Mike Moxcey ©2001

Age Appropriate Handouts and Posters

When playing shows at schools, having posters and/or handouts enhances the experience and makes you appear more professional.  But they should be appropriate for the age group (if the audience is grouped into an age).  For all school assemblies, I just have posters with both words and pictures.

Posters

Make bright colored posters with large letters that are easy to read from the back.  Do them on large sheets of paper like conference facilitators use.  It's cheaper to make mistakes and after finding which ones are really useful, laminate them.  A school that you're volunteering at will often do this for you.

Handouts

I like to give younger kids handouts to remember me by.  It also helps when they get home and are trying to explain to their parents what instruments or songs "that music guy" played.  I make an easily copied sheet that has good pictures of instruments to color.  I also label each instrument and often put the number of strings on it (they can all read numbers) and little drawings of fingerpicks or a capo or whatever.  On the back, I may write a paragraph or two about what concepts I covered and will even put the words to songs in case parents want to sing with their kids.
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