Book and exercise recommendations for beginners

[pdiraunmo]

Hi, I am looking to teach a couple of beginner kids to play the piano for a school assignment. What should I find out before I begin teaching? What methods best suit beginners? Any books anyone recommends? Please just give me some basic clues as to what I need to know before I start.
I will be teaching them for 6 months. Also I would really appreciate the names of beginner books that you would recommend to start off with please. I am in grade 7 myself.
Also if you answer please know that this may be featured in the planning folio for the assignment but I will blank out every ones names. Thank you!!!

[j_menz]

Hi, I am looking to teach a couple of beginner kids to play the piano for a school assignment. What should I find out before I begin teaching?

How to?

That teaching beginners, particularly children,  is a huge responsibility?

[lilla]

You do not indicate what your own skill level is.  You could go to Pianimals.com and download a couple free items, then order book 1 (A).  Follow every last item on every page, in order, and you'll have some success.  If you are more interested in  doing the most professional teaching possible, go to MarthaBeth.com and examine her site.  You'll find a wealth of information. This should get you going.  To instill musicality, phrasing, expression, proper technique you would require a different approach.  But you could certainly achieve your current project by combining the two methods above.  Good luck and let us know what you decide.

[pdiraunmo]

I am in grade 7 myself

[cjp_piano]

Celebrate Piano
Piano Adventures
Alfred Premier

Those are my 3 favorites. Get the first books in those methods.

[pairra]

I would suggest purchasing a copy of "How to Teach Piano Successfully". That's what helped me. As for the method, just choose any. Actually, choose a different method for each student that way you can experience it for yourself and then decide. Do some research on the different methods and their philosophies, then try to choose ones that are different in their approaches.
 
When you decide, spend time reading through each method book and creating a lesson plan for each student. Your lesson plan will change, but this is more of a guide to help you. For example, if the first lesson of a music tree book is pages 3-5, brainstorm on the different ways you can approach those pages with your student. Try to anticipate questions\difficulties (you'll get better at this).
During each lesson, take notes. And after each lesson review those notes and reflect:
- what went well
- what went wrong
- what did the student have difficulty with
- how can you explain something better
- what kind of games could you use to explain the concept

When I first started teaching, the best advice I got about choosing a piano method was to decide what I wanted to emphasis in lessons. You should do the same. Do you feel reading music is the most important or is it rhythm? Or perhaps performance? Or listening? Since there are so many methods and ways of teaching, this will help you focus as a beginning teacher.