In January of the 3rd grade year, students begin their recorder unit. The school district purchases every 3rd grade student a brand-new recorder of their own, to use through the year and take home in June. These recorders are a wonderful way for the students to prepare for playing band and orchestra instruments in fourth grade.
We use a recorder method called “Recorder Karate.” As the students master playing certain songs on the recorders, they earn recorder belts, progressing from white (easiest) to black (hardest).
To encourage lots of practicing, students will be allowed to take their recorders home with them. It is very important that they bring the recorders and recorder books in for every music class. If they do not bring them back for music class, they will have to use a practice recorder without a mouthpiece, and they will not be able to test for their next belt. I suggest that the students place the recorders and recorder books back in their school bag right after practicing, to be sure that they do not forget it.
There is a website for the Recorder Karate program, where your student can play along with the same recorded accompaniments we use in class. The website is located here.
**The username is karate and the password is rubric