Combining students in different levels
Found in: Shared Lessons, Student Management
Joanne C.
I have three teenagers taking private lessons because I have no age appropriate groups to put them in. One is in mid level 5, another is just starting level 6, and the other has just completed the first song of level 7. I’m wondering if anyone has ever combined three levels into one group and if so, how you managed it.
Carrie L., Michigan
Add a little from each book so each person has something new and have other kids teach it.
Missy M., Nebraska
I’d agree that it is very doable, especially with that group. Just spend more time in the reading programs for a while mixed in with review of levels 5 and 6. Have them learn at home from the video and see how it goes. I actually did this with a few students and the person who was ahead was overtaken by the ones further behind because they were so motivated and excited. I supposed personalities and study/practice habits should be considered too. I think if a student misses one or a few songs in order to join a group ahead, it’s not a big deal. They get the benefits of being in a group and stay in the game longer.
Ruth P., North Carolina
I’ve also done a few “catch up” private lessons to get individuals closer to the level of the group I want them in. It can work.
Laurie Richards, Nebraska
I have done this many times – as long as the learning pace among the three students isn’t wildly different, it works fine. A few things you can offer if you think it will help the group gel more quickly:
- Have the L7 student skip one lesson a month for a short time (don’t charge for it) – spend the whole lesson with the others teaching new content that the L7 student already knows
- Spend a little time at each lesson having the L7 student help teach a portion of a song to the others.
- Ask the L5 student if s/he is willing to work extra hard for a bit to catch up. There’s a lot going on at this stage of the curriculum though, so manage it carefully.
- Teach the L7 student something outside the curriculum so there’s something new to work on, or an extra C&I or accompaniment project
- Bring the L5 and 6 students in at L7 where the furthest-along student is. Learn the songs sloooowly (several L7 songs are fairly challenging to begin with), and steadily fill in the blanks for the L5&6 students at the same time.
There’s also a great TWS program in the store called “Managing Shared Lessons” by Kerry Hanley, and there is a section on ‘Amalgamating Classes’ which might be helpful. This is a wonderful resource in general.