One Minute Club Cards for 2003

⌛️ The One Minute Club is a way for students to learn how to “say and play” notes on the grand staff in one minute or less. Click here to see a video of my students. This is an activity you can do each year so students learn how to quickly find notes on the piano keys. Once they can do it,  give them a “membership” card and put the card in a clear plastic badge holder and attach it to their music bags. I make a different card each year, and some students enjoy collecting them. Also included is a certificate and a handy chart to write the time for each student. Click here to download. This is free for a limited time.

Prepare for this months in advance with all kinds of note reading activities.

Teachers often ask me questions about the rules, but since you are the teacher, you get to decide how many cards the students use. There are no national standards! If they can play 7 or 8 cards in a minute, that is really good for some students. You can have a different amount of cards for each grade level. To be successful, before you time a student, prepare for this months in advance with all kinds of note reading activities. If you can’t make this a fun activity, it’s not for you! 😉  Used incorrectly it can be harmful drudgery.

Another question teachers ask is what is a fast time. I’ve had students do it in 19 seconds. They, of course, were older students. As students age, so does their eye/hand coordination. If a students is taking over 2 minutes, they just aren’t ready for one minute. Either reduce the number of cards or start your preparation earlier. It’s rare to have grades 1-3 do this with an entire grand staff, and many 4th and 5th graders need lots of practice material. I’ve made tons of worksheets and games for note reading, so take advantage of those.

The challenge for me is flipping the cards really fast without notes flying all over the place! I find it easier to use mini flash cards. I like to use ledger line notes for my high school students.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

How to Print

• Download and save the file in Adobe Reader, a free program that is the gold standard for PDF printables. (Don’t use Google or try to print from your iPad.)
• To print these cards, use an 8.5″ x 11″ pre-perforated 2″ x 3.5″ business card template, 10 cards to a page. There is extra ink print around the individual card (called the “bleed”) in case the cards don’t print evenly. Home printers are often slightly “off”, and even 1/8″ can be noticed, so I hope this helps.
• It you are using a business card template, is very important that your printer settings are correct or the cards will not fit inside the perforations. “Page sizing & handling” should be set to “actual size” and not “fit” or “page scaling.”
• If you don’t have pre-perforated business cards or you have A4 card stock, there are hash mark cutting lines on the edges of the page. Using a ruler, connect the hash marks with a pencil to make cutting lines.