Every chance that I can, I use little phrases or hand signals to save time. I try and do everything I can do to streamline my instruction so that I don’t have to reexplain or go back and reteach. I only get 25 minutes twice a week with my kids […]
A music education blog carnival is a monthly post that links to several new music education blog posts across the web. These blog posts were compiled from the month of September and feature music teachers from around the world. Thanks to everyone who has contributed blog posts this month! […]
I remember when I first started teaching elementary music I spent my first few months teaching fun songs from the written textbooks that I had access to, favorite lessons from local music workshops, and memorable songs from my own childhood music classes. But then I hit a wall. When I […]
The Firikyiwa is a percussion instrument from African and is my newest favorite toy/tiny time saver in the music room. I saw my friend Sarah Lillie use this years ago with her classes and I’ve ALWAYS wanted one. This year on the requisition cycle I decided that I should spend […]
I feel like my students really get interested in opera once they realize some of the story lines or actually hear some of the music. It’s just hard at first because kids aren’t used to hearing an opera singer’s voice and don’t understand all the formality. Kids are used to hearing […]
What ARRRRGH We Doing in Music Class? It was a total game-changer when I realized that I could use a pirate-themed I Can Statement bulletin board to explain the National Standards for Music Education to students, parents, and administrators. Pirates are just the perfect thing for elementary kids, aren’t they? […]
How-to shut off Apple TV icons and previews. One of my favorite technology toys to use in the classroom is my Apple TV. I love it because I can mirror the images on you iPad and show an entire class the picture I took, the APP I’m using, or anything […]
In the last couple of weeks I’ve seen lots of posts on Facebook groups about room setup with some pretty amazing pictures of people’s elementary music rooms. I love looking through those pictures because it’s such a fantastic and simple way to see into someone’s teaching space. It helps […]
The “Master Sticker” is a little trick that I happened upon one day when working with my younger kids. I was pulling the classic “I’m watching and listening and I’m going to give stickers to the kids who I think are really following directions and singing so well!” We’ve all […]
Well, it has been four years in the making, but I’m finally feeling good about the connections that I’m creating for students when I talk about Charlie Parker. I’ve always taught them something about Parker or at least tried to bring up his name, but since his birthday comes so […]
I love using my barred percussion/Orff instruments and I love when students feel proficient playing accompaniments, tapping out melodic patterns, and especially improvising! What I love ALMOST as much is when students feel good about the procedures of how to hold mallets, how to stand at the instruments, how to […]
One of the things that I love about being a music educator is that there are a ton of ways to teach music to children. Some of us dwell on rhythm, drums, percussion instruments, and improvisation. Some people spend the bulk of their time sitting around a guitar or a […]
