fbpx

Classroom Ideas

Home Classroom Ideas
A homemade cart for barred percussion instruments.
November 23, 2013

DIY Orff Carts – Get those bass instruments moving!

So, I’ve got three amazing bass barred percussion instruments in my room.  Two bass xylophones and a bass metallophone.  I love them for the timbre they bring and kids love playing them because they’re “the hugest ones!”  All in all, these instruments are fantastic… but they’re not fantastic to move […]
Here are some of my favorite little tricks to smooth transitions and get kids learning more quickly.
November 20, 2013

2/4  Tiny Tricks to Make Life Easier

You can never have enough tricks up your sleeve when you work with kids.  It’s bad enough for classroom teachers who see the same 20-30 kids day in and day out.  At least they have time to teach kids procedures that help to alleviate some of the crazy behaviors.  They […]
November 16, 2013

Paper Bag Alien Hats for Concert

Have you ever found yourself looking for that perfect costume to finalize your concert plans?  I needed a simple and FREE alien costume for my upcoming concert called “Space Invaders” (learn about the concert here).  What to do!?  I work at an elementary school in a low-income neighborhood and we […]
Children standing on a stage for a school performance
November 14, 2013

Preparing for A Concert or School Performance

I’m always looking for new tips and tricks to make concert preparation easier.  I feel like I perpetually get burned out and stressed out when planning for a school performance because there are so many details to work out.  Anything that I can do to alleviate some of the stress […]
The Big Red Sub Binder - stocked and ready to go!
November 6, 2013

2/4 Tuesday:  Substitute Planning!

I took a personal day for a doctor’s appointment last Friday and as I was preparing for the day I hit that slump of “What should I plan for this sub…  who knows if it’s going to be a music person or not…  Ugh!”  I find it really hard to […]
Use the instruments families to provide groups for your class. It's great for classroom management!
November 1, 2013

Instrument Families for Classroom Management

My first few years of teaching I really struggled with certain aspects of classroom management.  I was forever losing instruction time as I spent precious minutes trying to put kids into groups and organize teams for games or small group work.  And then one day I stumbled onto this idea and […]
Five awesome things I found on Pinterest this month!
October 24, 2013

Five Favorite Pins of October – 2013

I will admit, I spend a lot of time on Pinterest browsing ideas, getting inspiration, and seeing how other teachers decorate and plan for teaching.  Pinterest can be a really great tool to help you plan for your own classroom and inspire you to try new things.  Why not share […]
October 23, 2013

Photo Op!  — Remember the Concert

Parent communication is a constant struggle.  As a music teacher I’m not in daily contact with parents and opening that line of communication can be tricky.  Even classroom teachers, who connect with parents on a near daily basis, often have troubles communicating with some parents.  Now take that struggle and […]
Paper Snowballs are perfect for teaching stead beat (and they're free!)
October 23, 2013

Paper Snowballs – Steady Beat with K/1

I’m always on the lookout for ways to teach steady beat to my primary grades.  You can never have too many ways to reinforce this concept as students learn in so many different ways!  I borrowed this idea from my former district lead teacher and who knows if she borrowed […]
October 15, 2013

I CAN Posters – Displaying the National Standards

In my district all teachers are required to post objective questions and “I CAN” statements for every lesson.  Each I CAN statement is intended to help your students understand the point of the lesson focus learning so that kids know what they’re supposed to be able to do at the […]
October 7, 2013

Just a Little Letter… Writing to students!

At my student teaching placement, my cooperating teacher (Debbie Gray) showed me how she would write little notes to all of her students.  She would try and get a letter to each one in a semester so that every student got about two notes a year.  It’s hard to keep […]
1 … 5 6 7 8

Kansas City

Teachers Pay Teachers

MakeMomentsMatter@gmail.com