Looking for fun ways to work on participation and interaction with your music therapy group?

Previously on the MTGO blog, we’ve covered making music with your little ones, an instrument scavenger hunt, and a free career-themed music therapy session plan.  Today I’d like to share both templates and session-ready games that you can use with your groups today!

1.  Jeopardy Template

A hero named Eric Curts made this awesome, customizable 5-topic jeopardy template via Google Slides!

The hard work is already done for you.  All you have to do is make a copy, add it to your Google Drive, and type your text into the template.

Example: Classical Music Jeopardy

Not every client likes the classical music.  But for those who do, I used Curts’s template to make a Classical Music Jeopardy Game for my clients.

This game includes the following topics: name the composer, name the tune, name the instrument, and composer biographies.

1.  Bingo Templates

With My Free Bingo Cards, you can customize sets of bingo cards!

Just choose a design and type in the content.  As of this writing, you can download up to 30 cards in a PDF format or send each member of your group a link to an individualized card.

Example: Classic Rock Bingo

I created these Classic Rock Bingo Cards for a teletherapy group of adults with IDD.  In my virtual groups, I find it’s easier to play as a team with one bingo card.  We use the following procedure

  1. Paste a bingo card into Google Slides (for example, this Classic Rock Bingo Card).
  2. Click “Present” to make it larger.
  3. Share your screen with your group.
  4. Play one of the songs on the bingo card for your group (live or prerecorded)
  5. Ask clients to guess the song you played.
  6. When someone guesses the song title, click “annotate” in Zoom’s screenshare tools (if you’re using a different platform, it may be called “draw”)
  7. Draw an X through each square after the group guesses the song title.
  8. When you have crossed off three squares in a row, you have a BINGO!
  9. Alternatively, you can play blackout bingo: keep playing until you have crossed out every square.

3.  Customizable Spinner Wheel

One of the many things I miss about in-person sessions is allowing clients to choose what’s next through rolling dice, drawing a card, or spinning a wheel.

Fortunately, Super Teacher Tools has put out a free, customizable spinner wheel!  Just enter your content, change the your color scheme if you’re feeling fancy, and you’re ready to go!

Example: Alphabet Spinner

I created this Alphabet Spinner for clients who are working on expressive letter identification.  In the future, I’d like to create wheels for dance moves, song titles, genres, and more!

4.  Musical Hangman Template

Amy Kalas Buser at Wholesome Harmonies inspired me to try Hangman with my clients!

My handwriting on the whiteboard feature in Zoom is barely legible, so I created this musical hangman template in Google Slides.  In telehealth settings, I use the following procedure:

  1. Chose an artist, song title, genre, etc. for your client(s) to guess.  This is the answer to the game.
  2. Edit  the text box in the bottom right corner of the game screen so there is a blank for each letter in the answer.  Don’t forget spaces and punctuation!  For example, the answer to the blanks in the template is “She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round The Mountain.”
  3. Click “Present” to enter presentation view.
  4. Share your screen with your client(s).
  5. In the toolbar in Zoom, click “annotate” so you can write on the slide (in other platforms, it may be called “draw”).
  6. Ask clients to guess a letter of the alphabet.
  7. When a client guesses a letter,  cross it off from the text box  on the left side of the game screen so you can keep track of what has  been guessed.
  8. When someone guesses a correct letter, write it everywhere it appears in the answer.  When someone guesses an incorrect letter, draw one body part on the hanging platform.  Example: head, stick figure body, arms, and legs.
  9. Clients win when they guess the answer before all body parts are on the hanging off the platform!

I hope you and your clients enjoy these virtual game templates for music therapy!

What virtual games do you play with your clients/students/kids?  Please let us know in the comments below!