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Literacy Connections

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September 29, 2019

Hispanic Heritage Month Books for the Music Room

I once had a professor say that it wasn’t enough to learn about a culture by reading facts, figures, and statistics. This professor assigned novels written by members of certain communities so that we could hear stories and see the culture through the author’s eyes, learning from their perspective. Hispanic […]
Books for Movement Exploration
September 21, 2018

Children’s Books for Movement Exploration

I love children’s literature and any time I go to the mall, a big box store, or really anywhere that sells anything I always gravitate towards the children’s book section.  One specific thing that I usually look for are books for movement exploration.  If you really look and sift through […]
April 22, 2018

The Five Best Learning Centers for the Music Room

I think that every teacher has heard of “using centers” in the classroom and has probably been asked by an administrator, “How do you incorporate small group learning?”  The concept of learning centers is pretty straightforward:  students work in small groups (usually 2-5 kids each) to complete a specific task.  […]
Musicians to celebrate, books to read, songs, games, and lesson ideas.
January 28, 2018

Black History Month in the Music Room

Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of black people in U.S. history.  Since the mid 1970s, people in the United States have used the month of February to take a critical look at the way that […]
Wooden blocks with nursery rhymes, ukulele chords, and guitar chords, to use in the music room.
January 14, 2018

Nursery Rhyme Blocks from Uncle Goose

I am constantly on the lookout for cool new gadgets, manipulatives, and resources to use in my classroom.  No matter where I go I somehow always find myself browsing through children’s books and toys looking for a way to adapt them for the music room.  I love to jot down […]
Learn about how to use the story Groovy Joe Dance Party Countdown in your Music Classroom!
October 7, 2017

Groovy Joe Dance Party Countdown – Book Recommendation

“Groovy Joe is totally fun.  He’s a song-singing, tail-wagging party of one!”  Who is Groovy Joe, you might ask?  Groovy Joe is a dancing, singing, guitar playing dog and is the literary creation of Eric Litwin, the best-selling author of the original four Pete the Cat books, The Nuts, and now Groovy Joe.  […]
Zar and the Broken Spaceship
February 21, 2016

Zar the Friendly Alien and His Broken Spaceship

Do you know about Zar, the friendly alien, and his broken spaceship?  Zar has been a good friend in my classroom for years and has never failed to entrance Kindergarten, 1st, and even 2nd graders! I love turning to Zar when I have a group of kiddos who really need […]
Five awesome things I found on Pinterest this month!
December 15, 2015

Five Favorite Pins of December – 2015

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 […]
Two videos to get your students up and moving in music class!
February 13, 2015

Film Friday – Gummy Bear and Dinosaur Stomp

I think that we all have the one class that walks in the door a little squirrely every time.  They fidget and chat and need something to help them focus before you’re going to get ANYTHING done in class.  You can start with echo clapping, a poem, a game song, […]
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 […]
Use your bulletin board to teach kid about opera and explain good storytelling techniques.
September 26, 2014

What Makes a Good Opera – Character, Plot, and Setting

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 […]
August 30, 2014

Bring it Home – Make Music Personal!

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 […]
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