrack while they practice essential skills.
How to print scores and parts from The Foundations Series
Holiday Practice Bingo!
This is a great activity to send home with students over the holiday to encourage practice in a fun way. Since many students travel over the break, consider making this a bonus-points or bragging-rights-only activity and keeping it lighthearted! In addition, remember to give students instructions on the “Teacher’s Choice” space, or fill them in yourself prior to copying.
Student Gratitude Letter Activity
Use this activity aloud during class time or send home a paper copy with students to complete on their own. This activity will encourage students to spend a few moments focusing on gratitude during this busy season.
Happy Holidays!
We wish you a season of beautiful concerts, fun events, and a well-deserved break.