12-Week Suzuki Violin Lesson Plan Instructor: Kenneth Chia!
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SUZUKI VIOLIN 12-WEEK LESSON PLAN - K. CHIA
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Introduction! This lesson plan, while primarily an assignment for Mrs. Stella Chiew’s Early Childhood Education Level 2 class, is structured as such to be a fully functional curriculum for successful beginner Suzuki Violin Instruction over a 12-week period. The duration of the sessions within this 12-week period is assumed to be 30 minutes per session, with one session occurring per week. It incorporates both standard Suzuki methods as well as some of my own personal music education techniques, that I have developed in my many years of having taught traditional classical flute, adapted towards violin.!
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! ! Objective! Following successful execution of the 12-week lesson plan, the student should be able to perform up to piece #4 “Go Tell Aunt Rhody”. !
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SUZUKI VIOLIN 12-WEEK LESSON PLAN - K. CHIA
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Lesson 1: Humble Beginnings!
! Getting to Know You (5 minutes)! • •
Introduce self to student and parent! Demonstrate and briefly practice proper salutation bowing.!
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Bow hold practice (5 minutes)! Have a pencil or chopstick handy. ! • Make “rabbit ears” symbol (Just like “I love you” sign language hand position, but thumb instead touching between middle and ring fingers).! • The rabbit then “eats” the pencil/chopstick.! • Apply the same concept to the bow. Make the rabbit “sleepy” from such a big meal by bringing the “ears” (index and pinky finger) down onto the bow. Thumb is on the frog first.! • Next, try bringing the thumb off the frog.! •
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Posture set-up (5 minutes)! Stand with feet together first in rest position (no violin or bow at first)! • Open legs to shoulder width. ! • Left foot forward, right foot back.! • Add the violin. Child may first practice violin hold by touching left shoulder with right hand if they’re capable.! • Add the bow.! •
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First notes! (5 minutes)! Tune the student’s violin first. ! • Ensure student is holding up violin from the neck in a relaxed left hand position.! • Point to E-string. Have student do random bowing on open E-string.! • Point to A-string. Have student do random bowing on open A-string.! • Game: Teacher calls out a string, student tries to respond by bowing on the correct string.
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SUZUKI VIOLIN 12-WEEK LESSON PLAN - K. CHIA
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! Install Twinkle Variation A (10 minutes)! Use words to mime the rhythms present in Variation A (i.e. KotaKina-ba-lu. I prefer “Watermelon - Apple”, because it’s one word per beat and commonly used fruits.)! • Have student repeat words a few times alone, and then with rhythmic clap or metronome.! • Begin teaching student to apply rhythm to the open A and E strings.! • Show finger 1 on E-string, then back to open E- string. This installs the first half of the phrase. Absolute beginners can end here.! • If time permits and student is a moderate learner, you can add finger 3, 2, 1 to open A-String to complete the first phrase.! • Advanced learners can probably finish the entire first variation.! •
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Finishing up! Explain importance of parental involvement in child’s daily practice to the parent.! • If parent is unable to be present, a paper with some instructions can be sent home with the student at the conclusion of the lesson.! • Mention that listening to the recordings included with the book will be very helpful in the next few weeks.! • Salutation bow to finish lesson.
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SUZUKI VIOLIN 12-WEEK LESSON PLAN - K. CHIA
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Lesson 2: Finishing Our First Variation! ! Class session opening (3-5 minutes)! Bow in! • Ask if student (and parent, if present) has any questions about what was covered in Lesson 1! •
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Posture and Bow hold review (3-5 minutes)! • •
Tune student’s violin! Have student review and practice bow grip with pencil or chopstick, then with the
bow! •
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Review and practice standing posture for violin playing!
Review and Finish Twinkle A (15-20 minutes)! Chose a slow to moderate tempo, and use the word syllables to help reinforce the proper rhythm (Ex. Watermelon - Apple)! • Have the student stop after each note and wait for you to call out the letter pitch name and fingering (For example, “Open A…Ready, Go!… Stop! Open E,…Ready, Go!… Stop! F-sharp on Finger 1 on E String… Ready, Go!…. etc….). The student is not to be expected to remember the note names and positions at first, but the continuous instruction will serve as a subconscious guide. I call this “Say then Play”.! • Once the student can handle this, demonstrate and have student mimic your performance of Twinkle A in sections: ! ✴ One measure at a time.! ✴ Two measures at a time! ✴ Four measures at a time! ✴ The entire piece.! •
Finishing up! •
Answer any questions student might have, then conclude lesson with a salutation
bow.
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Lesson 3: Twinkle B!
! Class opening and preparation (5 minutes)! Bow in! • Ask if student had any questions during the week’s practice.! • Tune student’s violin.! • Have student demonstrate bow hold and playing posture, then correct and adjust.! • Demonstrate and practice ready posture (violin tucked under right arm, bow held hair facing out with right index finger, bow perpendicular to the floor)! •
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Review and correct Twinkle Variation A (5 - 10 minutes)! • • •
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Play Twinkle-A together, and give general comments.! Have student perform it again solo and give more specific comments! Isolate problem spots, then perform one last time together.!
Break time: Anatomy lesson - The Violin (5 minutes)! Point out and say various parts of the Violin together with student! • Point out silently the parts and have student try to identify the parts, assisting as necessary, of course.! •
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Install Twinkle Variation B (10 - 15 minutes)! New rhythm mnemonic: “I STOP, then you STOP”.! ✴ Practice saying it without clapping, then add eighth note / quaver clapping, then switch to quarter-note/crotchet clapping.! ✴ Walking game: In rhythm to the mnemonic, have student take steps walking forward. (Left-Right. STOP. Left-Right-Left. STOP. Right-Left. STOP. Right-Left-Right. STOP). ! ✴ Bowing game: Similar to walking game, but instead just use the bow perpendicular to floor in front of student. (Down-up, stop. Down-up-down, stop. Up-down, etc.)! • Play together Twinkle B.! •
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Finishing up! •
Answer any questions raised by student, then conclude lesson with a salutation bow.
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Lesson 4: Twinkle C! Class Opening and Preparation (3 - 5 minutes)! •
Salutation Bow in.!
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Answer any questions student might have had during the week’s practice.!
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Tune student’s violin.!
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Check ready posture, then check playing posture.!
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Review: Twinkle A (3 - 5 minutes)! •
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Quick run-through with minor fixes. !
Review: Twinkle B (5 minutes)! •
Continue work on Twinkle B, playing walking game and bowing game again if
necessary. ! •
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Ensure student uses maximum comfortable bow.!
Break time: Anatomy Lesson - The Violin Bow (3 - 5 minutes)! Point out and say various parts of the violin bow together with student! • Point out silently the parts and have student try to identify the parts, assisting as necessary, of course.! •
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Install Twinkle Variation C (5 - 10 minutes)! •
New rhythm mnemonic: “Tom-Jerry, Tom-Jerry”. I prefer “Stop, Go-go, Stop, Go-go!” or
“Here, go to there, go to here, go to there”! •
Practice mnemonic without and with rhythmic quarter-note/crotchet claps.!
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Apply to executing Twinkle C, noting that bow direction switches are the same as
Twinkle B (therefore walking game and bowing games will also work for this variation)!
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Finishing up! •
Answer any questions raised by student, then conclude lesson with a salutation bow.
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Lesson 5: Twinkle D! Class Opening and Preparation (3 - 5 minutes)! •
Salutation Bow in.!
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Answer any questions student might have had during the week’s practice.!
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Tune student’s violin.!
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Check ready posture, then check playing posture.!
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Review Twinkle C, B, A (10 minutes)! •
Going in reverse order to mix things up a bit.!
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Emphasize the difference of long strokes versus short strokes, applied to rhythm, as
well as bow position.!
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Install Twinkle D (15 minutes)! •
New mnemonic: “Butterfly”.
I like to use either fruits
such “Pineapple.” or
“Strawberry”, or, my favorite “Evenly”, which will really reinforce the teaching point for this variation.! •
Clapping, walking, bowing games, work for this variation.!
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Have student execute Twinkle D on the violin.!
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Clapping hands or tapping student’s shoulder while student is performing in time
through the triplets will help reinforce the rhythmic evenness needed, and prevent it from devolving into a rendition of Twinkle C or reverse Twinkle C.!
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Finishing up! •
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Answer any questions raised by student, then conclude lesson with a salutation bow.!
SUZUKI VIOLIN 12-WEEK LESSON PLAN - K. CHIA
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Lesson 6: Twinkle E and Theme!
! Class Opening and Preparation (3 - 5 minutes)! •
Salutation Bow in.!
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Answer any questions student might have had during the week’s practice.!
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Tune student’s violin.!
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Check ready posture, then check playing posture.!
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Review Twinkle D (5 minutes)! •
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Continue previous lesson’s work on keeping the bowing evenly through the triplets.!
Install Twinkle E (5 - 10 minutes)! •
New mnemonic: “Caterpillar”.
Personally, I prefer to use “Watermelon” again,
because keeping the same words for the sixteenths/semi-quavers keeps familiarity. Just state that you now have extra Watermelons because you traded them for Apples!! •
Clapping/Walking games help alongside a steady quarter-note/crotchet clap.!
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Emphasize shorter strokes for this one, as longer strokes will tire out the student.!
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Throughout the student’s acquisition of this variation, quarter-note/crotchet claps by
the teacher help keep the student anchored. !
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Install Twinkle Theme (10 - 15 minutes)! •
Long beautiful strokes of the bow throughout.!
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Use isolation stops before string crossings to help troubleshoot difficulties in that
area.! •
For variety, student and teacher can take turns playing one of the variations while the
other plays the theme.! •
If time and student energy permits, put it all together with a straight run-through
from Variation A to B to C to D to E and finish with the Theme.!
Finishing up! •
Answer any questions raised by student, then conclude lesson with a salutation bow
SUZUKI VIOLIN 12-WEEK LESSON PLAN - K. CHIA
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Lesson 7: Lightly Row! Class Opening and Preparation (3 - 5 minutes)! •
Standard Salutation Bow, Q&A, Violin tuning, and bow+posture check.!
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Twinkle A-E + Theme Run-through (5 minutes)! •
Light run-through with only minor corrections.
Bulk of time needed for the next
piece.!
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Install Lightly Row (20 minutes)! •
Teacher plays the entire piece first in a run-through.!
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Student and teacher then work together in 4-measure blocks.!
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Measures 1-4!
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Measures 5-8!
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Measures 9-12!
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Measures 13-16 are the same as 5-8, so no need for extra time towards this block.!
With each block, a session of “Finger, Bow, then Go!” is needed to assist the student in
having the note set before moving on to the next one.
“Say then Play” is also a good
technique where the student says the pitch name of the next note before executing it.! •
Singing along with fingerings as lyrics will help. (E-2-2… 3-1-1… A-1-2-3-E-E-E…etc.)!
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If the student is already has a good handle on the actual fingering technique, then
sing along with the lyrics borrowed from the Suzuki Piano version would be more beneficial for phrasing:! “Lightly Row, here we go, gently up the stream so slow.! Lightly rowing, smoothly floating, gently up the stream we go.! Slowly drifting in our boat, up the stream we gently float.! Lightly rowing, smoothly floating, gently up the stream we go.”!
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Finishing up! •
Remind student of the importance of listening to the recordings.!
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Answer any questions raised by student, then conclude lesson with a salutation bow
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Lesson 8: Finish Lightly Row! Class Opening and Preparation (3 - 5 minutes)! •
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Standard Salutation Bow, Q&A, Violin tuning, and bow+posture check.!
Warmup: Twinkle Theme (3 - 5 minutes)! •
Run-through of Twinkle Theme once or twice. Long smooth bow and tone to later be
applied to Lightly Row.!
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Review Lightly Row (25 minutes)! •
Continue the work from Lesson 7, but consider long 8-measure blocks for extended
flow, and short 2-measure blocks for intense detail work, in addition to the standard 4measure blocks.!
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Finishing up! •
Answer any questions raised by student, then conclude lesson with a salutation bow
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Lesson 9: Song of the Wind!
! Class Opening and Preparation (3 - 5 minutes)! •
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Standard Salutation Bow, Q&A, Violin tuning, and bow+posture check.!
Lightly Row Run-through + Twinkle E Warmup. (3 - 5 minutes)! •
Brief run-through of Lightly Row with minor corrections!
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Follow up with Twinkle E to get the student’s bowing crisp and light in preparation
of Song of the Wind.!
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Install Song of the Wind (20 - 24 minutes)! •
Teacher demonstrates first while student listens.!
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Teacher and student then work together building the piece via the following measure
blocks:! ✴
Measures 1-2!
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Measures 3-4 and 5-6 are the same, and must be cycled heavily. Lots of “Finger,
Bow, Go!” and “Say then Play” for this one.!
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Measures 7, 8, 9 and 10 first done individually, and then as a straight block.!
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Measures 11-14 are the same as 7-10, so no extra time is needed for this block.!
Remind student that because there is a repeat sign at the end, the entire piece will
need to be played twice.!
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Finishing up! •
Answer any questions raised by student, then conclude lesson with a salutation bow
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Lesson 10: Finish Song of the Wind! Class Opening and Preparation (3 - 5 minutes)! •
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Standard Salutation Bow, Q&A, Violin tuning, and bow+posture check.!
Warmup: Twinkle B and Theme (3 - 5 minutes)! •
Run-through of Twinkle B and Twinkle Theme once or twice. Short staccato bowing
emphasized.!
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Review Song of the Wind (25 minutes)! •
Continue the work from Lesson 9, but divide the work with larger blocks between
measures 1-6 and 7-14. !
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Bonus: Cooldown with Lightly Row (No more than 3 minutes)! •
If time permits, a quick run-through of Lightly Row just to help keep it fresh for the
student.!
Finishing up! •
Answer any questions raised by student, then conclude lesson with a salutation bow
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Lesson 11: Go Tell Aunt Rhody!
! Class Opening and Preparation (3 - 5 minutes)! •
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Standard Salutation Bow, Q&A, Violin tuning, and bow+posture check.!
Run-through: Song of the Wind (5 minutes)! •
Brief run-through with minor corrections. Bulk of minutes needed to be reserved for
next song “Go Tell Aunt Rhody”.!
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Install “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” (20 minutes)! •
Teacher demonstrates entire piece first while student listens.!
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Teacher and student then work together building the piece via the following measure
block sequences:! ✴
Measures 1-2!
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Measures 3-4!
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Measures 1-4 together.
Go for a nice peak in volume and phrasing towards
measure 3 and back down.! ✴
Measures 5-6. !
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Measure 7-8.
Note to student the fact that measure 5 and measure 7 are the
essentially same starting measures pitch-wise.! ✴
Measure 5-8.
Challenge for student is in remembering measure 6 and 8 end the
mini-phrases differently. Work with the dynamic drop to p to help differentiate the miniphrases better.! ✴
Measures 9-12 are the same as Measures 1-4, so no extra time is needed for this
block.!
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Entire piece once or twice as time permits.!
Finishing up! •
Answer any questions raised by student, then conclude lesson with a salutation bow
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Lesson 12: Finish Go Tell Aunt Rhody!
! Class Opening and Preparation (3 - 5 minutes)! •
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Standard Salutation Bow, Q&A, Violin tuning, and bow+posture check.!
Review: Go Tell Aunt Rhody (10-15 minutes)! •
Continue the work from Lesson 11!
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Sing together with the student the piece, emphasizing the breaths at the ends of
measures 4 and 8. ! •
These lyrics I found on “thesuzukiacademy.com” could be quite helpful:! “Go tell Aunt Rhody, listen carefully! Go tell Aunt Rhody, listen now to me! First I play loudly, I use lots of bow! Then I play softer, use less bow! Go tell Aunt Rhody, listen carefully! Go tell Aunt Rhody, listen now to me”!
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Don’t spend too much time on run-throughs for this piece, as it will be played again
later in the lesson.! !
** THE GAUNTLET: Complete run-through of all pieces! **(10 - 15 minutes)! •
Run-through with minor corrections as needed:! ✦
Twinkle A, B, C, D, E and Theme!
✦
Lightly Row!
✦
Song of the Wind!
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Go Tell Aunt Rhody!
! Finishing up!
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Congratulate the student!!
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Answer any questions raised by student, then conclude lesson with a salutation bow.!
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