DO IT NOW!

I am sure for many of you this concept of DO IT NOW Tasks isn’t a new thing. You may have been using these tasks at the start of your lesson for a while, or you may be in need of a nudge. Maybe this blog will give you some ideas. I am trying to use them more and more, but I still need to get better. Next year I want to make sure that I have one for every lesson, but I figure that I can make some of them work for different year groups. I am currently re-writing my Key Stage 3 schemes of work and I am ensuring that I have a DIN task for every lesson.

What are Do It Now tasks?

The general concept is that as students enter your class they have something that they can immediately start to do. This could be a thinking, listening or written tasks but it is designed to get them started on the lesson. The reality is that students might be coming from different corners of a school and therefore arrive at different times. Some of you might have students lining up outside your lesson, but I prefer to get them in. For me it is the “Whilst the computer loads” task and they do work well.

20 Do It Now Tasks

1. Write out all of the chords in D Major – (More geared to Sixth Form)
2. Listen to this piece as you sit down and think of 3 key terms that are relevant.
3. As you listen to this piece, listen out for 5 different instruments.
4. There is a an extract of music on the screen, tell me something you see.
5. You will see a melody on the board, start to work out how you would describe it.
6. Write out the following scales on a piece of paper – G Major & E Minor.
7. Using just 120 characters, write down a summary of what you learnt last lesson.
8. Complete the melody on the board – this can be extended depending on Year group.
9. Sort the words on the board into the elements of music that they are most commonly associated with.
10. Write out 3 Harmonic Devices and where you have seen them used – GCSE Set Works link.
11. Write out 3 Melodic Devices and where you have seen them used – GCSE Set Works link.
12. Look at the chords on the board and give them all a name.
13. There are some chords on the board, can you name the inversion of each chord.
14. Complete the Perfect Cadence that is on the board – Bach Chorale Lesson.
15. What are the note names for the strings on a guitar?
16. Describe the melody that you see on the board.
17. Name all the notes on the bass clef stave on the board.
18. There is a rhythm on the board (Steve Reich Clapping music). Start to work out the rhythm using one finger taps.
19. What is wrong with the melody on the board?
20. There is a picture/photo on the board. Think about what music might go with it.

Starting Well

These are just a handful of ideas and they really do need to be simple. They are things that they can be doing when they enter the room. Now of course you might say that you ask students to line up outside your room, and there is merit in that. For me, I just like students to enter when they arrive and aim to train them to sit down and settle down. It relies on me finishing the previous lesson on time, but I would rather get my lesson started than clog up the small corridor outside my room. You need to work out what is best for you, but I do think that having something that they can instantly be thinking about is a good idea. It doesn’t need to get in the way of a formal starter and it might not work for every lesson. But it is something to think about and maybe try at some point!

Do It Now

I hope that has been helpful and I would love to hear about your success stories or any feedback on the idea. It is something that my school have pushed this year and I have enjoyed using the Do It Now approach. I don’t do it enough and next year I will do it more!