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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 […]
The Leprechaun Song - Great for improvisation with primary grades.
March 13, 2014

I Caught a Leprechaun – New Fun Song!

BI’ve made a podcast episode about this blog post.  Check it out on iTunes or wherever you download podcasts!  You can also listen to the podcast on the web through this link. Every year I tell my K-1 students about the Leprechaun that keeps showing up in my room.  I […]
A GREAT song to teach cumulative form and to get kids moving!
February 2, 2014

The Green Grass Grew All Around

“Green Grass Grew All Around” never fails to excite and delight my students.  No matter their mood when they walk in, this song bring out big smiles and gets kids excited about class.  What’s more, this song is especially great for English Language Learners (abbreviated to ESL/ELL in many places) as it involves some […]
Use every Happy Birthday moment to teach the students theme and variation!
January 20, 2014

Happy Birthday – Teaching Theme and Variation

I try and use all my teaching time wisely.  I’ve worked really hard to get procedures in place so that I can start class right when kiddos walk in the door and keep the pace going until they’re walking out.  There’s not a lot of “downtime” for me unless the kids […]
Using the "Chopsticks" song to teach theme and variation.
January 18, 2014

Film Friday – Teaching Theme and Variation with Chopsticks!

This fantastic video uses an old favorite, the Chopsticks song, to teach theme and variation!  If I were to incorporate this video in a full lesson about theme and variation, I would probably start by teaching students how to play “Chopsticks” or at least ensure that they already know the tune.  If […]
Monster Invasion: A fun composition game for third grade and above.
January 11, 2014

Music Monsters – Composition Game for 3rd Grade and Beyond

This was a fun game that I happened onto with my third graders late last semester.  I found these super cool die-cut monsters at the Dollar Tree and knew that I wanted to make something fun with them.  I’m working on expanding my center materials/composition games because I’ll have my […]
This song is a great way to teach body vocabulary and lots more with primary kids!
January 9, 2014

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes as an ELL Tool

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes is a classic song that many, many students learn early on in life.  Lots of you folks are lucky enough to have this taught at home or in your preschools so that students come in knowing the familiar tune and words.  For many teachers, teaching […]
A free, editable lesson plan to use in your elementary music classroom!
December 8, 2013

FREE! – My Elementary Music Lesson Plan Template

Lesson planning can be hard.  If I’m going to make a lesson plan for myself for a stand alone class then I don’t really need ALL that much information because I know my lesson, I know how to scaffold it out, I know what resources I need, and I know […]
November 27, 2013

AB patterns and movement in Elgar’s Faeries and Giants

In my district we have a specific “Guided Listening” component which is usually a pretty awesome part of our curriculum.  This allows us to teach kids to not just hear music, but to listen in specific and thoughtful ways.  They are taught to listen for patterns, form, signpost cues, and […]
This song about a funny dancing clown is a perfect way to encourage creative movement.
November 9, 2013

Punchinello – Improvising Movement

“Punchinello, you funny fellow!”  This is a song that I do each year with my first graders because it’s so much fun and has some awesome curricular connections.  In my district, one of our first quarter curriculum goals says that first grade students are supposed to learn a song to sing […]
If You're Happy And You Know It book to use in the music classroom!
October 28, 2013

If You’re Happy And You Know It! – Book Recommendation

This is a totally fun book!  I know that many students have the song “If You’re Happy and You Know It…” down pat before they even get to Kindergarten but not my students.  I have a high population of English Language Learners (often called ELLs) and most from low income […]
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