Discussion Starter by Kathleen Dominiak

kmdominiak — 2025-09-02 18:08:50 UTC

DT-Teaching Dance Pathway classes, Dance Appreciation, PE & Dance for Special Needs. I am getting kids to start right away with movement then have discussions which is encouraging students to get dressed faster. In addition, I have a daily schedule up in the classroom outlining what we do every day of the week so they know what to expect for every day for the week and what to be prepared for. In Advisory, we are doing a journal that I am counting for a mid-term grade and semester grade. This is really great to get to know the students better and have something to do in advisory when there is no directive. I ask them silly questions but it is a conversation starter.

kmdominiak — 2025-09-03 18:40:13 UTC

2025-09-03 18:40:23 UTC

Do nows or bellringers, objectives, clean up time

2025-09-03 18:40:31 UTC

Beginning Band, Intermediate Band, Advanced Band, Beginning Orchestra, Intermediate Orchestra, Advanced Orchestra - Class Structure - students sit by section, the day's what, how, why, and rehearsal music are posted on the Promethean board, I follow the lesson plan for the class, Routines: Students get out instruments and music, warm-up, tune, rehearse, reflect, and clean-up, Resources: Essential Elements books, warm-up music, scales pages, repertoire, Chromebook, Google Classroom, Strategies: Everyone participates, conducting, instruction

mshughes5 — 2025-09-03 18:40:43 UTC

Class - Rock Band 1, 2, 3 / Guitar 1, 2, 3 / Music Appreciation

Routine: Having a "bell ringer" slide up in every class showing them the routine for getting their instrument, tuning, and getting to their seat and waiting for next steps.

Strategies: I do a lot of music/rhythm-based activities throughout class like "play a pattern on the table when I call your name for attendance", or "clap along to this song", to help them practice getting a sense of rhythm, call and response etc. even before "real" instruction begins.

Resources: Clip on guitar tuners for guitarists to use and then share, picks, guitar packets, piano packets, YouTube channels of tutorials, notations, etc. for playing our songs or techniques/scales etc.

raayala — 2025-09-03 18:41:03 UTC

I always have the agenda on the board with the a do now, do together, and a do on you own. Also post the objective.

2025-09-03 18:42:19 UTC

I use a daily starter board. - that shows date, class, objective, standard, agenda, "Do now". Helps students know off the bat what we are doing and what they should get ready.
Repetition Repetition.

pjwagner — 2025-09-03 18:43:04 UTC

I teach Piano I, II, and III, Electronic Music, and Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Choir. Structure and Routine is my personal challenge, but I generally for choir do announcements, warm up, and then rehearse the day's music. In Piano and Electronic music, depending on where we're at, I demonstrate and share the techniques of the current projects, and then they have independent practice time.

aabernard1 — 2025-09-03 18:43:36 UTC

Thresholding, thumb checks, 100% No opt out, level 1 expectations, timed activities, shoulder partners, wait time and cold calling expectations.

2025-09-03 18:43:39 UTC

Akers- I teach guitar and rock band I, II, and III. I keep my classroom very organized to where students know where materials are, and everything is nicely put away after class. One routine I use is icebreakers in order to get class moving and everyone on task. For resources, I use many different books and websites in order to accomplish our rock band and guitar objectives. As for routine, I encourage students every day to get out their instruments and start the bellringer to help keep everyone focused.

2025-09-03 18:43:46 UTC

In band, our daily plan is on the board. Adv/Int have a daily routine that begins class. In electronic music, get starting with turning on the equipment and a recap of what we did the day before.

2025-09-03 18:44:00 UTC

Currently I am using a bellringer/do now everyday. I find that usually we have very good discussions at the start of class that help lead into the lesson. I have been trying to keep it consistent as much as possible. Currently I am housing materials that they will use for class that day at a white table near my desk. So, if they need something they know where to find it. I also try and do a wrap up the last few minutes of class so they know what we will work on next class.

pjwagner — 2025-09-03 18:47:21 UTC

I do a lot of I sing/play, we sing/play, and then you sing/play

2025-09-03 18:47:35 UTC

Ceramics and 3D students are responsible for taking care of and cleaning their own materials and tools everyday. They are all assigned the same tools and bins with matching numbers. This saves time with cleanup and saves money on replacing materials. Theoretically it prevents the destructiveness of reusable materials. Weekly conduct/effort grades are affected by this. There is a weekly agenda Topic and separate project Topics in Classroom. Timeline objectives with benchmark steps are in every project, so they move on to the next step after the prior is graded.

2025-09-03 18:47:40 UTC

In my choirs, I develop routine by having a weekly structure for music theory and sight-reading. Similarly, in my piano classes, we have days designated for skill checks, playing exams, and individual practice. Additionally, I project a slide for each class with the day's agenda. As for strategy, I do a lot of modeling - many of my students in piano learn visually, so I bought a document camera so that they can see exactly what my hands are doing when I play songs for them. Many of my choir students learn aurally, so I try to show them what I want to hear not by talking about it, but by singing it exactly that way for them first.