📣Let's Talk About Choir Concert Makeup Assignments

One of my goals this summer has been to think about the parts of teaching that cause me the most stress during the school year and figure out if there's a better way to handle them. ♥️

One task that always seemed to create unnecessary stress was deciding what makeup assignment to give students who missed a required choir concert because of an excused absence, like an illness or family emergency.

Over the years, I've tried just about everything. 😓

I've assigned essays about music topics. I've had students complete research projects. I've even asked students to come in and perform their concert music for me after school or during my planning period.

The problem? None of those options worked very well.

Essays were often copied from the internet (even before AI became a thing). Projects were usually rushed and poorly completed. And trying to schedule individual performances during my planning period or lunch quickly became more of a punishment for me than for the student!

After plenty of trial and error, I finally found a system that actually works. 🙌

Now, when a student has an excused absence from a concert, I simply give them a handwritten makeup assignment to be completed on paper. I don't provide a digital version, which helps encourage students to complete the work independently and thoughtfully.

It's simple, easy to manage and best of all, it takes one more stressful task off my plate during concert season.

Let's be honest- there really isn't a perfect substitute for performing in a concert. A live performance requires weeks of preparation, teamwork, focus, and commitment. Since students can't truly recreate that experience, I wanted an assignment that was meaningful without simply being "busy work."

I also wanted something that students could complete independently. By requiring the assignment to be handwritten, I can be more confident that the responses are the student's own work. It also encourages students to slow down, think about their answers, and put in genuine effort instead of copying and pasting information from the internet.

So, what do the assignments look like?

I have a few assignments that I rotate throughout the year. One is a concert preparation reflection assignment and the second is a listening assignment, asking students to serve as an adjudicator while listening to other choirs on YouTube. Let’s take a closer look…

⭐Missed Choir Performance Makeup Assignment for Middle or High School Chorus

This 3-page worksheet offers the chance for your students to actively listen to two choir performances and fill out a judge's sheet. This "no-prep" assignment will keep your students engaged and challenged. Students will be asked to rate and comment about a performance, then compare and contrast the two performances. Music Vocabulary is defined for each category and students will learn to actively and thoughtfully listen.

⭐Music Performance Makeup Assignment

This 3-page editable document offers 8 critical thinking questions that will keep your students engaged and challenged. Each prompt is designed to encourage students to answer thoughtfully, with a minimum of 3-4 complete sentences. This assignment will help your students analyze their own musical skills, contemplate their leadership style in class, and much more!

I would love to hear what works for you in your classroom! Reply and let us know and I will share with the Savvy Ellie Music community!

Happy Summer! ⛱️Melanie