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Critical Thinking

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Five easy ideas to help you regroup and plan after a concert!
December 11, 2016

What to Do AFTER the Concert: A Follow-Up Guide

I think that we can all relate to the “sigh of relief” that comes with finishing up a big concert with students.  You no longer have to worry if those 20 kids are going to show up to say all of their lines, if the parent volunteers will finish the […]
November 27, 2016

Carol of the Bells – Favorite Winter Folk Song

You would think that teaching “Carol of the Bells” should be a slam dunk.  Kids most likely know the song from the radio or tv or a movie soundtrack.  But this is another one of those classic favorites that I would call a “song on the fringe.”  We know it, […]
Five different rhythm syllable systems, pros/cons of each, and some history. Read this blog post for more!
May 15, 2016

Rhythm Syllable Systems – What to use and why!

What do you call a quarter note?  In your classroom do you call it “Ta”?  Or Maybe you call it “Du”.  What about other rhythms?  Do you say “Ta, Ti-ti” or maybe “Du, Du-de” or even “Ta, Ta-di.”  Perhaps you just call them “pal, buddy” or go right to numbers […]
Singing About Animals and enhancing the schema of students!
January 10, 2016

Singing About Animals – Enhancing Schema

I learned early on in my music teaching career that I can’t assume anything about kiddos.  I learned not to bank on the idea that kids have done something before or learned information somewhere else before coming to my classroom.  For example, you might think:  “Itsy Bitsy Spider is a […]
5 ideas to extend lessons and create variety when teaching folk songs!
November 22, 2015

I’ve Taught this Folk Song, Now What?!

If you’ve read any of my blog so far you know that I love teaching folk songs.  Folk songs are great songs with catchy tunes, are excellent for cultural and historical references, and usually have some sort of movement or dance component.  What an exciting way to expand vocabulary!  What an […]
Using your classroom pointer for evaluation, critical thinking, and more!
November 26, 2014

Perfect Pointer Pointers

A few years ago I purchased one of those classroom pointers that every teacher seems to have (little pointing hand on a stick) when the book fair came through my school.  The following year I bought another one because it had cooler colors and was just generally awesome.  The problem […]
Teaching form with the Happy Song!
November 15, 2014

Pharrel’s “Happy” Song to Teach Musical Form

I love Pharrel’s “Happy” song and I know that my kids do too!  This summer I was brainstorming a way to use the Happy song in my classroom and it struck me that I could so easily use this fantastic song to teach form to my students.  I developed the […]
If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands - Blog Post
November 1, 2014

If You’re Happy and You Know It!

  “If You’re Happy and You Know It” is a classic children’s folk song and is so wonderful for so many reasons.  It gives you a chance to talk about improvising new lyrics and coming up with variations.  It gives you a chance to define the word “lyics.”  It allow […]
Why should you teach folk songs, what resources to use, and how to go about doing it!
October 4, 2014

Why Teach Folk Songs? – Resources, How-to, and More

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 […]
June 13, 2014

Bloom’s Taxonomy in Music Rooms – Free Posters for Music Advocacy

After a week-long class about critical thinking in the art/theater/music classroom I was inspired!  We had been talking about all the ways that arts education addresses every level of Bloom’s Taxonomy and music education in particular encourages strategic thinking in students.  I realize that I’m literally preaching to the choir […]
Taking a famous, kid-favorite theme song and making it new!
February 28, 2014

Film Friday — Angry Birds Cover

  In this fun video, the musicians of the band/group Pomplamoose use video and musical editing to cover the theme from the Angry Birds game.  My students are still absolutely obsessed with Angry Birds and not a day goes by that someone doesn’t walk by wearing a t-shirt with some sort […]
Frosty the Snowman: Blog post about critical thinking, using story books, music listening activities, and more!
December 12, 2013

Critical Thinking in Frosty the Snowman

  One of my favorite songs to teach at the holiday time is Frosty the Snowman.  I teach this to second grade (I’m learning at my highly ELL school that I can only teach about half of what many of the rest of you teach because it takes many of […]
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