What's in your Sub Tub?

The general music teachers in my district have Sub Tubs.  How brilliant is that?

It's basically a box of emergency sub plans in case you get a non-orchestra sub.  And the likelihood of that happening is pretty high. My principals allow me to cancel class if I can't find an orchestra sub (if they're not going to be learning orchestra AND they're missing whatever they're pulled out from, is it a good use of time?), but I thought it was time to make a Sub Tub just in case.

These ideas came from all over the place.  Some of them are from our method book.  (I'm telling you, Orchestra Expressions is the best method book ever--they even include sub plans!)  Others came from Pinterest (LOVE Pinterest!), the School Orchestra and String Teachers Facebook page (LOVE this group!), and my colleagues (LOVE my colleagues!)  

In the Sub Tub, I included a "Menu" so the sub can do activities they feel comfortable with.  Sneakily, the menu items are listed in the order I prefer they be done :)

Even if the sub feels comfortable having them play, I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT have them tune.  Unless they're a string player, I feel like it's just going to mean lots of broken strings.

Requests-My kids love to play requests.  Sometimes we do this if we have a few extra minutes at the end of a lesson (this rarely happens.)

Solo for a Sticker-Students take turns playing a solo for the class and earn a sticker to put on their folder.  Audience members are expected to show good concert etiquette.

D and A String Notes Koosh Game-One of my colleagues made this game and it is GREAT!  The kids get to take turns  throwing a Koosh ball at the SmartBoard.  The spot they hit takes them to a note to name.  Then back to the first slide and repeat!

Note Reading/Rhythm Practice on Chromebooks-Our district is 1:1 with Google Chromebooks.  It's awesome.  I have a bunch of links for note reading and rhythm games at my website.

Instrument Biography-This idea came from Tricia Laux.  It is a writing activity.  The kids can either write it by hand the "old fashioned" way or share it with me on Google Drive.  In it, they tell me the (fictional) story of their instrument.

• Full Name of Instrument, Birth Date
• Where was it “born?” Who made it?
• Details on travels, experiences
• Who has played it, injuries
• Any other details

Youtube-I made a Youtube favorites list of pre-viewed, orchestra-appropriate videos and shared the password on the sub menu.  As always, I'd be careful to show students' suggestions (and they will have many) unless it's a video you've already seen and know it's appropriate.  Please learn from my mistake: When I was student teaching, I showed the Pachelbel Rant to some 8th grade students.  (Worth a watch if you're a string person and haven't seen it)  It has a mild curse word at the end and I felt HORRIBLE.  I'm sure it was nothing they hadn't heard before, but I was still really embarrassed and hope it never happens again.

Rhythm War-Like the card game War, but with notes.  See the original post here.

Orchestra Bingo-Stolen from the same brilliant colleague as the Koosh game, this Bingo set has a "word bank" or terms and symbols and kids fill out their own cards.  I'll probably throw a bag of Frooties in the tub for prizes.

Note Naming Dice-I saw these dice online but can't find the link anymore!  Should have saved it when I saw it.  Anyway, they are 8-sided dice with the D and A string notes on them.  The kids roll them, then name the note (or finger).  If I ever find them, I'm going to color-code them to make sure the kids are reading the right notes for their instrument. (Also, if you know where I saw it, PLEASE post a comment!!)

Orchestra Expressions Sub Plans-I am wild about our method book, Orchestra Expressions (and the publisher is NOT paying me to say that!), and they included a couple of sub/supplemental plans.  One is a composition activity and the other is listening.

I'd gladly post some of the files for the activities listed here, but it doesn't look like Blogger supports that.  If you'd like anything, send me a message and I'd be happy to e-mail you.

What do you put in your sub tub?  I know there are other great ideas out there!  I love to steal ideas, so if you have anything, please post it in the comments!