Can't be directly helpful, sorry, but it has me thinking.

The problem with these assignments is that they are simply CYA material. Unless you spend time in your class on activities like writing about music, then you are asking the students to guide themselves through an advanced and introspective independent activity. Leaving written instructions is not enough to achieve the level of reflection that you are actually seeking.

If you wish to proceed in earnest, consider leaving recorded verbal directions and guiding questions. It would kind of be like the Selmer test or Bernstein's lectures, but it's in your voice and direction to the student.

Or consider incorporating written reflections and listening vocabulary like the elements of music into your class. It could be a spiral, hand written in by students, word of the week style. Then they are prepared to engage independently with this activity for an entire class period while you are away.

Or create a Google form and add videos and include various response formats. Again, it helps to practice this in class before they are expected to engage with this independently.

Or reach out to their middle school directors. Perhaps some of this has already been done in their previous studies. Borrow and modify.


Consider that the most common class of music in college for non-majors is music appreciation, where listening skills, the elements of music, and reflection activities are taught. This might be the easiest class for a music major, but for people with high school diplomas, this might be the hardest. And you are asking a high school student to do this, in one class period, without direct instruction from a music teacher, and without prior instruction or engagement with the activity.


The best activity I've ever seen for students while a director is unavailable is: multiple written passage to read on the topic of music. Included are questions and responses that are vetted by the ELAR teachers to help them with STAAR. It takes all class, it is easily amended and added to, and it wins all kinds of points on TTESS and within your community. Reading comprehension is always a worthwhile endeavor.