Resource 4: Ideas for judging each instrument
Teacher resource for planning or adapting to use with pupils
- These are some questions pupils could ask about each instrument. Brainstorm a list of questions with your class.
| What is it made of? | How do you make the note higher? lower? |
| How old is it? | How do you make a quiet sound? loud sound? Is this easy to do? Can you hear the quiet sound? |
| How robust (not easily broken) is it? | What is vibrating? |
| Does it need to be kept in a special place? | How easy is it to learn to play? |
| How easy is it to carry around? | How much does it cost? |
| How do you make a sound? |
- Decide which of these questions are important when judging the instrument. We suggest that pupils in your class choose a maximum of five criteria/questions to judge each instrument.
- For each of the five criteria or questions your class has chosen, develop a scoring scale out of 5. The maximum for each instrument would then be 25.
- As each group presents their instrument, the class gives them scores for each criterion.
- These scores could be recorded on the chalkboard or a large sheet of newsprint on the wall.
Each group should summarise their work by saying:
The final score for our instrument is:
Our instrument is a good choice because … (strengths)
Our instrument might not be a good choice because … (difficulties and problems with the instrument)
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Resource 3: Ideas pupils may have about working in a group
