Floral Park-Bellerose School third-graders are learning to play the recorder during music class with teacher Alyssa D’Amato.

This is the first year that the woodwind instrument has been offered to district students and they’re enjoying the experience. D’Amato said incorporating the recorder into the curriculum has provided students with an opportunity to develop note-reading skills, finger dexterity and proper breathing techniques, and to learn to tongue notes correctly. All of these skills will benefit the students when they have a chance to play a musical instrument in the fourth grade.

As part of the learning process, D’Amato is using a belt system, similar to karate, to track progress. After learning “Hot Cross Buns,” students had to individually perform the selection for their teacher. If they performed the selection correctly, they received a white string to tie around their recorder, which served as their “white belt.” “Yellow belt” is next, and students are excited and challenged by their next assignment. They will also perform for their peers and families at a concert in June.