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Music Ed Blogs Quick Search Resource Site

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Music Ed Blogs Quick Search Resource Site

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Click on the resources below to download and save to your computer. You'll find tons of amazing tips and resources to inspire your teaching. We've collected posts from our blog members and compiled them in one convenient resource!

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The best music education blogs from around the internet, covering general music education, band, choir, strings, music education methodologies, and more. Search here for excellent lesson ideas to use in the elementary, middle, or high school music classroom. We are a one-stop source for ideas for teaching music in all areas!

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Today I wanted to share one of my new favorite songs for Thanksgiving: Turkey in the Barnyard! It's a piggyback song to the tune of Charlie Over the Water. I love that it's mostly a So-Mi song, but the end is on Do so it's a great song to prepare or present that note.

I had my students read the lyrics first, and then I wanted to see if they could memorize the lyrics, so I used one of my favorite SmartNotebook features: the shade!

If you've never used it before, it is SO helpful in helping students to focus. You can drag it across the screen so that only a portion of the slide is visible.

Each time they sang the song I covered up another line of the lyrics until eventually they were singing it completely from memory.

I also put the pitches on a simple two-line staff so that next time my students can read it that way and see Do on a ledger line.

I also play the same game as Charlie Over the Water: children are seated in a circle and one person gets to be "it." While we are singing, the person who is it walks around the outside of the circle. On the last line of the song, he or she taps someone and they have a "duck-duck-goose style" chase.

Kids love playing the game and they also love the visuals I created for it on the Smart Board.

Here's a link to download the SmartNotebook:

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Turkey in the Barnyard - Singing game and FREEBIE

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Today I wanted to share one of my new favorite songs for Thanksgiving: Turkey in the Barnyard! It's a piggyback song to the tune of Charlie Over the Water. I love that it's mostly a So-Mi song, but the end is on Do so it's a great song to prepare or present that note.

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November is a time for post-Halloween candy, blustery days, and, of course, Thanksgiving! This week, my students are playing a fun Thanksgiving (assessment) game to get them in the spirit of the holiday. This song/game is called Turkey, Turkey, Turkey!

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November is a time for post-Halloween candy, blustery days, and, of course, Thanksgiving! This week, my students are playing a fun Thanksgiving (assessment) game to get them in the spirit of the holiday. This song/game is called Turkey, Turkey, Turkey!

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If you missed it, make sure you check out my previous post on the logistics of setting up, organizing, and running a drumming circle in your classroom. Today's post is focused on my favorite lesson ideas and activities to use in the drumming circle. These basic ideas have worked well for me with students in first grade all the way up to eighth grade (and I'm pretty sure they would work with high schoolers too!). I'm listing them here in the order that I usually introduce them to my students.

1. Basic techniques and vocabulary

I intentionally start the drum circle with an activity that requires the students to hold the drum without playing it, just to make sure everyone is focused and understands that I really mean it when I tell them they will sit out if they play their drum, even by mistake, when it is not their turn! We start off by going over how to hold the drum, and the names of the different parts of the drum (rim, head, body etc). I also go over the parts of the hand (heel, finger, knuckle, palm, side) that we will be using to play the drum. From this point on, I try to only use the specific vocabulary when I am describing what to do. I introduce each playing technique by giving a brief description (1 sentence max!) and then demonstrating. I then use that one technique to play different 4-beat patterns and have them copy it back. Here is a demonstration of some basic playing techniques you can use on most drums (I wouldn't use this video with students- too much verbal explanation etc- but it is a good model if you are working on it yourself before leading the group):

2. "Let's All Play Our Drum"

This is a great way to really get students to focus on listening, and also get some practice on the basic playing techniques. Basically you say the phrase, "let's all play our drum", and everyone plays their drum on the word "drum". I usually specify which playing technique they should use so they can practice different ones throughout the exercise. Say the sentence at different speeds and see if they can play at the right time. Then start taking words away and have them use inner hearing to know when to play- you say "Let's all...", they hear "play our" in their heads, and play on the word "drum". There are other variations of this as well, which you can see in the video below:

While we're in the echoing mood, I teach the students a more complex pattern, mixing some playing techniques and using more complex rhythms, with a mnemonic device- I match the rhythm to a phrase and have the students repeat the phrase after me several times so they internalize the rhythm. Our favorites have been, "yum, yum, tastes like chicken", "Mom, I'm home, and now I want to eat", and "come and get your ice cream! come and get it now!" (yes, I like to talk about food). Once they can say it correctly, I have them echo the pattern on the drum slowly while saying it, eventually speeding it up and taking away the words.

This time, instead of copying the pattern of the person before them, everyone is going to make up their own rhythm! Each person gets 4 beats to improvise. Go around the circle without stopping (like the beginning of the Pass the Pattern game). For younger students I usually count each person's 4 beats by holding up my fingers towards them. I tell them that if someone misses their turn, that is a 4-beat rest- we will not give you another turn or stop for you! This is also a good time to talk about the importance of respect for yourself and others and especially focus on facial expressions. I encourage them not to make a cringing face when they improv (a common defense mechanism), laugh, or react negatively to anyone else's playing.

Once students are comfortable improvising, remind them of one of the longer patterns you practiced with a phrase. Practice everyone playing that pattern together, clapping for 4 beats, then repeating the pattern. Once they can do that, tell students that the 4 beats of clapping is when one person will be improvising. Everyone will play the pattern in between each person's turn to improv.

Everyone continues to improvise in this activity, but this time instead of going straight around the circle, you improvise in between each student's turn. Go all the way around the circle with this pattern once to make sure students understand the new order. Now tell them that if you play 3 notes (ti-ti ta or 1-&-2) at any time, everyone needs to copy it whether it is their turn or not. After that, the order will resume as before. Eventually of course I like to up the ante and have any students who miss the echo pattern put their drums down for the rest of the round. I also raise the level of difficulty with my older students by telling students they can also play the echo pattern on their turn (and they would improvise something else after everyone else echos).

If your group is focused and positive, it is great fun to get to the point where I can just tell students to watch me and play something appropriate, and just go to town jamming with the whole group. Here's an example, but you can see how if everyone is watching, listening, and comfortable in the circle, you can take this in many different ways and is a great way to culminate the drum circle time:

You can find all of the sources linked here, plus many other great drum circle and world music ideas, on my Pinterest board called Music Teaching: World Music and Drum Circles. If you have other great resources for drumming circles, please share and I'll add them to the board!! Leave a comment here or share on my Facebook page!

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Teacher Tuesday: drum circle lesson ideas

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If you missed it, make sure you check out my previous post on the logistics of setting up, organizing, and running a drumming circle in your classroom. Today's post is focused on my favorite lesson ideas and activities to use in the drumming circle.

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It's no secret that I'm an avid user of story books in my classroom. My kindergarteners know we almost always end a class by singing a story. But as the kids get older, there are a ton of amazing books that work beautifully in a music classroom. This is by far one of my top five for third grade and above.

The Remarkable Farkle McBride (<---amazon affiliate link) is always the first introduction I give my kids to the instruments of the orchestra. The story is beautiful, the text is vibrant and sophisticated, and the pictures are hilarious. I've never had a child loose focus while reading this story. It's also one of the best entry points into the instrument families.

YouTube Videos

In the past, I've used instrument lessons as a lead up to a live orchestra performance for my students. But in case you don't have access to a live orchestra (or, honestly, even if you do) YouTube is the most amazing thing!! (Sidenote: I think it's still super important to find a way for kids be able to actually see and hear instruments in live performance. As in, in the same room.)
BBC Meet the Orchestra
This is the most concise video I've found on YouTube that introduces each instrument family. This is always my first introduction to the different instrument families before going into a more in depth discussion. The videos are pretty short, so much so that the kids often ask for a replay!!

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Resource Roundup - Instruments of the Orchestra

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In my classroom, active music making is my number one focus. About 99% of the time. There are those other elements of music teaching and learning that don't necessarily lend themselves to the most interactive experience. For me, teaching the instruments of the orchestra has always felt this wa

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Michigan's Model Arts Education Instruction and Assessment Project - Stacey Chen

For me, one of the most valuable pieces of the continuous growth mindset is personal reflection. I like to take a close look at my curriculum in April. There is a checklist that I use for my long-term planning...but sometimes my plans are thrown out the window for the sake of flexibility. Spring is a great time for me to catch the concepts I might have missed teaching in class.

During this year's curriculum check, I was pretty much on track. There has been an influx of new students in my building, though, and I realized that I hadn't done a rhythm reading activity to assess their level of musical literacy. This is something that I formally assess in the fall, and then continue to build on throughout the year. With so many new students in the past two months, I knew it would be useful to formally re-assess this standard. But creating a new resource for the assessment wasn't something I had time for right now.

Enter the MAEIA assessment website. If you have been looking for a catalog of free, easy to use, and well organized assessments made for Michigan music teachers, this is it. MAEIA assessments have clear instructions, approximate administration times, and are engaging for students. The electronic catalog of Task (larger activities that may take several classes) and Event (quick, quiz-like activities) assessments are a fabulous resource!

Have you ever looked at a standard, and wondered if you were really covering it? Or, if you were using appropriate rigor? The MAEIA assessments are a great tool to use - for assessing those standards that we might be unsure of, or as a quick "grab and go" activity to assess a specific standard. There is an assessment for every Michigan curriculum standard K-12. They are easy to implement, and all necessary components are included (even student response sheets).

Reflection is about celebrating successes and finding solutions for weaknesses. Data collection can be useful in identifying strengths and weaknesses. If you are looking for assessment resources to aide your data collection process, please take a look at the Michigan's Model Arts Education Instruction and Assessment Project website: http://www.michiganassessmentconsortium.org/maeia .

Spring Movement Activity - Ty Rockafellow
Link to download this activity
Movement Lesson Based On A Book - Erika Bridge

Head to Toe: Based on the book by Eric Carle

Exploring self space and then group space utilizing levels and positive/negative space

Have students in self space

Everyone Chant "I can do it!" on each page, exploring different vocal qualities.

Expand to phrase: "I can do it, I can do it, I can do it too!" and create a walk and freeze pattern. Encourage students to create a 'personal walk' or signature movement to go with the pattern. (Walking on 7 beats and freezing on 8 th beat). Teacher is keeping the rhythm on a hand drum to emphasize phrase length.

In small groups of 3 or 4, leader gives their shape and others imitate. Rotate around the group allowing each person to share their movement and others imitate.

Create movement statues that are shifting one person at a time, this time allowing the movement to travel through space and then freeze. The next person moves and then makes their freeze pattern in conjunction with the first person, taking notice of level and positive/negative space. This continues until all the people in the group have traveled and added their portion to the 'statue'. The activity continues with the 1 st person exiting the statue and re-inserting themselves in a new way. Each person has the 8 beat "I can do it, I can do it, I can do it too!" phrase to exit and re-enter.

Erika Bridge teaches K-4 music in Okemos, Michigan and is in her 10 th year of teaching. She has her MM in Choral Conducting, and has completed Orff levels I, II, III, ad Master class. She is a regular state and national presenter, and is completing her training to become an approved Orff Level I instructor.

Movement Activities - Cari Cravotta

Materials: Scarves and relaxing instrumental music with a recognizable beat that sounds like a garden. Example (World Resonance Cross-Cultural Interpretations- "Midnight Fever")

Objective/Musical Purpose: Students will to the music they hear and a dance. They will internalize the music by showing flow and flow with pulse, and movement in self and shared space.

Students spread out into self-space. Each student has one scarf. The teacher will tell the students to imagine the room is a garden and they are each a seed planted in the garden. The students will start in small crouched positions like seeds. Here are the parts to the movement activity.

1. When the music begins students will slowly flow and grow up into a flower.

2. Students' feet should be planted and the upper body flows in high space like a flower dancing in the wind.

3. The scarf is now a petal that floated off of the flower and is bouncing to the beat of the music (toss the scarf in the air to the beat).

4. The petal is now dancing and bouncing around the entire garden (classroom) in self-space without touching any other petals (locomotor).

5. The petal has now found another petal and together they create a petal dance. (Each student finds a partner and creates movements together that show they are feeling the music).

6. The petal separates from the partner petal and finally falls to the ground as the music comes to an end (slowly decrescendo the volume of the music).

*Depending on the age or musical readiness of the students, the teacher may decide to only try steps 1-3. The teacher can pick and choose the parts of the movement activity that fit the readiness of the students.

Materials: Bean Bags and any exciting upbeat music in duple meter (Zumba dance music works great with this!)

Objective/ Musical Purpose: Students will internalize the beat in Duple meter through performing and movement.

Students will be standing in self-space. Each student will have one bean bag. Students will learn the following 4 dance moves with the bean bags:

Once these moves are taught to the students, turn the music on and let the students perform these moves to the beat of the music. Rotate moves 1-4. If the students are ready, ask them to create their own dance moves with the bean bags to the beat of the music.

Mrs. Cari Cravotta is currently in her 8 th year as an Elementary Music Teacher in St. Johns Pu blic Schools where teaches K- 5th grade students at three different elementary schools in the district. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from Hope College and a Masters of Music and Teaching Certification in Music Education from Michigan State University where she studied under Dr. Cynthia Taggart. She is certified in Edwin Gordon's Music Learning Theory Elementary Level 1, 2, and Early Childhood. Over the past ten years, she has attended and presented at several music education workshops and conferences in the state of Michigan. Mrs. Cravotta teaches an Early Childhood music class in DeWitt called "Mommy's Musicians" as well as private flute and voice lessons out of her home. She is the proud mother of three young children and the wife of Dr. Keith Cravotta, Principal at DeWitt Junior High.

Lesson: The Firebird - Ashleigh N. Miller
Standard(s) Addressed
Perform a variety of expressions of music.

Introduce aesthetic responses to music.
Overview
The Firebird is a ballet by Igor Stravinsky, first performed in 1910. To capture the attention of students, summarize the story by telling them it is a story about a Prince named Ivan who travels into the forest searching for magic. While searching, Ivan discovers a firebird, princesses, an evil being named Katschei, and his evil minions.
Procedure

Read The Firebird by Rachel Isadora with an expressive body (voice, movement, etc). Act out different scenes while you read, both capturing student attention as well as giving them examples of acceptable movement choices.

Tell students that they will reenact the story using their bodies. Remind them to use different levels with their bodies, as well as other Laban movements.

Prepare students for movement by reviewing classroom procedures for safety. Invite students to spread out and freeze.

Return to the story from the beginning, either choosing to reread or retell the story in your own words. As you do, improvise on the piano during the different scenes. For example, when the princesses arrive, play higher/lighter sounds, or when Katschei appears, play lower/heavier sounds.

Assessment

Are the students making movement choices that reflect both the story and the music being played?
Extension Activity
Show students a Youtube clip of the actual ballet (be sure to proof it before you show it). One of my favorites is the version with Michael Fokine choreography, Nina Ananiashvili as the firebird, and directed by Andrey Chistiakov (this version also available for purchase on Amazon).

For more information or other extensions of this lesson, please contact ashleigh.n.miller@gmail.com

Ashleigh N. Miller is K-3 Music and Technology Teacher at Olivet Community Schools. She holds a BME in Music Education and English Education from Central Michigan University ('11) and MM in Music Education from the University of Michigan ('16). Ashleigh is President of the Mid-Michigan Orff-Schulwerk Association and an alumni of both AmeriCorp and Sigma Alpha Iota.

Movement Activity: Spring from The Four Seasons by Vivaldi - Josh Austin
Materials Set Up
First have children listen and follow the form. Direct them to think about how the music might match the little pictures and what that might look like if they acted out what was happening in the pictures. You may want to model some the movements for them (tree, birds, river, thunderstorm, sunshine)

Hand out sticks (or scarves). I hand them out to get an even number of each color. Green is for the tree section. Yellow is for the bird section and the sunshine section. Blue is for the river section and the thunderstorm section.
Activity
Before starting the music, I have the trees go find a spot to plant themselves (they will have roots, so they can't walk around).

I then start the music and hold up the stick that corresponds with each section and the part to be played. The group that has the same color stick gets up and does their part and when I put their stick down, the children sit wherever they are in the room (this way they aren't all running to get back somewhere at the end of their turn).

After it has been played a few times, I try to pull away from showing the children when their turns are so they can do the activity by ear.

Josh Austin teaches k indergarten music at Grand Ledge Public Schools

TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP YOU ASSESS STUDENTS - Ian Boynton

ASSESSMENTS

Assessing students' musical ability in an elementary setting can be a rather daunting task. If your district is fortunate enough to be 1:1 with either chrome books, iPads or some other tablet device it can be just a matter of sending students to one corner of the room to record their assignment while you work with others. The limited microphones on these devices allow for half way decent recordings that you can use for assessment even if the final product isn't ready for sharing with the rest of the world via online or physical media distribution.

Those of us in a situation where you may only have one device capable of recording have a much more difficult task in finding the class time to get decent recordings for assessment. There are, however, some fairly simple solutions we can look to. For large group assessment setting the device or microphone int he middle of the group and hitting record while students perform is the simplest method. If you have an iPad or other small portable the microphone will do a fairly decent job of getting sound from all sides. Even your smartphone can accomplish this with the built in voice memos app. You can improve the quality by adjusting your seating from a circle to one side of the room and pointing the microphone towards the group. If you are recording to a desktop computer or laptop the same principles apply with the added necessity of finding a cable long enough to reach from where the mic is to the computer.

Individual recordings are a bit trickier to accomplish, and you may very well need a couple class periods to accomplish it. Step one is to design an activity that day that either allows students to work independently or allows individuals to break from he group you are working with to record. Setting up the microphone behind something that helps block sound from the rest of the room is helpful, but simply having the sound source you want to record be the closest to the mic should provide enough signal to make it the thing you hear best. You will, of course, have to have practiced the procedures and expectations for such a setup prior to implementation.

EMPOWERING STUDENT CREATIVITY THROUGH 1:1 MUSIC TECHNOLOGY - Daniel Albert

Technology is a means to the end: music teaching and learning. Technology serves the teaching process.

Relevance and access
What is 1:1 computing? Curriculum questions: Essential Questions for teaching music technology Software for the 1:1 Music Classroom

Web-based music notation program

Accessible through any computer and mobile device with Internet access

Free with email address

Schools may buy subscription packages with more features for students through MusicFirst ( www.musicfirst.com )

Digital Audio Workstation - similar to Apple's GarageBand and Acoustica's Mixcraft

"Loops" (pre-loaded musical sounds) are pre-loaded to drag into the workstation's audio channels. Pre-existing songs and student-created sounds may also be uploaded.

Students may share their work by exporting files

Schools may buy subscription packages with more features for students through MusicFirst ( www.musicfirst.com )

Classroom Platform and Screencasting tools

Google Classroom ( www.classroom.google.com ): Web-based dissemination of class instructions and delivery of class content (part of the Google Apps for Education suite)

Screencast-o-Matic ( www.screencastomatic.com ): Creates screen recordings (video and audio output of your desktop/laptop) for how-to tutorial videos.
Project Ideas
While developing the curriculum, choose projects that utilize the platform that you feel will best serve your students' needs:

Simple rhythmic notation projects

Traditional composition assignments

Rhythmic dictation activities

Basic sequencing

Composing using musical forms

Podcasting

Using virtual instruments in Soundation or DAW

Movie and video game scores

Creating cover songs

Creating remixes

Guidelines for Delivering Instruction

Model the process.

Provide clear parameters.

Hold students accountable to project parameters.

Base assessment on parameters.

Provide space!

Allow students to share their work.

Teach students how to use constructive and kind feedback.

Be available as much as possible to provide feedback.

Assume the roles of learner AND teacher.

Motivate students to move beyond their "comfort zones" via the feedback process.

Maintain positive

Exit Slips in Elementary Choir - Brooke Broughton
A Capella Project Tuesday, March 22 Exit Slip
Who is performing which part? There may be more than one person on a part.

1. Lead vocals -

2. Background vocals/Sung instrumental -

3. Beat box/rhythm -

4. Who is contributing and collaborating well in your group?

5. Is there anyone who is not? Who is it and what is going on?

6. How are you contributing and collaborating?

Brooke Broughton teaches 5 th grade general music and 6 th grade choir in DeWitt. She has been teaching for fifteen years, and has taught a variety of grade levels. Brooke is a graduate with her bachelor's and master's degrees from Michigan State University. She lives in DeWitt with her husband, Ian, and her two sons, Kellan and Liam.
Thoughts on Inclusion of Exceptional Learners in Music - Karen Salvadore, Ph.D.

Among the many possible goals of music education, one of the most important is for every child to make individual progress with regard to musical skills and conceptual knowledge so that they become a more independent musician. This progress toward independent musicianship looks different in every child, as children start with different abilities and interest levels. However, progress in musicianship is possible for every child, and active music-making alone and together with classmates can [and should!] be an important, joyful, playful, challenging part of every student's school experience.

Whether you teach in a setting with only a few exceptional students or you are in a building with several self-contained classes of students who have moderate to severe disabilities, it is important to carefully consider how you can meet the individual music learning needs of all students in your classroom.

Sometimes, when considering adapting instruction or modifying curriculum, teachers worry that giving "special treatment" is not "fair" to the other students who do not have those supports. However, to quote Aristotle, it is the worst form of inequality to try to make unequal things equal. It is important to remember that recognition of individual difference is a form of justice-it allows us to create an atmosphere in which individuals are valued and everyone can make progress. Sometimes, a child with disabilities is included in music with the reasonable expectation that they would learn the same material as the rest of the class. For these children, we adapt instruction but do not significantly change instructional goals. Other times, a child is mainstreamed for the opportunity to be with and learn from age peers. These children are not expected to learn the same material and therefore, teachers should make significant modifications to curricular goals. In either case, music learning should be the primary goal of inclusion or mainstreaming in music class, with other goals such as socialization as secondary. Legally and ethically, students with identified disabilities must be afforded the same opportunities as all students to benefit from music instruction and to participate in curricular and extracurricular music activities.

With that in mind, one of the most important things we can do to create an inclusive setting is to explicitly stated and reiterate that we are all musical. Music is something we can all learn. We are here in music class to learn to be better singers and movers and players and improvisors and songwriters... As your teacher, I will meet each of you where you are and work with you. We will support each other and celebrate growth. In music, we try things, sometimes we make mistakes, and that's OK because that's how we learn. We know we are all in different places for different skills, and that's normal, cool, something to enjoy. Research consistently indicates that a teacher's disposition regarding inclusion of students is the best predictor of successful inclusive instruction.

Some music teachers state that they prefer not to know who in their classes has been labeled as having a special need. It is true that labels can result in a focus on deficits and that there is sometimes as much variety in behavior and ability within a single diagnostic label as between different labels. Further, there is little evidence for differences in musical ability/potential/aptitude based on specific diagnosis. That's why I advocate a universal design approach rather than a labels-based approach. Next week, I'll write again about specific strategies for inclusion based on the principles of universal design.

For now, I'd like to leave you with this final thought: because of what music is, music teachers already have a leg up on including students who have special needs.

Here are some ways many music teachers already rock at this...

Part 2: Ideas for Integrating Exceptional Learners in Music

Last week, I left off on my Thoughts on Inclusion of Exceptional Learners in Music with the thought that many music teachers already [perhaps without knowing it] teach in ways that help students with special needs, such as:

This week, I wanted to provide more detail about some specific ways to adapt music instruction for students with special needs, using a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach.

Universal Design for Learning

Presentation: Material is presented through a variety of modalities: aural, kinesthetic, visual, technological, experiential [note that this builds in repetition, which is important for many students].

Response: the ways that students respond are similarly varied-moving, singing, playing an instrument, writing. Note that in UDL it is important for individuals to respond so you know what each student needs.

Engagement : Although this is often not as much of an issue in music settings, UDL asks us to figure out how to get students excited and interested in what we would like them to learn.

Strengths-Based: considers domains of development [physical, cognitive, social/emotional/behavioral, communication, sensory, musical] in terms of strengths and areas for improvement.

Adaptations:

Accommodation : is when you keep the same goals/objectives, but there are allowances for this individual. Common accommodations include:

Participation: length, type

Input: How information is given

Output: How student responds

Difficulty level

Time to work, time to complete

Size of Task, "step by step"

Accessibility [physical]

Modification: is when the curriculum is changed for this student. This student's goals for music learning are different from those of the other students. This does not mean that we shift away from music learning goals to social, emotional, and/or behavioral goals-although we know that these are likely areas that a child might be working on. We are still music educators who focus on music learning. Planned modifications to music curriculum should be either based on specific modifications already present in the IEP or specifically written into an IEP and created in collaboration with the rest of the team.

With this mindset, we can find ways to help individual students [not only those with identified disabilities] make individual progress toward music learning.
Karen Salvador, Ph.D. serves as President-Elect of the Michigan Music Education Association. She is Assistant Professor of Music, Music Teacher Certification Program Coordinator and Coordinator of Secondary Education Programs at the University of Michigan-Flint.
What Do You Do With Just One iPad?! - Denise Gulliver-Lewis

Read this article and more on Denise's web page, digitalDoReMi

Learning Targets and Assessments in the Elementary Music Classroom - Abby Lewis-Lakin

Formative Assessment

Often, as music teachers, we are asked to provide data showing our students' performance and growth. This data is sometimes thrown together at the last second, semi-fabricated based on observation, and often only covers a small portion of what our students actually know. Although this is less than ideal, it is often the best that we can do with limited time and hundreds of students. Formative assessment, when done consistently and properly, can be an alternative to this haphazard habit of many teachers, including myself.

There are three essential questions to ask when framing formative assessment:

Where are you going? First, a strong curriculum, high expectations, or simply a firmly stated plan for a lesson must be the starting point. As we have learned in many situations, be it backward design for lessons, or beginning with the end in mind from the seven habits, it is important to know where you are going in education. Learning targets are an easy way to make the "where are we going?" part of a lesson apparent to students.

Where are you now? Second, using questioning and simple observation strategies in the classroom are essential to gathering information about where your students are now. This is where all of our standard teaching practices come in to play. Can students match pitch? Can they echo my pattern with their singing voice? Can they read treble clef notes? Gathering this information is key to closing the gap.

How do you close the gap? Changes to teaching are most influential for student learning when they are done in the moment and in the presence of students. Although it seems counter-intuitive when phrased that way, responsive and adaptive teaching is the best way to truly influence student learning. So follow that teachable moment, answer that slightly off topic question, fix the phrasing in that section that wasn't originally on the lesson plan!

1. Intentions: Students must know what is expected of them. Someone cannot play soccer if they do not know the rules and how to score a goal.

2. Evidence: You, the teacher, must have an idea of what your students know. Your students must be able to see and respond to this in order to grow.

3. Feedback: Praise effort and good things as well as giving constructive criticism. This must be done in a timely manner while the student still has the opportunity to make improvements on the project or task.

4. Peer Involvement: Teachers are not the sole influence on students in the classroom. Peers play a huge role in student learning. Utilize that influence for good by encouraging class discussion, teamwork, and peer feedback.

5. Activate Learners: Students need to feel like they own their learning in order to be self-motivated. Help them to set goals and develop metacognitive strategies in order to create self-motivated learners.

This is all well and good, but how do I do it in my elementary music classroom?

Intentions: In my classroom, I start every lesson with a learning target and an outline of the plan for the day. Students come in to the room singing a hello song, and then a student volunteer reads the learning target and the plan. It takes about two minutes at the beginning of class and it puts a lot of students at ease. With a clear understanding of what to expect during class, what will be expected of them, and what they will learn that day, my students are more engaged and ready to participate.

The learning target is not content-specific so that it is transferrable to other "texts" or prompts in the music classroom. For example, "I can use my tongue to start each note on the recorder." This is my very direct expectation for my fourth-grade recorder students. In this particular lesson, we were playing "Old McDonald." That information follows in the plan for the day, in which I outline the activities and success criteria, but it is not the main learning target for the lesson.

Evidence: The evidence that is used in a daily lesson is not and cannot be written down and documented for every student every day. With the number of students that we have, this is an unrealistic expectation. With careful planning, however, you can gather information/evidence on each child, even if it is not written down and documented. This evidence can be used for in-the-moment responsive teaching and feedback that can immediately improve student performance. Here are a few strategies that I use in this area:

Feedback: This is a crucial area in the music classroom that is often skipped-over. Yes, we give feedback to our students as a group, or we fix an individual behavior problem, but how often do we give encouraging and individual feedback to our students? Here are a few suggestions:

Involving students in the learning individually and as peers: When my students are struggling with something, and I have gathered evidence of this and provided them with the feedback to improve, I often need to hand the learning over to the students themselves and take a step back. This can involve a turn and talk, thirty seconds to practice something specific, or a time for individual questions. I have found it useful to give the students time to digest and process what they have just learned with each other, instead of constantly moving at the fast-pace that we are so accustomed to in the elementary music classroom. Although this strategy is not always appropriate, it is effective when it is used.

MAEIA Assessments

There has been a lot of buzz about the MAEIA assessments that will soon be available for classroom use throughout Michigan. These assessments have been written, revised, and field-tested by practicing Michigan teachers. These assessments are bigger and more time-consuming than the day-to-day formative assessment strategies that I have mentioned so far. Within these large-scale assessments, however, are formative assessment "checkpoints" and helpful supplements that meet all of the criteria of sound assessment.

Each assessment provides the following:

Conclusion

There are a lot of things that are expected of us elementary music teachers these days. Each year, it seems like more is being piled on. In this article, I have shown how we can accomplish most of these things within the existing culture of our classrooms. By setting clear expectations in the form of a learning target and following through with evidence gathering in order to give feedback, we can increase our students' learning, achievement, and mindset significantly. This evidence gathering and feedback is formative assessment. It can be documented on its own when needed, or folded into a larger assessment such as those soon to be published by the MAEIA project. At the end of the day, the information that we gather about our students, and the feedback that we provide for them is valuable and necessary for student growth in the elementary music classroom.

About Abby: I am the elementary music teacher at Keith Elementary in the Walled Lake Consolidated School District. I am one of 14 elementary music teachers in the district that serves 12 elementary schools. In the summer of 2014, I was a member of the Michigan Arts Education Instruction and Assessment (MAEIA) Project as a 3 rd through 5 th grade music assessment writer. Since then, I have written, edited, co-written, and tested a number of these assessments in my own classroom. Recently, I took an online course through Oakland Schools on formative assessment, and I use learning targets every day with every class. You can contact me at abbylewis-lakin@wlcsd.org with any questions or comments.

Articles by Denise Wilkinson, Professional Development and Outreach Chair, MMEA
Autism and the Music Classroom
Aides and Special Learners

Welcoming Students To Our Elementary Music Classroom - Deb McMartin-Finkel

The first days of school can be exciting to some and downright frightening to others. Children may come to us full of enthusiasm for music and learning or full of trepidation, depending on their previous experiences in school and specifically in the music classroom. Our job is to help them feel welcome, safe, cared for, and nurtured musically and emotionally during their time with us. We want to bring out their voice, their creativity, their desire to know more and experience more musically. Setting the stage for all of this to happen occurs in the first weeks of school.

Hello songs and name songs seem obvious choices for our September lesson plans. In fact, children love these songs at any time of the year, especially the name songs. Who doesn't want to hear their name right in the middle of a song, capturing all the attention in that moment? But let's not get ahead of ourselves. First things first.

On day one I plan to establish a routine that we will maintain throughout the school year. We are blessed with a large two foot wide green circle that covers a good part of our music classroom. Our students enter and go around the circle to a song played on the piano or a recording. From the moment they enter the room we are making music, hearing music and moving to music. The circle defines their space and we are ready to roll. After a few echo rhythm patterns, I will introduce my name. Because it is a little long, we take a few moments to learn it (or review it) rhythmically. Then, of course we will clap some of the children's names rhythmically. With the younger students we may discuss how many "sounds" are in someone's first name and find others in the class with the same number of sounds in their names. With the older students we may use first and last names rhythmically and combine them with half the class on the rhythm of one name and half on another name, to create an interesting and cool sound on day one.

Throughout this first class I will introduce my FOUR specific music room rules. They are

( I attempt to state rules in a positive tone, indicating what the child may do)

Of course these are not the only rules in our school, however, they cover the majority of situations specific to the music classroom. I visit and revisit them over the first few classes and then as needed.

A goal that I must specifically address this first week is our behavior goal for assemblies. "Students will understand assembly behavior and be able to use this behavior during all performances and other assemblies." (I found this out the hard way when members of our high school band came over the first week of school to perform and demonstrate their instruments and the students had not been prepared behavior wise, for the assembly. Their behavior was less than stellar.)

Instrument go 'round requires that a variety of percussion instrument be spaced evenly around the inside edge of the green circle, one for each child. The children will enter the room in a line moving around the circle, being careful not to let their feet touch any instruments. They already know that one of our main rules is "play instruments when you are invited," so this is an opportunity, coming through the door, to practice that. After making sure there is an instrument for each child, I will identify and demonstrate any instrument that is unfamiliar to my students or that they ask about. (I will identify and demonstrate all the instruments to my youngest students.) I let them know that they may play when the piano is playing. (One could also use recordings of marches or recorded short clips instead of the piano.) Then I say, "when the piano stops, YOU..." and they say "STOP." "Remember, if you play out of turn..." the children respond, "...you lose a turn." Then we give it a try. I play and they play with me. When I stop they stop and gently set their instrument down. Complementing them on their great cut off, I ask them to move one instrument to the right. Of course this is confusing at first, but in short order they figure it out. We repeat with a new short song, new tempo etc.

Here is where the hard part comes in. Sweet little "Sally" picks up the next instrument and starts to play before the piano begins. I have to follow through reminding her of the consequence and matter-of-factly say, "Sally, if you play out of turn, you lose a turn." If she doesn't understand, I tell her to set her instrument down and I let her know that she may play the next instrument, but this turn is a "time out." Most children will take the "time out" without a problem. The bigger deal here is that no one else wants to lose a turn. They recognize very quickly that you "mean what you say and say what you mean." They know the expectations and follow through because they want to do the right thing or, for those challenged and challenging students, they will get to play the beloved instruments.

Equally important are songs that employ the children's names. These songs will stabilize a group of students, helping them be more engaged and ready for whatever we have in store for them. Students are listening to hear their own name in the song as they hear the names of their friends. The reality of the power of one's name was driven home to me during my study with the Richard's Institute's Education Through Music. This statement, taken from the ETM home page, ( https://richardsinstitute.org/Default.aspx ,) best describes the philosophy underlying this work. " Through song and play, ETM provides a gateway for contemporary understanding of learning, motivation, child theory and cognitive development." Name song/games are a small but important part of this work. "Hello, Samuel, I see you," to the well known tune, "Skip to My Lou" "Here we are together," including groups of children and their names in each singing of the song and "Oh, I see John," to the tune of the "Farmer in the Dell," are a few songs that use play to engage our students toward learning. They love hearing their names and their classmates names. It is a small step in the direction of helping a child realize he or she is cared for. We benefit greatly from learning their names as well. Classroom management improves when we build positive relationship with our students. Calling the children by name is a good step in that direction.

In conclusion, a big part of our planning for the first few weeks of school includes:

Hello songs and name songs help set the tone for students to begin the year on a positive foot, and go a long way toward establishing a classroom where students are stable and ready to learn and grow.
Deborah McMartin-Finkel has been the music teacher at Willow Ridge Elementary in Grand Ledge, Michigan, since it opened in 1996. Mrs. McMartin-Finkel graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor's degree in K-12 Choral Music Education. She began her teaching career in 1987 for the Owosso Public Schools in Owosso, MI. The following two summers she received her Levels I and II Orff Schulwerk certifications from Western Michigan University. Mrs. McMartin-Finkel was hired to teach middle school choral music and elementary music for the Grand Ledge Public Schools in 1988. Over the next few years she went on to get an elementary teaching endorsement from Western Michigan and her position in Grand Ledge became full-time elementary music, her preferred place to be. In 2005 Mrs. McMartin-Finkel earned her master's degree from Marygrove College in the Art of Teaching. Over a number of the following years she studied Education Through Music with the Richard's Foundation. Mrs. McMartin-Finkel believes she has the best job in the world and loves working with the children and staff at Willow Ridge Elementary. She invites you to visit the Willow Ridge Music website at http://willowridgemusic.edublogs.org/ to learn more about what is happening musically at Willow Ridge Elementary.
Parent Communication Done The Right Way - David Row
Read this article and more on David's blog, Make Moments Matter
AFTER THE WINTER PERFORMANCE ACTIVITY - Susan Burm

After holiday performances, my students seem to need a break from our usual routine and a little time to celebrate their hard work. This is a game we really enjoy a week or two before winter break.

Bean bags - one for each student. Two beanbags that each has a snowflake on the bottom. Attach a snowflake image with tape or use a snowflake craft sticker. I have found some foam/sparkly ones at Michaels.

Unpitched percussion instruments

Students are seated in a circle. Chant poem in triple meter as beanbags are distributed. (Do not add snowflake beanbags yet). Practice chanted ostinato to pass beanbags to left, "1,2,3 and pass"... "1,2,3 and pass" repeated. Students pick up beanbag on 1, move beanbag to right knee on count 2, left knee on count 3, and pass to the person to their left on "pass". Students continue to chant ostinato and practice passing beanbags while teacher chants poem at the same time. All passing stops when teacher finishes poem on the word, "sound". Once beanbag passing goes smoothly, replace two beanbags with the beanbags that have snowflakes underneath them.

Students chant ostinato again while teacher chants poem. When the chant stops, all students turn their beanbags over to reveal the two snowflakes. The two students that have the snowflakes under their beanbags are OUT. They must each echo a triple pattern given by the teacher and leave the circle. The elimination game continues until one person is left. (One snowflake beanbag will need to be replaced with a regular beanbag when it is down to the final two students). The person who is left is the winner!

Move to "rhythm section" of the music room and perform ostinato on unpitched percussion instruments. They may rotate to a new instrument each time the chant is performed or stay on the same instrument.

Students may improvise triple patterns by answering a different pattern than the one given by the teacher.

Students playing unpitched percussion may give a pattern to a student that has just gotten "out". This student must echo the percussive pattern using correct triple meter rhythm solfege.
Susan Burm is in her 16 th year of music education. She currently teaches 1st through 6th at Beagle Elementary in the Grand Ledge Public School District in Grand Ledge, MI. Susan lives with her husband and 3 children in Grand Ledge where she enjoys running, baking, decorating the house and family movie night. Soundtrap - Game Changing Technology for Music Education, Collaboration and Creation - John Churchville Read this article and more on John's blog, Notes on Music Creation, Education and Performance

No Partner? No Problem! (MMC Session Resources) - Holly Bringman-Olszewski
Standard: Common Anchor Core Standard #10 Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art (NCCAS)

Big Idea/Essential question: Folk Dancing is a part of our culture, a skill set is required to participate as part of our community.

Learning Goal: I can consistently demonstrate proper steps and sequence, while keeping a steady beat.
Rubric:

4.0: I can expressively demonstrate proper steps and sequence, while keeping a steady beat and helping others.

3.0: I can consistently demonstrate proper steps and sequence, while keeping a steady beat.

2.0: I can demonstrate proper steps and sequence with some help.

1.0: I can identify but not demonstrate proper steps and sequence.

0.0: I do not understand proper steps and sequence at this time.

Circle Dances

Penguin Dance (modified)-CCW 16- CW 16-spin 4R-spin4L-spin4R-spin4L repeat-Dances of the Seven Continents Volume 2

Irish Stew- Rhythmically Moving 1, Phyllis Weikart's Teaching Movement and Dance

Les Saluts-Rhythmically Moving 1, Phyllis Weikart's Teaching Movement and Dance

Seven Jumps- Shenanigans, Children's Dances of Terra del Zur, Vol. 1 among others

Bongo- Folkstyle Folk Dance Music for Kids and Teachers, Sanna Longden

Bele Kawe-Rhythmically Moving 3 or Dances of the Seven Continents Vol.1

Los Machetes-More Folk Dancing Music for Kids and Teachers, Sanna Longden

Line Dances

Rainy Night- More Folk Dancing Music for Kids and Teachers, Sanna Longden

Boot Scootin' Boogie-More Folk Dancing Music for Kids and Teachers, Sanna Longden

Pata Pata- Dances of the Seven Continents vol.2, Sanna Longden

Cupid Shuffle- available on itunes, caution! get the radio version

Electric Slide- available on itunes

Holly Bringman-Olszewski teaches at Traverse City Area Public Schools
THE MAEIA PROJECT - Dr. Christina Hornbach
The Michigan Art Education Instruction and Assessment (MAEIA) Project was developed by the Michigan Assessment Consortium (MAC) and the Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) for the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) in partnership with Michigan music educators. The purpose of the project is to design and provide examples of high quality assessments in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts. As music teachers we need to keep thinking about how to accurately assess and gather data in our content areas. Our challenge lies in collecting data that is most authentically presented through active music making. The MAEIA Project has provided Michigan music teachers with a catalogue of performance assessments K-12 for voluntary use. The prototype assessments, written by Michigan music educators, are available at http://maeia-artsednetwork.org/ .

BEGINNING BAND ADVICE - Laurel Thompson

While I don't require students to complete a theory book, I do move quite slowly and intentionally (I know more slowly than some other beginning band teachers) the first half of the initial band year. I believe in doing so, I can expect to be able to proceed much faster the second half of the year. The concept of an acceptable performance and proper preparation is set early on and the students "buy into" the mind-set that anything less than precise rhythm counting, playing posture, tone quality, articulation and all of the other musical elements is simply not correct. This helps avoid the "good enough" attitude when attention to detail is stressed right from the start as the norm.

In addition, moving at a faster pace early on, while certainly acceptable for some exceptional students, leaves others frustrated, confused and discouraged, and often opting out of band the following year. These students may feel band is "too hard" or they simply did not achieve enough to gain satisfaction from their experience. We all know of students for whom band has been their saving grace throughout school-students who may not have experienced success or teamwork were it not for band. Many of the slow starters on an instrument do, in fact turn out to be fine players and excellent band members by the time they reach high school. Leaving them in the dust because of moving too quickly may have ended their band career before it even began.

It is an honor to be the one to introduce beginning band students to their instruments and the band experience. I believe the optimum chance for success and the development of excellent musicianship is best attained by maintaining a deliberately slow pace in the first months of beginning band. In doing so, I am convinced that both student and teacher will find the whole year immensely rewarding.
Laurel Thompson teaches 6th grade band in Grand Ledge Public Schools
You just got a ukulele as a gift and you're wondering what to do with it? You started teaching ukulele in the fall and now you're feeling stuck? Here are some resources for you!
Ukulele for Music Teachers by Robin Giebelhausen
This unique book is all you'll need to get started or to jazz up your ukulele curriculum. It is filled with audio and video examples as well as pictures. There is a tuner, chord charts for soprano and baritone ukes, and songs galore. Dr. Giebelhausen lays out an easy-to-follow plan for how to add chords, strumming, and tab. What you'll find here that won't be in any other ukulele book are sequential lesson plans for creative projects as well as worksheets, quizzes and rubrics for use in your classroom. And.....the book is FREE. Hurry and download your copy from iTunes.

This website has a plethora of information for you as a performer and teacher. The most unique thing you'll find here is a link to Dr. Reese's YouTube channel. She has a variety of play-along videos, all organized by the chords used. Students love these videos for two main reasons: the chords and strumming are pictured in real time, and they sound like rock stars! As a teacher, they are a great resource to keep students engaged while I help or assess individual students.
Cathy Fox teaches at Grand Ledge Public Schools
If you click on the link called "UKES 4 TEACHERS" you will find another page of resources. Under "Workshops" you'll find Dr. Reese's presentations about teaching ukulele for some professional development you can get from home. Under "Teaching Materials" you'll find downloadable goodies such as large chord pictures and a slideshow called "Ukulele 101" that you can use to get your students started. There are also song sheets and several backing tracks. Again, all of this for FREE. Check it out!

Using a Single iPad or Tablet as a Whole-Class Instructional Tool - Deanna (Karsten) Milligan

When I was first supplied with one iPad for use in my elementary music classes, I knew that it would be a useful tool for storing music, making recordings and accessing the internet, but wasn't sure how I would use it as an instructional device. I began to seek out strategies and explore apps for using one iPad as a tool to enhance instruction in a way that would strengthen student musicianship. Two of the apps I found to be useful with one iPad in a whole-class setting are Singing Fingers version (Eric Rosenbaum, 2011) and Blob Chorus: Ear Training version 1.0.2 (eChalk Ltd, 2014).

I use this app by walking through the class singing an echo song or series of melodic syllables for individual students to echo while drawing one line across the screen as I sing and a second line across the screen as a student sings the echo. If that student echoes the pitches accurately, the colors of their line will match my line. When a student sings a pitch that differs from mine, their line will be a different color. Then I can point out the difference and they can try again to make their colors match mine. Students who are having difficulty singing in head voice could also be encouraged to sing an upward ooo sound until their line reaches a specific color.

To maintain a high level of engagement, I provide each student with an individual white board or pencil and paper so they can record their own answers. When using this app I project the iPad screen and connect it to speakers. After each set of "Blobs" sing and the students each record their individual answers, I randomly select two students to share their answers with the group. If those two students have chosen the same answer, that becomes the group's answer. If they have selected different answers a third student is called upon to be the tie-breaker. The class works together as a team toward the final score. The level of play can be increased as students gain proficiency.
Deanna (Karsten) Milligan holds a BME from Central Michigan University and a MME from Michigan State University. She has also completed Level I Orff training and coursework in Education Through Music. Her teaching career began in Beaverton, Michigan, but she has spent most of the past thirty years as an elementary music teacher for the Charlotte Public Schools where she currently teaches K-3 students at Parkview and Washington elementary schools.
I found that by using one device, either by carrying it through the group or projecting it, I could use the technology as an efficient tool for building musical skills. These two apps are both currently available. I'm sure these strategies would be effective with other apps as well.

The Educated Performer: Advocating for strong relationships between performers, students, and educators - Katie Pike

Last year, I was approached by Cynthia Taggart (MSU Professor of Music Education) and Christine Beamer (Director of Career Services and Entrepreneurship at the MSU College of Music) about creating an "Artist in Residency" partnership with the school I taught at and the MSU College of Music. The idea would be that a small ensemble from MSU would produce a series of engagement lessons within the elementary music classroom. After meeting together and looking for monetary assistance through a local arts organization and local credit union, the "Educational Engagement Residency" internship came to fruition and we started accepting applications.
Left: Collegiate performers situated themselves in the middle of this group of students and taught them a folk dance that was done around the live performance. On this day, the students left the music room humming and singing the piece of music. It had gotten stuck in their heads because they were involved in the music making process.
The chamber ensembles that were accepted were comprised of undergraduate and graduate level performance and music education majors. Through frequent meetings with advisors and myself, classroom observations, and lots of feedback; a series of lessons were designed by each group. These lessons were specifically designed for the performers to engage with the students. The MSU students had to build relationships with the elementary students to figure out what skills they already had and what could be built upon. In the end, the performers prepared lessons that involved live performance and student involvement in the music making process. It was vastly different from recital type performance setting.

After experiencing this residency as the cooperating teacher, it is obvious that we need more interactions between educators and performers that truly engage our students. Our students need to interact with live musicians and need to experience music that is performed at a high level. On the flipside, professional musicians need to engage with young music learners in a meaningful way. Instead of just performing FOR them, let's try making music WITH them.
Katie Pike is in her 11 th year of teaching music. She has taught in a variety of positions that have included elementary general music, choir, guitar, and band. She recently took a new position with East Lansing Public Schools as an Elementary Music Teacher at Whitehills Elementary. She received her Bachelors and Masters degrees from MSU. She also holds certifications from the Gordon Institute of Music Learning for Early Childhood Music and Elementary General Music. She resides in East Lansing with her husband, Chris, and three children; Jack (4), Lizzie (2), and Luke (2). In her free time, she enjoys the pure peace and quiet of going for a run. You can contact her at kathryn.pike@elps.us
One student artist commented, " It has affected my view of what I do as a performer. I used to have the perception of myself as a separate entity from my audience and thought I would only take part in education through private instruction. Now I believe that the most important work I can do as a performer is educational. I think there can be a symbiotic relationship between the performer and educator. At best, the lines between the two are blurred. I like to think that our performances have inspired further involvement from her students as well."

The "Educational Engagement Residency" is now on its second cycle. I am working with a new group of young performers and am very excited to see what is in store for my students. Within your own community, I would encourage you to reach out to local performers and suggest a partnership similar to the one I have described. Could you bring in live musicians to host an interactive folk dancing night for families? Could you prepare your students and local musicians for a "side by side" concert? Could you collaborate with a local songwriter? Could you contact a local band to perform with your students at their next concert? The possibilities are quite endless and the outcomes are truly priceless.

Harmonizing With Recorders: Success for ALL - Yael Rothfeld

When I teach the recorder, I want my students to be excited. I want to challenge them all to reach their highest potential. Because of this, I try to differentiate instruction as much as possible. Some students come to me knowing how to play many pieces., while others are picking up the recorder for the first time. I do not want any of my students to be bored OR frustrated. Many of the pieces we work on have multiple parts for the students to self-select.

For example, when we begin learning repertoire, one of our first pieces is "Hot Cross Buns." The students learn the melody, rhythm, and how to play the notes. After we play it through a few times, I ask if anyone knows how to play high C and D. If so, I let them play a harmony part (below). I also show them a chord root part to go with it. This way, the students can learn multiple parts for the same song, challenging those who are ready, while allowing those who need to continue to focus on the 3-note B-A-G to do so. This also creates a richer harmony for the piece.

Besides learning to sing chord tones to go with a song, playing them on the recorder can also create rich harmonies. Depending on the piece of music, these can often be simple recorder parts that can be easy to put together. Those beginning students who may struggle with faster, more challenging pieces can feel successful when they can play a simple chord root/chord tone part. Those who are ready to move on can do so.

When my students are all able to find a part in the song that they can play, they feel successful, and their self-confidence grows. This causes them to work harder and continue to progress without becoming frustrated that others can play a song that they can't. My students understand that everyone will be progressing at different rates. I find that when they are ready to move on to more challenging parts, they do so.
Yael Rothfeld is in her 14th year of teaching Pre-K through 5th grade music. She holds both her undergraduate and master's degrees from Michigan State University. Yael is one of the Southeast Representatives of MMEA and is also the president of MI-GIML. She currently teaches in Ann Arbor Public Schools.
Using a familiar song, such as "Skip to My Lou," enables students can play three-part chords, a recorder melody, and even add a vocal part for those who want to sing the melody. (This really impresses parents at performances, too!)

After learning a song with three-part chords, changing the tonality or meter can change the feel of a piece. It doesn't take long to learn, as many of the notes are the same. Below is "Skip to My Lou" in minor tonality, with the same (minor) chord tones as above.

Some Suggested Music Education and Education Books for Summer Reading - Colleen Conway

Presented in no particular order:
FORM: A = 32 / B= 20 / C= 16 / A = 32 / B = 20 / C = 16 / A = 32 / D= 16 / A = 32 / CODA = 8
Colleen Conway is Professor of Music Education in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance at the University of Michigan. She is also Editor in Chief of Arts Education Policy Review

Movement: HAIR UP! FROM TROLLS MOVIE (*BASED ON HALL OF THE MT. KING / GRIEG ) - Katy McDonough

MARCH - ARMS UP & DOWN FROM ELBOWS = 16 BEATS A SECTION: WHITE SCARVES

"HAIR UP" = POP SCARVES UP IN AIR
MARCH - ARMS UP & DOWN FROM SHOULDERS = 16 BEATS

B SECTION: FLOWERS
"FEVER" - FLOW IN CIRCULAR SHAPES = 20 BEATS

"GO - GO - GO"HANDS MEET IN MIDDLE,DAB LEFT & RIGHT = 16 MACROBEATS C SECTION: NEON SCARVES

( CHEST / LEFT / CHEST / RIGHT / CHEST / LEFT / CHEST / RIGHT )

"HAIR UP" = POP SCARVES UP IN AIRMARCH - ARMS UP & DOWN, STOPPING AT SHOULDERS A SECTION: WHITE SCARVES

"HAIR UP" = POP SCARVES IN AIR
FLOAT DOWN - 4 TIMES
WHITE SCARVES - POP SCARVES ON "HAIR UP" = FREEZE
Katy McDonough teaches elementary general music K - 5 for the Greenville Public Schools, where she has worked since the fall of 1984. Katy grew up in Grand Ledge, where she was active in the band, choir and drama programs. She studied music and theater at Lansing Community College, then received a Bachelor of Vocal Education and a Master of Choral Conducting at Michigan State University. She has additional endorsements from WMU ( Orff Level I ) and MSU ( MLT Early Childhood, also Levels I and II ). Katy's hobbies are centered around performing; she has been a member of the Flat River Community Players for 30 years, serving as musical director and / or performing in roughly 20 productions. For the last 20 years, she has also served as music director / singer for her own Lansing-based vocal jazz group, "Singers On the Grand", which was founded by she and her mother. Katy has lived in Greenville for over 30 years, with her husband and two children. EVERYONE ELSE - POP SCARVES + PROPS FOR "HAIR UP"
= FREEZE
B SECTION: FLOWERS
"FEVER" - FLOWERS FLOW IN CIRCULAR MOTIONS

"GO - GO - GO" C SECTION: NEON SCARVES

HANDS MEET IN MIDDLE, DAB LEFT & RIGHT.

"HAIR UP" - POP SCARVES IN AIRMARCH - ARMS UP & DOWN, STOPPING AT SHOULDERS"HAIR UP" - POP SCARVES IN AIRFLOAT DOWN - 4 TIMES A SECTION: WHITE SCARVES

OVER...

Back to school is an incredible mixture of emotions. It combines excitement for meeting new students and trying new things, stress for wondering if we can possibly get everything we need to done before the school year starts (and once it does!) and anxiety about every detail to which we have to pay attention (scheduling, evaluations, school requirements, district requirements, professional development, classroom management, lesson planning . . . phew!). I have a new daughter, Ginnie, who will be 10 weeks on the first day of teacher meetings in my district, so I am the queen of anxiety about the start of the school year. How will I possibly coordinate my family's schedule, keep my 3-year- old, Millie, happy, adjust to Ginnie being at daycare, cope with my husband's work demands, and make sure everyone is fed and has what they need? Sometimes September can be a time where if everyone makes it to the end of the day alive, it has been a success.

Back to school is exciting - we get to "get back" to doing what we love on a regular routine (which my compulsive and extremely organized personality thrives on). We plan these amazing lessons throughout the month of August, think of our bright-eyed and eager-to- learn students who will surely eat out of our hands and develop incredible music skills while having fun, and anticipate this being the year where we finally teach everything we intend.

But . . . if we can step back from our excitement, we all know that inevitably, something will get in the way of our beautiful visions of a perfect year. Unfortunately, that thing that makes us remove our rose-colored glasses can occur within the first minutes (or before!) the first staff meeting of the year. New evaluation processes. New regulations. New discipline procedures. New requirements. New challenging students. How can we possibly execute our spectacular plans with all of these "wrenches" getting thrown in?

Luckily we have Labor Day weekend to push those anxieties aside and anticipate what this job is really all about: teaching music to kids. We have our beach days, our cookouts, and our last hurrah of the summer and walk into our buildings Tuesday morning ready to meet amazing students, be an amazing teacher, and have an amazing year.
Ali Bendert is entering her 10th year teaching elementary music in Michigan and is currently teaching Kindergarten through 5th grade in Kentwood Public Schools. She lives in Hudsonville with her husband, David, and her two daughters, Millie and Ginnie, and is also the music director at her church, Hudsonville United Church of Christ. Channeling the Power of Music to Motivate Your Recorder Students of All Levels - Debra Navin
And maybe the first day is just that. The kids are excited to be back, they are ready to sing with you again or for the first time, and life is grand. Maybe the first week is like that. But we all know about honeymoons and that they are not forever. There will be a student that will eventually challenge you in ways you never imagined (hopefully later rather than sooner). There will be classes that are lethargic and refuse to put their best efforts into your artfully crafted activities. There will be requirements that prevent us from getting to everything we want to. Our own failings or incorrect predictions about what our students will be able to do will make our lessons crash and burn. And that can be very demoralizing.

My yoga teacher once said to me, sensing my high-strung personality, "Those who are flexible can never be bent out of shape." Of course it applies to yoga, but it applies to teaching as well. I have to remind myself every August (and September, and October, and November, and . . .) that things are not going to go according to plan. I can plan until I am blue in the face and something will happen that throws the whole thing off.

But sometimes that is okay. Kids can take you in new directions if you are willing to throw away your map and let them lead. When I plan my lessons, I have menus from which I choose, and it gives me the flexibility to alter my instruction to fit the needs of the kids in each class I see. Sometimes it is making something more difficult (or easier) or getting rid of an activity all together if they aren't communicating that they can handle what I was thinking.

So I hope that as this school year starts, you will remind yourself (as I know I will be constantly be reminding myself) that those who are flexible can never be bent out of shape. Go with the flow, let go, relax, and focus on what got you into this profession in the first place: sharing your joy of music with children. The rest will work itself out.

When I was new to teaching I encountered a young student who was being very difficult in my class. I took him aside for a private conversation and he told me he hated my class because "music makes me feel things." I knew about his tough home life and we discussed how music does have that power both for happiness and sadness.

The first step to playing this song was to play along with only the first note of every other measure. I showed them these notes as letter names (see image for FIRST STEP) but also highlighted them in the printed music on the board. This enabled students who were pre-readers to play along right away. Then I would add the first beat of every measure (see SECOND STEP). Eventually we'd move to the full notation. This layering would allow all students to play along no matter where they were in the process. Students at level 1 could play along successfully with students who knew the whole song.

In the end we had a beautiful piece for our program where we sang and then played the recorders. Through the process of layering increasingly difficult steps to play this piece, my students pushed themselves to become better recorder players.

Debra Navin teaches General Music at Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills Michigan. She has degrees from The Crane School of Music and Temple University. She is certified in Orff-Schulwerk and has one level of training in Music Learning Theory. She has taught General Music, Choir and Band in several of public and private schools in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Michigan

FIRST STEP SECOND STEP

A section A section

B section B section

Oh Where, Oh Where Have The Aural Skills Gone? - Greg Wells

In my career thus far, I've had the pleasure of working in two districts that have had amazing K-12 music educators. My teaching experience ranges from kindergarten music and movement to college students. More recently I've had the privilege of being a guest clinician and adjudicator for ensembles around the state. I have seen the benefits of having excellent music experiences for students, and how important it is to expose children to a strong music education as young as possible. The two districts I've worked in have unique approaches and scopes, and both produce great results, communicate well with each other and have a great understanding of what a holistic musician should be. Because of these amazing colleagues, I've been spoiled with the many well-trained students that they send my way the majority of the time. I really am fortunate to be able to say that most of my incoming students already have a great foundation of skills, abilities and attitudes.

Among the many skills and abilities that students should develop in preparation for a high school band program, aural awareness seems to be the weakest component. The most frustrating thing for me as a director is when students blatantly play wrong notes and have no reaction to their mistake/s. I'm not talking rare E#'s or other unfamiliar musical anomalies. I am talking about familiar, comfortable notes, keys, and tonalities that they should not miss. They are simply not listening to what's coming out of their instrument. What they need is to increase their aural awareness so that they can improve their accuracy and be able to discriminate between what's right and wrong. Oh, the amount of time that would save in a rehearsal!

Another reason aural skills don't come as easily as rhythmic skills may be because their high school marching band gives them more opportunities to grow rhythmically. I've seen students with lower rhythmic abilities make significant gains just from all the gross motor moving in marching band. As many know, rhythm is physical and needs to start with gross motor coordination before it can be fully utilized in fine motor skills on an instrument. I have students every year that show large improvement due to marching band which translates back to their time and rhythmic competency in 'sit-down-band.'
For eight years Greg was the middle school and high school band director at DeWitt Public Schools (north of Lansing). He enjoyed pioneering the new music learning theory (developed by Ed Gordon) and became a sought after conference speaker sharing his experiences with this method.
So here's my advice for upper level music teachers: First and foremost, talk to your music department colleagues to find out what the students already know! Often, in the upper grades, you can simply continue some of the amazing work that they've started! Don't just ignore what skills they already have. Elementary music teachers should communicate with upper level colleagues to find out if they have noticed particular strengths and weaknesses. Don't fall into the habit of only teaching for the next performance.

For the middle and high school instrumental teachers, here are practical things you can do with your band students to start this process. Start with simple and short things, gradually increasing complexity and duration as you get more comfortable with this component of teaching. For example, start with the entire band singing the tuning note before they play it. The next step would be to have one student play the tuning note and another student tell you if that note is sharp or flat. Or have the student critique his/her own tuning note. Another idea is to have them sing the melody to the song you are working on. See if you can get them to sing it with articulations and dynamics. I found if I sing it first or at least sing along with them it helps tremendously. I always make a point to tell students that I'm not looking for the next best singer, just try what I'm asking; just listen to me sing and you'll get the idea! Have them sing the scales they play as they finger/slide along. Make sure to point out or stop on the 3rd, 4th, and 7th notes. These are the ones they most often miss. (3 and 7 of 'sharp' keys, and 4th on 'flat' keys). Lastly, make sure you do your part to support the musical roots of your program! Get to know your elementary music teachers. Get to know what and how they teach, and do everything you can to expand the lower elementary music programs at your school! They make the rest of our jobs that much easier!

As for the elementary music teachers, many are doing it right. Keep fighting the good fight for your programs! I'm probably preaching to the choir, but make sure that you're teaching the aural and rhythmic skills. Make sure you're sequentially assessing your students in tonal and rhythmic comprehension through students demonstrating mastery of each skill. If you have not used any Music Learning Theory sequencing you should check it out. There are countless ways of making these sequence assessments super fun! I've found that the elementary music teachers are some of the most creative and musically skilled educators out there! Do what you do best and make these fundamental skills come to life! I'm fully aware that the teacher is what makes a great program, not the method. However, check out the research on the Music Learning Theory. It will pay huge musical dividends for your students for the rest of their lives! I'm a proud supporter of the early childhood and elementary music programs! This is where all of this starts. Getting young students to match pitch, sing in tune, and be beat competent is crucial. Singing with others and alone is such an important part of their musical development.

Don't let aural skills be the weakest link in your music program. Even as I write this I am reminded again of how much more I can be investing in my students in this area. It's easy to forget about this component in the midst of so many other pressing demands. Obviously there are many factors that go into shaping a music student, but I hope I have reminded you of the importance of aural skills for a well-rounded musician.

Teaching Beginners to Transpose - Chris Pike, DeWitt Public Schools

If you're anything like me, your school music education was missing a few useful and pragmatic skills. Like transposing. Boy, I wish I had understood that concept better before I sat down in the orchestra for Sibelius' second symphony with my trumpet part in F. Trumpet in F? I asked if I could have the B-flat part instead, that I had mistakenly received some sort of F trumpet part. The orchestra librarian shrugged her shoulders. To my chagrin, I proceeded to my seat and to this day, I swear I saw the maestro smirking at me as if he knew what I was in for...

Since then I've gotten a heck of a lot more comfortable with transposing and reading my parts in orchestra isn't an issue anymore, but transposing is certainly on my "teach the kids this better than I was taught" list.

Using solfege syllables in beginning band is a tremendous way to get kids understanding harmony and transposition even as early as first year band class. A simple way to get started, even if you don't frequently use solfege with your students, is to use a super simple tune like Hot Cross Buns , Mary Had a Little Lamb, etc. The kids will need fingering charts that have solfege syllables marked on them in a couple couple of different keys (or however many as you want to take on). The Jump Right In! instrumental method series includes fingering charts like this, but you could make your own really easily or have the kids mark it in the chart they already have.

So if you're starting in the key of Bb major, have the kids pencil in and for concert D, C, and Bb respectively and tell them you're giving those notes nicknames for now. Never fear, skeptics! We are not planning on permanently identifying these pitches as and Of course you can expand this however would be appropriate for you and/or the tunes you're working with (A is Eb is etc.).
Do Re Mi 1 2 3 La Ti Do
First, the kids need to be able to sing and hear the song WITHOUT trying to finger along, read the music, or what have you. Model and teach the song (with solfege) to them aurally using whatever rote song procedure you prefer. Once they've really got it under control and can sing it with great confidence, add fingerings. Kids can look at and point to the fingerings as necessary as you sing, but odds are they'll already feel pretty good about D, C, and B-flat (heck, even Eb and F, too), so that part should be pretty easy to add. Ideally, now you've got kids singing the tune with solfege and fingering along. The next step is to have them play that tune using the fingering chart as necessary.

Now consider how many notes the kids already have under their fingers beyond this activity. Based on that, how many keys could your kids play that simple tune in? I bet they could play it in at least two more keys without learning more than a new fingering or two. Have them pencil in the new key's solfege syllables in their fingering charts or turn to the new key if you are using pre-made solfege fingering charts. So if you're moving to Eb major, now have them write in the new solfege (G is , F is , Eb is etc). Use the same rote song procedure you used before and voila! Your kids are transposing. With my kids it really helps when they point to the fingerings/solfege as they sing and transpose the tunes, especially early on. It's also really helpful to tonicize whatever key you're using and/or comp an accompaniment on the piano if possible.

Take it another step further if you want by introducing the notation to that tune in the new key(s). Or maybe you could have the kids number the scale degrees of the solfege syllables in major tonality and show them a minor tonality chart with the same scale degree numbers:

Eb F G

C D Eb

Now you can do the same tunes in minor! Just have the kids point along to the new notes that share the scale degrees of the tunes you've done and follow the same procedure.

By working through these types of activities with your beginning band kids, you can start to illustrate relationships among melodic patterns, intervals, and harmony, reinforcing a more comprehensive/big picture type of music learning in band class rather than just focusing on the one line of music in front of us.

Chris Pike teaches music at DeWitt Junior High School and Herbison Woods School in DeWitt, MI. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Michigan State University as well as a Master of Music in music performance from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. His wife Katie is also a music teacher and they live with their three children and dog in East Lansing.

Tuning your Beginners (Yes, Really!) - Tavia Zerman

Band Director for Grand Ledge Hayes Middle School and Wacousta Elementary

I know a lot of people who wait a long time to start tuning their beginners. I am not one of those people. We usually start doing daily tuning about a month or so into instruction. I have three different exercises I use to help teach tuning to beginning and intermediate students, and will detail how I use each and why.

The first part of the process is simply tuning them with a tuner (this is the stage we are in right now, in December). I do this exercise with one section per day, almost every day of class. I have them play a tuning note and tell them how many cents sharp or flat they are. I then ask them what they need to do to fix it. I keep coming back until they are in tune. At the end of this, I have them all play together and listen for waves or pure tone (I do a demonstration of what interference beats sound like vs. in-tune sounds before doing any of this, so they have an idea what to listen for).

The benefits of doing this are many. One might think that the students would tire of sitting through this. On the contrary, I find my students are excited about tuning and can't wait until it is their tuning day...they will even call me out on it if I forget! What they don't realize is that this "tuning time" is actually also time for me to help individuals fix their tone. In this small part of class, I am able to make regular embouchure, air and posture adjustments for students and help develop their sound immensely. Some of them have difficulty keeping the tone steady enough to tune when we first start, but that improves rapidly with individual instruction! They also start to gain an idea of how much of adjustment they need to make to the instrument based on how far out of tune they are to begin with. At first "30 cents sharp" means nothing to them...after a few weeks, most kids can move the slide, barrel, head joint, etc. to the correct place after one or two instructions.

I incorporate the other two exercises soon after the winter break. The next one, visual tuning, is exactly what it appears. I hold up the device with the tuning app (I use Tonal Energy...it does cost a small amount of money, but the kids LOVE that it shows a smiley face when they are in tune) so the student can see it while playing. I give them instructions on how to interpret what they see, and then I encourage them to bend the pitch until they get the smiley face. I then ask them what they need to do to the instrument to make that same change. This helps them learn what muscles are used in making intonation adjustments.

The third stage I call the Tuning Game, and this engages the whole class. There are three steps for the Tuning Game. During the first step, I have my device generate the tuning note we use for the section playing the game that day. I have the student try to match that pitch and I will help them bend the pitch the correct direction by pointing which way they need to move it. The student then makes a corresponding adjustment to the instrument (except for double reeds, who need to make adjustments with embouchure and air only) while I go down the line to the rest of the students. On their next turn, students are on their own to bend the pitch and figure out how to fine-tune it. The third time around we call "Ask the Audience." The student being tuned matches the given pitch, then ALL students in the class indicate what they heard...thumb pointing up for sharp, sideways for in tune or down for flat. I then ask the student being tuned what they think it was and then tell the class the answer. Students keep track of how many they get correct and are amazed at how much they see their accuracy grow throughout the year!

Once all three of these have been introduced, I cycle through them (regular tuning each day until all sections have had a turn, then visual tuning each day, then tuning game, then back around to the beginning). Now that we have learned what goes into matching a tuning pitch, we play a group pitch prior to working with an individual section on the tuning goal for the day. This way all students are getting to practice matching the pitch each day, but know that it will only be a few days in between turns getting some individual help as well.

When all of these things are in place...the mechanics of getting the instrument physically tuned, the knowledge of how to adjust the pitch WHILE playing, and the engagement of the ears for individual pitch placement and eliminating interference beats, I find that students are better able to play in tune and in tone. Regular reminders make it so the students know that tuning is an ongoing process and something they must always attend to in order to sound their best. With this sort of guidance, even young players are capable of understanding that an in-tune sound is a better sound and can recognize ways to improve that aspect of their playing!

Music for Everyone: Reaching ALL Students Where They Are - Zachery VanderGraaff
2. Aural: 3. Visual: 4. Creative:
If you ask someone what they imagine when they envision a Kodaly classroom, they might picture a group of children singing with solfege or rhythm syllables, students reading from notation while playing on instruments, or a class folk dancing together in a joyful way. All of these things are true, and they point to the heart of the Kodaly Method emphasized by this simple phrase and slogan of the Organization of American Kodaly Educators: "Music for Everyone".

"Music for Everyone" is a slogan with many different layers. It means starting by choosing high quality folk and classical music of your students' cultural history. Then breaking down the musical concepts into their simplest elements and arranging them in a sequence designed to help all students achieve music literacy and independence. Finally, the teacher uses a variety of instructional tools to ensure every student learns in the manner best for them.

A Kodaly teacher will use every tool at his or her disposal to reach every student and engage in learning in the most comprehensive ways. For me, this goal spoke right to the heart of what it means to be an effective teacher: to reach every learning style, to engage the entire classroom, and inspire all to love and appreciate music whether or not they go on to study it professionally. The Kodaly approach is a great and practical toolbox for accomplishing these goals.

In the Kodaly classroom, a teacher will constantly cater to students' different learning styles by cycling through kinesthetic, aural, visual, and creative teaching strategies. For example, let's take the great folk song, Paw Paw Patch (visit the Holy Names Folk Song Collection at https://kodaly.hnu.edu for notation and games). After teaching and playing the game, the Kodaly teacher will comprehensively reinforce the rhythm concept of four sixteenth notes over several classes using a variety of techniques. Here are a couple of examples of the different learning activities the teacher may use to help students develop their understanding of this concept:

By using some of the techniques to extend the high quality folk songs, games, and dances, the Kodaly teacher reaches every student and develops their learning and independent musicianship. Cycling between these different learning styles engages the different types of learners and activates more of the brain. Teachers can reinforce this concept further by using more great folk songs and dances with other similar learning activities. (Visit https://kodaly.hnu.edu for more songs analyzed and catalogued for your viewing pleasure).

When you make it a goal to accomplish "Music for Everyone", your program will grow to engage and inspire each and every student. 100% of the kids. 100% of the time. To me, this is one of the most important and practical parts of what it means to be a Kodaly teacher.

Zachery VanderGraaff is in his sixth year of teaching elementary music. He is currently at Vowles Elementary teaching DK-4 th grade music in Mount Pleasant, MI. Zachery is enrolled in the Masters of Music Education program at Central Michigan University where he also received his Bachelor's in Music Education; General Music Education Minor and the Yda Lou Schultz Scholarship. He completed his Kodaly Level I and II certifications at CMU under Dr. Joy Nelson and Dr. Ashley Allen. Zachery is the current President of the Michigan Kodaly Educators.

Holiday Program Ideas - Erika Novoselich

Every year my school does a large Holiday Program that involves grades K-5. The kids sing in groups based on their grade level: K/1st, 2nd/3rd, and 4th/5th. Though our repertoire changes each year, there are certain aspects that stay the same. First, we always make sure to have the 5th graders play at least one song with their ukuleles, and the 4th graders do one song on their recorders. It's nice to show parents those components of our curriculum. Another thing I try to do (it can be challenging with common holiday songs) is choose repertoire in varied tonalities and meters. We also make it our priority to always sing with our best singing voices and make the music our focus. We don't do a lot of costumes or acting during our show. One thing I've made a tradition of doing is to invite one of our 5th graders to play the piano to accompany the Kindergarteners/1st graders on a simple carol, which always features the whole group doing sign language while singing and 1st grade soloists on the second verse. If you would like to check out videos of just a couple of my previous programs, you can go to my website here: http://www.novoselichmusic.com/blog/2013christmasprogram

and here: http://www.novoselichmusic.com/blog/2014christmasprogram

My name is Erika Novoselich. This is my seventh year of teaching. I teach PK-5 music at South Elementary of Hudsonville Public Schools. I hold a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Michigan State University. I have earned graduate credits in Music Education from the University of Michigan. I am also certified in Music Learning Theory for Level 1 Elementary General Music.

Practicing Sol/Mi - Melissa Stouffer

If you are familiar to the Kodaly method, you know there are three main parts to a child's understanding of a concept:

Prepare - The stage where they experience the concept, understand it, and use it, and can even use hand signs and notate it with icons. Present - The stage where the learn the correct name and what it looks like.

Practice - Similar to Prepare, but the students know the correct terminology and visuals. They experience it, understand it and identify it in a variety of ways including writing, performing, and reading it.

For Sol/Mi, readiness to be presented the concepts should look like this:

Can discriminate high/low in context of minor 3rd.

Can show spatially (solfege ladder/hand signs).

Understand concepts "line", "space". (It's pretty hard to show the notes on a 3 or 5 line staff if they don't understand this, and it's something that took me a while to figure out. Take the time to explain this beforehand.)

Practicing the concept is more than reading one or two songs on sol/mi and calling it good. Here's some strategies for practicing sol/mi (or any other melodic concept!)

Play the recorder, piano, Orff instrument, or sing a 4 beat pattern using sol/mi. Have students sing/sign the pattern back to you. When you feel they are confident, make it a written element. Students will notate the pattern using a paper staff using a manipulative. One of the easiest manipulatives are figurine erasers. They can be bought at Target in the dollar spot. They offer 25 or 50 erasers in a bag for

$1. They often change out with the items seasonally, so you have to keep an eye out for them. Other options are Bingo chips, pennies, or even paper circles (but who wants to cut those out?) (Grab the printable staffs at the end of this file for this!)

Students split into two groups. One group plays an ostinato on Orff instruments and the other sings a song on solfege.

Students can train their inner hearing and work from memory by signing back 4 beat patterns that the teacher sings/plays.

Students improvise 4 beat patterns. This can have many extensions. Students can sing patterns back, sign them back, play them back, or even write them.

Students will read an unknown song by looking at note heads on the staff.It would look something like this:

In addition to these ideas, there is a lot on TpT you can get quite inexpensively to help out with all stages of the Kodaly process. Things like rhythm games, flashcards, and files to help with the three stages the Kodaly process for folk songs. These kind of files have a lot to offer for the multiple aspects of teaching a song. In mine, I present the song in icons for both rhythmic elements and melodic elements. They have pages for presenting concepts as well as pages for practicing that include note heads on lines and spaces, rhythmic practice, and tools for teaching such as manipulatives, and worksheets.

You can check out my store here: https:// www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Stouffers-Music-Room

With the holidays coming up, I thought I'd give you a game to play in class as well to help your students practice reading Sol/Mi on a 5 line staff. It is calledThe Ugly Christmas Sweater Game.

Students select a sweater, and click on it. They read the solfege pattern on the screen. If they are correct, they get a "present" - a point. If they are not, they lose a point (and get to "keep" the ugly sweater)! This game works on an Interactive Whiteboard, but if you are like me and have a TV with a computer hooked up, (or something similar like a projector), just view the PDF in full screen and the clickable links work the same way. I let the kids click on my computer for the same results. This freebie link is only for this MMEA letter.

Make sure you download now, it will expire January 1st, 2017.

https:// www.dropbox.com/s/ty4r8zoklahnjhq/Ugly%20Christmas%20Sweater%20%7BSol

A good indicator that you are practicing a concept is that the students are showing skills that you would expect from any musician. It helps to think of ideas you would do in your skill set. The students' skill just happens to include only Sol/Mi at the this time. In addition to The Ugly Christmas Sweater Game, the next several pages include some printables to help you out with practicing Sol/Mi.
Melissa Stouffer is a 7th year teacher for Brighton Area Schools. She is a graduate of Central Michigan University. She is Kodaly level one certified, and can't wait to continue her training. She currently teachers 3 year olds to 8th grade general music, choir and band. She has started 3 ensembles from the ground up and considers herself lucky to do what she loves every day. She is current President-Elect of Michigan Kodaly Educators (MIKE). Melissa is an active blogger and designs educational materials found on Teachers Pay Teachers. She lives in New Hudson with her husband Sam, and their dog Cindy Lou Who.
Pages 3-6 are slides from my Kodaly file for the song Starlight Star Bright.

Pages 7-11 are printable staffs to use to practice writing or taking dictation with bingo chips or little erasers.
Deidra Ross is entering her 15 th year of music education. She currently teaches Middle School Choir and Theatre Arts in the Reeths-Puffer School District in Muskegon, MI
I hope this helps you when you are practicing a concept using the Kodaly method! I'm always willing to help answer questions. MrsStouffersMusicRoom@gmail.com

I'd also like to invite all of you to participate in the Michigan Kodaly Educators.Find our website here: http://www.mikodaly.org

BHAG #1: Connecting with Colleagues & Creating Vision
Having a Big Hairy Audacious Year in the Middle School Choir Room - Deidra Ross
Here is an example of a Middle-School focused Mission Statement from my district: The mission of the RPMS Choir program is to serve as an important link between the elementary and high school years by providing a unique educational experience in which students gain group and individual skills in the areas of music literacy and vocal performance. We believe that all students have the potential to be tuneful, beatful and artful and that middle school is a time for young singers to "find their voice". The RP Fine Arts Department strives to foster a life-long appreciation and engagement with the arts.
The superintendent in my district is known for his visionary leadership and infectious drive to overcome the obstacles facing public education. Borrowing a term from the business world, he recently challenged us to make big picture goals for ourselves and our students in the coming year. "Big Hairy Audacious Goals" if you will. The "BHAGS" he reasoned, would drive our instruction and keep the embers of passion alive as we sought to educate our students.
BHAG #2: Teaching Them To READ!
As I pondered this inspiring speech, I wondered how this might look in my own work as a middle school choral director. As the classic "middle child" of the music department, it's not always easy to have a vision. Students spend a lot of time in the elementary years, only to pass through the middle school briefly before moving into the "big leagues" of high school. I set to work thinking about how this might play out in my current position and what I hoped and dreamed for my students. It turns out, it was a great exercise in self-reflection that made a big impact on how I approached planning for the year, working with my colleagues and navigating the travails of middle school.

Developing my own professional goals has been an on-going process, full of begging, borrowing and stealing, but we all know that the best teachers steal the best ideas...right?! Here are a few of my personal BHAGs and how I've tried to implement them over the past few years. It's my hope that you will be encouraged to see how setting big picture goals for your teaching and program can bring structure, sanity and purpose to your work in the middle school choir room and beyond.

Do you and your K-12 colleagues have a clear and inspiring mission for your program? Is there a culture of singing in your district that starts in kindergarten and spans to graduation? What programs and opportunities are offered along the way to realize this mission? This might sound a little too Steven Covey for your personality, but I think we can agree that just like writing a good lesson objective, a shared vision gives us a target to aim for.
There are several sequenced curriculums published online for you to steal away. Here are a few examples of ones that I have found helpful: BHAG #3: Pick Amazing Music They Will Remember....and Get It Organized
In my district, there is one teacher below me and one above in the K-12 spectrum. There aren't many of us, which could be a recipe for disaster if we weren't all friends. I am blessed to share a common vision with my colleagues and we work hard at making the program cohesive. Our struggle wasn't that we didn't get along or have common goals, our problem was that we weren't articulating the mission of the program in an articulate way. What do we value? What programs do we offer and why? It was time to do some work!

As we worked through the process of developing mission, the concept of implementing a "one-room schoolhouse" approach in the K-12 fine arts became part of our BHAG language. This means, that we value connecting students and events between buildings and also want our more experienced students to facilitate learning for their peers.

Two events that have been successful at bringing this sense of continuity in our district are our Fall Music Theatre Workshop and a one-week Music Theatre Summer Camp we hold each June called "Camp Break a Leg". These events are planned by our Fine Arts staff and facilitated by talented Juniors and Seniors. The benefits of this approach are countless and have created a true sense of family as students navigate each building and level.

I encourage you to instigate professional conversations and friendships in your district. Seek to understand their approaches and dream together where you want it to grow.

One of the most valuable things that I took away from teaching in the elementary music classroom is my experience designing and implementing a music literacy plan. There are many schools of thought regarding how children learn music. Regardless of what camp you find yourself in, we can all agree that giving students the tools to read and interpret music is a crucial part of their experience in the music classroom.

I have always considered myself an eclectic educator dabbling in any and all methodology workshops and classes that came my way. My literacy BHAG began to take more shape two summers ago when I attended a Level I Kodaly training session. Of the many methodologies I have studied, none has impacted my teaching craft as much as my study of this wonderful approach. Not only do I commiserate with Kodaly's heart for children and music, but as someone who has used many of Kodaly's approaches, I have seen them WORK for my singers. The idea of complex content delivered joyfully along with the emphasis on personal musicianship has revolutionized how I teach, how I plan, and even, who I am as a person.

What kind of learner are you? What approaches work for you? What type of reading program do the students receive in elementary? What systems are used in the high school program above you? Know yourself, know your colleagues, know your students and make a BHAG literacy plan.

One of my favorite comedians, Jim Gaffagin likes to joke about the fact that he and his wife have a large brood of children. So many children that people often ask him what it's like juggling so many kids at home. His hilarious retort is "Imagine you're drowning.....then someone hands you a baby"....
BHAG # 4: No Students? No Program: Recruitment for Middle School Choir
I can relate to Jim not only as the parent of three children, but also, as the director of over 120 eager middle school singers. There is nary a minute where I feel like I'm prepared, no matter how many summer days, evenings and weekend hours I spend planning. Nonetheless, I keep coming back for more because...well...I kind of love it.

If I made a pie chart of what I spend most of my time doing as a middle school choir director, hunting for quality and SINGABLE repertoire would take up a big portion of that pie. Let's face it, not only do we have to convince young students that there is worthwhile music on AND off the Top 40 charts, but we have to find pieces that they can actually sing, and sing well. The changing male voice anyone?

Over the last few years, I have attended as many workshops, conferences and reading sessions that I could possibly fit into my schedule. If you're like me, I gather and gather and gather until my desk is a mess of scores, notes and reusable bags from publishing companies. Both my brain (and desk) were on information overload!

One of my BHAGS was to find a way to organize these great ideas into one place. My quest to get myself together started by keeping an excel spreadsheet of pieces I liked. A "personal" repertoire list if you will, of pieces that I loved along with notes on the composer, voicing and style/genre it might work for.

I recently noticed that JW Pepper started providing a new feature on their website called My Library. My Library, " Helps you to plan your next performance by creating custom folders, tags and notes so it's easy to capture the vision for your program. Save time looking for that perfect piece with powerful research tools like custom playlists and score view. Integration with our site means the largest selection of sheet music in the world is at your fingertips."

It's pretty much amazing! Now, instead of keeping my notes in a notebook, or a separate excel spreadsheet, I can go directly to the JW Pepper website and access my list, along with the links to listen, view and order sheet music directly. My personal repertoire list is now accessible anytime and anywhere. You can also share your playlists with colleagues which makes collaboration even easier.

Finding tools to stay organized is an on-going process as technology changes rapidly, but I feel more confident now that I have my lists all in one place that is practical and easy to access. Now my brain can make space for other things...such as....how to get students to sign up for choir!
BHAGS: If You Fail to Plan, You Plan To Fail
As September rolls on, we are already in the thick of launching our plans for the here and now...but what about next year? An on-going BHAG of mine is one that is always on every choir director's mind: Finding Effective Recruitment Strategies.

Our school counselors begin this process in February and I'm often in panic mode as this falls right in the middle of festival season. Here in Michigan, it is also still right in the middle of winter. How can I possibly think about next fall NOW?!

The biggest impact I have found when planning for choir recruitment is to get the middle school kids in front of the upper elementary students early and often. It could be an assembly, a social event or classroom visit. For the last few years, I've chosen 1-2 concerts where we actually invite the upper elementary students to join us for a few songs.

Another event I have found that connects well between the ages is our Spring Musical. In the past, we have created a 5/6 chorus or look for cast roles that can bring some of those younger students into the middle school fold sooner. The more they feel at home when they walk into your classroom in 7 th grade, the better.

For younger students that don't participate in the musical, we always promote the show by either visiting or making promotional videos that the 5/6 teacher can show in class. Then we hand out free or discounted tickets to students and encourage them to come out and see it.

Besides performance opportunities, we began to think about creating personal more one-on-one connections for students between the buildings. Last year, I brought a small group of choir leadership to visit our 5/6 th grade building. The students talked about their experiences in choir and then facilitated some fun ice breaker/singing games with the younger students. When students see that singing is fun and worthwhile, they won't have to just to your word for it.

Can't physically get to your elementary buildings? Make a promotional video for the elementary music teacher or classroom teachers to show. Here is an example of one my students made a couple of year ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=718Hxr-rZSk . Not only will the elementary students love it, but your middle school choir students will enjoy the process as well.

Being a music educator is one of the most challenging things I have ever done in my life. There are days I am just sure I should quit and become a greeter at Walmart. But then I remember how much music means to me and how sharing lives with students is worth the journey.

My superintendent was right....dreaming big fuels our motivation and informs our teaching practices. What are your BHAGS? Let's continue to beg, borrow, steal and inspire one another as we seek to educate the music-makers of our world.

Deidra Ross is entering her 15 th year of music education. She currently teaches Middle School Choir and Theatre Arts in the Reeths-Puffer School District in Muskegon, MI. She is an active member of MSVMA and serves as Treasurer of the MMEA Board.

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RPMiddleSchoolChoirs/?fref=ts

Welcome Back to School - Katie Burk

My students' favorite back to school activity is the song Welcome Back to School - from GamePlan: Grade 1 Curriculum . First they learn the stamp and clap rhythms and put them into the song, and then they add in waving across the circle to someone they know during the third sentence of the song. Next, during the parts when they're not stamping, clapping, or waving, they like to add in movements based on something they did during the summer. It's a fun way to build relationships within a musical activity! On the second and third days doing the song, the students sing with chord root harmony, audiate the whole song performing the movements but not the singing, and sing the song with ukulele accompaniment.

Bio: Katie Burk is an elementary music teacher in the East Lansing Public Schools and is going into her fifth year teaching. Before coming to East Lansing she taught elementary vocal music in the Troy School District and as Interim Director of the MSU Children's Choir program. A graduate of MSU in music education and psychology, Katie is a pianist and vocalist. She also loves playing ukulele and guitar.
YOUTUBE Videos of Name Games
Song: Welcome Back To School http://www.westmusic.com/p/gameplan-grade-1-curriculum-550060
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RysGWu3MIUQ
Also found in various Music Series Books
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkNnJyWpVG8
Other Hello Songs may also be used for this activity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6bHltjIYzE
Back To School Advice-Learning Student Names - Shirley Anne Ries

The best advice I have ever received: "Your students won't care how much you know until they know how much you care." I think one of the best ways to show you care is to make the effort to learn the names of each and every student that enters your classroom. I know that can be overwhelming: I teach over 800 children in 3 buildings every week. Find a system, a game, some sort of trick and learn your students' names. I'm a visual learner, so I beg my early elementary teachers to send their students with name tags for the first two lessons. If your teachers won't help with that, print them yourselves: plug your class list into a Word document and print labels. Stick the labels onto the students as they walk in the door, or hand the labels to the teacher to stick on the children-that will be even faster. Find a strategic place to stand in the hallways at the beginning and end of the school day and practice the children's names. They'll be delighted to see you making the effort.

One easy and quick activity I've used to learn names, especially with my 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders: I ask the students to tell me something very important about themselves. Take the time and look them in the eye as you greet them and repeat what they shared. "Hi, Amy. I will remember that you don't like grapes." You can make it a step trickier and ask them to share a fact that incorporates the first letter of the child's name. Kevin likes kittens, Ty plays tennis. That trick works especially well for me. When I'm meeting a class for the first time, I learn names in small groups: learn four or five names, then review them. Tag on another five names, review the whole group. Yes, it takes time. If you sell it as an important activity, where the students get to teach you something new, they will buy into the "game" and help you.

Shirley Anne Ries: Shirley holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Wartburg College in Waverly, IA. She earned her Master's degree from Marygrove College. In her 20 years of teaching, Shirley has taught PreK-8th grade General Music, 5-12 Band, and 6-8 Choir. Shirley currently teaches elementary music in St Johns, MI and directs a youth choir at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Haslett, MI. The mother of 3 active girls, Shirley's main hobby is watching her children sing, dance, swim and perform in band.

Up The Ladder

Jump In Jump Out

Name Warm Up Game

Rhythm Name Game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7Wjl9x4N3U

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Michigan's Model Arts Education Instruction and Assessment Project - Stacey Chen For me, one of the most valuable pieces of the continuous growth mindset is personal reflection. I like to take a close look at my curriculum in April.

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Carnival of the Animals is a set of 14 pieces of music by composer Camille Saint Saens. These pieces are performed with two pianos and several other instruments. The composer was so clever in creating each piece to represent specific animals like lions, cuckoos, chickens, elephants and more. The pieces either imitate the sound of the animal or create a musical message that you can associate with that animal. In second grade we use this unit to discuss composing and to identify instruments. After watching a video introduction to Carnival of the Animals students worked in workstations to practice music skills, read about Saint Saens and review the music of Carnival of the Animals.

At the reading workstation students had the opportunity to read about each of the pieces in Carnival of the Animals.

At the SmartBoard students listened to several of the pieces and then classified them by sound (dynamics, tempo, etc...).

At the Aquarium Station students created "schools" of rhythms. Together with their group the arranged rhythms and performed them with body percussion.

At the Coloring Station students colored a picture of the piece "Royal March of the Lion" by using a special key and identifying notes.

Building long lines of rhythm and performing them with a partner was great fun. Some of the rhythm-a-pillars stretched way off the carpet!

At the iPad station students worked with a partner and a funny giraffe named Gina to practice beat keeping.

You can hear music from Carnival of the Animals HERE.

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Carnival of the Animals is a set of 14 pieces of music by composer Camille Saint Saens. These pieces are performed with two pianos and several other instruments. The composer was so clever in creating each piece to represent specific animals like lions, cuckoos, chickens, elephants and more.

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Recently there was a question posted regarding how I handle sub plans. To be honest, if I know I can catch up during the next rotation and I'm not sure who will be coming into my room to sub, I leave a video. Although I don't like to do this, it is sometimes the best option not knowing a subs musical background.

I am known for leaving ridiculously detailed sub plans. I want to make sure that I am very specific because I know that going into a music room without a musical background can be intimidating, so I try to give as much information about activities as I can. Two years ago, I was out on an extended leave because I was getting married. I had to come up with lessons for 6 grade levels and make it sub friendly. It can be a taxing job but I did it and since then some of the ideas I included in those lessons are some of my go to's. I really should create a sub tub but I haven't had a minute yet!

A few of my go to activities are:

1. The Sound House
This was one of my earliest posts and it is something I do year to year with my students. It can be done without a house. You could have a student sit behind the piano or another object in your classroom and play an instrument. This is something that subs have done with my students before and have been successful with. Plus, if they give each child a turn in the sound house it can take up time. Subs come to the music room with a different perspective and sometimes can better explain the sound of an instrument better than I can. Sometimes I think well it's a triangle it has a triangle sound! Which, is definitely no help to little ears and at times some of the ideas my subs have shared with the kids have been great explanations. This is one of the only instrument activities I will leave and for a sub I'm familiar with.

2. Beat Leader
I'm sure you have done this with your little ones before. Play a piece of music with a strong steady beat. Teacher keeps the beat on their body, students keep beat in same place. Change where you keep the beat every 8 to 16 beats.

3. Drum Game
Teacher plays the steady beat on the drum. Students move feet to the beat, freeze when drum stops.

4. Sing-a-Longs
You can find sing-a-long cd/videos that have a variety of children's songs but occasionally I make my own. I have a little microphone that plugs into my ipod. I record the process that I would use to teach the song, so that students can echo. The sub just has to hit play. Once learned, they can sing it along with a storybook.

5. Rhythm Caterpillar
This only works if you have already done this with students before hand. I originally found this idea on Mrs. King's Music Blog. Check it out: Mrs. King's Music Class. I have created different sets for each grade level. 2nd grades have half notes, 3rd grades have sixteenths, etc.

6. Story Books
Have a sub read a book that you will be using soon for an activity. They could also read a book about a composer and then students could divide up into centers to experience more about that composer.

7. Name that Note
This game can be played with a sub in a variety of formats.

8. Compositions
Using the rhythm building blocks, students could compose rhythm patterns. I would assign each rhythm a word so that the sub can easily play the game. You could add an extension for older kids where they need to create a melody for recorder. Once they have their rhythm, they assign each note a pitch. They could even transfer the rhythm to the 5 lined staff.

9. Worksheets
I created these for a recent absence. Due to budget constraints, our copies are being limited this year. I wanted to use these worksheets but didn't want to waste my copies. So, Pinterest to the rescue. I put them inside of sheet protectors and students were to use dry erase markers to complete the sheet.

I made these so that I would have an easy way to practice notation on the staff. The front is a treble clef staff and the back a 3 lined staff for my little ones. You could use poker chips or bingo chips to notate if you didn't have enough dry erase markers for a full class.

I found this worksheet on The Plucky Pianista. We have not learned bass clef, so I crossed that part out so that my 5th graders could focus on the treble clef.

For my 4th graders, tracing treble clefs and practicing line and space notes. Now line and space notes is not a new concept but reading the line and space notes from bottom to top is always a challenge when it comes to recorder and this worksheet addresses that. I found these two at http://www.musicfun.com.au/download.htm. There are tons of worksheets on this site.

Some things that I would avoid.....

1. NO Instruments
I always indicate that students should NOT touch instruments in my absence. I had one sub who decided to use instruments anyways and it resulted in a couple of mallets being broken. Now, I know that I have taught my children the right way to handle instruments but there are always a few students who, given the opportunity, will beat the living daylights out of an instrument. I'm sure you can picture those boogers in your mind! :)

2. New Concepts
I would not allow a sub to introduce a new concept. They are not familiar with your curriculum and often times music concepts at all. Enough said? :)

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Recently there was a question posted regarding how I handle sub plans. To be honest, if I know I can catch up during the next rotation and I'm not sure who will be coming into my room to sub, I leave a video.

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I have seen so many melodic activities and variations to this classic children's book. The simplicity of the repetition lends itself nicely to students singing the question: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see? And teacher answering the question to move the storyline along. I use this book in 2nd grade to assess solo singing and we get out our own beat buddies (aka. Beanie Babies) to sing about more animal friends.

In 1st grade, I wanted to build rhythmic reading skills but pre-notation. I also finally got a class set of hand drums! So here's my fun new rhythmic approach to Brown Bear!

Lesson Plan
This "game" has 4 levels. I've been having tons of success with telling students that we need to master a level before we can "level up" and add something new
Objective: Students will create, read, and perform 8 beat patterns using familiar themes from Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Whole Class Verbal
Introduce activity to whole class using the Smartboard. Students place 4 cards in any order. Whole class reads rhythm string together using words (brown bear, goldfish, green frog, yellow duck).

Level 2: Whole Class Body Percussion
Students add body percussion to verbal chant. I used hand clapping to prepare for hand drums. **Be sure to discuss "Purple Cat" and "Yellow Duck" having more syllables. This is an important learning step towards eighth notes!**

Level 3: Whole Class Hand Drums
Students add percussion.
Level 4: Small Groups with iPads
Students create their own rhythm strings on iPads and perform for each other. I used groups of 2 and one student was the "composer" who created the string while the other was the performer. Students switch after each turn.

Bonus Round: Double Up!
Two group join forces and place their two iPads together. Composers work together to compose an 8 card string and both hand drummers perform together.

You can turn my Explain Everything File into a QR code for easy access for student downloading.

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I have seen so many melodic activities and variations to this classic children's book. The simplicity of the repetition lends itself nicely to students singing the question: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see? And teacher answering the question to move the storyline along.

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One of my most favorite songs to do with my three year olds is the itsy bitsy spider dance. They seem to never get sick of it. It's such a classic, but there are so many things you can do with it that my imagination has almost exploded with the possibilities! Here are some ideas:

1) Find an instrumental version of the song. We sing the song sitting in an L put spiders on our toes and crawl them all the way to our head. Dancing the rest of the song with rain and sun! Then I add in stretches and if I feel like it's needed my spider goes around to help the dancers. They love to see my spider and will often not do the right stretch just so the spider will visit them.

2) We pretend the spider takes on different shapes. The GREAT BIG SPIDER or the very s...n..e..a..k...y.. spider or the jUmPy JuMp spider.

3) We build one giant spider with everyone in the class. Everyone is connected and has lots of wiggly arms and legs. We practice moving the spider from one side of the room to the other while we sing the song. This is a good teamwork exercise, especially for 3's.

4) We dance the whole song. I divide the class up, some spiders, some rain, and some sun. We sing the song very slowly and when they hear their part in the song they get to dance! They love this and so do I because it ensures everyone is paying attention.

5) A partner dance. Pair up the dancers and ask them to make a spider shape together. They go down and up together. Then one partner is a cloud and one is the rain. Out came the sun- one partner spins around the other and then they go back to their spider shape. Then we switch, so that the other partner has a chance to be the cloud and the spinner.

Do you have ideas for the Itsy Bitsy Spider song? I would love to hear if you use it in your classes and what kind of dances you do!

P.S. Other animal dances here and here!

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One of my most favorite songs to do with my three year olds is the itsy bitsy spider dance. They seem to never get sick of it. It's such a classic, but there are so many things you can do with it that my imagination has almost exploded with the possibilities!

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Use the chorus of the song. A box of beanie babies are the perfect accompaniment for this one! Let each child choose; I usually put four or five on the floor at a time and invite three children up at a time (more choices than children, always).

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Harry Kindergarten - All About Respect (audio)

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Welcome to the Harry Kindergarten Music website- offering the hip, educational tunes of Mr. Harry! This is your one-stop-shop for downloading fun songs to teach your child or classroom (Pre-K through 2nd grade). Whether you're looking for ABC's, 123's, character education, or just songs to get your kiddos up and moving, Harry Kindergarten is the place to be!

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Kindergarten music is my favorite class of the day. In my district, the first time students get to come for music class is in kindergarten. Every thing in the room is new to them, I am new to them, and they are all new to me. I love their enthusiasm and imagination, however during the first month of school they are definitely distracted by all of this newness. The first challenge is getting them in to the room and seated in an orderly fashion. In August, this is a bit like herding cats!

Entry Procedure

You really must have a procedure for everything! Kindergarteners thrive on repetition, so setting procedures really helps them enjoy their stay in the music room. For my entry procedure, we play "Follow the Leader," but it takes on many variations throughout the year. At the beginning of the year, I like to play "Music Train." Velcro strips that attach to the carpet are placed in a path all the way around the room, forming the train track and guiding us into our circle.

I repeat this chant (over and over!) as we all walk in around the circle. There is always some improvisation on my part, depending on how we are doing at following the leader. It might sound something like this:

Johnny, Susie, it's a game!
Don't break the music train!

Of course, I can't always come up with a rhyme, but I do try to keep my steady beat going unless too many "cats" have gone exploring! This gets us in and seated in a circle in a quick and musical fashion. The train imagery really works because we all know that trains have to be on a track to run!

Once this procedure is established, I change my chant to a song. Most of the time I sing on a neutral syllable, only interjecting words when I need to remind someone to walk on the circle. Any song that you have in your own personal repertoire can be sung on a neutral syllable. Vary the tonality and meter of the songs that you choose! It is very good for students to hear music right from the start of music class!

Name Games

With 100 new kindergarten names to learn, name games are so important to me! When I first started teaching elementary music, I used Name, Name, What's Your Name from the old Music Connection series all the time. Because it takes ME longer to learn all these names, I find it necessary to play name games for a month or even two. Thankfully, kindergarteners love repetition! I use several different chants for variety and also to infuse both duple and triple meters into my lessons.

One chant that came out of the Engine, Engine entry procedure goes like this:

Choo, choo, music train. To get on board, just say your name!

Once again, the train imagery works to keep the students calling out their names on time because we all know that train cars are connected together and we want to BE the music train.

The other two chants that I like to use are common to elementary music classrooms. Bee, Bee Bumble Bee is a duple meter chant, while Hickety Tickety Bumblebee is a triple meter chant. These two chants are great to use along with other bee-themed activities, such as buzzing vocal explorations and flowing scarf activities. You can find some visuals to accompany these chants by clicking on the picture below.

At the beginning of the year, many kindergarteners are not yet ready to keep the steady beat, so I do not use any clapping or patting or accompaniment tracks for quite awhile. Instead, the focus is to learn the pattern of the game first.

We begin with all students standing. I say the chant by myself, then ask each student to say their name. The class then echoes the student's name and that student sits down. My goal at first is to make it down one line of students without a break! After a week or two, the students just naturally start joining in with me on the chant, and we develop more and more of a steady beat once the students understand the pattern of the game.

Set Procedures, Then Vary the Repertoire

The key to success is to set your class procedures right from the start. Kindergarteners have such energy, and they love to sing and play musical games. You want all of their energy to be focused on this musical learning, rather than on behavior challenges. Once my entry procedure is set, I can change the song or chant every week if I want to, and the children still follow me around the track to our seats. The same is true for the name game procedures.

If you would like to use the train graphics, right click on the picture, save it to your computer, then insert the picture into PowerPoint, Keynote, or your IWB software for display. Using imagery, such as the train chants, can help hook the students into your new musical world with a little make believe!

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Kindergarten Music: Beginning of the Year Tips

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Kindergarten music is my favorite class of the day. In my district, the first time students get to come for music class is in kindergarten. Every thing in the room is new to them, I am new to them, and they are all new to me.

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January is Under the Sea theme for my primary Music classes and I wanted to come up with a composition idea for my grade 1 and grade 1/2 students that was different than our grade 1 Shark and grade 2 Jellyfish compositions from last year.

I decided to focus on Jellyfish with this new idea because I am obsessed with them right now! This activity took about 45 minutes total and was so fun and valuable for the kids!

Jellyfish Non-Pitched Percussion Composition Activity:

We did this activity after exploring the movement of various under water creatures!

1. Students each received a coffee filter and coloured it with markers. They left a lot of white so that the colours would blend nicely later on. This part only took ten minutes!

2. I sprayed down all of the filters with a water spray bottle and had the kids watch the transformation!

3. During the following class students decided on non-pitched instrument sounds they thought matched jellyfish movement. Movement words that came up were soft, light, wiggly, smooth, up and down, etc. Once the instruments were chosen by the students, the class decided on the ribbon that would best match the sound.

4. For their composition, students each chose instruments and a pattern, using the appropriate ribbons.

5. The coffee filters were folded in half, and then half again. Students organized their ribbons on the bottom round edge of one of the filter quarters and I ran a strip of white glue on top of the ribbons. Next the students folded the filter closed and waited for them to dry.

6. To finish our project off, students each received an NPP instrument and we all played each of the Jellyfish compositions, with someone pointing along to track the tentacle "music"!

Super fun and students LOVED this activity!

I did this over a total of three classes (but not full classes) to complete. Ten minutes for steps 1 and 2, thirty minutes for steps 3 and 4 (only because I worked with groups of 6 or 7 students at a time for ten minutes, while the others did a rhythm centre rotation), and ten minutes for step 6.

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January is Under the Sea theme for my primary Music classes and I wanted to come up with a composition idea for my grade 1 and grade 1/2 students that was different than our grade 1 Shark and grade 2 Jellyfish compositions from last year.

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At one of the first schools I taught at I was inspired greatly by the elementary secretary. Each quarter she designed a bulletin board that featured the names of every student in the elementary building. I loved her creativity and I loved that she worked to make every student feel special. Students would search for their names, the names of their friends and brothers and sisters. It was truly a way to multiply joy in the building.

This colorful bulletin board is my attempt to do the very same thing. Although that creative secretary worked with about 100 names, I took on around 450 students plus teachers and staff. I used the message "Music inspires our minds to bloom." This incorporates Nafme's "Music Inspires" theme and speaks to our outrageously warm March. It feels like spring around here!

The tree is created with hundreds of small paper flowers. I created the trunk to look like a person, inspired by the Nafme promo image. I made time during each class period to talk about Music In Our Schools Month and to lead a discussion about the power of music in our lives. Students them wrote their names on a flower and I put them up as time allowed.

I used the Fiskars 3 inch Punch Pretty Scallop paper punch to make all of the flowers. This would be fun to do with a music note punch too!

You could take this same idea and have students write not only their name, but something that music inspires them to do. Run faster, dream bigger, dance, laugh.....I bet the answers would truly be inspiring!

Students and staff have enjoyed finding their names and this display is a huge explosion of color in the hall. I love that!

Want to save this inspiration? PIN IT for later.

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Music Inspires Bulletin Board. This music advocacy bulletin board is a great way to included EVERYONE in your building! Read about how to put this display together and inspire your school from the Bulletin Board Lady. Great for Music in Our Schools Month or any time of year.

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I suppose my inspiration for pool noodle swords is quite evident. Have you ever seen a bunch of kids using them in the pool? They make a great weapons! LOL. Okay...don't tell my kids I said that! I loved the sound that they made when whacked against each other and new my students would as well.

To make the noodle swords you'll need a sharp knife. I used a chef's knife. It has a

smooth, large blade. It was very easy to cut through each of the pool noodles. I cut each noodle in half (or as close to half as I could guesstimate).

Next, using shiny silver duct tape and regular black duct tape I created handles for each of the swords. I didn't worry about being precise and tore the tape rather than trying to cut it.

For best results, put a piece of tape on the bottom of the noodle to cover the hole, then cover about 5 inches or so with the same color. Tear a couple of rectangles to put on each side of that as a "button" to turn the swords on when they become light sabers. I also went back and added a trim of black or silver when they were all finished. I just wanted to make sure I had enough tape before embellishing. I made 24 noodles with 2 rolls of tape.

In my classroom they were stored in a large laundry tub with handles until I found a sturdy basket that worked well.

I use them for several different movement activities with K-2, but my favorite activity works for K-6. My fifth and sixth graders LOVED learning about the music of John Williams. At the end of our John Williams studies we used the pool noodles or "Steady Beat Light Sabers" to explore the form of "Imperial March". You can read about some of the John Williams activities HERE.

Before we start with this activity, I pass out the swords and explain that even one single attempt to use the steady beat sabers to hit or poke another person will cause them to be retired. No one wants to miss out on the opportunity to play with swords in music class so behavior is EXCELLENT during this activity.

Here's a silly little thing I do before we begin. The video shows a group of third graders.

Silly, right? The kids love it!

Before we listen to "Imperial March" we discuss how composers use music to represent characters in stories. We'll talk about Peter and the Wolf and the motif used for the wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz. I'll ask them to raise their hand as soon as they know what character is represented by the music.

Hands shoot in the air as the main theme of "Imperial March" starts. I'll explain that when we get our steady beat light sabers that we'll keep the beat with a partner when we hear the theme and then we'll pretend to be jedi knights and sneak around the room looking for bad guys. When they hear the theme again, they should find their partner and keep the steady beat again. For older classes, I'll encourage them to find an advanced way to keep the steady beat.

This might mean tapping the swords together high and then low, using both hands or even adding a little turn. Such fun! Here's a clip from a 5th grade group.

Some classes also use the swords for a play along. I found this little gem while looking for something else on Youtube. The link takes you to a SafeShare version that I use in the classroom. I like not having to worry about what may pop up at the end of the video.

I hope you enjoy making steady beat swords or steady beat light sabers this summer! Let me know of some ways you use them in your classroom. My kiddos will LOVE more opportunities to play and learn.

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I suppose my inspiration for pool noodle swords is quite evident. Have you ever seen a bunch of kids using them in the pool? They make a great weapons! LOL. Okay...don't tell my kids I said that! I loved the sound that they made when whacked against each other and new my students would as well.

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I've seen several ways to play this game online, but here's my preferred way: You'll need enough handkerchiefs for half the class (they'll pass them to another student later in the song).

" Little Johnny Brown, spread your comfort down" - lay handkerchief down on the ground. This part of the song is quite slow.
" Fold down the corner, Jonny Brown" - fold one corner of the handkerchief inside. Continue folding until all four corners have been folded in to create a smaller square. The tempo of the song picks up here.
" Take it to a good friend" - The student picks up the handkerchief and gives it to another student.
" Show him a motion, Johnny Brown" - Now the real fun begins. The student who just passed off the handkerchief does a motion (jumping, patting head, chicken dance, disco) while the student who now has the handkerchief copies the motion. (Be sure to have a quick, simple conversation about the difference between silly and fun, versus inappropriate motions!)

Sing the song again from the beginning. This time a new group of students has the handkerchief.

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It's so important to teach our students how to listen for the form of a song. Sometimes we (or perhaps just I!) get caught up in teaching rhythmic and melodic concepts and have to remind ourselves not to let poor elements like form, texture, and harmony fall by the wayside.

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It is finally spring break. I can't tell you how long I have been counting down to this vacation. Spring break is the perfect thing to prepare me for the craziness of testing season. It is also the perfect time to lazily browse Pinterest before breakfast.

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Drum Circle

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Teaching drums to my kids is one of my favorite things to do! They can't get enough of the drums and see it as a special treat. I love it because I can sneak in SO much content and so many concepts and the kids just think that they're banging away the whole time. Surprise kids! You're learning! I told my student teacher that it was like that cookbook that Jessica Seinfeld put out a few years ago called "Deceptively Delicious," where she sneaks pureed cauliflower in mac and cheese and kale in spaghetti and meatballs. We're giving them really great content and experiences and they love it because they are just having so much fun! This year as I was going along I stopped to take some pictures and jot down a few ideas. I just wanted to share a couple of those here.

When I first started teaching drums I had really no idea what I was doing or what I could do to make things better. In my district there are two sets of "the world drums" that travel around from school to school. We just don't have the budget for each school to have a full set. So, when I do get the drums I try and make the most of it. We only have them for about two weeks at a time and I love to schedule them for the first two weeks back from winter break. It's a great activity to get kids back in the swing and excited about making music again. It's also great because kids are a little sluggish after the break and it takes them a little bit to readjust. The drums act like a shot of adrenaline to get them going and keep them excited.

So, here are some ideas. Click on the image to enlarge and get a better view!

After a day or two of that, when I am confident that they know the different hand positions and how to sit and how to echo and listen, then I switch to a setup that's more like the traditional drum circle. Now I sit at a djembe at a place in the circle where I can see all of them but they are on the same plane as me. This shifts the power and balance in the room. Now I'm not "in charge" but a part of the group. This is when I switch to activities that are less driven by me. Instead of doing echoes and activities where I come up with content we do Question/Answer, student improvisation, and group drumming. We learn songs where all the kids can improvise and elaborate a little bit. This change of space helps to change their mindset of who is in charge and puts a little more of the power into their hands. We're creating as a group and they need to be an active part of that. It's so interesting how a formation change can really affect the mood of the class.

Speaking of formation, the Remo 100 series drums come in 3 basic sizes 10", 12" and 14". I try and set them up so that the drums alternate in size. The might be set up in a row like this: 10", 12", 14", 12", djembe, 12" etc. This mimics the setup that Artie Almeida uses in her "Mallet Madness" books. When they're set like this I can have kids rotate one chair and they're immediately at a different drum and have to adjust what they do. Kids love rotating and they love the chance to try something new. Setting the drums up in an alternating fashion like this helps to make rotation so much more meaningful.

First of all, think of the setup and formation of the room. If you have the opportunity to move things around and try different formations then do! See how it affects your classroom and the learning environment. I usually start out with the drums in rows (for the first few days) so that I can see all the kids, their hand positions, and keep tabs on who is really following along. If I sit at the really tall drum in the front (it's called an Ngoma and is really stinking tall) then I can see all the kids and they can definitely see me. This is good for the first couple of days and the set-up mimics a classroom where they are sitting criss cross and I'm standing at the board. In that situation, because of the spacing and the levels in the classroom, I'm clearly the one with the power in the "teaching position." Similarly when we're set up with the drums in rows with my big demonstration drum at the front I am clearly the one in control and they are the ones learning. I'm at the front, I'm higher than them, I'm scanning the room to see their reactions. In this formation I usually do a lot of echo, ostinato, call and response, and checking for understanding. I make sure that I watch and clarify and make sure that they know the basic hand positions (so that they can apply that knowledge later).

When I do teach hand positions on the drum I do so from that first setup in rows. When I'm up on the tall drum and kids are sitting in chars on the smaller drums I'm aware that it's really hard for them to see where my hand is falling on the drumhead. Too often I think that we (as tall people) forget a student's vantage point and how much they can see. We need to be aware and willing to move bulletin board content down and move examples down and put things on their level. In this instance I need to be aware that students down that low can't really see my examples. If I'm going to get picky about how kids hit the drum (and I do) and where they hit it then I need to be able to show them. So, last year I got the idea that I could hold up a hand drum and show them hand placement on that drum. This makes it easy for them to see and clarifies much more than if I just used words. It's like those xylophone display boards that show kids what the barred setup looks like. The visual makes a big difference. I hold up my drum, show them what it looks like on the drum, and then I have them mimic on the drum in front of them while I check for understanding.

This reminds me, less words and more visuals. Don't tell them, just show them. I start out my drum circle classes by getting students on the drums and then using ONLY nonverbal directions to show them what I want. I snap to get attention. I scan the room to make sure they're all watching I stomp my feet on the floor to show them the place where their feet should be. I hold up my hands and show them what my hand looks like when it's going to hit the drum. I point to myself and give an example and then point to them with an "echo me" expression. Take out words and try just using nonverbal communication. It's fun for you and fun for them and speeds up the process.

I'm keenly aware that when I schedule drums right after winter break that I'm doing so in the middle of cold and flu season. How do you keep germs from spreading when you have 500 kids who are all touching the same drums? I do a lot of disinfecting. I try and wipe down the drums with lysol wipes whenever I can. If I had real drums with natural drumheads I might not do this so often but with the synthetic drum heads I don't feel bad at all. In fact the West Music website says "The synthetic head and acousticon body are easily cleaned-you can even use a regular antibacterial wipe on them." Bam! So I do!

I also send out an all-school email telling all the teachers that EVERYONE will be drumming for a few weeks. In that email I say very nicely, "It will be loud. Thank you for being patient and thank the architects of this building for putting in soundproofing and putting the music room on the end of the building. Also, if you can run your kids by the bathroom and make sure that they ALL wash hands that would be great and will help to cut down on the spread of germs." Many teachers actually take this advice and make sure that their kids wash hands. Just in case... I buy this huge jug of hand sanitizer from Costco. I think that I got all of this for $6.99. As far as I'm concerned, that's money well spent. All kids have to have one squirt of hand sanitizer before they even get close to a drum. :D

Finally, I like having options. When we're working on ensemble stuff together and making fun patterns I want the option to add or create variations. I'm down to 25 minute classes this year (not nearly enough as far as I'm concerned) and so if I had to stop and get out instruments and pass them out it would take too much time. Instead I put a variety of non-pitched instruments under each chair. I try and vary this so that in a row you would have one chair with a wood block, the next would have claves, the next a tone block, the next a pair of maracas, and so on. That way we have variety and lots of different opportunities.

Also, I like having my xylophone mallets handy just in case I want to use them with the drums. It's really fun to play with soft mallets on the drum heads and makes it a lot easier to play more complex and fast rhythms. This also allows for fun activities if you want kids to stand and walk from drum to drum and play. It gives you another tool in your toolkit to mix things up and kids LOVE it!

I have so much fun teaching with drums! I hope that this post gave you a few ideas for how to set your classroom and some things you can do to make the flow of teaching a drum unit a little easier. I'd love your suggestions and comments on what other things I can do to make drumming more fun and productive. There's always more to learn!

If you enjoyed this blog post and would like to receive updates when I add new content and resources then fill out the form below to subscribe!

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Tubano Tidbits: Ideas from a Drum Circle

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Teaching drums to my kids is one of my favorite things to do! They can't get enough of the drums and see it as a special treat. I love it because I can sneak in SO much content and so many concepts and the kids just think that they're banging away the whole time.

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My buddy Mrs. Chandler and I spent the afternoon Friday working on some more anchor charts to share. Here is a chart we collaborated on for helping students who want to learn new recorder songs on...

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This post is part of circle time over at Dance Advantage!

In case you missed these posts, many of them written a year or two ago, I'm giving you a look back into my (and your) favorite posts and the dances that have been shared with your littles for a few years now. Looking for something new to do in class? Use one of these and you can't go wrong!

Fruit Tree Dance - This is my favorite dance to date. I use it a lot and my littles always ask for it. Remarkably, I never get sick of it!

5 Itsy Bitsy Spider Dances - Every teacher, at sometime, uses this song in their class. In this post I give 5 different ways to use the song with creative dance.

Umbrella Shapes - In the spring, I love to dance about... well, spring! Is it spring yet? Coming soon we can dance about umbrellas and make shapes like them. Tuck this one away for a rainy day!

Playground Dance - This one is always mentioned by other teachers. I absolutely love it and so do my young dancers. Your class is out of control today, pull this one out. The Playground Dance never fails!

The Snowy Day Dance - This was one of my favorite booksI did during the Read It. Move It. Share It. collaboration with Kerry at Picture Books and Pirouettes. I plan on using it every year, snow or not! 🙂

I would like to point out that it was really hard to pick 5 of my most favorite. All of the creative dances are my favorite and that's why I blog about them. 😉

Did you miss any of these dances? Which one is your favorite?

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This post is part of circle time over at Dance Advantage! In case you missed these posts, many of them written a year or two ago, I'm giving you a look bac

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Tisket Tasket

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Hi everyone! You all should have recieved a packet from the training in your email. If you didn't, please let me know. Or, click here: bit.ly /AprilTrainingPacket

Here's a link to the booklist: bit.ly /DavisBookList

This will be the updated version if any books get added.

Below is video and recap from the training, as well as some more in depth re-visiting of rhythmic notation.

I didn't get video of this at the training, but if you go to
this post and scroll to the last video, you'll see Jeanette Eggett in action.

Here's How to Speak Moo, taught by Shanda Stenger, part 1:

and How to Speak Moo, part, 2.

I'm guessing some of you will want to buy a cow puppet. I went to Amazon and did a quick search, and this puppet was $8.68 and looks a lot like the one Shanda used.

Shanda did a fabulous job. Thank you so much!

Here's video of The First Music.

I decided to rework the rhythmic notation process from how I did it at the training becuase I wanted it to be more accessible and easy to use. There's usually not one right way to do a given thing, and this definitely holds true for writing down notation. Below I'm going to go through a few different ways of composing or dictating a rhythm for an existing text.

EASIEST, options are more limited

I should have explained the notation could be done one syllable at a time, just like we did with the pitches. The pros of this is that is lends to more success if you aren't confident in deriving rhythms. It's proabably the easiest way to compose a rhythm. The cons are that it might not lend itself as well to falling within natural syllabic emphasis. You just might have to do more adjusting to get it to lend itself to natural syllabic emphasis.

Step 2: Choose durations for each word, starting at the beginning, one or two syllables at a time.

Step 3: Check as you go, and adjust as necessary.

Here's an example of the notating rhythm following the same process we used to notate the pitches.

A LITTLE MORE ADVANCED, lends to more options

This is notation derived from speech, using beat maps. The pros of this method are that it allows for more authentic rhythms, and its approachable and a great way for students to learn to derive or dictate rhythms. The challenge to this method is that the student has to have a little more knowledge to be successful (and the teacher), but this is good in that it gets at a deeper level of thinking.

Step one: clap or tap your rhythm

Step 2: Tap the beat while speaking your rhythm

Step 3: Place dots within each beat to represent the number of sounds in each beat

Step 4: check. How many beats? How many sounds? Does it match up?

Step 5: Turn your dots into notes by adding stems

I was determined to get this rhythm! I was really overthinking it at the training, and I want you all to know it was doable!

Because we weren't sure of the time signature, or even the smallest unit of beat, we needed to first determine the smallest unit of beat and work from there.

Here's a video of me going through the process.

Step one: draw dots for the smallest unit of sound in your rhythm.

Step 2: connect the dots that share a word within your rhythm, (This is how you know how short or long each note will be in relation to the other notes.)

Step 3: Add stems. Write in the words, then tie the notes that are more than one sound.

Step 4: Translate ties into single notes.

You could be done here, if you want. This is enough to have a written record and recreate the rhythm later on.

Step 5: figure out your strong beats and time signature. I actually came up with a few solutions for this rhythm.

Here, I just divided the rhythms above in half. I felt like this fit better becuase it was such a fast rhythm.

Figure out where your strong beats are, and how you want to group your notes into measures.

I like 6/8 time best for this rhythm. It feels the most natural.

Step 6: Check your work.

Point to your rhythm. Speak and tap it. Adjust as needed.

I wanted to be more than double sure I figured this out correctly, so I put the rhythm into my notation program and had it play back for me.

Here are all the rhythms I considered put into my notation program. They all played back exactly the same, but the 6/8 time signature makes the most sense to me.

The first rhythm below is how I started at the training, but I got confused when the feel switched from duple (sounds grouped into 2) to triple (sounds grouped into 3) meter. I feel like the last two choices below indicate the difference in feel between triple and duple the best, and the last is less complicated (in my opinion) because it stays in one time signature.

Below is video from the training of the process for adding pitches to a rhythm. I should have pulled out an instrument from the beginning, to show you how that could be done. If you're not comfortable singing the pitches like we did in the training, just use a barred instrument and play the pitches, or boomwhackers, then sing what you play.

Using barred instruments (or boomwhackers) lends itself really well to letting the students compose melodies in small groups or on their own. Just let them use instruments with only the notes you want them to use.

If you don't have barred instruments already, or if you are on a cart and want something more portable, I love these resonator bells.

If you would like to leave feedback from the training, here's the link. http://goo.gl/forms/Oytuojt7On
Thank you!

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Hi everyone! You all should have recieved a packet from the training in your email. If you didn't, please let me know. Or, click here: bit.ly /AprilTrainingPacket Here's a link to the booklist: bit.ly /DavisBookList This will be the updated version if any books get added.

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Music a la Abbott - Amy Abbott - Kodály Inspired Blog and Teachers Music Education Resource

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Hi all! I'm excited to be linking up with Aileen Miracle at Mrs. Miracle's Music room for this week's " Three Things". It's actually two things I did last week and one from this week since I forgot to record it last week, lol!

First, my second graders have been prepping "la" and it will be presented this week. I only see them every 5th day so I need to choose song literature that has the current element that I'm teaching but also things I can bring back in the future. This little round that I learned from Tanya LeJeune is great because we can isolate "la" in the first couple phrases but bring it back for reading "do" later this year. This class was able to perform it as a two part round, yesterday's class was able to sing it as a 4 part round!

Second, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Call-response songs for warm-ups. Not only does it give them a chance for active listening it also gives me a chance for a really fast and quick vocal assessment. I sometimes will have them respond as a class or sometimes in small groups and often times as solos. This little guy asked if he could be the leader! So, why not?!

Finally, this was a fun vocal exploration that we did with both kinder and 1st grade. I used my pig popper, she looks like this (and her name is Petunia, lol!):

One of the students pops the ball and the rest track the ball with their fingers and follow it with their voices.

Last week I also got to go on my daughter's kindergarten field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Here's a selfie of us with her two buddies that were in our group:

And here's my little peanut on the wagon and in the pumpkin patch:

This is one of my favorite times of year: first, all things pumpkin are yummy but also the song literature and vocal exploration is so rich! I can't wait to share some October fun things we're doing in my music class in the weeks to come!

Thanks so much to Aileen for hosting the linky party! Make sure to check out all the other fun posts that are linked on her blog post!

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Music a la Abbott - Amy Abbott - Kodály Inspired Blog and Teachers Music Education Resource: Three Things {Little Leaves are Falling, Echo Singing & Vocal Exploration}

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Hi all! I'm excited to be linking up with Aileen Miracle at Mrs. Miracle's Music room for this week's " Three Things". It's actually two things I did last week and one from this week since I forgot to record it last week, lol!

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Links with a multitude of activities

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Plus Dragons PPT Instructions

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I used to begin the lesson by telling my students that we were going to "sing lines and shapes." I demonstrated this on my Smartboard using the creative pens, which created lines of smiley faces, rainbow swirls, and other fun stuff. After I drew the line, I would ask the class to sing it back to me. The more dips and swirls I made on the board, the more fun they had singing it.

If a class struggled to sing in their head voice, I simply moved the entire line higher, as in the example shown below. This is a trick I learned from Dr. Feierabend during one of his sessions, and it almost always did the trick.

Once my students began exploring their head voices comfortably, I would ask for a volunteer to come to the board. They would draw their own vocal exploration and then use a pointer (such as my baton) to trace the line while the rest of the class sang it. I did this most often with my younger students, but even 2nd and 3rd grade enjoyed composing in this way.

If you have a class of older beginners in need of catching up, consider playing "connect the dots" to demonstrate melodic direction, as in the example below.

This helps students connect the note-heads with melodic direction, a necessary skill for sight-singing.

To help you get started on your own lesson in composition, I created a vocal exploration freebie. Click on the picture below to download the file from Dropbox.

You can project the slides onto your interactive whiteboard for a quick lesson in vocal exploration and composition. Simply ask students to draw the path of the leaf and have the rest of the class sing it back to them.
If you're looking for a fall-themed bulletin board display, print and copy enough pages for one class, and ask students to draw the path of the leaf on their papers. Then, hang their compositions on a bulletin board outside your classroom. Consider labeling the bulletin board with a title that will encourage interaction and inspire passersby to sing the compositions as well.

Lastly, if you're looking for easy composition lessons for a substitute, consider adding a colorful collection of pipe cleaners to your sub tub. Leave directions indicating that students should bend the pipe cleaners and sing the resulting shapes. Speaking from my own sub experience (long, long ago), I loved lessons that were student-centered and allowed me to walk around the room and engage with the students one-on-one. Best of all, pipe cleaners are inexpensive items that you can afford to send home with your students after they're done.

Please let me know what you think of today's freebie. If you have ideas for freebies you'd like to see in the future, please leave your suggestions in the comments section below.

Thanks for reading!
Jennifer

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I used to begin the lesson by telling my students that we were going to "sing lines and shapes." I demonstrated this on my Smartboard using the creative pens, which created lines of smiley faces, rainbow swirls, and other fun stuff. After I drew the line, I would ask the class to sing it back to me.